6 RYAN
RYAN
She’s a genius
Hazel & Bean looks different at night. During the day it’s loud, coffee machines hissing, people coming in and out. But now it’s quiet, warm lights hanging over the tables and only a couple people scattered around with laptops and half-finished drinks.
They usually close around five, but on some days they stay open until eight. Which is how I’ve somehow ended up spending my Saturday night here, studying.
I have an assignment due next week about the role of law enforcement in community policing. Basically a lot of reading, a lot of notes, and trying to make it sound like I know what I’m talking about.
Honestly, I've always liked the training part of the program more than the studying part. That’s also why I’ve been thinking about staying on the training side of things after I finish this program.
The plan right now is to do the one-year instructor certification after graduation and eventually teach the physical training part of the academy.
It just feels like something I’d be good at.
But I need to graduate from this program first. Which, sadly, does require me to finish this assignment.
My laptop is open in front of me, a notebook spread beside, and a cup of black coffee sits dangerously close to it.
I take the first sip of my coffee, staring at the sentence on my screen, when the chair across from me suddenly scrapes against the floor.
I glance up and a girl with long red hair drops into the seat like we do this every week, leaning forward with her elbows on the table. “You’re Ryan, right?”
I blink once. She looks vaguely familiar, someone I’ve probably seen around campus, but I have absolutely no idea what her name is. “Uh… yeah.”
“You’re in the police program, right?” she continues immediately, the words coming out at full speed. “I heard you guys have to do like insane physical training. Is that true? Like, do they actually make you run those obstacle courses and stuff?”
“Yeah, sometimes,” I say, still trying to process how this conversation started.
“That’s so cool,” she says, nodding enthusiastically. “I could never do that. I get tired just walking up the hill behind the library.”
I open my mouth to respond, but she beats me to it again. “So are you single?”
That one catches me off guard. I blink a couple of times before answering. “Uh—yeah, but—”
“Well good,” she says brightly. “Because I’ve been meaning to talk to you for a while.”
I blink again, but she leans back in her chair. “I always see you around campus and I told my friend the other day that you’re actually really handsome.”
“Oh,” I say. “Well, thanks, but—”
“And you seem nice,” she continues, waving her hand casually. “Not like those guys who think they’re cool just because they go to the gym twice.”
She laughs. Loudly. Very loudly.
I try again. “I actually need to—”
“So what year are you in?” she asks. “Because I’m a junior, but technically I should be a senior except I switched majors and—”
The words just keep coming. She starts telling me about her classes, her roommate, something about a professor who hates her, and a dog she had when she was a kid. Every time I try to say something, she talks right over me again.
I’m fucking trapped.
I glance toward the counter, briefly considering whether leaving my laptop and running out the door is an option. That’s when I suddenly feel a hand rest on my shoulder. “Hey babe.”
I look up, completely thrown off, and see Maddy sliding into the chair beside me. Her arm wraps loosely around my shoulders.
What the hell is happening right now?
The girl across from us freezes mid-sentence. “Babe?” she repeats, her eyes widening dramatically. “Oh my God—wait. Are you two, like… a thing?”
Maddy tilts her head and smiles easily. “Yeah, girl. This is my man.” She glances at me. “Right, babe?”
For a moment I just stare at her. But then it clicks.
She is a genius.
“Yeah,” I say quickly, shifting a little closer to her. I slide my arm around her waist, pulling her just slightly against my side. “This is my girl.”
The redheaded girl straightens immediately, hands flying up. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” she says. “I didn’t know you had a girlfriend!” She turns back to me, mock-scolding. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a girlfriend?”
“...You didn’t really give me a chance,” I mutter and she looks between us again, smiling wide. “You two are so cute together. Like actually adorable.”
“Thank you,” Maddy says sweetly.
The girl waves dramatically as she backs toward the door. “Okay, I’m gonna go. Sorry again. Love this for you.”
The little bell above the café door rings as she leaves and for a second there’s silence, but then Maddy and I look at each other and immediately lose it. She pulls away from me as I lean back in my chair, laughing so hard I have to run a hand over my face.
“Oh my God,” I say, straightening again. “You just saved my life.”
“You looked like you needed it.” She grins. “I saw you glance over to the door at least five times.”
I shake my head, still laughing. “I tried to interrupt her like four times, but she did not pause for goddamn oxygen even once.”
Maddy laughs again, leaning back in her chair. After a moment I glance at her properly and notice she’s still wearing her work shirt. “Wait. Were you here the whole time?”
She looks down at herself and snorts. “Oh, no. My shift ended this afternoon. I just came back because I forgot my phone.”
I nod slowly. “No surprises there.”
She smacks my arm. “Rude.”
“Well,” I say, lifting my hands defensively, “I’m very glad you did. Otherwise I’d still be sitting here listening to that girl tell me about her childhood dog.”
Maddy laughs. “No worries.”
She shakes her head with a small smile before pointing at my cup. “That coffee’s definitely cold by now. I’ll make you a new one.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I say, but she waves a hand dismissively. “It’s no trouble.”
She stands up and walks behind the counter, greeting the girls working with a quick wave.
I watch her pull her phone from somewhere behind the register before slipping it into the back pocket of her jeans.
A minute later she comes back over with a fresh cup of coffee and sets it down in front of me.
“Thanks. I owe you.”
“Oh, absolutely,” she says lightly. “I’ll remember that if I ever need something.”
She gives me a small smile before heading toward the door.
“See you later, Ry.” The bell rings again as she steps outside and I sit there for a second, shaking my head before taking a sip of the new coffee.
I don’t know how she does it, everyone here makes great coffee, but somehow, Maddy always gets it exactly right.
I close my eyes after the second sip, just enjoying the taste of the freshly poured coffee, thinking about how Maddy just saved me a few future grey hairs.