"Caramel Macchiato, chocolate toppings please"
I smiled, recognizing the voice.
It was Michael's.
"Coming right away!" I replied as I quickly made moves to prepare his drink.
This was the third time he'd stopped by in the last nine hours. I chuckled at the realization. He never says anything to me, rather he sits there and sips whatever drink he orders, depending on his mood every day.
Today wasn't any different, except that it's my birthday.
My twenty-first.
But I'm still stuck in this small town working at Patrick's Coffee Corner with no life ambition or zeal.
My boss, Mr Patrick has taken me under his wings, carefully teaching me the art of coffee making. Now I run his business incredibly like it's mine.
I expertly prepared Michael's drink, with steaming milk, pouring espresso and topping it with caramel syrup. My eyes drifted over to where he sat. He was staring at me again.
The moment our eyes met, he quickly looked away, drowning himself in his book.
I smiled.
Michael's one of the reasons I look up to opening this shop every day. He gives me a sense of recognition, a feeling that someone out there wants me, or wants to see my face.
However, it is. I don't read minds, so I can't tell if he likes me, or that he's just shy.
The surprising thing is, he doesn't pass off as a shy person mainly by appearance. He has this curly black hair that falls over his face and sparkling blue eyes. A nice body build as well.
I know about this, that fateful day he came in drenched from the rain. His polo hugging his physique. He caught me staring, and I felt like the ground would eat me all up from the embarrassment.
"Here's your order, Sire" I replied, placing the drink in front of him and made way to exit, but he drew me back.
"Hey, happy birthday, Aria" he flashed a charming grin and I melted.
"How did you know that?"
"Well, I overheard you. On the phone. There" he took his words, as though he was breaking them.
He reached out to his jacket, pulling out an elegant red velvet box and handed it over to me.
Curiosity is getting the best of me. I asked "What is it?"
"Open it" he replied, his eyes sparkling. I quickly unwrapped it, revealing a delicate silver necklace with a tiny coffee cup pendant.
"Oh my God! It is beautiful. I exclaimed.
Michael leaned in. "I'm sorry, I had no idea, I would have prepared on time."
I paused, staring at him. How thoughtful he was. Everything was suddenly making sense, that was the reason he kept stopping by.
In the last five years, I've barely had friends around me. My life was a lonely threshold, seeing the importance of mingling as my grandma always taught me before her demise. Grandma would consistently ask me to invite a friend for lunch or give me snacks to give to my friends at school. She was worried about me, and I was satisfied with grandma's company alone.
Now I'm older, I see her reasons for making me do all of that.
"And you deserve beautiful things" he added, breaking my thoughts. I was lost staring at him, and he was fiddling under my intense gaze at that point.
Without warning, I reached for his face, planting a soft two-second kiss on his lips.
He froze.
Just then, a loud thunderstorm struck. We giggled like teenagers, using our hands to block our ears from further noise.
It was going to rain heavenly tonight. The atmosphere was changing terribly. The giggling stopped as we stared at each other immensely for the next twenty seconds.
In an instant, he pulled me closer to him. His hot breath was a few inches away from my face. I was shocked, at the same time pleased. The moment he placed his soft lips on mine again, a shiver ran down my spine. I had waited for this moment that I had lost track of how many times I envisioned it.
His tongue swirled throughout my mouth, demanding freedom. I granted all the access he needed, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss.
Suddenly, I felt a feeling of being watched.
I slightly opened my eyes and I caught a glimpse of a figure standing outside. His eyes shone; a bright honey brown in the darkness. I felt an inexplicable jolt as I broke the kiss, pushing Michael aside with my heart racing.
"Wait, I…"
I rushed over to the door to confirm what I had just seen. By the time I got there, the figure had vanished.
"What's wrong, who's there?" Michael asked, confusion written all over his face.
I tried to slide it off. "No one. Just my imagination"
His smile returned as he wrapped his hand around me. "Let's celebrate your birthday then."
I chuckled. "We should", following Michael behind. But I knew what I saw. And it wasn't my imagination.