Imagine Niall making this face at you when he wants to apologise and you're just there like: I forgive you already love, I forgive you.

_

Carina's POV

FOUR DAYS LATER.

Well, today's going to be Niall and I's third date.

I've never gone out on more than one or two dates with any guy, but then there's Niall. He deserves not just three dates but an entire lifetime to spend with.

"Carina now's not the time to zone out, it's the weekend. We're crazily tied with work, boss", Noah yelled bringing me back to the harsh reality.

I glared at him while he just shrugged his shoulders.

Katie and Caleb handed Noah and me the orders as we served them to the respective customers.

Aiden helped out wherever it was necessary.

Oh heavens, talk about getting through the morning shift, then lunch, then the evening shift and then finally comes our date.

I looked at the wall clock in my cafe.

10:37 A.M.

Another 10 hours to go until our date.

Hell, this is too much!

The work load has been crazy for these past days. We've been having a lot of customers in my cafe which definitely requires more staff to help out.

So, I put out vacancies for two more staff members. Hopefully, the interested will turn up sooner than I expect.

Because if they turn up soon, I can be the lazy person that I am and just laze around my cafe like a boss while they take over my job.

Oh, I'm so evil.

"Oh come on, the boss is zoning out for the umpteenth time today", Noah said with the highest level of annoyance in his voice, rolling his eyes.

"Sorry, sorry", I raised my hands up in surrender as I grabbed another tray and jogged to serve it to the respective customer.

.

.

5:00 P.M, the wall clock in my cafe read.

Niall's going to be here soon and we are going to be on our date in less than four hours!

I'm super excited for this date and also super nervous.

Something about this date feels really special.

Was it too soon to rush into things? Well, it didn't feel like it was.

I'm pretty much over my ex. So, I guess it's fine to start something between Niall and I.

I just hope he feels the same about me too, as much as I do.

"Carina", Katie yelled over the crowd murmuring in my cafe, "Table 12. Brownies and Mocha shakes".

I nod and walk to the respective table.

With each passing decade of minutes, more and more people seem to be pouring in my cafe.

Well, this is going to be one long evening.

Suddenly my phone buzzed in my back pocket.

A text message from Niall!

Niall: Hey Gangster Carina. I'm really sorry. Our date tonight will have to be cancelled. Really busy at work. Sorry :(

What the literal hell?

Niall just cancelled our date? While all I did was zone out like a million times thinking about this special date.

Well, he must be really busy tonight. Or does he not feel the same about me anymore?

Or maybe he's actually busy with the recording of that teen band's debut album?

Or maybe he doesn't like Carina and her coffee anymore?

Goodness, my mind is in such a mess right now.

"Katie, I need a strong espresso right now", I demanded as I walked back to the counter after delivering the previous order.

"Sure. Give me five minutes though. I have like three orders that I need to prepare right now".

I nodded my head and turned around.

An espresso is my usual remedy to an awful headache. It's always been like this, espresso has always made me feel calm. Made me feel better.

I needed some space right now.

I was probably just overreacting over a date, but this was special to me because...Niall is special to me.

Since there wasn't any booth available in my cafe, I walked back to the storeroom of my cafe.

I walked through the counter and entered the storeroom via the door behind the counter.

I shut the door and sat on one of the six wooden chairs present in that little room.

I liked the storeroom somehow. It was a little room which had nothing more than six wooden chairs, three large open cupboard which contained all our requirements for the cafe and the belongings of the the staff in their respective lockers.

It was quiet and it made me calm down.

I took a deep breath as I walked towards the tiny window which overlooked a small patch of flowers randomly grown in an open space.

The tiny purple periwinkle flowers swayed slightly as a gust of the November wind blew by.

It was starting to get even more cold as the days passed by and soon it would start to snow.

I inhaled sharply as I breathed in the chill air from the window.

There was a knock on the door and I turned around to meet Aiden.

He walked in, shut the door behind him and walked his way to me.

"Here's your espresso". 

I took it from him, "Thanks Aiden".

"You want me to leave? Or is it okay if I stay for a while. I mean, you seem upset. If you wanna talk about anything, I'm here", he said with a polite smile.

This made me smile too.

"Thanks Aiden. I'm alright, I guess. I was just over reacting and over exaggerating something", I said as I wave my hand in the air.

"I guess it was something important. Because I've never seen you this upset before", he presses the subject.

I nod as I take a sip of my steaming hot espresso.

Relief washed over my body as I sigh deeply.

"Hey, if it will make you feel any better, we could go out and get some dinner? You'll probably forget about it for sometime and relax?", he asks nervously after a minute of silence. 

I frown as I think about my answer.

"It's not a date, boss", Aiden says, "we could just go out as friends", he adds and smiles.

Alright, I guess that wouldn't hurt.

"Alright", I say as a wide grin spreads across his face.

.

.

.

Two pizzas, three beers and a couple of discussions later, Aiden and me are still at Sam's Grills.

Yes, that's where we came to get dinner.

Aiden suggested that we come and get dinner here. When I asked him why he wanted to dine in this particular place, he said that he thought I'd like this place.

If only he knew it was my favourite place back then, when Mike and I dated.

Hell, Mike's the last person I should be thinking about.

As I take another bite of the delicious pizza in front of me, my phone buzzes in my pocket.

I reach for it and see a new text.

Niall: Hey, I hope you're not mad at me. I'm really sorry about our date. I promise to make it up to you when I'm done with work next week ;)

Okay, the text was fine, but the wink emoji?

My eyes widened as I tried to think what he actually meant.

"Everything okay?", Aiden asked and I nodded in reply.

Carina: That's alright. Stay safe x.

I typed back a reply and sent it before another thought. Well, that was all I could come up with.

A couple of minutes later, when we were done Aiden insisted that he should pay the check, so I let him.

I rose from our booth, making my way towards the exit as Aiden made his way towards the cash counter.

As Aiden was at the cash counter, I walked my way out of Sam's Grills and froze when I saw him enter.

My eyes widened as his eyes met mine.

_

A/N:

Hey guys!
I'm extremely sorry for not updating regularly as I was busy with my pre-exam tests.

I've updated this chapter and the next chapter at the same time to make up for the long gap.

Also, I have a lot of ideas for many more books which I plan to publish in the Summer of 2019. Stay tuned and please bear with me. I love you all and am sorry again.

Lots Of Love:
-Carita D'Costa❤️