Chapter Five #2
She laughed. Not the playful teasing laugh she usually gave him through the coffee window.
A real one. It startled him a little, how genuine it sounded. It wasn’t performative or flirt-polished. It was warm and unfiltered and bright enough that he felt it somewhere behind his ribs.
“I was thinking,” she repeated, eyes glinting, “you should come to the park with me sometime.”
“The park,” he echoed.
“Yeah. There are birds.”
“…Birds?” He cocked a brow, confused by the beautiful woman in front of him.
“They’re friendly,” she said seriously. “At this point they’re basically my best friends.”
He blinked at her but she held his gaze, completely straight-faced. “You want me to meet your bird friends,” he said slowly.
“Yes.”
“That’s the invitation.”
“Yes.”
He was completely enamoured by how equally strange and stunning this woman was, so he nodded once. “Okay.”
Her smile widened like she hadn’t expected him to agree so easily.
“Okay?” she repeated.
“Yeah, why not?” He didn’t even hesitate. The answer had left his mouth before his brain could analyze it, which felt telling in ways he wasn’t prepared to unpack. “I’d like that,” he added.
Something softened in her expression.
He opened his mouth to say something else–maybe to ask when, maybe to offer his number so they could actually plan it like normal people–but her phone rang, making her wince.
The sound seemed to irritate her on a cellular level. She pulled the phone from her pocket and glanced at the screen, annoyance flickering across her face so quickly he almost missed it.
“Sorry,” she said, already stepping back. “I have to take this.”
“Yeah, no, go ahead,” Jace said quickly.
She paused, then pointed at him. “Come by Good Times tomorrow. We’ll set a date.”
His heart did a small, reckless somersault. “Okay,” he said.
She nodded once, satisfied, and answered the call as she turned toward the door. “Hello?” Her tone shifted–still polite, but tighter. Controlled.
Jace watched her leave, the bell chiming softly behind her. He stood there for a second. Two seconds. Five.
Ellis cleared his throat, making Jace slowly turn his head. The man stared at him with the expression of someone who had just witnessed something extremely interesting.
“…What did Myah want?” Ellis asked casually.
“Nothing,” Jace said immediately.
Ellis’s eyes widened. “Oh my god.”
“What.”
“That’s the girl you have a crush on.”
“I do not–”
“You absolutely do.”
“I don’t.”
“You look like someone just handed you a winning lottery ticket.”
“What? No I don't." Jace said, far too defensively.
Ellis cocked a brow and crossed his arms, clearly not falling for Jace’s lame attempt at lying.
Jace took a sip of his coffee to buy time. It was perfect. Of course it was perfect. She’d remembered everything.
Ellis leaned closer, voice dropping. “She brought you coffee. To your job. That’s romance-novel behavior, dude.”
“It’s just coffee.”
“It’s just coffee,” Ellis repeated flatly. “Sure. And I’m just a humble vinyl enthusiast with no interest in gossip.”
Jace set the cup down. “We’re working.”
Ellis studied him for another second, then grinned. “We are.”
He didn’t say anything else about it. Which was almost worse.
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The rest of the day passed in a blur of customers and transactions and half-finished thoughts.
Jace tried to focus. He really did. He helped someone find a birthday gift for their dad. He restocked the indie section. He rang up purchases. He answered questions about turntable needles and album pressings and whether they had any live recordings from a band he’d never heard of.
Outwardly, he functioned like normal. Internally, his brain replayed the morning on loop. She brought you coffee. She remembered your order. She invited you to the park. Friendly birds. Good times tomorrow.
He found himself glancing at the clock more often than usual, not because he wanted his shift to end, but because each passing minute meant he was one minute closer to morning.
One minute closer to seeing her again.
At one point Ellis nudged him and said, “You’ve alphabetized the same section three times.”
Jace blinked down at the records in his hands.
“…Have I.”
“Yes.”
“Huh.”
Ellis snorted and walked away.
Jace exhaled slowly, pressing his lips together as he forced himself to focus on the task. But it was like his thoughts kept slipping sideways, pulled toward her no matter how hard he tried to keep them in line.
He wondered who had called her.
He wondered why she’d looked annoyed.
He wondered if she was okay.
He wondered what kind of birds lived at that park and whether they really were friendly or if she’d just said that because it sounded whimsical and she liked how he reacted to things.
He wondered what she’d do if he showed up tomorrow and said yes immediately when she asked about a date.
He wondered if she’d smile like she had earlier–soft and surprised and a little pleased.
He wondered–
“Jace.”
He looked up. Ellis stood across the counter, holding out a receipt. “You rang this up wrong.”
“Oh. Sorry.” Jace fixed it quickly, forcing his attention back into the present.
Work. Focus. Function. Be a normal human being.
Still, when the next customer stepped up and asked how his day was going, he heard himself say, “Good,” in a tone that felt suspiciously like hope.
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By the time his shift ended, the sky outside had shifted toward late afternoon gold. Jace grabbed his bag, said goodbye to Ellis, and stepped out into the cooling air.
He paused on the sidewalk. Tomorrow morning. He could almost see it already: the line of cars, the little wooden stand, her leaning out the window with that knowing look.
He smiled to himself, small and private. Then he headed for his car, already counting down the hours.