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“Seriously?” She arched a brow.
I scratched the back of my neck. “I’m in no hurry. Why not?”
She bit her lip, like she was afraid to accept, though I prayed she did. I needed the distraction.
“Okay, fifteen minutes.” The door chimed again the second the words left her mouth. “Thirty, tops. I swear.”
I grinned as she waved me over, glad I could be useful. “It’s easy,” she said to me. “Just follow my lead.” She turned to the next customer in line. “Can I help you?”
They rattled off their order, and she set about fulfilling it. She grabbed two milks from the drink cooler and slid them across the counter, then headed to the coffee pot beside the espresso machine and pointed to the paper cups. “Could you fill two of those with regular? One with cream?” When I nodded, she hurried to the display case where she carefully boxed their pastries.
Once she finished, I joined her with the coffees, and she smiled. “My parents would probably kill me if they knew I had someone helping,” she said as she rang up the customer’s order. “You know, insurance and liability and all that, but they’re not here right now, so . . .” She laughed, then started the next order, showing me the ropes as she worked.
“Supplies are all on these shelves here.” She motioned to open shelving that housed paper clamshells, extra paper cups, boxes, lids, and napkins. “The espresso machine is trickier,” she said, pointing to the silver monstrosity. “So leave that to us. But frappes are simple. You just blend ice with the pre-bottled coffee mixture and flavorings. Like this. See?” She dumped a scoop of ice into the blender, along with coffee from a jug in the beverage case and a heavy squirt of chocolate, then flicked the button on.
The machine whirred loudly for several minutes before she shut it off and dumped the icy drink into a plastic cup and added a mountain of whipped cream and chocolate shavings. “Easy.”
“Seems simple enough,” I said.
“Yeah? Why don’t you make the next drink, then? A caramel frappe. So same thing, except caramel instead of chocolate.”
“On it,” I said as I mimicked the steps she showed me minutes ago.
Beside me, Scarlett grinned as she filled another cup with coffee. “Hey, maybe you should apply.”
“Me?” I flicked the machine off.
“Sure.”
“I don’t know.” I shook my head. Truth was, I’d never had a real job before. The only work I’d ever done other than schoolwork was yardwork for my mother and our elderly neighbor. She’d always wanted me to put school first. But, honestly, having an excuse to get out of the house and away from Bat Man sounded kind of nice.
“Thorne comes here from time to time. He’d get a kick out of seeing you. And Penelope and Topher hang out a lot, too. It’d befun,” she said in a sing-song voice.
I squirted a mountain of whipped cream onto the drink and capped it, then passed it over as she admired the frozen drink before handing it over to the customer. “Perfection. See? You’re a natural.” Then she turned again. “I have to get a special order from the back, but just think about it.”
No sooner than she disappeared into the kitchen did the door chime, and in walked the last faces I wanted to see. JT, Luca, and Mikey sauntered toward us with Gabby and Xia in tow. Gone were my aspirations of working there.
I cursed under my breath and hung my head, wishing I could disappear. It was one thing for them to harass me at school, but it was another to be humiliated in public.
I kept my head down as I waited on the next customer, listening to their order half-heartedly. Heading to the pastry case, I removed two cupcakes and placed them in a clamshell while mentally calculating the Royal’s spot in the line, praying I wouldn’t have to wait on them. Maybe I could excuse myself and head to the bathroom? Or tell Scarlett I had to leave?
“Bro, you scored a date with her?” JT’s voice drifted toward me the closer they got, and I couldn’t help myself. Curiosity got the better of me, and I peeked up at them as I handed the customer their cupcakes.
They stood at the end of the line. Luca grinned, shrugging, and I wondered what the chances were they were talking about Ella.
“Well, it’s not a date exactly,” Luca said, but his cocky smile told another story. “She’s coming to my game Friday.”
“She totally wants you. Or she will. Just as soon as she sees you kick the shit out of those Valley High losers.” JT high-fived one of the guys behind him, a kid I vaguely recognized as a junior on the water polo team. “She going to Mary’s Diner after?”
“I haven’t asked yet, but I’m planning on convincing her.”
“That makes you the first dude she’s even looked at since she became single.”
So theyweretalking about Ella. My stomach clenched with the confirmation.
I’d vaguely heard about her break-up months ago. It was what spurred me to confide in Thorne about my crush and finally take action.
“Yo, did you know she has a sister?” JT asked.
