Nothing in Between

36

December was mere days away, but Clyde was getting warmer.

Clyde's feelings were doing the same thing, especially whenever she was with Taylor. The late-night visits to Taylor's apartment didn't slow down, and she didn't actually think that would ever happen. She would honestly miss Taylor to an insane degree if it did.

She was having the most relaxed shift at the coffee shop. And while that was usually the case, Kate and Beatrice had not bothered her one bit. There definitely weren't that many customers, too, and the people who did come by were known regulars.

Her hands would twitch to the front pocket of her pants ever so often, feeling the need to text Taylor. But Clyde wouldn't allow herself to get distracted, because Kate and Beatrice could literally walk by at any given moment and look over Clyde's shoulder.

Quiet chatter and faint music filled Clyde's ears as she toyed with the screen in front of her, pressing random buttons to help pass the time. Clyde wished she could just clean the floors, as she hated talking to strangers, and waiting by the counter was boring.

Then, the glass door was opened.

It was first instinct by now, the way Clyde looked up to see who had walked in. Clyde was just so used to doing that whenever she was at the counter, and she had worked here for such an extremely long time. Kate and Beatrice were certainly the same.

The woman who had stepped inside was wearing a hooded jacket, one Clyde recognized as hers. A pair of sunglasses prevented any person from being able to catch a glimpse of the woman's eyes, but Clyde would be lying if she said that she needed to.

Clyde immediately knew who it was.

She watched as the woman walked up to the counter and raised her sunglasses. Clyde's eyes immediately met pools of blue, and something that wasn't her jacket or the heating in the small shop gently enveloped Clyde in a comforting, relaxing warmth.

"Hey, what can I get for you?"

"The usual."

And Clyde nearly rolled her eyes. This was literally the first time Clyde had ever seen her walk into the coffee shop. Clyde had totally stopped her from going here during her shift, because that meant that Clyde's friends could see whatever interactions they had.

But despite not having a usual order, Clyde knew what her so-called usual was. Spending those late nights and mornings at her apartment unintentionally resulted in a perfect little routine, one that seemed slightly too domestic, yet Clyde obviously wouldn't complain.

"Alright, anything else?"

"Does the barista come with the coffee?"

Clyde sighed, "You wish."

"Yeah, I do."

The surprise from hearing those words made Clyde lift her finger off the screen. Clyde cautiously looked up, feeling the shock overtake the blank expression on her face. But Clyde forced her face to stop right before anyone in the shop could even notice it.

"Name?" Clyde mumbled.

"CJ."

Clyde took a step back from the counter and rested her fist onto her hip, tilting her head. She breathed in deep and tried not to get annoyed, but knowing that her friends might see them talking was making her want to exasperatedly rush this interaction.

"Goddamn it, Taylor," Clyde mumbled under her breath.

"Are you cursing out a customer?"

"I will literally spit in your drink."