Oh Boy! (BL)

8 - Happy Days (1/3)

"You can call it a day, kiddo."

I lifted my eyes from the stock list in my hands. It was Wednesday evening and Matt was carrying a box full of books that had yet to be put on their shelves. "Huh?"

My boss glanced left and lifted his brows. "Your colossal buddy over there's been waiting for you for hours."

I followed his gaze to the café where Kenner was sitting at one of the delicate coffee tables, grimly staring at the poetry anthology in his hands.

"But I'm not done yet," I remarked.

"You're weird, kiddo." He messed up my hair. What was it with people touching my hair?! "The books won't run away, y'know?"

Matt reached for my stock list and gave me a look that didn't allow any protest.

My snorting made him chuckle. "Good boy."

I looked at him blankly. "What? Am I a dog now?"

Accompanied by the rough sound of his laughter, I walked over to the café. Mandy, the tall barista, met me halfway with a mug of black coffee in hand. "For you, Ken."

"Thanks."

She leaned into me after I took the mug into my hand. "Five more minutes and your huge friend would've scared away my customers."

I grinned crookedly. "Can't promise that it'll get better."

She raised one slim pink eyebrow. "How bad are we talking?"

"Poetry tutoring."

She groaned. "Ken! Why didn't you say so earlier? Poor boy! I'll pour him a double espresso!" That said, she went back behind the bar.

When I approached the table, Kenner had just lifted his phone and kept staring at the screen. Given that there was a royal frown on his face, whatever he was reading had to be bad news.

"Everything alright?"

He blinked. "Huh? Oh, yeah...yeah. I'm good."

"You sure?" I put my mug down on the table and took a seat opposite him. "If you gotta leave, we can postpone this session."

He smirked. "You're far too nice, you know that? I could totally use you."

Wow. I took a sip from my black coffee.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and told me that some super good player of the Mariners on whatever-important-position was rumored to transfer to the Red Sox.

Ugh, baseball. Another sport that never got through to me.

As promised, Mandy brought Kenner a double espresso which he accepted despite being totally confused. After that, we repeated what we'd already studied throughout the weeks, and two hours of non-stop studying later, we scored a small success. Stunned, Kenner stared at his notepad after I told him that his analysis was plausible.

"Seriously?" he breathed.

I took a sip from my third cup of coffee and nibbled on the muffin Mandy had talked me into eating. If Mandy was able to talk the paying customers into buying as much as she offered me for free, I was no longer surprised that the café was such a hit.

Kenner's head shot up. "Thank you, Ken! I think I got this! If..."

"Excuse me?" A lovely old lady stepped up to our table. She was dressed in a vintage dress and held a leather-bound book in her hand. "My dear boy, would you mind telling me where I can find the cashier?"

Wearing Book Den's green and white striped polo shirt wasn't exactly hiding that I was one of the employees. Smiling brightly, I offered her my arm. "I'll show you the way."