Chapter 12 - Coffee and Coins
Wednesday: Collectable coins
Bdubs had the perfect opportunity to talk more yesterday! Few customers by the time he showed up, Etho ordered so they could talk a little, and a vague idea of how he could start another conversation with him.
Except for that Etho had brought a friend, and ordered two drinks without specifying which was for which, and the two did school work the entire time, leaving no break for Bdubs to say hi. Perfect.
There was a small part where Bdubs looked up from his phone and saw Etho staring, which, admittedly, made his heart rate increase ever so slightly- only because of the awkwardness of catching him.
And he waved, and Etho waved back, but that was probably to save them both from the embarrassment of staring into space and accidentally looking at someone without realizing. Bdubs had been there plenty of times, and the first hand embarrassment of trying to explain why you weren't really staring at someone, but into space, accidently at them, was probably enough to kill him a few times over.
So Etho was a nice guy, and Bdubs really wanted another nice conversation. Sue him.
There was another part, when they left, that left the memory floating in his mind for hours. The fondness of Etho's voice when he'd said he'd come back.
"He said he'd come back for coffee, Double-O. Coffee." He told himself firmly.
"Snap out of it Bubbles." A finger snapped in front of him, snapping him out of it. (guys I'm sorry please don't leave)
"Wha- sorry!" Bdubs jumped up and blinked a few times.
"You've really been out of it recently." Grian mentioned.
Bdubs was about to answer, when he paused and thought about it. "Have I been spacing out more recently? Sure I've missed sleeping in for a few extra days, but that doesn't feel quite right."
"Uh yeah, I guess I'm just stressed about his essay, and some other work." He shrugged, with the best conclusion he could draw.
"Gem said she'd help during our interior class though." He added, waving off their worry before it could bloom.
"Gem really is great!" Keralis chirped.
"You just like her because she gave you those coins." Grian pointed out.
"Correct!"
The bell rang. A figure stepped through the door, with one hand stuffed into his vest pocket and the other falling by his side as the door swung shut behind him. Bdubs's eyes caught sight of him and held back a wide grin as Grian and Keralis looked his direction.
"Could I get a white mocha, extra whipped cream?" Etho asked calmly, and Bdubs nodded quickly, typing it onto the screen. As he turned around to make it, Keralis waved him off and shook his head.
"I'll make the coffee, Bubbles."
Grian didn't say anything as he turned to his phone, turning up the brightness as the glow softly illuminated his face. He leaned over the counter to support himself and type with one hand, and that pose briefly explained why his typing was so horrible.
Bdubs however, wasn't paying attention to that for long, and he noticed the lack of movement from the customer still next to him. Etho hadn't moved.
"Conversation Bdubs!!" The gears turned in his brain, and he shook his head ever so slightly as he turned to Etho with a smile.
"So how were your classes? We do go to the same college right? I haven't seen you around there." Bdubs could admit, it was a shaky start, but at least it broke the silence.
"I go to the one near here," Etho answered, and Bdubs nodded, it was the same one. "I guess I just have weird classes?"
"Like the super smart ones or...."
"Coding, Environmental Science, and Calc are probably my hardest." Etho shrugged. Normal to him.
"Ok yeah the super smart ones." Bdubs complimented and Etho ducked his head slightly down in embarrassment. Bdubs's tone was genuine, but almost close to something a little more flirty as well.
"Well, Beef has a zero hour class today. I could assume that's probably worse than mine. He's an idiot for taking one, but he can handle himself I guess." Etho shrugged and glanced to the side, avoiding eye contact that lasted for more than a few seconds. Bdubs took the hint and looked away too, only sharing glances to relieve the tension.
"I couldn't even imagine waking up early for a class." Bbubs gasped. "I would sleep until noon if I could. Actually, I have before!"
"Pfft-" Etho held back a laugh at the remotely funny joke, and Bdubs beamed. "I don't think I've slept in that long, but when I pulled an all-nighter last week I think I slept longer than I ever have."
"Doc told me about that, and I never got to properly scold you; Don't pull all nighters!" Bdubs looked him in the eye as he said it, and really just realized how red it was, sparkling like a rose. Etho's subtle smile reflected in them, and he didn't look away immediately.
"I think everyone I've met has told me that at least one. Iskall made me swear I wouldn't pull one for a month soo ...." Etho rolled his eyes and gently crossed his arms. Bdubs's heart thudded.
"Rightfully so." Bdubs quipped back, pushing away the awkward silence slinking closer to the two. "Those aren't healthy."
"Damn, Iskall sounds like they care more about you than me, I'm almost hurt!" Grian exclaimed dramatically, popping up from behind into the conversation. "I told them I was having a hard time in Chem and they just told me to- and I quote- "get good.""
Bdubs cackled, and Etho chuckled. "That sounds like them."
There were some grunt noises from the back and the three turned their heads to see Keralis glaring at the caffeine machine with his hands on either side.
Keralis paused, and looked at Etho, "Sorry, the coffee machine is having trouble right now. It might be a few minutes." He said apologetically.
"It's fine, I'm not in a rush today."
"Do you know Gem? I think she's taking the same level math class." Bdubs continued the conversation.
"Eh, name doesn't ring a bell, maybe a different period?"
Keralis grunted and went to the back room quickly, hoping that he could either find something to get the machine to work, or it would fix itself on it's own when he got back. The latter was preferred.
"She gave Keralis some silver dollars, and he's been talking about it since." Grian scoffed. He was more or less in the conversation as well, but he was back to looking at his phone too.
Etho raised an eyebrow, and Bdubs quickly continued. "He loves rare coins; A collector guy."
"Hmm, I'll have to see if I have spare coins then. Does he like ones from around the world or just old ones?"
"Oh uh-" Bdubs paused, not really sure. "Rare ones I guess? I'm not really sure, but you can ask him, or I can, or uh-"
The back door slammed open, thankfully, and stopped Bdubs rambling as Kerlalis came out with a phone to his ear
"Ok Shwammy, I'm looking at it now."
"Did you turn it off between breaks? And did you forget to turn it back on."
"No, why would I forget to turn it back on-" Keralis started as he still looked for the button in question. "The thing is just stuc-" His hand found the button, and clicked it, a slow hum telling him it was now on.
There was faint laughter from the other end and Keralis pulled it away from his ear. "I'll call you later Shaswammy."
Keralis, with a defeated sigh, made the rest of the drink smoothly, adding extra-extra whip for the delay.
"Here is your coffee!" Keralis smiled, sliding it over to the pick up counter. It wobbled a little bit, but Etho caught it before it could fall over.
"Whoops." Keralis whispered.
"Bye guys, thanks for the coffee, and the talk." Etho waved, and turned around towards the door.
Bdubs waved and watched him leave in awe, his breath catching on nothing.
"Uh, bye!" Bdubs remembered to say when Etho had reached the door. The bell rang, and Bdubs didn't care about his lingering gaze as Etho pulled down his drink to sip it behind the glass windows that stretched to the floor.
"Hate to see him go, but love to watch him leave, am I right?" Grian smirked.
"Wha- NO no no!" Bdubs sputtered, knocked completely out of his thoughts. "What do you even- why?"
"I dunno, it just seemed like you were checking him out." Grian shrugged.
"I was not "checking him out" G." Bdubs glared at him, and Keralis stepped between the two. It was clear he was also holding back a laugh from Grian's comment, but he looked at Bdubs sympathetically.
Keralis just put his hands on both of their shoulders and separated the two physically, and they calmed down. Grian was still snickering, and Bdubs still frowned, but Keralis could be sure it wouldn't escalate any more at least.
"You both are so immature." Keralis said under his breath.
"Keralis," Grian started with a chuckle, "You of all people don't get to say that. You're worse than both of us on a normal basis."
"Fair, but I don't embarrass Bubbles on work time. Bad for business." Keralis explained. "Plus it's funnier when he can't avoid topics by taking a new order, outside of work."
"Ohhh true!" Grian nodded in realization, and high fived Keralis behind Bdubs back.
"Lets just make coffee guys." Bdubs sighed, turned towards the register again.
"Like that." Keralis nodded his head towards Bdubs, who just sighed more dramatically again.
And the bell rang again.
"I should have asked him for his number." Bdubs thought, and realized that sounded weird in his head. "To hang out outside of work or talk or something." He added. To his thoughts. That only he could hear. Good going buddy.
~~~
Thursday: A walk in the park
The cafe was slow, normal for a Thursday afternoon. "Friday eve" as desperate students like to call it, holding onto the shred of hope that the weekend was soon. It had only been two weeks of working and piles of college work, but even Bdubs was considering adopting the nickname for Thursday as well. He exhaled a deep sigh through his nose, and looked around the mostly empty cafe trying to find something even remotely interesting to focus on.
"Nothing."
"Hey Bdubs, you've been working a ton recently, and, if you wanted, you could take a break right now." Scar said, shaking him from his space-out.
"Huh?"
"Think of it as payback for covering for me so long." Scar said kindly.
"No Scar, I'm not taking a pay back for that. Any half decent friend would do the same." Bdubs frowned slightly, unhappy that Scar would even think he needed to give IOU's for that kind of thing.
"Well a half decent friend would also see that you've been in here too much for too long. You need some fresh air!" Scar argued.
Bdubs wasn't convinced.
"Just take a 30 or so minute break in the park and then come back. Customers are slow anyways today." Scar pushed, waving his hand over the room to emphasize.
"I can't leave you all the work by yourself. I've done it, and it sucks!"
"If I get overwhelmed at all, I'll just call or text you. The park is like a block away. Plus G's shift starts in like 5 minutes. Even if he's late like normal he'll be here soon."
"Uhm, ok..." Bdubs eyed him warily, giving Scar plenty of time to take it all back.
"Yes I'm sure, before you even ask. Now go get some fresh air!"
The air was refreshing as Bdubs stepped out of the cafe, even if it sent slight shivers down his arms. It didn't look as cool, but he unfolded his sleeves to spare his arms from the fall breeze slightly.
The hair on the back of his neck still stood up, but he left his moss hoodie at home as he wouldn't get coffee on it when his English class ended earlier than expected. He was glad he had a chance to stop at home and grab a snack before work, but not bringing a jacket was stupid.
"I should just leave a hoodie or something at work like everyone else; It's the middle of fall!"
"Ooh that park bench has my name on it-" He whispered to himself, before realizing he said it out loud and looking around to see if anyone heard.
He coughed awkwardly and creased his mouth into a line and figured no one noticed.
The bench was cold and pierced through his shirt on his back as he leaned back. A small part of it was relaxing, refreshing, so he didn't shoot back up.
It wasn't entirely comfortable, but it was a change of scenery, and Bdubs enjoyed it. With the breeze in his face and the cold bench under him, he felt relaxed, but in the opposite way as his normal comfort.
He liked cozy cafes and snuggling up in too many blankets, sleeping in till noon, and basking in the sunlight in summer. Not whatever this subtly new feeling was.
He didn't mind it.
Without permission, his mind started to wander. Sorting and organizing his thoughts while he had the free time too. He let them.
"I think I'm over-thinking this thing with Etho. I should just have nice conversations every now and then and not try as hard to get his attention, and if we become friends, cool! And if not, oh well."
His muscles relaxed on the bench.
"One good conversation doesn't mean much. It's just what people do. Who cares if I clicked better with him than Doc or Beef the first time, or half of my friends. It's just a coincidence that he stayed so long and let me talk all I wanted."
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Maybe it's better that I only see him in the cafe. He'd think I was clingy otherwise."
He pulled out his phone and checked the time. He didn't want to leave Scar alone, even if Grian had shown up on time, and didn't want to push the half-hour limit.
"10 minutes until I go back. Warm and cozy indoors."
He went back to thinking about the previous topic. "I'll stop trying to put my number on his cup," He chuckled silently to himself. "I think it's driving me coo-coo."
Bdubs breathed in the crisp air deepy, opened his eyes with a new feeling of being awake. He stood up, not bothering to check the time, satisfied with his fresh air and break.
The wind was numb on his face, he was already used to the cold breeze past him. It almost made him feel a little powerful to be out in the cold without a jacket or hoodie, surprisingly to him. He could faintly see the mist of his breath puff out in front of him as he walked, before it dissipated behind him with the gentle wind blowing into his face. He couldn't even remember the last time he had been outside when it was cold without a jacket. Years maybe?
He rolled his sleeves back up, and the new wave of cold that hit him was satisfying.
"I should do this more often."
---
"Oh, Bdubs isn't here?" Etho remarked, after Grian went to make his white mocha.
"He's taking a break. I think he needed it after working so long." Scar explained.
Etho hummed. "Oh that's good."
"Why do you care?" Grian asked, moving counters to add the actual coffee in. There was an undertone to his question, and Etho ignored it.
"No reason, just curiosity. He seems punctual, unlike what he and Iskall have told me about you."
"Oh, bringing that up are we. I'm late to a few meetings here and there and it becomes my whole personality! Mumbo was far later than I was anyway!"
"But he was consistent with his lateness," Scar chuckled. "No one ever knows when you're going to pop up!"
Grian scoffed, and Scar continued, "One of those other guys you hang out with- Timmy you said?- even said you already have the most random excuses when you're late."
"Yeah well Tim always asks me to come to things last minute. If he gave me a fair warning beforehand maybe I could be there on time." Grian defended, folding his arms over his chest.
Etho smirked under his mask, attention successfully diverted away from him. "Thanks for the coffee. I have a ton of coding to do now so see you around." Etho waved with his free hand.
---
The warm air washed back over Bdubs, and sent more shivers down his spine and goosebumps down his arms that first stepping out into the cold did. Made him feel a little alive, noticing the little things in life.
"See you Etho! Tell Doc hi for me, and remind him that Jellie is a sweet kitty and won't scratch him! Again..." Scar whispered the last part, and Grian laughed next to him.
"I will, but he won't believe me!" Etho called back. He started to yawn a little, but stopped when he caught sight of Bdubs.
"Hey Bdubs,"
"Uh, hey!" Bdubs waved quickly as Etho continued to walk towards the door, catching the quick light reflecting in his eye as he gave him a friendly side glance.
The bell rang, and Etho was gone.
Before Bdubs could form a coherent thought, Scars voice brought him back to earth.
"Enjoy your break?"
"Yeah.... It was refreshing." Bdubs said. The phrase alone was an understatement, but the way he said it with a breathy smile, Scar could tell it really helped him relax.
Bdubs made his way behind the counter and tied his apron back on, an expert at bow ties behind his back by now.
"You went outside in that?" Grian asked, pointing to his thin shirt, not suitable for the outdoors.
"Yeah." Bdubs smiled, letting himself feel a little proud again.
"Oh you forgot that mossy hoodie you always wear!" Scar realized. "You could've just borrowed someone else's."
"Oh I didn't mind. Kinda nice actually."
More customers came in and Scar brought his attention back to the counter, ready to take their orders.
Bdubs glanced once more at the door, for no reason that he would let his mind think.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to try one more time."
---------
(3121 words above the line)
Hello! it been a cold minute since I've updated, and if you've seen my profile conversation thingy, you know it's because of finals, which I'm done with now! this has parts made before and after finals week scattered around, so I know it's not entirely consistent with style throughout, but I sorta just wanted to get a chapter out and didn't feel like heavily editing it so that's what ya get!
Thank you for reading, and if you do like this book, please comment or vote because it motivates me to write more and any feedback is welcomed! (but remember, helpful criticism and questions are cool, but cruelty is not.)
Have a great day or night and take care of yourselves!
oh, you scrolled this far down?
Well, here's a question for ya:
i want to make a more official and permanent title for this thing. Since i wasn't really planning to make this so long when i started it, i thoughts i'd have more time after it was done to whip up something, but now i think it's been too long withe the basic name. i was thinking "Smell's like Coffee" for the title and a to-go coffee cup for the cover. what d'ya think? if you think of another one, tell me in the comments! Love ya'll to pieces! Thanks!
ok, stop scrolling, seriously
shhhhhhhh! i have ideas for a second book to this, even though this one isn't anywhere near to finished plot wise-
-called, "Tastes like coffee", so they match. that's only if i keep this title.
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