Emma groaned. The day at Beanie's was lasting forever, and she had had such a shit day. Nora was constantly telling at her, Zoey was constantly annoying her and customers were constantly not coming through the door. She knew that they made shitty coffee, but with no one to serve, the day would drag on and on forever. It was Emma's day to close up the shop and as Nora and Zoey slowly left, she found herself sitting at a table in the corner.
This was the table Paul sat at. She missed him every day, but being able to sit in the chair he was in earlier felt comforting. She whipped out her phone waiting for the last few minutes to ticked by and smiled as she saw her notifications. Almost all of them were from Paul. Just as she was about to read them, a customer rushed in and quickly ordered a coffee. The lady apologised for being so late and Emma quickly got to work before closing up the shop.
As she drove home, all that was on her mind was the string of messages from Paul. During her days at work, any time Paul felt like he needed to he would message her. Emma's bosses were strict on not having her phone on during work hours, so she always got to read them afterwards. As she pulled up into the driveway of her and Paul's shared apartment, she took out her phone. Emma smiled softly as she read through the string of messages.
9:16 - Just dropped you off at work. Already miss you!
9:35 - I hate this place. I hope you're having a good day.
10:42 - Got some work done! But still, I have so many hours to go.
10:56 - About to go to Beanie's. Can't wait to see your adorable face!
11:56 - Just saw your adorable face!
11:57 - Haha, I sent those last messages just an hour apart. Lol! (Emma groaned silently at this. Somehow he made 'Lol' so childish, but she secretly loved it.)
12:22 - I miss you already. Really want to hug you right now!
12:48 - AjsjfjsjdhdjHahashshHhauwsuK. (Emma laughed at this. Paul often tapped his fingers on his phone and sent random messages without meaning to.)
2:45 - Just got a shitload of work done. I really hope you're having a better day than me!
3:03 - I'm going home now. See you in 2 hours!
4:06 - Mitty threw up everywhere. This is why you need to come home now. (Mitty was their cat. She happened to be sick a lot, but Emma always cleaned it up.
4:59 - Your shift ends in one minute!!
5:00 - See you soon!
5:05 - I miss you!!
5:10 - I love you!!
5:15 - Just heard you pull in. Stop reading my messages and get inside!
Emma smirked at the messages. He really was a sweet man, and Emma certainly felt so loved by him. Before closing her phone she sent her own message.
5:17 - Open the door nerd!
As she clicked send, Emma got out of the car and walked up to their door. Just as she got there, Paul opened it wide open. He stood there clumsily with a big dopey grin on his face, his disheveled hair and crumpled pajamas. Paul reached out to pull Emma into a tight embrace, which was slightly uncomfortable at first.
So there they stood, Emma being totally crushed but not hating it. But it was difficult to breathe, so she attempted to wriggle out of the hug. "Alright, nerd. Can't breathe."
"Sorry." Paul said quietly, and grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.
