Raising the Stakes; Zelink Coffee Shop AU (The Legend Of Zelda)

Chapter Nine

(7/7/17)

~*~

Tuesday

3 Days Left

A few days passed and us faking lovebirds had gotten shoulder-touching down.

Funny how things just happen from there...

I sipped my americano; the raspberry syrup I'd added gave it a sweet zing to its bitterness.

"Can I sit?" Link asked. Having just finished with an excited crowd of customers, he looked drained.

"Of course," I replied as I scooted over, sliding my computer with me.

"Thanks." He sat down and put his feet up on the other seat of the booth.

I mock gasped. "What are you doing? Would you do that if the owner was present?"

"He's here, but I don't think he minds," he chuckled.

I rolled my eyes and put my own feet up on the seat. "Maybe you should ask him, just to be sure."

Link smiled and closed his eyes, sighing out the troubles of customers.

"Do you like the business more than despising having to interact with people?"

"What?" he asked, opening an eye.

"Customers are the ones who pay you. You have to go through human interaction in order to make a living. Is it worth it?"

"Of course it is. This is my dream job. My family business," he looked over at me. "I may get tired out, but I never regret." He smiled. "What about you? Writing has its ups and downs. Isn't it still worthwhile?"

"I feel like you've asked me this before."

"Yeah, maybe."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, yes it's worth it. But it's a pain."

"Especially when your boyfriend is always right there to constantly distract," Link laughed.

Fake boyfriend... Fake. I smiled anyway and rolled my eyes. How distracting do you think you are, anyway? "I guess I take inspiration from even the most distracting of... situations..." I trailed off as I stared at my screen. "No that's not right..." I lifted a hand and tapped at the backspace button. "When did I write this? What the crap?"

I continued to erase, muttering indistinctly the whole time. Then my breath caught and the hand that was typing froze. I shot a glance at Link as I forcefully evened my breathing. When I attempted to say something, only a noise came out of my slightly opened mouth.

"... Is this okay?" he asked.

"... Yeah?"

"I'd like a more concise answer," Link replied with an unamusedly raised eyebrow.

I stared down at his fingers, which were resting around mine. "Yes, it's fine."

"Good," he said, shifting his hand into a more comfortable position.

As he moved, the skin where his fingers momentarily rested tingled and burned. My heart beat faster than my WPM, and my vision actually felt a bit hazy. Who said you could---oh right, I just did... Ugh. Oh well, this is actually better than I expected...

When he looked at me, his smiling face tinged pink, I had to close my eyes and block out the sight.

On the inside, I was screaming. On the outside... I simply opened my eyes and returned the smile. Then I forced my focus from him to the computer screen and kicked myself for the fact that I had completely lost my train of thought.