Luca Chessman has been longing for love his entire life. The only problem is-he can't seem to find a guy that likes him the same way.
With his family cafe, Chessman's, struggling to keep afloat and no help from the bank, he's slowly accepting the d...
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Aris comes into the cafe right on time for his trial shift. It's fairly quiet when he arrives which is a bonus. I say hello to him and take his coat and hang it up. My eyes instantly gravitate to his arms as I notice patchwork tattoos cover them.
There is a scorpion and a deck of cards, my eyes floating to the other arm where I see some writing in a language that I don't recognise. His arms are practically covered and I had no idea that he owned so many tattoos.
I take down a spare apron from the hook. Aris runs a hand down the back of his dark hair. "Are the tattoos a problem?" He asks awkwardly. "Because I can cover them up if you wish."
My head shakes. "No, of course not," I flash him a smile. "Just intrigued. We're very inclusive here, don't worry. Just make sure any jewellery is out because it can transfer dirt and we don't want health and safety making a trip down here."
Aris glances down at his hands and then slips off his collection of silver rings. "Noted," he says before tucking them into his pocket. "Anything else?"
I shake my head. "You ready to start?"
"As I'll ever be," the corners of his mouth twitches upwards.
He looks a lot more awake than when I last saw him, yeah his eyes seem a little tired but who isn't in this society? I want to give him a fair chance, especially as we've barely had anyone come in with their CV's for the advert in the window.
The first thing I do is teach him how to make coffee from the machine from lattes to cappuccinos to mochas. At first all of the different orders can be a bit of a head fuck but once you've got the hang of it, you're good to go.
Aris shows his determination to get it right and I approve of how hard he's been focusing. I can tell he's nervous, like he's going to make one mistake and the trial shift will be over. I've been working here for as long as I can remember and I still make the odd silly mistake here and there.
We're all human. No one is perfect. Apart from Declan.
After an hour I move onto food orders as it approaches lunchtime. It's not hard to shove a panini or sandwich under the grill but timing it to perfection whilst making drinks at the same time is the ultimate skill.
His manners and politeness is above par. He smiles at every customer and asks them how their day is going. I find myself smiling along with him, it's like he's been working here for months and he's just slotting in with ease.
When we get an influx of characters and Aris impresses me to the extreme, I tell him to take a small break before more customers come in. He nods and grabs a bottle of water before downing the entire contents.
His complexion is a lot paler than before but maybe he's not used to being on his feet and working continuously for two hours straight. "What do you think?" I ask as I wipe down the counter.
