No Romo

Chapter 1: Coffee Shop

Ava had been working at the coffee shop for nearly a year. It was a nice job to have. The owners were a sweet, somewhat elderly couple, and they were charitable enough to pay Ava more than she needed. Besides, the coffee shop was so successful that it would be greedy to hoard the profits. Ava got $25 an hour plus tips, which people gave plentifully.

Ben and Sarah, the owners, said the key to their success was low prices, high quality, and student hour. Student hour was from five to six, and the most popular time, at least in terms of customers. Ava's favorite time was 4:15 pm. That's when he came in. Ava knew his order by heart: one cappuccino and a chocolate chip cookie. It had started as a black americano, but after Ava had offhandedly mentioned her favorite drink to make was a cappuccino, he changed his daily request.

The minute hand reached 2 on the clock above the door. Five minutes left. Ava could imagine him walking in the door now. The little bell would ring as his tawny hand pushed the glass open. He reached up and combed a hang through his near-black hair. He said it was a genetic miracle that his head bobbed near the top of the doorframe. He didn't know his birth parents, but the Japanese didn't exactly have a reputation for being tall. No one had expected him to reach 6'2".

With two minutes left until 4:15, the bell rang, and a tawny hand pushed the glass open. For the first time ever, Carter Williams was early. Carter sat at his usual spot at the counter. There were only three seats there, and he made sure to sit in the middle of them so that if anyone else wanted to sit there, they'd be alone and most likely a bit uncomfortable. The counter seats offered the unique ability to watch Ava make drinks, and for Carter, it also allowed him to hold a conversation for as long as possible.

"Oh my god, is that Carter Williams in here BEFORE 4:15?" Ava gasped in mock surprise. Carter switched his gaze to the counter top and laughed, running a hand through his hair and eventually stopping it at the back of his neck for a second. Fidgeting. Carter was nervous. "Well you're in luck because I've got a surprise for you."

"Really? What is it?"

"Raelly? Wot is it?" Ava teased, imitating Carter's British accent.

"Wow. I'm truly speechless. You still can't fake a good accent? Shocking. Such a surprise."

"Oh come off it, Carter. My accent is spot on, and it's a real surprise."

"What's the surprise?"

Ava pulled out a box of food coloring from under the color, grinning widely. Carter's eyes lit up. Neither one remembered how it had started, but it had been a surprisingly common conversation point that they should dye the milk on the cappuccino into a rainbow or something of the like. "Which colors?"

Carter made his thinking face. Ava usually made fun of him about it since it looked like he was in the early stages of a sneeze, but today she stayed quiet. "Purple. But keep some of the white too. It'll look cool."

Ace colors, but Ava store that at the back of her mind. "That's quite specific," was all she said before turning to prepare it.

After months of practice, Ava had nearly mastered the skill of cappuccino art, and today was the day to put that to the test. She designed a spade symbol instead of her usual tower of hearts or abstract swirls. Of coarse it didn't look as good as her usual creations, but Ava was satisfied with the slightly lopsided spade.

Ava placed a cookie on the side of the saucer and gently set it down in front of Carter, who went through the appropriate list of acclamations before growing serious. "Hey, Av, do you maybe want to hang out sometime? Not as a date or anything, of coarse."

Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no. NO. Ava had been alive for nearly 23 years, and she knew that when allosexuals get this nervous about asking someone to hang out, "not as a date," is just a plead for you to say "a date would be amazing." Nooooo. The worst part was that Ava really liked Carter. But allos were blind to the space that was more than just best friends, but not lovers. And how could she explain the entire asexual and aromantic spectrum in the middle of a coffee shop while taking and making everyone's orders?

And from what she'd observed, people had a hard time staying friends with those who had rejected them. On the other hand, Ava could say yes and grit through all the less pleasant parts of a relationship, but that would make her associate Carter with all that, and she definitely didn't want to do that.

Ava realized she probably looked uncomfortable, and looked up, forcing a smile. As she was about to give a very brief explanation of the aroace spectrum, Carter looked Ava in the eye and ran a hand through his hair. His right hand. With a black ring on it.

"WHOA!" Ava nearly shouted. The excitement of meeting her third asexual in the wild coupled with her stress was not a good mix for the calm coffee shop. "Did you get a new ring?"

Carter grinned and stuck out his hand, very clearly showing a black band around his middle finger. "Holy shit. Oh my god, this is—me too. And I'm rambling. Okay, give me a second." Ava took a breath. She was too light headed to want to slap herself. It was like her mind had gotten tunnel vision, and the only thing she could see was telling Carter she was ace too. I'm ace too. Just say that.

"I'm ace too," Ava exhaled.

"Yeah, I was hoping so. This would have been kind of awkward if you weren't. So, want to hang out some time, actually not as a date or anything?"

"Sure! Want to get cake?"