it's been a few days since tyler found himself at the roosevelt coffeehouse, but here he was. and there she was. he smiled as he saw haven at the register in the empty coffee shop, waiting to take his order.
she smiled as he approached, "hiya! what can i get you today?"
tyler smiled back and glanced at the menu in nervousness, "a large hot chocolate please, make it extra hot." he joked, immediately regretting it because it sounded so stupid and it was not funny even in the slightest. why does he always do that?
she laughed anyways, "shall i make sure it is boiling when i give it to you then?"
he laughed and nodded, "please!" he handed her $5 and put his change into the 'tips' jar before turning on his heal and taking his normal seat. he glanced around to see that he was literally the only customer in the store. and haven was the only employee at the counter. it was just the two of them right now. maybe he should try to talk to her?
"large boiling chocolate," haven giggled as she set the drink at his table. then whispered, "it's actually normal temperature though."
tyler chuckled, "don't want me to get burned?"
haven nodded and giggled again, "exactly. i don't want to be sued, not today anyways."
tyler nodded, "good plan!"
haven sucked in her bottom lip and looked at the boy, "what's your name?"
tyler was caught off guard and seemed to forget his own name for a second as his cheeks flushed red, "tyler, you?"
she smiled and pointed to her name tag, "haven!"
he smiled, "i knew that!"
"you're slowly becoming one of my regulars here, tyler!"
his smile grew, "good! then i won't need to order anymore, i can just sit down with $3 and you'll just know."
she chuckled and turned away to walk to the record player, "works for me."
tyler smiled wide at the girl even though she wasn't looking, he wondered if he should go over to the record player with her? or not? he stayed in his seat.
"what kind of music do you like? we have lots of records here and i'm the only worker who knows how to use it." she said, crouching down to look at the assortment of records.
tyler thought, "i like lots of music. whatcha got?"
she shuffled through some records, "we have nickelback, maroon 5, greta van fleet, the beatles, twenty one pilots... um, death cab for cutie-"
his heart stopped at the sound of her saying his band's name and obviously not knowing that he is apart of that band. but he cut her off, "death cab for cutie is one of my favorites. which album?"
she sprang back onto her feet with the record in her hand and looked at tyler with a smile, "great music taste, tyler!!! i'm going to play 'thank you for today'"
he smiled back to her, "sound great! i love that one!"
a few minutes later and the coffee shop was filled with music and tyler watched haven's hips sway lightly to the music before she turned to walk back to her spot behind the counter, smiling. she was always smiling. and tyler was more than okay with that.
she glanced his way, "you hungry?"
tyler smiled and nodded, "i'm literally always hungry."
she giggled, "me too. i'll make us some asiaga cheese bagels. you like those?"
"never had one, so i can't answer that!"
"they are soooo good, trust me."
he nodded, "i'll trust your expertise, how much?"
"good, it's on me!" she cheered as she made the bagels. about two minutes later and she was walking towards tyler with two small plates. "asiago bagel for you, kind sir." she took a seat next to him.
tyler smiled and took the plate, "thank you, kind lady!"
she nodded, smiled, and took a bite. he watched before realizing he shouldn't be so creepy, yet again. he quickly looked back to his bagel and took a bite. "wow," he breathed out.
"told you!" she said, mid chew of her bagel.
"that is so freaking good!" he said, surprised. he took another bite. she nodded and kept eating. the two ate in silence for a few bites before he spoke up. "so how long have you worked here?"
she cleared her throat and wiped a crumb off her lip, "about two years. i love it!"
tyler tilted his head to the side with a smile, "why's that?"
she smiled back, swallowing her bite, "i get to meet so many people and learn their stories. it's really great and i've met some fantastic people. i mean sure i've met some nasty ones too, but mostly fantastic. plus, i love coffee so it's perfect."
he smiled, "it sounds great. do you live around here?"
she shook her head, "no i don't live downtown. i'm like 15 minutes out, towards short north?"
he nodded, "i'm kind of near there too."
"wow twins!" she joked and took the last bite of her bagel.
tyler had forgotten about his bagel since they started talking so he took another bite before speaking, "are you in college?"
she shook her head, "i was in art school. but.. it just wasn't for me. i hated it. the atmosphere, the people, the teachers, the work. i enjoy this much more and life seems better so who cares, right?"
tyler nodded, fully understanding. "i did one year at columbus state community and dropped out too. i had other stuff i wanted to be doing."
she nodded with a smile that made her eyes wide, "exactly! people don't get it. don't they know it's possible to live comfortably without college? i mean, not financially comfortable but emotionally. i'm so much better now that i don't have to stress about schooling ever again!"
tyler nodded again, his eyes not leaving hers. "i get it completely and i agree. this coffee shop is way better than any classroom i've ever been in." he joked.
she laughed and slightly shoved his bicep, which caused him to smile harder and his cheeks turned a different shade once again. he figured now would be the best time to make his move, "would you like to-" he was cut off by a customer coming in the door.
"hold that thought, tyler." she said with a smile and grabbed her empty plate before walking back to the counter to serve the customer.
tyler sighed, all confidence leaving his body quite quickly.
maybe next time.
