Food Courting

Chapter 28: Girlfriend Powers

It was day five of Operation Girlfriend, and Cora was...weirdly confident.

The day before, she had finally asked her apartment's building manager about when the elevator would be fixed. Then, after her shift, she had asked conversing shoppers at the grocery store if they could step aside from the discount produce she was trying to peruse. And at the beginning of today's shift, she had mustered up the courage to question Darlene's decision to cut hours. While Darlene hadn't understood Cora's nervous mumbling, and Cora wasn't brave enough to repeat herself, she had at least tried once, and that was progress. It was also unnatural, and Cora wasn't sure if she should be proud or concerned over the recent development.

But she could think about that later. In the meantime, she was content with enjoying another beautiful day at Cool Beans as she cleaned one of the espresso machines as thoroughly as she could.

Of course, it helped that it was the perfect spot to sneak a peek across the food court without being obvious. It was also at the right angle to see Farron's small stature hidden behind their coworkers and Fruitastic's blenders, and Cora could watch as their hands flew over the machinery and between ingredients with intense focus.

Did Cora feel a little creepy? Absolutely. But every time Farron glanced at her to shoot a wink across the food court, Cora found herself even more captivated than before.

That is, until Kevin stepped in front of her on the other side of the machine, his brows raised.

Cora frowned. "Aren't you supposed to be mopping?"

"Aren't you supposed to be flushing out the machine? At this rate, you'll probably burn yourself by accident. And you'd still be grinning like you just were."

Cora forced her frown to deepen as she craned her neck around Kevin, but her smile reappeared as soon as she found Farron already staring back at her.

Kevin sighed. "Could you at least save the flirting until after my shift is over?"

"You're just jealous," Cora said as she tried to return Farron's wink, only to succeed in blinking instead.

"Maybe I am, but don't tell my partners that." He paused. "For real, though, it's great to see you like this."

While Cora had planned on watching Farron lift a heavy tub from under the counter, Kevin's admission was enough to make Cora turn towards him. "Huh?"

He shrugged as he picked at the splintered top of the wooden mop handle. "You seem happier lately. And not the fake stuff for customer service. Like actual happiness."

Cora's instinct was to protest. She always enjoyed her work and helping customers, and the implication that she was faking her enthusiasm was mildly insulting, as if she didn't care enough. But maybe that's not what Kevin meant. Maybe he meant it was a different kind of happiness. That would explain why it filled her with confidence instead of anticipation.

"I suppose I do feel a little different," Cora said, as she continued her cleaning. "In a good way."

"And I love that for you," Kevin said, then leaned a bit closer. "Would you be willing to take the trash out for me then?"

Cora beamed. "Absolutely not."

Kevin straightened his posture with a frown, but a slight grin still appeared at the ends of his lips. "Worth a shot."

"I don't want to take that opportunity away from you anyway," Cora said. "You have to befriend those crows sooner or later."

"How do you—" After a beat, Kevin's shock turned into a pout. "Farron told you, didn't they?"