“This is quite the place.” I smile, and she hands me a small menu right as a woman walks up to the booth. She appears to be maybe in her fifties and has a huge smile on her face.
“Emma! Where have you been, girl? You haven’t graced me with your presence in several weeks now. How are you, sweetheart?” I look at the woman and see how kind her face is and then look over to Emma, who’s smiling big at her, and I can tell they’ve had a great relationship for a while.
“Oh, you know, the bar and then school started. Mabel, this is Mr.… Uh…. Josh.” My heart speeds up with her cute stuttering and the sound of my name in her sweet voice. I hold my hand out to her.
“Mabel, it’s a pleasure.” She smiles and shakes my hand and then looks over at Emma.
“My! Such a gentleman and a real looker. You’ve been holding out on me, Em. Is he the real reason you haven’t been around? Hmmm?”
I laugh as Emma brings her menu up to her face to try to cover some of her embarrassment. “Oh, Mabel! Stop! No!” She brings the menu back down and looks into my eyes. “We actually just met and are just here for coffee.”
I look down at my menu and then back at Mabel when she speaks, “Psh, child. You never eat and barely sleep. You all should at least have one of my homemade cinnamon rolls. You are seriously gonna wither away to nothing. Come on, on the house. My treat.”
Our eyes continue to stare into each other’s and I grow very serious. “Well, we can’t pass that up.” I look up at Mabel and wink. “I’m in for any kind of homemade cooking. God knows I never get any.” She looks at Emma and she nods at Mabel and then back at me.
“Okay, I know what my girl drinks, what about you, sugar?”
“Just black please, but I’ll take some extra cinnamon drizzle on the top of the roll if you have it.” I smile.
“Only way to eat it right?” She winks and then walks away.
“So, how do you take your coffee?” I ask Emma and watch her roll her eyes and then laugh, and I feel comfortable already.
Chapter Three
“Yeah, so, I have no idea what I want to do with my life but for now, I love working at Randy’s. It pays the bills and I’ll probably flunk Calculus anyway so….” We both laugh, and I’ve never had such a great time. We’ve been sitting here for two hours and I’m not even the least bit tired. I feel so comfortable around him, it’s almost scary. I’ve never met someone like him before.
“Ha! I’m not gonna let you flunk. Besides how can I take you out officially if you don’t graduate?” My heart stops at his words and we just sit there staring into each other’s eyes. “I…. I wrote that song for you, after I first saw you in class, after we spent time talking at lunch.” He sits up and leans his arms on the table. “I’m serious, Emma. I’d really like to take you out but right now? Well, you know that’s impossible as long as you’re going to school there. I could….”
I look down at my empty plate and stare. “It’s a whole school year,” I whisper as my feelings change to sadness.
I watch as he reaches over and takes my hand. The feelings that run through me are indescribable. My eyes shift up slowly and see he’s staring at me and by the look on his face I can tell he’s feeling them too. At least I hope so. “I know. I’ve never felt this way before and I wish things were different. Sad thing is we’ll have to pretend the whole time but I know we can do it, Em. Don’t you think it will be worth the risk in the end?” I nod sadly and squeeze his hand. “Come on. It’s almost five in the morning. You need to try to get at least some sleep.”
I hated to leave knowing that this will be the hardest thing to do, not being able to be friends like we want, not being able to hold hands, and show how we really feel. But reluctantly, we finally leave, me with a heavy heart and I think he feels that way too. I go home, take a shower and lie in bed, sleep not coming any time soon.
“Girl, if you don’t get some good sleep soon, you’re gonna fall over where you stand,” Tina shrills at me as I’m cleaning glasses behind the bar. “I mean it. Your late night hours, studying and classes are gonna do you in. I think you need an intervention.” I laugh, giggling uncontrollably, and then clamp my mouth shut. Her face then turns serious. “Em, you’re seriously slap happy. Take something that will knock you out or something bad’s gonna happen in the state you’re in. I’m serious!”
I roll my eyes and lean on the counter. “Tina, you’re one of my best friends.” She gives me her best smirk. “Okay, you’re like one of my two best friends and I appreciate your concern but I’ve been going like this for the last two years. If I stop now it’ll throw me all outta whack.”