(to Sxboor for being the biggest supporter. i love you.)
“
I DON’T TALK TO you for one day and so much happens. What the fuck is your life, baccha? One second you have no tea to spill and now you have so much to tell me?” Jay asked amusedly over the phone as I walked to West Point.
“Geez, way to make me feel great about my life, Jay. Thank you so much,” I replied in a mocking tone and he laughed at the other end.
I stuffed my hands deep inside the pockets of my trench coat as the cold nipped at my face. The wind blowing today was harsh and I envied Jay, who was snuggling in his bed as he watched reruns of Brooklyn Nine Nine. In an hour, he would be going to sleep while the morning rush--my work--would start from then.
A huge part of me craved to go back to the simple lifestyle.
I just wished mom would return soon. This was not how I was supposed to be spending my numbered days before I went off to university. If my cousin, Darbie, was any embodiment of a uni student, I knew that it wasn’t as fun as movies made it out to be. No, it absolutely kicked your ass and I wanted to wait before things like that started with me. Instead, I had willingly signed up to get my ass kicked by West Point.
Fourth day and I was still struggling to adjust to the hectic schedule.
On top of that, Noah was late by ten minutes. I had noted, of course, I had. And to say I was less than impressed would be an understatement. My day was turning out to be shitty and then he had to be late on his first day at work.
An old man had just yelled at me because he had knocked into one of our employees, making them spill coffee all over the place and over his very expensive shoes. He had the audacity to tell me that our services were not up to the mark and that I should have fired Nina on the spot (not that I had any authority to). It was outrageous how self entitled he was. I had just silently seethed in fury as he paraded around, telling his story to anyone who cared to listen.
Nina had looked at me with fear in her eyes. They were terrified and all I could offer them was a small smile that I hoped was comforting.
So, no, my day was not going well and Noah wasn’t making it any better.
When the bell chimed and I saw him enter, I turned to him with my hands on my hips. I was prepared to yell at him but the words kind of just died in my throat. My scowl, however, stayed intact.
Noah’s hair was drenched and water drops slid down his face. He had traded his usual sweaters of a sweatshirt today that he had kept unzipped. Inside he was wearing a tight fitting t-shirt that allowed my eyes to trace he lines of his abs. He still had his muffler around his though.
I gulped.
Noah took one look at my scowl and then another at the big wall clock hung over the brick wall. A look of realization crossed his face and he face-palmed himself. He scrunched his nose in disappointment as he began his walk of shame towards me.
However cute he looked, I could not be swayed off by him. Mom had taught me well that you could never let anyone else sway you from your path.
“You are late,” I told him, hoping my voice was just as stern as my mother. “Fifteen minutes late, to be precise,” I added in a condescending tone.
“I know, I am sorry,” he apologized and I listened patiently as he finally met my eyes. “I am dumbass who adjusted the time of his watch to fifteen minutes early rather than fifteen minutes late. I still thought I was coming in five minutes early when I am actually late,” he rambled as he scratched the back of his neck.
Because the apology was sincere, I decided to let it slide (no, it was not because of his face). “Do not repeat this again, Scott and we are good,” I told him and gestured for him to grab an apron. “Sarah will show you how we do things around here. So buckle up.”
“Thank you for accepting my apology,” he gushed as he swung himself over the counter to land on the floor of my side. He took off his sweatshirt and hung it over the coatrack. Instead of standing and staring at him, I pivoted on my heel and made myself busy. But my eyes never really left Noah’s. While working, I would glance at him every once in a while, making sure Sarah was giving out correct instructions. He had gotten rid of his muffler too, thus making it the first time I saw him without that thing.
The thirty-four year blonde was far more experienced than me but I had grown up in this cafe. Mom even said that West point was her favorite baby out of the three. So I had grown up envying the place and my dumb sister.
“And that’s about it. I do think you should be the cashier,” Sarah told him as she finished her tour of showing him around.
“Nah,” I butted in, finding the perfect chance to insert myself in the conversation. “Then we’ll be risking the cookie jar. Considering how much this guy seems to like cookies,” I thumbed in Noah’s direction as I let my shoulders relax, “The cookie jar will be finished in a day. I am not putting that on the line,” I joked in an easy tone and Noah, who had looked so stressed throughout the tour (the reason why I didn’t feel comfortable piping up in between), looked relaxed now.
He pushed his hair to a side as he let a graceful smile adorn his lips. “That, I cannot refute. I have already been eyeing it since I got here,” he smoothly said and his eyes bore into mine, making me squirm slightly. I was thrown off a little.
Sure he had occasionally glanced towards the cashier’s counter but I hadn’t actually seen him stare. He had looked too immersed in gathering all the information from Sarah.
“You better not steal any cookies,” I murmured, eliciting a laugh from Sarah who pushed herself off from the wall.
“Alright, I am going to leave,” she said with a hint of laugh coating her voice. She strolled past me but not before murmuring in my ears, “He wasn’t talking about that cookie jar, love.”
As her words made sense, I understood what Noah had been referring too. My cheeks felt hot and I pressed my cool fingertips to my face. Gods, I had not just been that oblivious. Jay did tell me that I needed to go out more if I wanted to, and I quote, ‘become wiser in other ways’.
“Get to work,” I told Noah, watching his eyes light up as he registered why my cheeks were painted the same shade as my hair. He saluted me and stalked off to where Sarah was.
To cool myself down, I scurried to the coffee machine, ready to down a cup of coffee or two if the need arose. I placed the paper cup under the machine, watching the brown liquid fill the cup. After adding some cream and chocolate sprinkles, I took a sip.
“Mhmm,” I let out a sigh of contentment. “Heaven.”
As I was setting down my coffee cup on the table, a loud music started blaring very close to me. The sudden sound made me jump in suprise, making me knock over my cup. The hot liquid spilled all over the table and dripped down, drenching my while slip ons. That wasn’t the most horrifying part though. Noah’s muffler, the one that he always wore, had been set over the table and the coffee had soaked it.
“Fuck,” I cursed as I quickly picked it up, trying to clean the piece of clothing over my apron. To my horror, Noah chose that exact moment to emerge out of the pantry after getting himself a name tag fixed. Apparently, it had been his phone that had been buzzing.
Ironic how his phone had caused this.
He didn’t notice my alarmed look, at first. He picked his phone and just sighed as he pocketed the electronic device. I should have run away but I was a deer caught in headlights.
“Noah,” I drawled slowly, afraid of how he would react. It was abundantly clear that he adored his muffler since I had seen him wear it everyday since he started coming to West Point--which would be almost a month--without fail. “I am so sorry,” it was all I could say.
He looked at me, his eyes clouded with confusion but they were soon cleared as realization hit him. He finally noticed his muffler in my hand and the spilled liquid. Noah didn’t hesitate to snatch it from my hand as he inspected the damage and as his face screwed up in what could only be pain. All I could do was take a step back.
I hung my head low. “I didn’t mean to. I am really, really sorry, Noah,” I apologized, not knowing how to make this better.
“Um, hello, I’ll like to place an order,” an unfamiliar voice said and we both twisted our head to see that the counter was empty. The customer seemed impatient as the girl rocked on her heel.
I turned back to Noah, who was pinching his nose in defeat. “Just... it’s fine. Go attend the customer,” he told me and jerked his head in the direction of the waiting girl.
Before I could do anything, Noah was already walking away, leaving me to cringe at myself.
I knew I would eventually fuck up.
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okay!!! so i love my dumbass baby Aliyah and i can't wait for her to embarrass herself even more *rubs hands*
now tell me what you think! please drop your thoughts because i always have a fun time reading the comments!!!
love x