A Little Bit of Sugar

Chapter 5: Tuesday - Molly

Shockingly, I wasn't fired.

After almost giving my boss a second degree burn on his rather impressive abs and dare I say it, crotch, I wasn't kicked to the curbs and was given two more chances to prove to him I wasn't hopeless. I returned home yesterday, unbelievably sore and tired. The café closed around six in the evening so that meant I had some time to relax but all I did was go home, microwave a frozen dinner I picked up from the grocery store from when it was on sale and crawled onto my bed to eat it. I was so tired that I had stopped eating halfway and just fell asleep with the TV on.

Today started off a whole lot better than yesterday. I was up by 4:30 and had enough time to put more efforts into my looks. Running out of linen pants, I opted for a flowy skirt, a white blouse, and some old Keds to complete my look. I still had time to spare as I rounded the corner, catching Hunter opening the door to the café. Judging from the time, he was running late. Typically, around this hour, he was already in the back, mixing dough, grinding the coffee beans, and tasting the filling that went into the pastries he made each day.

I decided to run the last few steps, catching the door before he shut it behind him and locked it just in case anybody thought we were already opened. Smiling at his shocked expression, I saw a smile break on his face before it was quickly washed away with a frown.

Was I just seeing things?

"Good morning!" I said brightly, closing the door behind me but not taking into account that he wouldn't budge from his spot so my back ended up pressing against the door while he loomed over me. Looking up, I realized he was looking down at me, his eyes scanning my outfit and stopping at my skirt. "I ran out of pants." I offered meekly when he didn't make a comment.

"Sure." Hunter grumbled, reaching out with his hand to turn the lock on the door that was directly beside my ear. My whole body hummed alive from his close proximity. He stayed in that position for a beat longer, making my heart skip before he dropped his arm. "I'm going to teach you how to make coffee this afternoon. I can't have you in my café and slacking because you're not willing to put in the effort."

Without hearing my response, he turned and walked away.

"I am willing to learn." I stressed, quickly following his footsteps. "I never said I didn't want to make coffee, ever. In fact, I insisted on you teaching me but you just completely ignored me." Huffing out a breath, I watched him from the kitchen door with my fists at my hips.

"Sort of like what you're doing now." I mumbled under my breath.

"What did you just say?" Hunter's eyes cut towards me as he tied his apron quickly around his waist.

"Nothing." I replied and left the kitchen before he gave me another strike.

The day carried on pretty normally. I cleared the tables, mopped the floors, took out soggy bags of trash, and bit my tongue whenever Hunter threw me a snide remark about how slow I was working or if I missed an area to clean. Sometimes, I caught him glaring at me over my shoulder when I was serving some guests. Couldn't he relax just for a second or at least try to act like he doesn't hate me?

And here's another thing, why did he even bother hiring me at all if he absolutely hated me?

By the time the last customer was out the door and I was putting away the cleaning supplies in the back closet, I was exhausted and in no mood to learn about how to make a perfect cup of coffee. But nonetheless, when I tried to sneak out of the door hoping he would have forgotten our special tutor session, he had caught me by the wrist, an electrifying pulse passing through my body from the moment our skin contacted, and effectively stopping me.

"Going somewhere?" He had asked, his rough voice cutting through my clouded thoughts.

"Home?" I offered shyly, giving a small hopeful grin before he clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth and dragging me to the intimidating coffee machine.

"We're going to start with the latte." Hunter grabbed two white cups from the shelf and placed them on the counter. "Pour some milk, and we're going to steam it with this nozzle." He poured a healthy amount of milk before twisting the contraption, hot air shooting right through the liquid till it foamed beautifully. "Be careful. It's hot." Hunter warned before stepping aside so I could stand in front of it.

I gulped. He made it look so easy. Surely, this wouldn't be that hard right? My hands began to shake when I poured the same amount of milk he had done for his cup and as I lifted up the cup to the nozzle, my shoulders tensed when I realized he was standing so close to me, I could feel his hot breath on my neck if I concentrated.

"Okay, like this?" My voice small. When I twisted the nozzle just like he had done, I yelped and dropped the cup onto the counter, clutching my hand from the severe burning sensation of the jet stream air that hit my skin. Hunter twisted me around, and pulled my injured hand for close examination, his eyebrows knitted with concern.

"I told you to be careful!" He roared, dragging me to the sink, flipped on the cold water, and held my hands underneath it.

I hissed. It hurt like a bitch and I didn't need someone yelling at me when I was already hurting.

"Sorry, I got nervous." Replying quietly, I was telling the truth. Hunter's eyes caught mine, his lips pressing together tightly to accentuate his angled jawline.

"I have medication in the back." It was all he said before turning off the faucet and letting go of my hands. Walking out of the room and into his office, I watched him leave, his whole body tense.

My heart sank. A horrible feeling blossoming in my chest from knowing that Hunter hated me that much.