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Before he could blink, Ashanti dove into the farthest bar stool and dipped her head behind a large menu. She looked anything but ‘natural’.
“Hey.” Michelle trotted closer to the counter and set her hands on the surface. She had dainty fingers with nails painted a soft coral shade. “I’m sorry about my friends back there.”
“It’s fine.” Luke briefly wondered if he should apologize for Ashanti and decided not to. It would only make things more awkward. He shuffled his feet. “You need something?”
“I really love your frozen coffee,” she said.
“Thanks.”
“I teach high school girls. Did I mention that before?” She laughed nervously. “Anyway, we have homeroom every two weeks and they suggested we buy frozen coffee to mark the occasion. Would I be able to get your phone number so I can call and make the order this Friday?”
Luke grabbed the rack filled with the café’s business cards and slid it toward Michelle. “Our number’s there. You can call anytime.”
“Thanks.” Her smile was brittle.
“We’ll send someone to deliver for free, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
Michelle nodded but said nothing.
Luke gave himself a mental pat on the back for being so calm and professional. His worst nightmare was coming off as a weirdo or creep when he spoke to Michelle.
“Well, thanks.” Michelle wandered back to her seat.
Luke was staring at her back when something came flying at his face. He got pricked in the cheek by a laminated menu that floated gently to the ground after nearly gouging out his eye. Luke’s face whipped up to meet Ashanti’s gaze.
“What was that for?”
“You’re an idiot,” she hissed, stalking closer to his side of the counter.
“What?”
“She was asking for your number, you dolt.”
“We were making arrangements for her classroom. That was business.”
“Don’t you think she has your café’s number? Apart from the business cards that were right in front of her face, there’s a Facebook page and a website. She didn’t need to ask.”
“Some people still ask,” Luke argued.
Ashanti shook her head. “You’re hopeless, Zhang. That was Michelle’s attempt at getting closer to you and you blew her off. Good luck digging yourself out of this hole.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Whatever.”
Luke hoped to prove his theory when he delivered Michelle’s food to her table a few minutes later.
She deliberately avoided his gaze and focused on her phone the entire time. As if he wasn’t there.
He wandered back to the counter, somber and a little confused. “I don’t get it.”
“That, my friend, is why I’m here. Give me a free cup of coffee and I’ll bail you out.”
Luke set his forearms on the counter and leaned his face close to hers. “How about you order and pay for your coffee like everyone else?”
“But I’m not everyone else, am I?” She fluttered her eyelashes.
He palmed her forehead and watched her wince. “I’ll give you coffee, but save your advice. Things always get worse when you meddle.”
