“Lance?” I ask.
“The varsity player you were talking to over in the sports section,” Dominic clarifies.
“Ah, okayLance.I didn’t catch his name. He heard my major and couldn’t get away from me fast enough.” I glance around as if Lance is hiding around a book stack, cowering in a corner.
“Why, what are you studying?” Dominic asks as he moves around the space, crafting a latte for a customer. “Please don’t tell me it’s mortuary sciences.” He looks towards me with mock nervousness.
I huff a laugh. “Quite the opposite actually. I start my final year in biomedical sciences in the fall. Did my MCATs this past semester to get ahead of the curve, and I’m hoping to get into medical school after graduation. The goal is to get into research from there.” I cross my hands in my lap, pulling at the hem of my skirt.
“Research? Not a doctor?” Dominic asks, wiping down the espresso machine with practiced hands, my eyes catching on his forearms and the tattoos that decorate them.
I chew on my lip wondering how to casually explain myall too wellunderstanding of hospitals and dislike of it all. The sterile smell, the harsh fluorescent lighting, the lacklustre food…I can feel my heart in my ears suddenly, my hands getting clammy at the abrupt flashbacks.
“Hoot,” Dominic’s voice pulls me from the past into the present. “I know I said earlier that I would always listen, and Iwill, but if you don’t want to talk that’s fine too.” He looks at me with the same soft concern as before. He’s leaning against the back counter, giving me the space I need to vent if I want to. He’s giving me the option. I suddenly feel grounded and grateful for his presence. This man I barely know is making me feel at ease so…easily. At my lack of explanation he continues, “So that’s why Lance took off? Because you have a cool major and you’re smart?” He scoffs and shakes his head.
A shaky breath leaves me in an anxious rush and I begin to relax a little into the stool and prop my back against the wall. “Isn’t that sad? I mean, yes, it can be a little intimidating but come on, it’s no mortuary science.” I smile at him and he barks a laugh, startling an older lady waiting for her cappuccino. He begins profusely apologizing to her, offering her the drink on the house. I snicker behind my hand, muffling the sound.
I stand from the stool and stretch out my back, “Thanks for …everything,” I say awkwardly, grabbing my bag.
“No problem. Come by anytime. Chat or sit, whichever,” Dominic replies.
“Thanks, Peggy,” I tease, making Dominic roll his eyes as I head for the door. I make it just past the exit when I look back to see him glancing up, catching my eye through the window. I bite my lip and give a little wave. He returns it with a small salute to his brow and a half smile tugging up one side of his full mouth. I feel a zip of energy run through me, carrying me down the street on an energetic high. Only after I make it back to my parked car do I realize I never even ordered a coffee.
SIX
Turkish
Dominic
The bellabove the door at Biblio & Brew chimes. I have my back to it while readingBiology for Dummies, but glance at my watch. After nine in the morning but before the lunch rush—right on time.I don’t need to look to know Celeste is back. It started a few weeks ago right at the beginning of summer semester with some jock sock in a varsity jacket named Lance. By my calculations, she’s been coming in almost every day, bee-lining it towards different sections. One day it’s sports, the next is politics, then some other section I can’t see from my spot behind the counter. But by the end of the week it’s always fantasy and horror. Today is sports section day. I turn just in time to see her round the corner, her sunshine blonde hair flowing behind her in loose waves today. Not a moment later does the bell chime again and I watch as a good chunk of thefootball team fumble through the door together as a unit. The majority of the pack head my way, most likely for some post-practice coffee based on the strong stench of sweat wafting this way. Two of them, however, break off and head toward,who would have guessed, the sports section. It can’t be a coincidence that she appears right before they do. The larger group order coffees and half the display case of baked goods before taking up almost all the seating in the small cafe space.
Just as I carry over a heaping dish of croissants, Celeste pops around the corner, the two lone players flanking either side of her. They’re smiling and laughing. She’s nodding toward one and then turns to make a joke with the other. They’re utterly enthralled by her. Two flies caught in a web they aren’t even aware of. She gleams like sunshine incarnate but steals your breath like a full harvest moon…Her poison might be the sweetest way to go…
“Hey, dude. Are those for us?” A brawny player is half standing and already reaching towards the pile.
Okay, no more gothic romance novels for a while.
“Yeah, sorry. Here.” I place the tray on their table and hurry back behind the coffee bar. Good thing I’m not one of those flies. I give my head a shake and continue with my tasks, flipping the page in my book to read about the parts of a human cell while hand drying some mugs.
The Golgi apparatus’ function is…
“Hey, Peggy.”
I whip the text shut and level Celeste with a stare that would make most people a little nervous. Not Celeste though. She stands there, hands clasped together innocently with a big toothy grin on her face, despite a heavy backpack tilting her a little sideways. A shimmer of makeup sparkles on her high cheekbones.
“You know, Hoot, I have a reputation to uphold here. That nickname doesn’t bode well for it.” I fake my mild irritation but in actuality, I kind of love it.
“Oh please.” She scoffs, leaning on the counter, “You can say you were a pirate once. Continue brooding, sullen boy. The all black attire is very subtle by the way.” Her eyes roam over my outfit then snap up to meet my gaze. I hold her stare. I catch the moment her cheeks flush a soft pink. It feels like a success, like she let the mask offake-it-‘till-you-make-itslip, just enough for a softer side of her to peek out. Her top teeth sink into her full bottom lip just the slightest.
Is she checking me out?
I quirk an eyebrow at her and smirk. She quickly screws her eyes shut and gives her head a little shake. Before she can say anything I slide a coffee and croissant in front of her. She glances down then up at me, one side of her mouth turning up in a small smile.
“On the house today.”
“Thank you, Peggy.” She winks at me, then takes her dishes to the reading bar by the window, pulling out some textbooks from her backpack.
After a blissfully dull and slow few hours, I now know most of the parts and functions of a human cell, and that Celeste has finished her third round of coffee and croissants. I might get into heaps of trouble for giving her so much for free, but they can take it out of my paycheque. Her dishes are stacked in a neat little pile to the side while she remains hunched forward taking notes from a particularly large biomedical textbook. With no other customers in sight and the football team having inhaled their coffee and baked goods in a matter of seconds, I haven’t much else to do. I wipe my hands on my apron and go to collect her dishes. At the clatter of the mugs and plates she startles.
