Page 14

As my alarm blared next to me on the nightstand, I rolled over, exhausted. I had tossed and turned all night, worried about how my first day of work at the coffee shop would go.

I hit the dismiss button, pulling the covers off my body, dragging myself off the mattress reluctantly.

As I made my way to the small closet on the opposite side of the room, I tried to think of what I should wear. Something casual made the most sense, but I was second-guessing myself, of course.

I searched through the rack of clothes multiple times before settling on a pair of blue jeans and a simple graphic tee with my white Converse.

A short drive later, I pulled into a narrow parking spot in front of the coffee shop and shifted my car into park.

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to calm my nerves.

“You can do this, Ellie. It’ll be easy. How hard can making coffee be?” I said, reasoning with myself out loud .

“Hey, Mom and Dad, Ellie here. It would be super cool if you could watch over me today. You know, make sure I don’t make a complete fool of myself on my first day, okay?” I said as if they could hear me.

I hopped out of my car and marched to the coffee shop door.

As I walked in, the smell of freshly ground coffee and espresso settled over me.

I walked up to the counter cautiously, as if I were approaching a baby bear alone in the woods.

Cassie looked up, smiling.

“You’re here just in time,” she said, throwing a black apron at me. “The morning rush will be here any minute. Put that apron on and come back behind the counter, so I can show you the ropes. Trust me when I say we have no time to waste,” she said in a hurry.

I wrapped the apron around my waist, making my way behind the counter.

It didn’t take long for Cassie to show me all the coffee equipment I’d soon be using.

First, she gestured to the massive espresso machine, its silver knobs and levers gleaming under the warm café lights.

“This is where the magic happens,” Cassie said. She tapped the steam wand. “You’ll use this to froth milk. Just watch your fingers—it gets hot fast.”

Next, she pointed to the grinder. “Fresh beans go in here. Just press this button to grind them for espresso shots.”

Farther down the counter, she motioned to the syrup pumps arranged neatly in a row. “Vanilla, caramel, hazelnut—you’ll get to know these by heart soon enough.”

Finally, she patted the register. “And, of course, this is where you’ll ring people up. Don’t worry, it’s pretty simple once you get the hang of it.”

I nodded, taking it all in, already feeling the weight of the morning rush ahead.

But before I could overthink my job choice, the bell above the door chimed, signaling the first customer of the day.

It was an elderly man with white hair. He wore blue jeans and a button-up shirt, completed with suspenders. He made his way to the counter, looking up at the chalkboard menu.

“I’ll take a black coffee, two creams, two sugars, and a croissant to-go, please,” he said.

Easy enough.

“Coming right up,” I said, maybe a little too cheerfully.

I quickly grabbed a paper cup from the counter, filling it with hot black coffee, adding two creams and two sugars, just like he ordered. I secured the lid tightly on his cup before grabbing his croissant, handing both items across the counter with a polite smile.

“Have a great day, sir,” I said, looking up, already preparing for the next customer.

Cassie gave me an encouraging pat on the back, smiling. “You’re a natural,” she said before heading to the second register to keep the line moving.

We fell into a steady rhythm of taking orders, making drinks, warming pastries, cleaning, and doing it all over again .

After the morning rush, Cassie explained we’d have some downtime. That was when she liked to get the pastries ready for the next day.

She led me to the back, where trays of croissants, muffins, and strudels sat waiting to be prepped.

“We restock everything now so we’re not scrambling in the morning,” Cassie said, handing me a pair of gloves.

I watched as she carefully arranged the pastries on baking sheets, covering them to keep them fresh.

“We’ll bake some in the morning, but most of these just need to be set out in the display case.”

I followed her lead, stacking flaky croissants in neat rows and refilling the glass case with colorful strawberry cream cheese Danishes. The café was quiet now, a stark contrast to the chaos of the morning rush.

As I organized the baked goods, the front door creaked open, the bell above it signaling we had another customer. I looked up, and a familiar face stared back at me.

“Good morning, sir,” I said, trying to maintain my professionalism.

“Ma’am,” Colt said, tipping his black cowboy hat.

He wore a pair of Wrangler blue jeans, cowboy boots, and a cream-colored button-up shirt. His outfit more formal than his usual ranch attire, but still casual at the same time.

Damn, he looked good all cleaned up, there was no denying it.

My palms started to sweat, and I wiped them dry using my apron.

Seriously? He’s just a guy, Ellie, calm down .

“What can I get for you today?” I asked, smiling while ignoring my body’s stupid reaction to Colt’s presence. “You seem like a black coffee kind of guy,” I said, laughing.

“I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or if you’re picking on me,” Colt said, eyeing me.

I giggled, knowing it was definitely the latter. But before I could pick on him any further, Cassie walked up with a black coffee in hand.

“Hey, Colt,” she said, pushing the cup across the counter towards him. “Checking on your favorite barista on her first day?” Cassie asked, elbowing me in the side playfully.

Colt smiled and picked it up, handing me cash to pay with at the same time. “Something like that,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Don’t worry, she’s doing great. She’s a natural. And she only got hit on a couple of times,” she said.

It wasn’t true, but Colt didn’t know that.

His smile disappeared, and his warm demeanor quickly turned cold as his grip tightened around his cup. His jaw tensed as he looked me over, like he was searching for any sign that someone had bothered me.

I rolled my eyes and nudged Cassie. “Really? You’re just trying to stir up trouble.”

She smirked, unfazed.

“Did anyone make you uncomfortable?” Colt asked, his voice lower now, edged with aggravation.

I shook my head, laughing softly. “No, Cassie’s exaggerating. Everyone has been perfectly nice.”

He studied me for a moment before finally exhaling, his shoulders relaxing. “Alright. But if anyone does— ”

“I’ll handle it,” I said, giving him a reassuring smile. “Promise.”

Cassie grinned, clearly enjoying his reaction. “Relax, Colt. She’s tougher than she looks.”

Colt took another slow sip of his coffee before continuing.

“What time do you get off?” he asked, glancing at the clock on the wall.

“In a couple hours. Why?” I asked, narrowing my eyes in suspicion.

He hesitated for half a second before meeting my gaze. “Come get dinner with me.”

Cassie nearly dropped the ceramic coffee mug she was holding in her hand. “Ohhh, now this just got interesting,” she said, grinning as she looked between us.

I blinked, caught off guard. “Dinner?”

Colt smirked. “Yeah, you know, food.”

I crossed my arms. “I know what dinner is, smarty pants. I just didn’t expect you to ask.”

He shrugged, playing it cool. “You’ve been on your feet all day. I figured you wouldn’t want to cook tonight, and I could use some company.”

Cassie leaned in and whispered, “Say yes.”

I rolled my eyes at her as Colt watched, waiting for my answer.

“Alright,” I said, pretending to be nonchalant.

Colt’s lips curled into a slow grin, as if he half expected me to say no.

“It’ll be low-key, nothing fancy. I’ll pick you up at six o’clock.”

“You know where to find me,” I said .

As Colt turned to leave, Cassie leaned in again, her voice barely above a whisper. “You do realize this is totally a date, right?”

I turned to face her, wide-eyed.

“No, it’s not,” I said, walking off before she could press me any further on the subject.

By the time my shift was over, exhaustion had settled deep in my bones. I was pretty sure my feet had never hurt this badly in my life.

Colt was right, I definitely didn’t feel like cooking anything tonight.

As I untied my apron and stretched my sore shoulders, Cassie leaned against the counter with a knowing smile. “Survived your first day, huh?”

I let out a tired laugh. “Barely. Do your feet always feel like they’re about to fall off at the end of each day?”

“Oh, absolutely,” she said, tossing a rag onto the counter. “You’ll get used to it. Well, kind of.”

I sighed, glancing around the buzzing cafe. Despite my exhaustion, there was something satisfying about finishing my first day at a new job.

“You can have all the tips from the jar,” Cassie announced. “You worked your ass off today. You definitely earned them,” she said as she pulled the dollar bills out, handing them to me. “Now go have fun on your date with Colt,” she said, waggling her eyebrows playfully.

“It’s not a date,” I said, correcting her.

She winked at me. “Right.”