Finding Love in a Coffee Shop

Cinnamon

The first set of bills for the house came in on the third week of October, Thursday to be exact. I held them in my hand, saying a silent little prayer, hoping they weren't crazy expensive. I opened the oil bill first because I knew that it would be the most expensive one. To my relief, it wasn't as bad as I expected. And at least it was only once every three months. I opened the electricity bill with ease. Only to find out it was a little more than I'd expected. Dustin really had to start trying to remember to shut off the television in his room before he fell asleep.

"How was it?" Dustin asked as I ambled into the living room, ten minutes later. "Were they bad?"

"Nope, but you have to turn off that T.V," I informed him. "Believe it or not, that can add up."

He waved me off. "Yeah, yeah. I'll remember. So can we go to the coffee shop now? I want to meet this guy." His voice was eager, and he gave me his best puppy-dog look. "I have to meet the one friend you have."

Not sure whether he meant that as an insult or not, I pursed my lips. "I have other friends—"

"Not that you hang out with outside of school," he countered quickly.

"Dimitri is my friend."

"You're right. So you have two friends. Both work at the coffee shop. Now let's go."

Hesitating another moment, I glanced at the clock. It was just about five in the afternoon. Not a really weird time (no weirder than nine at night, in any case), and I could stop by the post office to send out the bills instead of paying online anyway... and why was I even debating? It wasn't like Dustin was purposely embarrassing. And it was Will. "Okay," I relented. "Let me grab the bills. We'll swing by the post office first and then head to the shop.'

"Okay," Dustin replied, and he actually sounded excited, and it made me smile. Usually, his nosiness into my slightly non-existent social life was annoying, but at the moment it was endearing. "I'm just going to run a comb through my hair first."

I rolled my eyes. "He's too old for you."

Dustin shot me an annoyed look. "I'm not gay. I just want to let him know our family isn't only made of slobs."

"Hey!"

"Joking," he responded with a smirk. "Maybe." Then he bounded away before I could retort.

Self-conscious, I checked my reflection in my cell phone screen. My hair seemed fine to me, but I attempted to smooth it down a few times anyway. Dustin appeared back in the living room a few moments later, ready to go. We headed out, and I tossed him my keys, allowing him to drive. His license test was soon, so the more practice the better.

To my surprise, when we arrived at the coffee shop, there was a stranger behind the counter. His back was toward us, so all I could make out about him was that he was extremely tall, and he had semi-curly black hair. Dustin raised an eyebrow at me, but I shook my head. I had no clue who this guy was. The stranger then turned toward us, a blinding smile plastered onto his face. I'm only half-joking when I say that. His teeth were incredibly white, and it almost seemed like his pale skin was glowing. "Welcome!" he called brightly. "How are you two this fine evening?"

"I'm good," Dustin replied easily, apparently unaffected by this guy's sunny attitude. But at least it matched with his bright appearance. "Is Will here?"

"Dustin!" I hissed.

The stranger blinked. I searched his name for a nametag, but he didn't have one. Figures. "Yes," he told Dustin. "Would you like to speak to him?"

Dustin nodded. "I would."

"Sure, I'll get him."

I shot Dustin a warning look when the worker disappeared into the back of the coffee shop. "You don't know that guy?" he asked.