Temporary Bliss [boyxboy]

4: Mikey Whiskeyhands

When I left the house to go to my first day of work the next morning Caleb was still asleep. He had been up pretty late with his newest arm candy, Alexia.
Not that I minded, of course.

I made sure to be extra quiet and not wake them up. I had already texted Caleb that I would be at work when he got up, just in case he would forget.

I walked down the street, shoving my hands into the pockets of my jeans.
To my delight, I found ten dollars in there.
This was gonna be a good day.

It was October, nearing Halloween, so it was already a little chilly outside.
Not really cold, but a little colder than what I had gotten used to over the past few weeks.

Nonetheless, the sun was shining, I had ten dollars and I could get some coffee before I had to show up to what would be my new workplace.

I was actually a little more than an hour early, but I had just been bored at home, seeing as I had woken up at eight.

Taking a little walk and getting some coffee couldn't hurt.

So after a couple of minutes I took a left into the street where my favorite coffee and sandwich shop was.
Speaking of sandwich, I hadn't eaten anything yet, either.
Going there seemed like an even better idea now.

So I pushed the door to the shop open, enjoying the smell of toast and coffee.

The cashier, Anna, recognized me immediately. We'd made pretty good friends over the months of me visiting the coffee shop almost daily.

"Finn, hey!," she greeted me with a smile.
"Hey, Anna. How's it going?"

While she prepared my order (she knew me well enough to not have to ask what I wanted anymore) she took the simple question as an invitation to shower me with all sorts of gossip.

She told me something about someone in one of her college classes and someone who had dumped her best friend and someone she had hooked up with and her parents and all kind of other random information that I certainly hadn't asked for.

But I didn't mind her rambling. I actually liked that she was so talkative, seeing as I wasn't all that much of a talker myself - except for when I was around Caleb or other people who were exeptionally close to me - and I could just listen to her and add a No way! or Wow! and a nod every now and again.

After she had made my coffee and sandwich, she decided to just take a little break and sit down at one of the empty tables with me.
It wasn't a busy day, so no one cared that she wasn't standing at the cash register.

"Anyway, enough about me," she finally said, "How's life for you?"

I shrugged, taking a sip of coffee, "Pretty good, I guess. I'm living with Caleb now. You remember Caleb, right?"
She nodded eagerly, "The tall, loud one with the dark hair right? Ooh, that reminds me, does he happen to be single?"

For some reason, that question irked me.
"No," I said, almost proudly, "He's with someone."

"Bummer," she sighed, "Well, anyway - why'd you move in with him?"

"Well, I lost my job and couldn't pay any more rent while he has a huge-ass house to himself because his parents are rich as all hell, plus, he's my best friend so it's like the perfect arrangement."
"Yes, that makes sense. So, are you planning on getting your own apartment as soon as you have a job again?"

I shrugged, "I dunno, probably. I've actually already got a job. Today's my first day."
I glanced at my phone, "Oh, jeez, I lost track of time completely. I gotta be there in 15 minutes. I'd better get going."