It was another day at the shop. I brought the old brass keys to the front door. Of course they make the youngest worker open at 4 am but its fine. People need their fix and I am more than happy to supply their sweet coffee needs. I heard the bell ring as I opened the door, and I stepped inside. The smell of beans hit me in the face, and the worst thing about it was that I loved it way too much. The coffee shop was an old soup restaurant that the owner, Richard, loved the design of so he just put in some wood planks and an espresso machine and called it a day. I put my purse in one of the lockers in the back labeled "Margo". The lockers were decorated in stickers and labels from the coffee tins. I checked my watch, 4:08, and walked back to the front of the store. I grabbed a rag from under the sink and sprayed it with some cleaner. I wiped down the long conveyer-belt-serving-contraption that wrapped in a curve so that the customers could grab their drinks after it rotated from where we made it behind the counter. I moved on to wiping down tables and some stools, when I heard the bell ring. I looked up and saw Braden.
Branden was tall and bulky. He didn't tower over me too much, and his hunched appearance didn't make him seem threatening. He had a baggy green sweatshirt on, and jeans with holes and drawings on them. His hair was cut short, and it was dark and looked and greasy. I could tell that he hadn't slept in a while, or at least not good enough to count. His honey-brown eyes looked so sunken in and formed eyebags that could carry almost all of my art supplies. He looked at me and smiled.
"I promise I'm not late" He said grinning at me. He closed the door behind him, and grabbed a rag and started cleaning where I hadn't yet. I laughed at him and he smiled more, his cheeks pinkened.
"Peggy said I just had to be here to open, she didn't say get here at 4!" He chuckled. "Plus we don't actually open until 4:30, so I'm technically early." I laughed again, and kept washing the stools. I could see him staring me out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't want him to know that.
"So, did you sleep last night Bran?" I asked. I didn't look up yet, but I could still feel his gaze. I heard him take a deep breath and laugh.
"Does it look like I did?" He was still smiling, and his character was contagious. He walked over to me and looked at my table.
"Damn, how clean are you trying to get this table? You haven't moved in like five minutes." I looked up at him and smiled sheepishly, and I could feel my cheeks growing red. My glasses started steaming up and I took them off to try to wipe the fog off. Branden just kept laughing. He put his rag on the table and mockingly scrubbed it for a second.
"There," He smiled again at me, "I think this one is clean enough now." He walked into the back and grabbed two brown aprons. As he was walking back, he tossed me one. I tried to catch it but I missed and banged my hip into a stool. Brandon winced.
"Ouch, Margo," He ran back into the back. I heard him rummaging in the freezer and he hurried back with some ice in a plastic bag.
"I may not have slept last night, but at least I'm coordinated enough not to kill myself on the job!" He was still laughing. "Here you go," He handed me the bag and I put it on my hip. Ouch I thought, I must've hit that way harder than I thought.
I put on my apron and watched him do the same. Brandon walked back behind the counter and I could hear the beeping and whirring of him turning on different coffee makers, kettles, and espresso brewers. He walked to the storage bin that we keep the beans and different grounds in and brought back in the ground espresso.
"It's 4:25, and I have to make sure no one poisoned the machines last night. What do you want?"
"Dealer's Choice," I replied. "Just make sure it has a shit-ton of caffeine in it!" I made a quick round to make sure everything was in it's place, and I turned on the music to get ready for the day.
"One Iced Super Mega Deluxe Awesome Mocha Extreme coming right up!" He got to work on his masterpiece, as the lo-fi jazz was loading up. He made it a bit more entertaining by banging some pots, gently, and making it sound like he was destroying the kitchen. He started humming and whistling at the same time to make a spaceship noise and I couldn't help but giggle. This guy was out to make me his, and I did not mind that one bit. He looked up and grinned at me again, and I smiled.
I was so lost in his performance, that I didn't realize that the store had opened and there were already two customers in line behind me. Brandon poured his concoction over ice and into two cups and locked eyes with me.
"Your drinks are ready Miss, please wait on the other side of the belt to retrieve them. You're blocking the way for these other customers to place their orders." His face looked so cold yet I knew he was joking. I played along a bit and walked over and got the drinks and brought them back behind the counter. He was taking an order and I handed him one of his drinks. He looked back at me.
"For me?" He grinned, and took a sip.
