1
“Hi, could I get two medium iced white chocolate mochas with sweet cream foam and extra caramel drizzle, please?” I asked while pulling out my wallet and phone. Glancing at the time I noticed that I was running ten minutes late, which wasn’t a surprise for me. For some reason, I could never get my timing right, which in all honestly is entirely my fault. I was supposed to be meeting someone at 11:30, but I woke up late and made a few stops on the way there.
“That’ll be $9.95.” The cashier said with a smile on her face. I pulled out fifteen dollars and handed it to her.
“You can keep the change,” I said before she could give me any cash back. I saw the tip jar on my way in and couldn’t help but notice how empty it was.
“Thank you! You can just wait right over there it’ll be ready in a minute.” I smiled once more, before walking slowly pulling out my phone, and opening iMessages. There were two notifications, my face frowned slightly before opening one of the messages. Where the hell are you? - My love
Soo… I’m a bit late. - Me
Yeah no shit, I’ve been sitting here for the past ten minutes waiting for you. :( - My love
If it makes you feel better I come bearing gifts. Before I could hit send, my body slammed against someone.
“Shit.” They swore. I looked up from my phone and saw a man wearing a baseball cap, a hoodie, and jeans standing before me near the counter. We had bumped into each other causing his drink to spill all over the table.
“Fuck, I’m so sorry. I should’ve been looking where I was going, here, let me help.” I said in a hurried voice while grabbing a handful of napkins to clean up the mess I caused.
“It’s fine. It’s my fault too, I should’ve put the lid back on after I put my sugar in.” He said while avoiding eye contact with me and focusing on cleaning the table. As we were cleaning the counter I couldn’t help but notice his figure. Despite not being able to see much of his face, he has a great physique. 6-foot frame with broad shoulders and biceps that were a sight for sore eyes. His dark skin and his goatee complimented him so well, that for a minute I was frozen before realizing that I had just been staring at him.
“No, really it was my fault. Let me buy you another one.”
“It’s fine, seriously. Thanks for offering though.” With that, he picked up the soiled napkins, stuffing them inside the coffee cup, and turned to leave throwing the items out on his way. Staring at the door for a minute longer, I turned around and noticed that my drinks were ready. Sighing, I grabbed my drinks and walked out of the store and across the street to where my friend was waiting for me.
I walked through the park with our drinks in hand and found my friend waiting for me at our spot. When we got older and moved here, we always found ourselves meeting up here to unload all of our shit. She looked up from her phone as I was approaching and mouthed the words “Fuck you,” while sticking her middle finger up at me. “You’re late.” She said as I sat down across from her and put our drinks on the table.
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re late.”
“Something came up.”
“You’re late.”
“I got coffee though, so I think that makes up for it.” She glared at me for a few more seconds, before smiling and picking up her drink. She took a sip of it and sighed. “ I missed you.”
“I missed you more.” A grin broke out on my face when I looked at the person across from me. Aaliyah Moore, my best friend, my ride-or-die, my day one. She has been with me through everything and was one of the few people I trusted completely in this whole world. She wore her 4b hair in a slicked-back bun today, with a white crop top and black spandex shorts.
“I feel like I haven’t seen you in months.” She said while reaching her hand out to grab mine.
“Girl, I was just at your house last week,” I said while rolling my eyes at her playfully.
“Exactly, months. I swear this job of yours is stealing you away from me.” She pouts. I’m currently a labor and delivery nurse at Bakersfield Hospital.
“I vividly remember you being the one who pushed me to take this job, but enough about me. Let’s talk about you.”
