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Like you didn’t know her name, idiot.
Michelle didn’t seem bothered by his act. Instead, her smile brightened. “You remembered.”
“Yeah.”
The woman to her right nudged Michelle in the shoulder. She had light brown skin, brown eyes, and brows so thin he’d bet it could fit through the eye of a needle. “You two know each other?”
“Michelle’s in here all the time,” another said. She tossed her long, black dreads off her shoulder and shared, “I think she comes for more than the coffee.”
The pointed look Ms. Dreads aimed his way said enough that even he understood.
“Guys, stop it.” Michelle playfully smacked her friends. She turned to Luke. “Ignore them. We’re all tired and drained after classes today. They’re just taking it out on you.”
“No problem.” Luke clicked his pen. “Are you ready?”
The women gave their orders and, when it was Michelle’s turn, she tapped his wrist. Their gazes collided. Luke’s breath hitched. She was prettier up close than she was from a distance—which was a feat given she looked immaculate from all the way across the room.
“Can I get another minute? I’ll head to the counter when it’s my turn to order.”
He swallowed and nodded okay before turning and walking woodenly to the kitchen. Uncle Eddie, the chef and owner of the café, accepted the ticket and got to work behind the stove.
“Everything okay out there?” he asked in Mandarin.
Luke studied the apron tied around his uncle’s slim waist. He wore an old blue shirt, faded khakis and thick leather sandals. Nothing about his appearance said he was the wealthy owner of a popular coffee shop.
“Yes, everything is fine.”
Eddie turned and stared him down with those beady, black eyes that saw everything. “That girl back again?”
“What girl?” Luke stiffened.
“The one with the crazy hair.”
Luke let out a relieved breath. His uncle was talking about Ashanti, not Michelle. Since Ashanti cut her long, straight hair and started growing out her natural curls a few years back, Uncle Eddie had dubbed her ‘Crazy Hair’.
Ashanti took it as a compliment.
“No, she’s not.”
Eddie nodded. “You have to be careful, nephew. Someone could misunderstand.”
By someone, Eddie meant his family, not a prospective girlfriend. But the threat still stood.
“Ashanti and I are just friends,” he said in English. Luke tapped the drink orders. “I’ll get started on this.”
Eddie nodded and let him go.
On his way outside, Luke thought of the few times Ashanti had interacted with his family. Though they’d gone to primary school, high school, junior college, and college together he had never formally introduced her to his relatives.
She was always ‘that girl from school’. A friend they never had to be concerned about. One that would never step over the line into something more.
Uncle Eddie’s inquiry was the first time Luke realized that his family had noticed and had an opinion.
He shook his head and focused on blending the drinks for Michelle’s table. He was working on his last cup when someone bounded up to the counter and took a seat on the barstool lined in front of it.
Without looking up, he said—“I’ll be with you in a minute.”
“Need some help back there?”
