The Baristas

Baristas

"Plain black coffee for Andy!" Emma yelled out to the crowd of people.

The 7:00 business rush was always the worst time of day, and Emma had the luxury of working it. Her coworkers rushed around her, making drinks and ringing people up. Too many people were in a hurry to get to work, and there weren't enough people to serve. She looked down across the bar and saw her friend Killian Jones. The building manager. He was making coffee and giving them out faster than she could even blink. He was light on his feet and fast with his hands.

Feeling eyes drilling a hole into his head, Killian looked up, but no one was looking at him. He looked down the bar and found Emma Swan. She was ringing people up and placing orders. He smiled at the look of concentration on her beautiful face, and he went back to work.

When 9:00 hit, the rush was over and everyone was taking breaks. The morning rush was always too busy, but they always managed to survive. Somehow.

"How are you today, Swan?" Killian asked.

"I'm fine," she told him and fought to run a hand down her face in order to not smudge the makeup.

"How did your date with Walsh go last night?"

Emma wasn't sure if Killian knew that she had fallen in love with him years ago, but she figured he didn't because he kept offering her dates with friends of his, but they all seemed terrible. One kept attempting to touch her under the table, which ended with a knee in his crotch and her walking away. The next seemed too judgmental, and the date she had been on last night, was nothing but a guy going on a date with his reflection in the spoon.

"He seemed a little too... Self involved."

She could have sworn a hint of a smile appeared on Killian's face, but she wasn't too sure. "I'm sorry, love." He squeezed her arms and walked into the kitchen.

"When are you going to realize that he is purposely setting you up on horrible dates?" Ruby asked. Ruby was another one of Emma and Killian's closest friends. They all went to the same high school together. They had known each other for years.

"He is not."

"He is too! He's set you up on three dates and they all turned into a disaster. You know why? It's because he likes you. He wants you to fall into his arms."

"He doesn't like me. I mean, why would he? His dad is rich, I'm poor. I work at a fucking Starbucks, Ruby! Only to help my parents out. His brother doesn't like me, and Killian practically worships him. I'm not going to get involved with him even though I've had feelings for him for forever. We're friends. It would ruin everything."

"Get him drunk."

"What?"

"If you get him drunk, then he will admit his real feelings about you."

Emma blushed and looked down at her feet. "It doesn't work."

"How would you know if you don't try?"

"Because I already tried."

Ruby smirked. "Try again."

Emma laughed. The bell above the door jingled and Emma made her move to the cash register. The guy who stood in front of her was dressed in a suit and carried a briefcase.

"Welcome to Starbucks, what can I get you?" Emma asked. She always made sure she was nice to customers. That way, they would be nice in return. At least, that was how it worked most of the time.

"Get me a coffee with espresso. Soy milk and no whip. No sugar either."

"And what size would you like?"