Coffee Cup Confessions - Trish Williford Page 0,6
what’s strange? Other than my best friend, I haven’t told anyone what I just told you. It was private, but here I am, blabbing my secrets to my barista.”
He grins as he holds up his coffee cup. “Sharing a cup of coffee seems to open people up. Kind of like a truth serum.”
“Coffee cup confessions.”
“Yes!” he agrees. “Coffee cup confessions—I like that.”
Ready to change the subject, I focus the questions on him now. “So, how did you get stuck, working on Valentine’s Day evening? Pull the short straw?”
His warm smile lights up his face. “It’s a woe of being a coffeehouse owner. I let my employees off because I knew business would be slow tonight, and since I don’t have a valentine, I figured I’d be here alone tonight; however, I’m pleasantly surprised to possibly witness the beginning of a beautiful relationship, right here in my coffee shop. I’m honored actually.”
Playfully, I push his shoulder, and he laughs.
“You never know, Misha. He could be it.”
Maybe it’s because I haven’t had sex in almost a year, or maybe it’s because Noah didn’t show me the type of attention I’d craved in over two years, but the desire to crawl across this couch and kiss Jake is overwhelming.
Headlights pull into the parking lot, interrupting our chat.
Jake stands and grabs his cup from the table. “Speak of the devil, looks like lover boy is here. Good luck.” He winks before walking past me and to the cash register.
A feeling of disappointment washes over me. I don’t want to spend the next hour awkwardly making conversation with a friend of Mandy’s, who probably doesn’t want to be here as much as me. I was really enjoying talking to Jake, who is now behind the counter, waiting for his next customer.
I watch the man exit his car and cross the snow-covered asphalt, and I realize I’m holding my breath as he opens the door. He walks straight to the register without looking around. While Jake is busy tending to his order, the guy takes his beanie to reveal a bald head. According to Mandy, Matt has shaggy blond hair, so unless he felt the need to shave his head down to the scalp this afternoon, this isn’t Matt.
Five minutes later, Not Matt is exiting the shop with a small bag and two large cups, leaving me as the only customer again. As relieved as I am, my blind date is now over forty-five minutes late. At this point, it’s official; I’ve been stood up.
I’m not upset in the least; however, it’s a little mortifying that this happened in front of a really cute guy.
Quickly, I finish my coffee and take the cup back to the counter, where Jake is washing a few dishes. “I have one more for you.”
He looks to me and smiles. “You want a refill while you wait?”
Glancing over my shoulder to the parking lot once more to be certain, I sigh before answering, “I think it’s safe to say I’ve been stood up, so I’m heading out. I’ll take a refill for the road, and I’ll go ahead and pay.”
His face drops, and I can tell he’s genuinely empathetic. “I’m sorry, Misha. He doesn’t know what he’s missing out on tonight.”
“That’s sweet of you, Jake, but I’m really okay. I’m definitely not heartbroken; however, my ego might be a little bruised since you were a witness to this. Don’t be offended if I don’t show my face in this establishment again.”
Jake stops making my coffee, and his brows pinch together. “You’re really not going to come back here because he didn’t show tonight?”
“If I were to come back here, you’d know me as the poor girl who was left stranded on Valentine’s Day. That’s not exactly how I want Hot Coffee Shop Guy to remember me.”
His lips curve upward at my nickname for him. “You have two ways to look at tonight, Misha. One, you were stood up, and it was embarrassing. Or two, being stood up is a positive because, now, I get to ask you out.”
My heart halts to a stop. Did I just hear him correctly?
“I’ll be honest. I was kind of hoping the entire time that he wouldn’t show. It was selfish, but I really want to take you out. What do you say?”
Okay, so I heard him correctly. “Sure, I’d like that.”
His smile rivals the brightness of the sun, and I want nothing more than to bask in the warmth for a little longer.
“Here, write down