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Lumi
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t expect anyone to still be here. The studio’s usually empty when I come to clean.” Zoe Wynter stumbles to a halt, the cheery tune she was whistling dying on her lips as she stares at me in disappointment.
“No worries, Zoe.” I smile at the girl in my doorway. She’s wearing overalls and has her hair tied back in a ponytail. “I’m actually being picked up for a date so I hung around for a bit to do some paperwork because it didn’t make sense to go all the way across town to get home again.”
I smile again to hide my nerves.
Why did I agree to this date again?
Oh yeah, because all three of them are insanely hot, and when Quilo asked, my vagina did the answering for me before my brain could catch up.
“Fair enough...ah that explains your outfit then!”
“Is there something wrong with it?” I glance down at my outfit, worried. Is it too much? I mean, it’s jeans and a nice top but I’ve paired it with some cute boots and a leather jacket. I mean, what do you even wear to have drinks with three guys all at once? I raced home on my lunch break to grab this outfit and I was in a bit of a panic without Sacha’s expertise to help me choose. I mean, the top isn’t even black, so I’m sure she’ll be proud I’m making an effort tonight. We texted earlier to arrange her babysitting Ade for me at least, but I didn’t think to send her a photo of the outfit for approval.
Oh well, it’s too late now.
“No! No! I’m just not used to seeing you in anything other than your workout gear.” She smiles reassuringly and then hesitates, not moving from her spot in the doorway.
“Am I in your way? I can go wait in Betty or something if I’m going to distract you,” I offer awkwardly. Yep, that’s me. I’ll move out of my own space to make someone else feel more comfortable.
“No, no, you’re fine. I’ll just do my thing as usual.” She smiles brightly at me but I catch the glance she throws at the coffee machine behind the small counter in the café area. She gives it a look of longing.
“Actually Zoe, there was something I wanted to ask you about,” I say, suddenly deciding that Sacha has a point about the state of things back at the apartment. I could do a lot worse than to take Zoe on at home. “Do you have time to sit and chat for a minute? I’ll make you a coffee. Or a tea if you’d prefer.”
Her eyes brighten when I mention drinks and she nods eagerly, dropping her cleaning supplies and coming over to take the seat opposite me. I get to my feet and quickly crank up the machine to make us both a drink. I settle for a bulletproof hot chocolate, hoping that the sweetness will take the first date nerves edge off.
“What would you like?” I call, raising my voice slightly over the rumble of the machine.
“Oh, I normally only drink mood tea, but I love your turmeric latte! I discovered it by accident and now I’m addicted. Can I have one of those please?”
“Sure.” I smile knowingly. “You know...you’re free to help yourself to anything you like while you’re working here, but I really don’t expect you to clean down the machine. I always leave it to do the next morning and for a while now I’ve been coming in to find it sparkling like new.”
“Guilty.” She laughs and dips her head as I pass over her drink. “They’re really addictive though.”
“I really don’t mind, but you don’t have to clean the coffee maker. It’s a horrible job. I don’t even make the part timers do it.”
“But where’s the fun in that?” she protests, meeting my eye. Hers are sparkling with excitement. I get the feeling she’s going to carry on cleaning it whatever I say. That’s one of the reasons I like her so much. She’s just...nice. She’ll always go above and beyond for you. It’s part of the reason why I didn’t think for a second that she could be involved in the spate of robberies we were having earlier in the year. “Actually, I don’t clean the machine. My cleaning supplies do it for me. Would you like a demonstration?”
Before I can reply, her supplies start an elaborate cleaning dance routine that can only be likened to that scene in the Disney movie where the brooms come to life and start collecting water. I watch in amazement as they waltz over to the machine and get to work.
“Wow.” I’m super impressed. No wonder she’s able to clean so many places around town every night.
“This is good,” she sighs happily, cradling her mug and nonchalantly ignoring the magic going on behind her. She looks completely relaxed, like it’s nothing, but it has to be taking serious concentration. “People are starting to talk about your lattes. You could give Jewels Café a run for their money!”
“I’m not running a café. It’s just a little pick-me-up after a yoga class or workout. There’s no competition there. Too many people like to caffeinate and run. Besides, I don’t offer anywhere near the range that they do.” I laugh. “Don’t tell anyone but everything here is healthy.”
“Wow. So what did you want to talk about? Is this a work chat? Or are you going to tell me more about this date?”
“This is more personal. More of an enquiry really.”
“You want to know about my three mates.” She nods knowingly.
“No! No…well, I’m not saying no. Just, not right now. I was wondering, have you ever seen The Home Edit?”
“The what?” Zoe frowns.
“It’s a TV show…” I start to explain but her face brightens.
