Joey came in every day the next week, arriving like clockwork at half past nine. Lauren didn't fail to notice that he had started coming half an hour earlier each day so he had time to talk to her before he headed to class, and the half hour spent with him each morning brightened her whole day. He would linger at the counter as he drank his coffee, chatting to her between customers about anything and everything. More than once Jaime had had to pick up for Lauren's slack, but Lauren reminded her that that's what she had been doing for her friend for weeks.
Lauren also didn't fail to notice the increasing tips she was getting from Joey. Jaime gave her a knowing look when she went to split the money with her at the end of their shift, spotting a five dollar bill amid the single dollars and petty change.
"I don't think I've ever seen anyone tip five dollars," she told Lauren, who flushed.
Joey walked in early on Saturday morning again, laptop bag slung over his shoulder. He greeted her with a smile as he came up to the counter. Lauren was used to his order by now, so she turned immediately and started to make the coffee.
"You staying?" she asked, nodding at the laptop bag.
He nodded. "Got a paper due Monday and I figured here was as good a place as any to work."
She handed the coffee to him, his fingertips brushing her hand as he took the mug.
He put a five dollar bill into the tip jar and she smiled widely at him in thanks.
"Aren't you a college student?" she said.
He laughed along with her, before taking a seat at the same table he sat at last Saturday.
Lauren watched him work as she busied herself with pointless tasks. She didn't notice she'd been wiping the same spot on the counter for several minutes until Jaime arrived and took the cloth away from her.
"Just go talk to him," Jaime said exasperatedly.
Lauren snatched the cloth back and carried on wiping down the counter, shaking her head. If she sat down with him she might not be able to resist the urge to push his hair out of his face, which had fallen forward as he leaned on the table in concentration.
While Jaime was in the store room Joey came up to the counter again, mug in hand. She took it from him and got him a refill before he even had to ask.
She turned around to ask him how his paper was going, which is when she saw him putting another five dollars into the tip jar. Her forehead creased in a small frown, and then she smiled gently at him.
"You don't have to tip again you know," she said.
He shrugged, "I know."
The shop gradually got busier, more kids like Joey coming in to do school work or to catch up with their friends, businessmen on their morning coffee break, moms with strollers meeting up to have a chat. She lost sight of Joey among all the people and figured he must have left, but after a while he came back up to the counter to return his mug.
"You know how to make a girl's life easy, huh?" she said, taking it from him gratefully and putting it in the dishwasher.
He smiled. "It's the least I could do."
"Did you get the paper finished?"
"Almost, I'll do the rest later. My friend wants me to go round and play Mario Kart with him."
She gave him a jokingly disapproving look, and they both laughed, but the laugh stuck in her throat when she saw the way his nose scrunched up as he looked at her.
