4. Lily
1974 Words
4
LILY
And I’d thought Monday mornings greeting a class full of second graders was rough.
Within three hours of learning the ropes and getting tossed behind the cafe’s front counter, I was ready to prop my feet up and let some tears roll down my cheeks.
I wasn’t a coffee drinker myself, but those who needed it and had to wait in line before finally having that first sip in the morning? Didn’t they not know they could keep their grumpiness and bitchiness at bay by making a cup at home before dragging their asses out to start the day?
I hoped the fact it was a Monday morning accounted for most of the shortness and frowns I’d dealt with while smiling at every customer walking up to the counter.
Otherwise, I wasn’t going to make it through barista training over the next couple of weeks.
Finally, my break time rolled around, and I went to the back room to get my cell.
“Is every morning like this?” I asked Cheryl, the shift manager rifling through the employee fridge.
“Busy as hell with everyone bitching about their lack of foam or too much ice?” Cheryl closed the fridge door with her hip, her hands wrapped around a few boxes that looked like last night’s leftovers. “Mostly just Mondays.”
“Thank God.” I pulled my cell from my purse. “I honestly don’t know if I could handle dealing with coffee-fiend-needing-a-hit customers like this for six hours straight.”
Cheryl snickered and popped a box into the microwave. “That’s why you have a break halfway through.”
I groaned. “Tell me it gets better.”
“It gets better.”
“Are you lying to me?”
She outright laughed. “When you have a bubbly outlook and a smile like you do, it gets better.”
My face hurt from forcing grins all morning long, but my lips curved upward naturally at her praise.
“You must be a church person,” she mused.
I snorted, knowing right where Cheryl headed. Others from Simply Grace Church had always said I’d been filled with the joy of the Lord, but they never considered the truth that someone could experience happiness without it coming from a higher being.
“I don’t need to bow down to a god to be happy,” I told her, my chin lifting a bit.
“I agree. That’s just what my gram used to say.” Cheryl glanced over at me. “Filled with the joy of the Lord and all that other God bullshit.”
Yep. Nailed it. I shook my head. “I had enough of that back home—I live my own life now.”
Her eyes softened, and in that moment, I understood we had more in common than dealing with pissy non-morning customers.
“The thought of religion makes you want to vomit too, huh?” she asked.
“Every bit of bile churns in my guts whenever I think too much about where I came from,” I agreed.
“Same. Once I learned it was wrong—” she used air quotes “—to love another woman, I decided religion wasn’t for me.”
“Girlfriend?” I asked.
“Soon-to-be wife.” She grinned.
“Congrats,” I stated my honest-to-God opinion. Love, in my eyes, was love.
Period.
A minute later, I stepped outside into the sunshine, needing some fresh air. I didn’t have enough time to trek across the road and down a block to hit the beach, so I snagged one of the empty chairs out front and rested my aching feet.
I saw first that my mom had texted, same as she always did on Mondays over her tea to wish me a blessed morning.
She must have forgotten that mine had started hours earlier and was almost over.
Dad’s weekly texted Bible verse of the day dinged through as I typed out a greeting in reply to Mom’s.
I didn’t bother reading the verse he’d sent, just hit reply with a kissy emoji.
Levi had texted, and I half-squealed while bringing it up onscreen.
Boo: We’re adopting.
My eyes popped wide before narrowing. “The. Fuck.”
Levi didn’t want kids…
I hit dial, my forehead dented with a deep frown that would leave a wrinkle behind.
“A dog!” he answered.
“You asshole!” I laughed, letting out a whoosh of air. “Seriously. What the hell kind of text is that?”
“One that would make you call me. I miss hearing your voice.”
“Aw, I miss you too, boo.”
“It’s been awhile, so I figured I’d give you a buzz since school is out and you must be bored as hell.”
“I was the past week, but I started working at a cafe just down the street from our apartment.”
“Perfect job for you.”
“Why? Because I smile all the time like I’m filled with the joy of the Lord?”
He burst out with laughter, and my grin stayed in place. Levi had never been as free with me as he’d become after finding love with Zeke. Shy and a numbers nerd, he’d been the silent eye candy on my arm for all our social activities surrounding the church.
“You sound happy,” I said, a sweet ache blooming in my chest at the memory of his gorgeous green eyes that had always been shut off to me in a lot of ways. If only I’d truly taken note of that fact before the s**t hit the fan between us.
“I am. I never knew…never expected to have this kind of love.”
“Yeah.” My smile faded, and I wrapped my free arm around myself.
“Any luck in finding your two lovers?”
I wanted to lie, brag about nonexistent men in my life over his happiness, but I had yet to find the same as he’d done in the year since our break-up. “Not yet,” I spoke the truth along with a word to reveal my hope.
Which reminded me of the app I hadn’t gotten a chance to check—
“When are you coming home for a visit? Zeke and I are headed to Philly for the expansion of Humanity House’s second location down there.”
“The one where Pastor Ezra works?”
“Aaron’s husband, yeah.”
While mention of people from our past and catching up on all I’d left behind wasn’t the way I’d choose to enjoy my break, hearing Levi’s voice kept our few minutes from being uncomfortable.
“I have to get behind the counter again,” I told Levi, headed back toward the cafe’s front door.
“If you ever decide the West Coast isn’t right for you, we’ve got a spare room in the condo.”
“Boston means snow and cold.” I shuddered while stepping into the cafe. “No thank you.”
Levi laughed lightly, bringing my smile back. “Talk soon?”
“Promise.”
He groaned. “You know I hate that word.”
“Oops. I take it back.”
Two minutes later, I resumed my position as smiling order lady without having gotten a chance to check if Scott had returned my poke.
Tall, dark, and handsome entered the cafe, ripping all thoughts of surfer blondie in the gray sweats from my mind.
Wide shoulders stretched out his green T-shirt with its Lionel’s Landscaping logo on his prominent left pec. Dirty jeans…worn-as-hell boots covered in dust.
A working man who probably had calloused hands.
Shivers slid down my spine, and I lifted my focus back up his muscular form, my tongue flicking over my lower lip at the sight of how well he filled out his dirty, sweat-stained clothes.
For the love of all things holy…
Our gazes caught, and my knees went weak.
Shadows haunted his hazel eyes. Similar to what I’d seen in Levi’s and never took note of until it was too late.
Unrest in his heart. Unhappiness in his soul.
My heart ached in that moment to soothe him as I’d always done with Levi.
But the man in front of me looked nothing like my geeky ex-fiancé.
A soft smile curved his lips, hesitant as though shy, and he quickly glanced at the chalk-written menu above and behind me while walking closer.
I swallowed hard, taking in the dark scruff along his jaw, the smear of dirt on his left cheekbone. “Hi.” The usual huskiness of my voice intensified from the butterflies dancing in my belly. “What can I get for you?”
My cell number? A night in the sack? A blow job? Reverse cowgirl ride of your life?
I’d have pretty much agreed to anything in that moment while tingles raced between my thighs.
“Black coffee.” Mr. Yummy gave me his eyes again, and another shiver licked down my spine. An olive green encased his pupils…going gold to deep nutmeg brown before the black center. Stunningly beautiful, a place a woman could easily get lost in.
Heat rose to my cheeks, but I forced out the upsell of fresh blueberry muffins even though others stood in line behind him.
His “Sure” rumbled with a low tone, ticking me in all the right places.
“Name?” I asked what I always did to identify a customer’s order.
“Blaine.”
I echoed his reply in my head, imagining whispering it while he sank balls deep into my body.
Wet. Panties.
Shit. I bit my lower lip and handed him his receipt, cursing that I didn’t have time to flirt or jot down my number on the back of it.
He ambled off to the side while I forced myself to give the next customer my attention.
I’d rather have been Cheryl working alongside me who took over his order and got to hand him his coffee and bagged muffin.
I could feel his stare, and goosebumps stayed firmly in place along my arms.
“Blaine?” Cheryl called, and he moved in close.
Our gazes clashed again, his shy smile making me swoon.
Cheryl elbowed me the second he turned away, breaking out into song about the joy of the Lord and earning her an elbow right back.
“No God bullshit, remember?” I whispered harshly. “Unless you want puke all over your shoes.”
She laughed at me, but my gaze followed Blaine out the front door. “Tell me he’s a regular.”
“I’ve never seen him before,” Cheryl said, taking the next order from my hand.
“Damn.” I let out a heavy exhale and forced a grin—definitely not from the Holy Spirit—and faced the next customer.
“I’ll take a cinnamon dolce latte with three shots of espresso, one pump of hazelnut, and extra whipped cream.” Her snooty voice had me thinking I wanted to reply that I would rather leave her hanging and go back to bed, but I kept my smile in place.
“And can I interest you in one of our warm-from-the-oven blueberry muffins?”
“Too many calories,” she sniffed.
As if the drink she’d ordered wouldn’t already put her over the daily limit if she truly counted.
The second she stepped off to the side, I glanced out the cafe’s front windows.
Mr. Yummy had disappeared.
My smile dissolved, but I decided all wasn’t lost. I still might be able to snag Scott with the gray sweatpants who had a V and bulge to die for.
- Writer
