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Finally, eleven o’clock came and she logged out of her computer and set out for Antidote. She was wearing her favorite floral-print dress today, the one with bright pink and orange peonies on it, with glossy pink lipstick to match.
She wasn’t exactly sure what would happen when she saw Caleb again, and she started to get a case of nervous butterflies on the walk over. They hadn’t talked about where they stood now or what was next. Whether what happened this weekend was a one-time thing or something they might do again.
No strings, she’d said. That meant he wasn’t obligated to see her again. Maybe he wouldn’t want to, now that he’d gotten what he wanted.
We both got what we wanted, she reminded herself. She was the one who’d propositioned him. Impermanence was built into the package. They were just killing time, a couple of grown adults having some fun. They didn’t even qualify as friends with benefits—at most they were acquaintances with benefits.
Maybe it would be better if they didn’t do it again. He might be right: the more they saw of each other, the harder it would be when he left. They should probably forget it ever happened and go back to the way things were before. Barista and customer, nothing more. Acquaintances without benefits.
But when Penny caught her first glimpse of Caleb through the glass door, it stole her breath away. Had he somehow gotten more gorgeous overnight? She felt like he should have lost some of his mystique now that they’d been intimate. But no. Her newfound knowledge of exactly what lay under his clothes only dialed up the volume on her attraction. Exponentially.
Control yourself, she thought as her knuckles whitened on the door handle. It wouldn’t do to fawn all over him like a lovestruck ninny. That wasn’t what they were to each other. No getting swept up.
She waited for her breathing to normalize before she pulled open the door. Caleb was taking an order from a trio of women fresh out of a yoga class, and he glanced up at the sound of the shop bell. A jolt of heat shot through her as their eyes met and his glance turned into a stare. He didn’t smile, but his mouth quirked in that way Penny had come to recognize as the next best thing, and she relaxed a little.
“Did you get that?” the blue spandex-clad woman said, sounding annoyed.
Caleb tore his gaze away from Penny. “Skinny soy half-caf macchiato,” he recited, typing it into the register. “What else?”
“I can’t make up my mind,” the woman in purple spandex said, stepping forward and leaning on the counter so her cleavage was displayed to maximum effect. “I’m feeling adventurous today. What do you think I should get?”
The woman in red spandex giggled as blue spandex rolled her eyes, and Penny felt an involuntary surge of jealousy. The thought of Caleb making a lavender latte for another woman roused her little green monster. That was her special drink; it wasn’t for any random woman who thrust her breasts at him.
“Our iced coffee is our most popular drink,” Caleb said in a disinterested monotone, his eyes fixed on the register screen instead of the purple spandex breasts heaving in front of him, and Penny let out a relieved breath.
Purple spandex waffled over her order a while longer while Elyse started making blue spandex’s macchiato. When it became clear Caleb wasn’t going to flirt back, purple spandex gave up and ordered an iced coffee. Blue spandex paid for all their drinks, and they went to find a table, tittering and whispering to each other like a trio of brightly colored birds.
And then Penny was standing alone in front of Caleb. When their eyes met again, she felt herself flush as she flashed back to their weekend escapades.
Act natural, she chided herself. Play it cool.
“Penelope,” he said in the same low voice he’d used when they were in bed, and another jolt of heat shot through her. So much for being cool. At this rate she’d die of the convection effects before she’d even placed her order.
“Good morning,” she replied, struggling not to smile too wide. No simpering.
“Your hair’s curly.”
She nodded and touched her hair. She’d decided not to bother straightening it this morning. At some point in her life she’d internalized the idea that fat girls shouldn’t have big hair—as if skinny hair could fool people into thinking she was a skinny person. It was ridiculous, now that she thought about it. She wasn’t skinny and she never would be, no matter what her hair looked like. Curly hair was pretty too, so why not save herself a lot of time and trouble and embrace her natural hair instead of trying to make it something it wasn’t?
Caleb’s mouth twitched. “I like it.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you want the usual?” He’d switched to the same impersonal tone he used on every other customer, but he was staring at her mouth now.
She licked her lips and was pleased to see a muscle tighten in his jaw. “Yes, please,” she said and held out her card.
His fingers brushed hers as he accepted it, lingering for an extra-long moment before pulling away.
“How was your weekend?” she asked as he swiped her card. “You look tired.”
The corner of his mouth curled faintly. “Someone kept me up late two nights in a row.” He pushed her card and the receipt toward her. “And you look beautiful.”
Penny felt her cheeks heat again and glanced around to see if anyone had heard. Fortunately, Elyse was too busy struggling with the espresso machine to pay them any attention. Penny scribbled a signature on the receipt and pushed it back toward Caleb.
He covered her hand with his, his fingertips stroking the back of her wrist. “Your drink will be ready in a minute.” He gave her hand an extra squeeze before he let go and turned away.
Alrighty, then. So much for him not wanting to see her.
