Meant To Be (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 1

Chapter One: Same Old Same Old

 

Nate Laird hung up his jacket on the rickety wall hook and replaced it with an apron around his waist. He bent his knee a few times, trying to loosen it up; a small car accident the previous year meant he had to have surgery on it and it was always worse in the colder weather. Running his hands through his shaggy red hair – a habit he had never been able to kick – he took a deep breath before pushing through the swinging wooden doors that lead to the main area of the coffee shop. He had worked there almost four months now and yet the strong aroma of the coffee beans still made his stomach churn and his nose curl up.

At six foot three he stood head and shoulders above the rest of the employees - young school girls who worked now and then for pocket money; Nate was 24 and had just finished university, where he studied economics. He had literally spent the last three years of his life in constant boredom, dreaming of the day he would finish and be set free from the confines of economy and money-talk. The only other person not in school was the manager, Lily, and she walked up to him now with a smile plastered on her face, an expression she almost always wore when Nate was around. She was only 2 years older than him and yet somehow had an older air about her, like she was a middle aged woman stuck in a spunky young lady’s body.

“Hey, Natey!” Nate cringed at the nickname but Lily continued, oblivious, “You do know you’re not due in until the late shift, right?” She saw Nate’s expression darken as he realised his mistake but remained chipper, “Don’t worry about it! You can do this one instead. I’ll get Katie to do the late one, she won’t mind.”

That was one good thing about Lily, she wasn’t some evil boss who kept her employees under constant fear of being fired. She was caring, sometimes a little too caring where Nate was involved, but caring nonetheless. He returned her smile and scratched the back of his head absently,

“Thanks, Lily. Sorry.”

“No problem! You can make it up to me at dinner tonight!” She slipped the suggestion in like a wet noodle but Nate was having none of it. He started to turn and mumbled over his shoulder,

“Can’t tonight, I’m washing my cat.” He was lying of course. Cat’s didn’t enjoy being washed. He didn’t even have a cat.

The morning continued as usual; customers came and went, some complaining about the temperature of their beverage or the lack of gluten-free muffins, a pretty uneventful day. At around two-thirty, Nate looked up from behind the counter to see his own face staring back at him, green eyes and all. Well, his own face with slightly less stubble and a small mole beneath the right eye. His twin brother, Simon was standing with his hands leaning on the counter, a huge grin spread across his dorky face,

“What up, lil’ bro!” he attempted to fist-bump Nate but the younger sibling simply stared him down,

“Please never say that again.”

“Noted,” Simon dropped his fist and stood up straight. He was exactly the same height as Nate and had the same crop of shaggy carrot-top, although his was usually coiffed a little better. The grey suit he wore made him look older, however, and somewhat serious, although Nate knew better.