All That and a Bag of Chips

Chapter 3

After the first wave of customers left the store, Tom washed the stack of blenders that had piled up next to the sink and Collin tried not to sulk as he replaced a tub of frozen yogurt and refilled the soymilk dispenser. "Be proactive, not reactive," was what Janet, their boss, always told them.

"Was I right?" Tom asked as he held three blenders in his left hand, sprayed them with the nozzle and plunged them into the first sink compartment, which was filled with soapy water, and then used the scrub brush to get any berry remnants off the sides.

Collin nodded. "How'd you know?"

"Ah man, that blows," Tom said and sucked his teeth. Then, in quick succession, he dunked the three blenders first in the fresh water to rinse the soap, then into the sanitizer solution, and finally plopped them on the drying rack. He then picked up three more dirty blenders and repeated the process. "It was how that spikey-haired girl was staring at Avery. All possessive and shit. That, and... right before they walked in, I'm pretty sure they were holding hands."

"Almost six years, man. It's fucking surreal." Collin shook his head, as though the movement would better accustom him to this new reality he was living in.

"Did she give you any explanation?" Tom asked as he splashed three more blenders into the water.

"Just that she's a lesbian." Collin let out a snort of disbelief. "You know, when I met her, Avery identified as straight. I mean, it didn't take me long to charm her into my arms, but I always thought she agreed to date me because I was so much like a dude."

"You are a dude, man."

"I know, but..." Collin trailed off. He didn't feel like he knew anything anymore.

"Man, you were her gateway drug." Tom had the audacity to laugh. All the blenders were now clean, and he wiped his hands on his apron and then grabbed a rag and a spray bottle and started wiping down the strip of counter behind the blender bases.

"The gateway drug? What do you mean?" Collin had finished restocking the freezer and was now leaning against the register, watching Tom work.

"You eased her into the lesbian lifestyle, dude."

"I don't think that's how it works." Collin rolled his eyes and was grateful the conversation was paused when two surfers walked into the shop to order protein drinks.

The surfers were followed by the cute bespeckled woman who worked at the Santa Cruz Bookshop and always ordered a matcha shot. Two young mothers with babies in tow entered through the shop doors a few minutes later. The line continued to grow, and Collin and Tom were suddenly too busy to talk.

Thankfully, Dylan–a scruffy-haired college freshman–soon walked in to start his shift and the three of them were efficiently able to make their way through the orders as they came in.

The next lull in customers wasn't until ten, which was after Christy–a goth girl who was a local attending community college–started her shift. Collin went to the back of the store to prep extra frozen fruit baskets and sent Tom on his first break.

Five minutes later, Tom walked into the back of the store holding a fresh cup of coffee and a scone. "New girl is hot," he said as he sat on an overturned crate, watching Tom wrestle open a bag of frozen strawberries and pour them evenly into three waiting baskets.

"Coffee girl?" Collin asked without looking up.

"Yup."

"Yeah, she is."

"You know," Tom said, "Avery was right."

Collin stopped what he was doing, but didn't respond.

"She's a lesbian, and you're a dude. It's not fair that you can bang a lesbian, but I can't."

"Um..." Collin wasn't sure what an appropriate response was.

"You know, you flirt with every single female customer that comes in here. Know their orders. Ask about their jobs, remember details about their lives."

"It's called customer service, dude. I also know Marvin's order, and I hope you don't think I flirt with him," Collin countered.

"Everyone knows Marvin's order." Tom waved his hand dismissively. "You, my friend, are a fucking chick magnet, and you know it. So it's really not fair that you have potential dating privileges with every fine female that walks through those doors, but I only have an opportunity with straight chicks."

Collin couldn't believe the absurdity that was spouting from Tom's mouth. "Like 95% of women are straight. What exactly are you complaining about?"

"Dude, it's Santa Cruz. You can't throw a stone around here without hitting a lesbian." Tom set down his coffee cup on the floor next to his foot. "Besides, that's not the point."

"Okay..." Collin said with all the patience he could muster. "What exactly is your point?"

"Well, I was always curious, Collin. You sure talk a good game, but how well do you play?"

Had Tom gone insane? That was the only explanation. Collin opened the walk-in freezer, placed the filled buckets on the shelf marked "Strawberries" and then grabbed a box of frozen mangos. "What the fuck are you on?" he asked, taking a box cutter and slicing through the tape on the top of the box, small crystals of ice spraying to the floor.

"I always figured that Avery held you back, you know? You flirt with all these chicks, but you never followed through because of the metaphorical ball-and-chain. But now that you've been freed..." Tom's voice trailed off as he waggled his eyebrows.

"You don't think I can close the deal?" Collin scoffed.

"I don't know. Can you?" he teased.

Collin considered this. Avery wasn't his first girlfriend, but she had been a lot of his firsts. It was hard to imagine being with anyone else. The breakup was too fresh. Too new. But, shit. If she had moved on so quickly, maybe he would feel better if he did, too.

Unbidden, a fox-like smile spread across Collin's lips. "I've never been turned down, if that's what you mean."

Tom chuckled. "Dude, you think you're all that, don't you?"

"All that and a bag of chips." Collin laughed too. "Shit, man, you're the one who called me a chick magnet."

They both started laughing. It felt good. Healing. He may have lost Avery, but he still had his friends. Spending more time with them might be the silver lining to this dark cloud.

"Okay, Mr. Bag of Chips, I have a proposition for you." Tom picked up his coffee and stood. Stepping into the small office next to the walk-in freezer, he placed his cup down on the desk and then pulled his apron over his head and punched back in, officially ending his break. "I bet you can't nab a date with New Coffee Girl."

"New Coffee Girl?" Collin furrowed his brow. "I mean, she thinks my name is colon, so that might be an extra obstacle..."

"So, you're not up for the challenge?"

"I didn't say that." Collin continued to think. "What are we wagering?"

"It doesn't seem fair that if you win, you get rewarded with both a hot girl on your arm and extra cash in your wallet." Tom paused as he pulled his visor over his blond puff of hair. "How about two-week's worth of tips? If the weather's nice, that might actually be a pretty good chunk of change."

Collin raised his eyebrows. "That is a good chunk of change. Are you that confident that I won't be able to get her to go out with me?"

"If you're not up for the challenge, I'll certainly go take a swing myself."

"You and your Justin-Timberlake-hair don't have a chance," Collin teased. "Game's on."

The sound from the lobby increased as Christy leaned against the door to the back, opening it a crack. "Hey, are you losers going to stand back there chit-chatting all day? We've got customers." The door swung free as she returned to her station.

"At least I didn't challenge you to get a date with her," Tom widened his eyes in mock fear.

Collin laughed. "Come on, she's right." And he led the way back to the lobby, a sense of excitement percolating in his belly.