Food Courting

Chapter 23: Coffee Break

"Are you fraternizing with the enemy?" Darlene snapped from behind her.

Cora flinched, and the scoop of coffee grounds in her hand moved with her, sending some scattering onto the counter. She hadn't heard Darlene approaching her, but even if she had, she wouldn't have been prepared for such a question.

She turned, hoping her face exuded nothing but innocence. "Sorry, what?"

Darlene narrowed her eyes. "The Fruitastic girl. Are you giving her trade secrets?"

"They're actually nonbinary and genderfluid," Cora said.

"Fine," Darlene said. "Are you giving trade secrets to the assistant manager of our enemy?"

"No! Why would I do that?" It's not like Fruitastic needed help anyway. Cool Beans was the one without any customers.

Darlene hummed, her eyes still narrowed. "I have my theories, but according to chapter six of the Cool Beans Employee Handbook, I'm not at liberty to say them. Just remember that the beans we hate the most are spilled beans. Got it?"

Cora's eyes darted to the coffee grounds scattered across the countertop before returning to Darlene with a wide smile. "You got it, boss!"

After a few more seconds of silence, Darlene huffed before heading towards the backroom. As soon as the door closed behind her, Cora sighed and slumped against the counter. While she had told the truth and was completely innocent, she still felt guilty, as if being suspected was a crime on its own.

"You're not, are you?" Kevin whispered from the other side of the bar counter, broom in hand. "Spilling beans, I mean. Metaphorically."

"Of course not." Cora frowned as she turned back to the coffee filter basket. Great, she forgot how much she had already measured.

"Of course. So...what do you two talk about? Or do you...do other stuff besides talking?"

Cora hoped Kevin wouldn't notice her flushed cheeks as she set up the scale. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kevin gasped. "So it's true! Tell me everything."

"Why would I do that?" Cora hissed towards the coffee grounds. "Besides, nothing has happened. Not whatever you're thinking, at least. We agreed to take things slow."

"Right. So I should expect a wedding invitation next year. Got it." He paused. "Wait...you are going to invite me, right?"

"No one is getting married!" Yet. "We're not even...official or exclusive or whatever you call it."

Kevin hummed with a hint of skepticism. "Well, do you want to be?"

Cora narrowed her eyes at the filter on the scale, pretending to carefully scoop in coffee grounds as if she wasn't over two hundred grams away from what she needed.

"So you do," Kevin said. "What's the hold up? They don't want to be?"

"No!" Well, that wasn't suspicious at all. "I mean...I don't know. We've only gone on two dates."

"And you've been staring at each other across the food court ever since I started. That's at least four months of flirting, and who knows how long you two have been at it since before I got here."

Cora spun towards Kevin, glaring. "Aren't you supposed to be sweeping right now?"

Kevin scowled before he began to slowly move the broom back and forth, not breaking eye contact with Cora all the while. So Cora broke it for him, turning back towards her own task and hoping she could at least pretend to look busy.