"Afternoon, Paul!" Emma smiled at the tall customer who just walked in.
"Hi, Emma." He replied quietly, and failed to stifle a yawn.
She looked at him questionably and raised an eyebrow. "You good? Get enough sleep?"
Paul grabbed his wallet out of his pocket and shook his head. "Not really." He replied quietly. "Lousy week at work." He looked up at Emma and gave her a quick smile. "Uh, you?"
"Oh, ya know, the usual." She said tiredly, already beginning to make Paul's black coffee before he even had to properly order. "But is that the only reason you're not sleeping, because work sucks?"
Paul watched her boil the jug and sighed. "I'm not sure, actually. Just... things on my mind, I guess." Emma looked up and they locked eyes, and Paul shrugged. "It's silly. But, you get that, right?"
"Oh, yeah." Emma nodded quickly. She pulled out a coffee cup and began filling it up with the warm liquid. "Totally. What's on your mind?"
"Uh, just some stuff. Mainly work, I suppose." Paul replied quietly, fidgeting his hands around to keep his mind occupied.
"Right." Emma said slowly, looking up at him. She noticed how tired he really looked, and immediately felt more sympathy for him. No wonder he always came into Beanie's and got coffee, the caffeinated drink of wonders.
As she handed him his drink, they locked eyes and Paul looked away quickly. "Well, uh, thanks!" He stuttered, pushing his money over the counter towards Emma. As usual, he dropped in his usual five dollar bill into the tip cup for Emma and smiled at her quickly, before turning towards the door.
"Hey, Paul?"
"Yeah?"
Emma looked up at him and squinted. "Can I ask you something?"
"Uh, yeah, sure. What's up?" He took a fast sip of his coffee and whinced at the heat.
"Why do you only tip me? And so much, too."
Paul looked towards his feet and blushes slightly. "Well. You're my friend, and I like to help you out!" He said lamely.
"Okay, sure." Emma said calmly. "Thank you, of course. But I know that in the end, it adds up to be a lot of money. You really don't have to do that every day-"
"I want to." He interrupted, and coughed quickly afterwards. "I mean, I like to. I don't know..." He trailed off.
Emma smirked at him. "Well, that's very sweet, and I'm very thankful." She smiled up at him. "Hey, wanna do something this weekend?" She asked suddenly.
"Oh, sure!" Paul's eyes widened. "What were you thinking."
"I don't know, lunch? Movies?" She replied nonchalantly. "Consider it my treat! I can pay." 'With the money you pay me everyday...' she didn't add.
"That sounds nice." He replied, smiling at her softly. "Uh, want my number?"
"I can't have my phone out at work." Emma huffed. "Nora's dumb rule. But, hey," She said, reaching out for his coffee cup. He let it go and she took it in her hands, finding a Sharpie and she wrote her number on it. "There!" She handed it back to him and smiled warmly. "Text me to let me know it's you, and I'll send you some details!"
Paul looked down at his cup and felt his heart warm up. "Okay." He said nervously, before looking back up at her once more and smiling. "Well, see you then!"
"Bye, Paul!" Emma waved. "But hey, wait!" He turned to look at her again. She winked at him and smirked. "Consider it a date." She replied quickly, before disappearing into the back room, leaving Paul standing there by himself, blushing like a school girl.
"Okay!" He said to no one. "Well, bye Emma!"
"Bye!" He heard a voice call out and he left to return back to work.
