inkspresso

the night shift

Zach rushes through the well lit street to get to his safe haven. On his ears, headphones blast music to distract him from how scary nighttime is. His legs burn from the effort he makes to walk faster. His chest heaves anxiously as he makes a sharp turn. His hands expand and contract at the need to be in his safe haven.

Then, finally, like a beacon of hope. The door to salvation. In classical lettering on the window, one could read: Inkspresso café.
He opens it, and the bell rings, alerting everyone of his entrance.

The neon sign by the door read: open 24/7

Zach lowers his headphones to rest on his shoulders. He intakes the sweet aroma of coffee and books lingering in the air. He sighs far more relieved.

Zach ventures into the practically empty coffee shop. He checks his phone.

9pm on the dot. Perfect time.

He takes off his backpack and sits on his usual table. Zach takes out his laptop and opens it. It automatically connects to the coffee shop's network.

The brunet sees a figure approach him. The man sets an éclair by him. "No wi-fi at your place again?" He questions.

Zach looks at the familiar man. Adorable curls, a handsome smile that makes everyone tip him and kind brown eyes. "I totally need to change it." He chuckles.

Not entirely a lie; but not the entire truth.

"Don't. It keeps the business running." He jokes. "On the house to our most loyal client." He pushes the plate with the éclair a bit closer to him.

"Thanks, Jack." He smiles.

"I'll leave you to your lectures. Unless you wanna clean the coffee machine for me?" He playfully suggests.

Zach chuckles. "I'll pass this time." He jokes back.

"Dang. It was worth the try." He ruffles his hair. "Next time, I'll get ya!"

The two chuckle quietly as Jack walks away to work.

You see, Zach comes into this coffee shop because it works twenty-four seven. He usually comes in during the night and watches all the lectures he misses during the day. He prefers it that way. He is the definition of a night owl. As soon as the sun rises, he is off to bed to catch on some sleep. It is not like he can actually sleep through the night. His insomnia acts like a monster during the night.
His solution: sleeping during the day.
And hey, it works... most of the time.

Zach stands up and sets the plate on the counter. Jack was washing some pieces of the dreaded coffee machine.

He had met Jack in high school because Jack was popular, and he was the complete opposite. Obviously, Zach only knew who he was by listening to others call him in the hallways. The first time he came in during one of his shifts, Zach feared that he would say something mean and ruin the beautiful coffee shop for him. Surprisingly enough, Jack was actually sweet. He often treats him with éclairs and other types of pastries. One could even argue that they are friends.

"Ava Marie, I am going to kill you!" He groans, annoyed at his sister.

Zach chuckles.

You see, Jack hates doing the night shift in his family's coffee shop. It is void of people, and he is stuck doing what his sisters hate doing. Cleaning the damned coffee machine. There is no sunshine, no people walking by with all types of dogs. It is the slowest shift. So slow, he falls asleep at times.

It is not his fault; he would argue. But with dim lights and the lulling buzz of the refrigerator in the back, it is quite difficult to remain awake.

Zach stands up once more and steps into the library part of the coffee shop. Ah yes, one of his favourite parts of the coffee shop. In fact, it was what led him to visit the coffee shop in itself.

It is a coffee shopwithin a library.

The countless books that adorned shelves. Not a particle of dust on them. His fingers trace the spines of books as he walks to his desired section. Novels from the 1800s.

Oh, he adores this section. All books were ordered by year of release. He adores how organised it is. He fetches Sense and Sensibility and returns to his rightful spot.

He presses play on his lecture. And opens a word file. He starts taking notes as the professor speaks.

Jack sweeps the floor of the coffee shop. He has to occupy his mind with something. He must occupy his mind with something. The night shift is the epitome of boredom.

Zach's eyes shift over to him. He can't help it. Jack is handsome. He rolls up the sleeve of his t-shirt, displaying his tattoos. His eyes keep going lower. Oh shit, he was wearing grey sweatpants.

Scratch that, Jack is hot.

He forces himself to look back at his lecture to make sure he catches everything. Yet his eyes always go over to him.

The truth is Zach happens to be enamoured by Jack. How could he not? Jack is kind, polite, hot, sociable, cute, he knows how to make delicious coffee, how to clean properly, not to mention hot. He is sure his smile can light up a whole village. Truly. He is the textbook example of a golden retriever boyfriend.

Not that they are boyfriends or anything. Zach knows for a fact that Jack doesn't  like him in that way. They strictly have a customer-seller relationship.

Oh, and why is that? The reason is entering the coffee shop.

Jack's new girlfriend. Yep.

Zach looks to his lecture. His professor spoke in a monotonous voice as he explained Jane Austen's novel. How ironic.

His eyes don't dare look up as Jack greets his girlfriend. She sets her jacket on a table and walks around.

Zach types faster.

He feels a tap on the table. He pauses the lecture and looks up. It was Jack's girlfriend.

Zach removes his headphones from his ears and looks at the counter, where Jack usually is. Had he gone into the storage room?

He looks back at the woman. Luscious brown hair, pretty green eyes, and olive toned skin. She was beautiful.

"Go home."She grits out." I want Jack all for myself, if you know what I mean."

"Oh, Sienna, I see you have met Zach." He approaches them. "He usually keeps me company during the night shift." He rests a hand on her waist. "Zach, this is my girlfriend, Sienna."

He smiles softly. "Do you want me to leave... so you can stay with her?" He asks quietly.

"Aren't you working on a uni project? Stay as long as you need. It's not like I can leave."He chuckles. "Twenty-four seven. Remember?"

"Right." He chuckles as well.

An awkward silence sets between the three of them. Jack clears his throat. "I'll leave you to it. Let me know if you want anything, okay?"

Zach nods.

The girl rolls her eyes at his words but smiles when Jack turns to her. "Cmon, I'll show you around."