Shadows of the heart (MxMxMxMxM)

Chapter 11: Mr. Salt and pepper

Alright, A little late but still up on the proper day. . .

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Ian and I said our farewells before the other boy left for work.

On my way to work I took a slight detour to drop Lily off at school.

My shadows were very displeased with the detours I had taken, And believe me. Tene made his displeasure known.

My hand was stinging painfully when I used the employee entrance to get into the still closed coffee shop.

Tene had poked his paw out of my bag during my walk into work, The rising sun had burned his paw and in turn my hand.

Sadly I couldn't do anything about it until I made it to work.

As soon as I stepped foot inside the dimly lit coffee shop, I was 'attacked' by a bright gingery red haired girl.

''Katy! You're crushing me!'' I gasped out to the shorter woman who was currently breaking my ribs in a hug.

''Sorry, I owe you one dude'' She said, Letting me go and backing up slightly as she spoke.

''What. . . Do you mean?'' I asked slowly, My head swimming slightly as I was suddenly able to breath again.

She rolled her eyes before patting me on the back, Hard.

''You really saved me last night, I could have handled the fire chick but the light dude actually seemed to know what he was doing'' She rambled on, Walking back to the front of the shop as I followed absently behind her.

''Question, Did he seem familiar to you?'' I asked as I got to work cleaning off the counter.

She paused, Seeming to think about it for a moment before shrugging.

''A lot of people around here come to the shop to buy their coffees, Could have been any one of them'' She pointed out, Moving back to the counter to help me set up for the day.

--- Time skip ---

Jake had arrived a few minuets before opening, His eyes half opened and his hair slightly messy.

A clue for why he was so tired was standing out on his neck, A rather large bandaged cut rested dangerously close to one of his arteries.

''Got a new foster cat?'' I guessed, Amusement in my voice as I looked over at the exhausted man beside me.

He let out a tired sigh, Nodding.

''Yeah, She's going to have kittens soon so the shelter was going to put her down. . .'' He sighed out as we both got into our uniforms.

I tied the bandana around my head, Keeping my hair back as I tied on an apron.

''And so you decided to adopt a cranky old she cat who's going to have a litter of cranky tiny kits?'' I checked, Moving to hide Cali behind the fridge, The air headed little dragon already asleep again.

He shrugged, His face blushing slightly as he rubbed at the back of his neck.

''Well It needed help. . .'' He explained sheepishly.

I rolled my eyes, A fond smile on my face as I got to my spot behind the counter.

I think he'd like Ian, They'd make good friends. . .

Before I could take time to wonder where that thought spawned from, Katy unlocked the shop's door, Flipping the sign in the window to say 'open'.

Well. . . Here we go. . .

--- Time skip ---

''Have a nice day'' I said robotically to yet another customer, The annoying person not even looking up from their phone as they roughly grabbed the horridly sweet tasting drink from my hands.

Self centered jerks. . . Most of them. . .

I turned my attention to the next person, My professional smile having dropped about fifteen customers ago.

My neutral, Bland greeting was stopped suddenly as I spotted the salt and pepper hair man standing in front of me.

The familiar dark eyed man smiled warmly down at me, Not seeming to notice as people started to pull out their phones, Taking pictures and recording him, All of them having a general look of awe on their faces.

''Hello again'' He greeted, His voice surprisingly warm and velvety.

Odd, I saw him yesterday, How could I forget it so quickly? It's . . .Interesting.

''What can I get you?'' I asked, Slipping right back into my robotic customer voice.

''Just a simple plain black Coffee'' He said, His demeaner seeming friendly and warm as he spoke.

I was very grateful for the fact I was wearing my sunglasses, He seemed like the type of person you'd expect to be glowing as if they were lit up with LEDs.

''Right. Name?'' I asked curtly, Already getting annoyed, The people watching this so intently wasn't helping the fact either.

''You. . . Don't know my name?'' He asked quietly, Looking and sounding surprised by that fact.

Oh great. Is he some sort of influencer? This is going to go downhill so quickly. . .

Instead of complaining or causing a scene like I was expecting, He smiled. A warm and calm smile formed on his face.

''That's refreshing to hear for once, My name is Daxon Brige, And yours?'' He asked, His voice hushed and slightly amused sounding.

I arched a eyebrow and glanced pointedly down at the name tag on my apron.

He let out a quiet sigh, Clearly slightly disappointed that I didn't answer him verbally.

''Corbin? That's a interesting name'' He said quietly, Clearly trying to keep us both talking.

I had to admit, I liked the way my name sounded when he said it.

I ignored that however and got right to pouring the cup for this 'Daxon'.

Well, At least it's better than calling him Mr. Salt and pepper. . . Waaaay less rude too. . .

  ''Here, Fifty cents.'' I grumbled, Handing him the cup.

As he reached out to grab the cup from my hands, His fingers ended up briefly brushing over the back of my hands, Leaving light ghost like shivers in their wake.

As soon as he had the cup I yanked my hands back, Already unnerved as it was before that happened.

He gave me another annoyingly warm and soothing smile before paying and leaving the store.

'Thank. Fuck.' I thought, My shadows echoing the sentiment.

'Aww, He seemed nice. . .' Cali butted in quietly only for Tene and Eige to hiss at him to shut up.

Wonder what Ian would have thought of him. . . Wait. . . Why do I care?

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And Corbin learns mystery man's name, Any guesses on how Corbin's going to deal with his rapidly growing interest in Ian?

Anyways! Like always, Have a good day/night and find a better book! - fallen