Chapter 15 - Arden
Arden
Throwing the stupid apron over my head, I punch in and make my way toward the counter. There’s already somebody waiting and I curse the early-caffeinated crowd. Seriously, who needs a chocolate muffin at five in the morning.
“What can I get you?” I ask the woman on the other side of the register.
“I’ll have a large mocha latte with skim milk and ginger.”
I want to tell her that that drink sounds absolutely disgusting but if I did, I would be fired so instead I say, “No problem. Anything else?”
“And a chocolate muffin.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes.
“Coming right up.” Grabbing the muffin first, I place it in a bag and hand it over before turning to make her undrinkable latte.
Being a barista was never on my adulthood bingo card but once the summer ended and my full-time construction job was just that—full-time—I had to find another gig that was easy to do and had flexible hours.
Margot suggested I look into jobs on campus and I found this cafe job on the first day of my search.
Yes, it sucks. But it pays the bills.
I haven’t told Danika about my job. Something about being a barista just doesn’t scream "masculine" to me. Especially having spent more of my life in construction or factory work. These muscles weren’t built by pumping sugary liquids into a cup.
This is just a momentary setback for me.
Having lived at home with my dad and Memaw for so long while I was working, I was able to save up enough money to pay for tuition so this job is just so I can pay for the apartment and for food.
Temporary. Just for a while until I can get my schedule more freed up and I can take on more construction jobs.
Plus, for engineering, it’s easier to work and learn on the job.
It’s not like I’m keeping a secret from her, either. She knows I have a job. She just doesn’t know what it is. She also hasn’t asked so…
With one last sprinkle of ginger—why we even have that flavor I’ll never understand—I hand the beverage to the woman and notice that the line has started to form behind her. Here we go.
I’m on my fourth iced americano in a row when the back door whips open and in walks the most energetic person I’ve ever encountered.
“Arden! My man! My pal! My buddy!”
“Hey, Josh.”
Josh is my coworker. He’s also the only friend I have here besides Danika—if I can even consider her a friend. I don’t know if there’s a word to properly describe Danika and my relationship.
“How ya been, man? Busy morning?” It’s seven am.
I’ve been at this for a couple hours on my own but once the rush really starts, that’s when a second person is really helpful.
Josh and I have worked together almost every shift I’ve had since I started here a few weeks ago and honestly, I’m grateful for it.
We have a really good rhythm together and we don’t get in each other’s way.
You can’t really ask for more from a coworker.
“Yeah, kind of,” I reply, handing a customer a croissant and her receipt.
Josh takes over on the register and I set myself in the back to make drinks and not have to face customers for the next few hours. We work in a quiet rhythm for a while until it’s almost time for my break, a few moments I’ve been counting down to.
“Arden, take the counter for a minute? I need to get more receipt paper and cups from the back,” Josh says and I switch over to the front of house again.
“Welcome to Groundbreaking Coffee,” I say, on autopilot, not even looking at the person in front of me.
“Well, this is surprising.” Looking up, I see a shit-eating grin on that asshole ex-boyfriend of Danika’s. “I didn’t realize you were a barista.” He says, a mocking tone creeping into his voice.
“What do you want?”
“I think you mean ‘what can I get you?’”
My jaw tenses. I meet his gleeful expression with a blank stare. He wants to get a rise out of me and if he keeps pushing, he just might.
“Just a black coffee,” he says finally, handing me a ten dollar bill. Ringing up the order as fast as I can, I whip out the change and reach out to give it to him. “Keep it.” He looks at my apron, stained from a particularly rough blender incident from earlier. “Looks like you need it.”
The cash is gripped in my palm so tightly there’s absolutely going to be a dent in my palm from the coins. I slam the change on the counter, turn around, make the coffee and turn back to him, all the while ignoring the smug ass look on his face.
God I want to reach across this counter and pull him by the throat and headbutt him. I want to break his stupid nose and watch the blood pour down over his stupid smug face. Can you be a doctor with a permanent brain injury? Because I want to grab his collar and—Stop. Breathe.
Melissa says to stop and breathe when I’m feeling this way. She says counting helps, too. I close my eyes. One, two, three, four. One deep breath. Then another. I open my eyes again.
Nico’s face looks curious now, like he’s not quite sure what just went on in my head. Bemused, he takes the coffee from my hand and turns to leave, the change still waiting on the counter.
“Have a great day!” I say gleefully to him, and he turns looking even more confused as he walks out the door. The guy behind him walks up, looking a little timid, clearly having seen the whole exchange.
“Welcome to Groundbreaking Coffee. It’s your lucky day.” I grab Nico’s change from the counter. “Your coffee is on that asshole.”
Danika’s lucky that Tuesdays are my late class days and that I was able to work an early shift and still go to the luncheon with her before my first class at one pm. Or maybe you took this morning shift so you wouldn’t have to work later in the week and could spend more time with her.
Dani’s got on a short flowy dress with sunflowers on it. It’s casual, like she just threw it on on the way out the door, but she looks amazing in it. As fucking usual.
“Ready to go in? We really don’t have to stay long, I just need to chat with a few—”
“Let’s go, brat,” I say, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the cafeteria door.
The vibe is different from the first party we went to together.
For starters, there’s no alcohol, which is a huge bummer, but it is eleven-thirty in the morning in the middle of the week so I guess that makes sense.
Also, the buffet is much less elegant, consisting mostly of small sandwiches and even smaller pieces of cheese.
Damn. Guess I won’t be getting much of a real free meal out of this.
The minute we walk in, Danika runs directly into Gemma, and the two start chattering on about blood or veins or something I’ll never understand. She moves to slip her hand from mine, but I hold tighter, reminding her we’re here as a couple, not just a couple of people.
I also know we’re bound to run into her prick ex at some point and having a hold on her helps her cause. It also gives me an incomprehensible sense of calm.
“Oh hey, boyfriend,” Gemma says, finally noticing my existence. I nod at her.
Dani squeezes my hand. “Wanna grab some food? We should go before we’re only left with cucumber sandwiches and crumbled blue cheese.”
Our trio heads to the food table, and I release Dani’s hand so we can each grab a plate.
“Hey guys,” Nico says casually, coming up behind us. I swear, this dick is everywhere. Danika grunts in response, grabbing two sandwiches to fill her small plate. Gemma hits him with a brilliant smile and I…well, I ignore the jackass.
“Arden, right?” Oh, I know he’s not talking directly to me. “You look tired. Need a coffee or something?” My jaw twitches with the pressure I’m putting it under. Beside me, Danika looks adorably confused. And rightfully so. It’s an odd comment unless you’re a jackass like Nico.
Without a word, I grab three sandwiches and pull Danika off the line toward the nearest table, leaving Gemma and Nico blinking in our wake.
“What was that about? Are you okay?”
“He’s just a prick.”
“I know that,” Danika says, taking a bite of her tiny turkey and swiss. “Just seems like a bit of an overreaction.”
I blink a few times, pulling myself out of the sea of red in my vision.
She’s right. It is an overreaction. He’s trying to get under my skin but I won’t let him succeed in doing so.
Melissa says to find something solid to hold onto in moments like these.
Reaching out, I push an errant hair behind Danika’s ear.
Her shocked eyes find mine but I don’t make a thing of it, instead reaching for my puny pastrami on rye and eating it in one bite.
I can tell she wants to push the issue but she’d be wise not to. I have no explanation she’d be ready to hear and talking about it will only cause me to tense up again. I don’t need to tense up. I need to be calm. I’m working on being calm.
We finish our plates in tense silence and then Dani mentions something about needing to talk to a professor. “You can go if you want. I think we’ve made our point today.”
I only nod, going to leave, but her hand pulls me back in.
Dani gives me a hug that’s not just a “saying goodbye to a friend” hug.
No, this is a “we’re lovers and we’re going back to our apartment to fuck after I finish up business here” hug.
And I fully embrace it. I know she’s only putting on a show for her ex but at this point, I’ll take every crumb from her I can get.