A Latte of Love

【☕】12

"Would you stop already?"

I look up at the sound of Sufyan's voice. He stares me down with an expressionless face, as if daring me to continue doing whatever I was doing. "Stop what?"

He sighs in distress, bending down to my eye level. I still have to crane my neck in order to look at him better, but he doesn't meet my eyes. He licks his lips and grabs the towel from my hands, almost aggressively. I sit on the floor in silence as I watch him gather the shards and throw them into the trash. When all the shards are thrown away, he stands up and stretches.

"I closed the shop already," he informs me. "Are you feeling better?"

I look up in surprise. I had completely forgotten about the shop! God, what was wrong with me? Must I be so sensitive?

I quickly stand up and brush off the dirt from my long skirt. Without giving him any reply, I leave the storage room and stare out the windows at the golden sky. Gasping, I fish around in my pockets for my phone.

There's a slam and the sound of keys, as Sufyan locks up the storage room. Fuming, I turn to acknowledge his lousy existence. "There's an entire hour left. Who told you to lock everything up!?" I slam my fist on the counter.

He looks taken aback, but lets out a small laugh. "I did it for you. You didn't seem like you wanted to work, anyways." He glances at my flushed face. "Plus I can't do everything alone."

"Insufferable kid..." I mumble, mostly to myself. Then, out loud, "No one ever wants to work. But we have to provide for our families, somehow. Open. The. Storage."

There's silence as we stare at each other.

"No," he simply replies.

More silence.

He lets out a smirk and as if unbothered by the entire ordeal, continues to pack everything up. I angrily watch him move swiftly around placing cups in the cabinets, scrubbing off the countertop, all with a huge stupid smile on his face. As if he noticed my gaze on him, he looks up and frowns a little. "Listen, you seemed stressed-"

I laugh, cutting him off. "Stressed? Do you even know what that means? Of course not, you've been handed everything in your life with a silver spoon. When have you ever had to work for something?" I was now breathing heavily, talking faster by the minute.

"You have money to spend on the most useless of things. From that watch to the stupid perfume bottle that probably cost a whole month's wage. For God's sake, you of all people should not be mentioning the word stress to me!" Sufyan opens his mouth to reply, but I don't give him a chance. "You've been living this luxurious lifestyle, while the rest of us are out here breaking our behinds in order to get even a fraction of what you earn. You act like a normal person, but you're not! Just like every rich kid, you think you're better than everyone else. But then again, why work at a small coffee shop like this one? Ah, because of your resume, right?"

My chest is heaving and my heartbeat is skyrocketing. "I mean, who wants to work at a place like this?"

Right after the words are out, I immediately regret them.

I grab my bag and step out from behind the counter. I don't meet Sufyan's eyes, but I can feel his gaze on me as I leave the premises. Tears threaten to spill, but I grip my arms tightly, forcing myself to stop. I'm not a kid. I'm a grown woman. I can handle it. Everything is okay.

Everything is okay.

I spot Sana's car and fast walk towards it, my mind jumbled with all sorts of negative thoughts. Don't look back, I tell myself.