Midnight Cove

Chapter Five: Secrets in the Garden

Standing in that one room coffee shop was hard to do. Normally, I liked my job. It wasn't where I wanted to end up in life by any means, but for a nineteen-year-old, it was a pretty good job. Today however, I felt like my blood was full of bees; just a buzz rolling through my body.

Often, I work alone. There just isn't enough room when the boss is working too. The simple fact is, something will get spilled and chaos then ensues. The place isn't much for space and the key sales tactic is speed because it is a drive-thru. People want their lattes and espressos, and they want them fast. I am the best, faster than my boss, Jenna. She gave me a promotion on my eighteenth birthday; it came with a five dollar an hour raise and a key. I am responsible for opening and closing shop.

There's another Kwik Fix coffee shop she opened, on the other side of town. It opened about four months ago, and she spends primarily all of her time there. By the time ten-thirty hit, I figured the traffic had died down enough for me to close up early. I wanted to make it back to my place in time to have a shower and get ready before Cove arrived.

Once home, I kicked off my shoes by the door. I hated wearing shoes. I preferred bare feet or at most sandals because the open air gave my toes the freedom to wiggle. I went into the kitchen and slapped together a turkey sandwich. I hadn't eaten yet today, and my stomach began demanding food. I didn't bother getting down a plate, I just wrapped my lunch in a paper towel and headed to the bedroom.

With one hand I held my sandwich, trying to garble down bites while I clumsily tried to strip clothes off with the other. Finally stripped bare, I shoved the remainder of the sandwich in my mouth before I entered the steaming hot shower. The warm water felt good and helped to relax out all the anxiety in my muscles. After scrubbing down with my more expensive smelling soaps, I stepped out to towel off.

I wanted to make sure I was as alluring as possible. If Cove truly thought I was too beautiful to stay away from, I was going to take full advantage of that. I rubbed my favorite lotion all over before adding a spritz of my matching perfume. I added a little mascara and some lipstick. I never liked the feel of powder on my skin; it was too heavy. I did have bronzer but, I had spent most of the summer working and the time I had spent in the sun wasn't enough. I wasn't as tan as usual and I decided to skip it altogether. I glanced at the clock and realized that I didn't have any time left. I tied my hair up in a high bun on my head like a ballerina and went outside to see if he'd shown up yet.

I waited in the sunshine for an hour before finally giving up and going back inside. The clock read a quarter past twelve and I sighed. Beginning to feel dispirited, I went to sit on the couch and flipped on the t.v. I only had basic cable and an old boxy tube television. It wasn't great to look at, but I wasn't a big fan of t.v. anyhow and it was free so, I couldn't complain. I had picked it up curbside from one of the neighbor's houses. The white sign taped to the front of the screen had read "small, old but free!" That pretty much summed it up. Eventually, I clicked it off, annoyed with the programming, and just stared out the windows.

At some point, I had fallen asleep. I woke up with a headache from my hair in the tight bun. I took the pins out and let my still wet hair fall to my waist. A look out the window told me it was dusk. The sunset had already faded and the first of the evening stars were coming out.

Disappointed in myself for getting my hopes up, I decided to go out and walk through the garden. I wandered about, noticing the change between the daylight buds closing and the night blooming flowers beginning to open. I wished I had asked for Cove's number. I could've called to reprimand him for standing me up. Again, another first for me that was both humbling and humiliating. Instead of being angry, I was really hurt that I had been snubbed.

I looked up and realized where I was. Without thinking, I had placed myself directly in front of the stone bench where we had met the other night. I crossed my arms over my chest and pitied myself. I couldn't understand why I was moping over a guy I had just met, but as illogical as it was, I couldn't help myself. There was something about him. It wasn't just that he was unbelievably gorgeous, it was the way he moved with a sinful grace and the way he spoke. It was the way he made me feel when he looked at me. I thought of his the way his eyes shone brightly and rained with playfulness as he looked at me from under the stairwell earlier today. A stubborn tear rolled down my cheek, and quickly I lifted my hand to brush it away. He had a beautiful voice and thinking back to its deep velvety texture was enough to incite tears, never mind the fact that everything inside me wanted to scream out for him, wanted to touch him. Cove.