Chapter 5
FIVE
I wiped some milk from the counter, only half paying attention to my job and the customer area. My phone buzzed in the front pocket of my apron and I pulled it out right away, my excitement falling when I realised it was a reminder that my phone subscription had renewed.
An amused teenage chuckle came from the side.
"I saw thatttttt," Mila sang, grinning as if she'd just discovered an exciting secret. "Who is getting you so excited that you're checking your phone every three seconds?"
I put my phone down. "That's my private business."
"Is it Faye?" She bounced closer, grinning from ear to ear. "Did you finally make a move?"
"I'm not discussing my love life with you," I said, thinking I should reach out to my friends from uni again so I had someone I could talk to who wasn't my teenage cousin.
Mila laughed. "Oh, so there is something to discuss, huh?"
Damn it.
"Shouldn't you be on your own phone?" I pointed at the device in her hand. "Isn't there a new trend or challenge or something that you need to partake in? I saw there's a new dance that's in."
"What dance?" Mila asked with a curious smile.
"I don't know what it's called." I stretched out my arms and rotated my hands while swaying back and forth just like how I'd seen in the viral videos, only realising that I was making a fool out of myself when Mila burst into giggles.
"Now that would go viral," she said, attempting to put her straight face back on but not managing. "And you're behind. The current dance is more like... this."
A hugely popular song came out of Mila's phone and she snapped her fingers along the beat, queuing herself up before she lunged herself into the fast-paced dance as if she'd been dancing her whole life.
It actually looked good?
"Have you been practising that in your bedroom?" I asked, only half-teasing. It was actually kind of impressive how smoothly she did all the movements.
Mila paused the song and took a bow. "No, I'm just naturally gifted."
I snorted. "You must get that from the other side of your family then because I don't think there's a rhythmic bone on the Greendale side."
"My grandpa is good at capoeira," she said. "It's a martial art that's mixed with dance."
"I know what capoeira is," I assured her, as always amused by how she seemed to think I lived under a rock at the ripe age of twenty-eight. As clever as she was, people knowing things outside the scope of what was trending online seemed like a foreign concept to her.
"Just checking." She adjusted some of her tight black curls. "You never told me who slid into your DMs."
"And I'm not going to," I replied.
Mila raised her hand. "Hi, Faye!"
I spun on my heels, my hand flying up to my hair to push it back into shape. Instead I was greeted with air, sunlight, and the devious cackle of my cousin.
"You tricked me," I said, turning back around. I couldn't even be mad, I was the one who fell for the bluff when I should've seen it coming.
"I don't know why you're trying to hide that it's Faye when you two are clearly obsessed with each other." She raised her hand again, waving it with extra exuberance. "Hi, Faye."
"I'm not falling for that again."
"I'm not kidding this time."
I turned around slowly, scoffing when there was still nobody. "Damn it!"
"Fooled you twice, you fool!" Mila cackled and held up her phone to snap a shot of my face. "That's one for the reel."
Shame on me. Shame on me.
Amused, I just let her have her fun. She was young and I liked that she was comfortable teasing me despite the age difference.
If it wasn't for both of us working here at the Lazy Cat, I doubted that I'd ever have gotten this close with Mila but it was nice to feel connected to family.
Especially with how estranged I was from my parents.
And it was nice to have someone who kept me up to date with all the trendy viral stuff.
The bell above the door went and I turned around, realising that I should've known Mila was kidding about Faye coming in before because there hadn't been a chime. This time, it was Faye and she was wearing a cute scarf with tassels and an even cuter smile.
"Hello, Greendales!" she said, her gaze landing on me and staying firmly fixed. "Hi." It came out softer and was clearly just meant for me.
Butterflies roared to life in my stomach with so much force, it felt like they might carry me away. All that from a simple hi.
"Hey," I returned, automatically moving towards the front of the counter. I'd been thinking about seeing her all day but now that she was in front of me, I didn't actually know what to say. "Hi."
"You said that already," Faye teased.
Behind me, I could hear Mila snicker. I had no doubt that she'd have lots and lots of questions later but for now, I ignored my cousin and focused on the woman I'd been thinking about all day.
"What can I get you? Double espresso?" I guessed, tapping the tablet to wake it up.
"Yes, please. Can I also have a black coffee for my pawpaw and a coffee with lots of milk and sugar for Gugu. And they want cakes," she said, pointing at the glass display with our cake selection.
I punched her order in. "What kind of cakes?"
"Chocolate cake for me and Gugu," Faye said, pointing at the slice she wanted. "And Pawpaw asked for something fruity."
"We've got Victoria sponge with strawberry jam or this blackberry-honey cake," I said, thinking about what Faye's grandmother might like best. "I'd recommend the blackberry-honey.
I think blackberries are in season and your grandmother likes them, doesn't she?
She'd take us blackberry picking when we were younger. "
A smile appeared on Faye's face. Or rather, her smile shifted into a nostalgic one. "She did and do you know why?"
"To keep us busy?" I asked.
"No. She had a little side hustle making and selling blackberry wine. She used us. It was child labour! Unpaid child labour!" Faye whisper-shouted, the affection in her voice showing that she wasn't actually angry. If anything, she looked amused.
I chuckled, charmed by her expression. "Why am I not surprised? And is it any different than when my gran had us running around the coffee house delivering drinks?"
"More unpaid child labour," Faye said with a nod. "Our grandmothers are hustlers."
"They sure are," I said while cutting generous slices of cake and putting them in takeaway boxes. "Does your pawpaw still make blackberry wine?"
"No, she quit that a while ago. Too much work, apparently." Faye leaned on the counter, her gaze trained on me. "We have a lot of history, don't we?"
"We sure do," I confirmed, curious where she was going with that statement.
She hummed and a mysterious glint filled her eyes but she didn't elaborate. Instead, she tapped her card against the payment machine while Mila brought the hot drinks to the counter for us.
It really was nice to have my cousin working here.
"Thanks for the drinks and the cake," Faye said, still leaning. "I've got to go back to work but we're still on for our date tomorrow?"
I nodded right away, not one to play games. Not when it came to this, and not with Faye. "Yes, I'm looking forward to it. Are you really not going to tell me anything about the date?"
"No." She paused for a moment. "Except that you should wear sensible shoes and warm clothes."
"So it's an outdoorsy date?" I angled.
"Maybe. You'll see!" She picked up her order, blew me a kiss, and twirled out of the coffee house with a grin that stretched from ear to ear.
I never knew one person could be so radiant or that falling in love could feel this light and like I might float away.