𝒑𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒕 || s. rogers & b. barnes

2||; 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆

⤷ may 2, 2012
━━━━━━━━━━━

"One extra large coffee. Black."

She registers the order in, already knowing the price as she looks at the older man, dressed head to toe in a black office suit, deep eye bags under his eyes. "$3.78, sir," she says.

The man digs into his pockets, digging out the cash and throwing it carelessly onto the counter before moving to the side to wait for his order. She raises her eyebrows, almost impressed at how distasteful he was.

"Definitely a lawyer."

She turns her head to her coworker, Danny, who is already working on the man's coffee. He waits for it to fill by looking at her with a slightly charming crooked smile. The ends of her lips tilt upwards. "What made you guess that impossible answer?" She drawls as she checks in the cash, organizing it in the register.

"The eyes. If you look deep enough you can see his soul."

"Dead?"

"Oh, most definitely."

She lets out a chuckle, Danny flashing her a grin as he removes the cup from the machine and sticks a cap on it. He sets it on the pick-up counter, where the man picks it up right away.

Danny flashes a smile. "Have a lovely day, sir!" He sings.

The lawyer grunts lowly, taking the coffee and not sparing a glance as he leaves the cafe. She makes eye contact with Danny, who turns to her, hands on his hips as he shakes his head with a sigh of disappointment.

"You know, nobody appreciates the art of coffee nowadays."

"The art of it is that it keeps them awake," she replies as a new customer steps up to the cash register, and she faces them. "What can I get for you today?" She asks.

The man has a thin head of brown hair; short in his black and white office suit, but looking much more livelier than the lawyer as he smiles politely at her. "A large cappuccino. A dash of caramel in it, too, if you can."

"Right away, sir," she replies breezily, typing it in. "$4.23," she says, meeting his eyes again.

The short man digs into his pockets, before digging out a five and handing it to her by hand. He flashes her a smile. "Keep the change."

She blinks in surprise, taking the cash and putting it away hesitantly, eyes flickering up to the man. "Thank you, sir," she replies more slowly.

The man bows his head, before walking off to the side for pick up. Danny watches him go, nodding slowly in approval.

"Now that is a man who appreciates the art of coffee," he says in an impressed tone, before looking back at her. "We need more people like him in the world."

"Yeah, definitely," she replies shortly, clenching her right hand, and hearing the crinkle of paper come from it. "Mind the cashier for me? I need to go. Bathroom break."

Danny blinks in surprise at the request. "Er — sure? I mean, what do I tell Paul —"

"Tell him I'm a woman with bodily problems," she mutters over her shoulder as she turns around.

"Oh —" she hears Danny say shortly in surprise and confusion as she walks away. She unfolds the slip of paper in her hand with furrowed brows, reading the sleek writing left behind with a frown.

Meet in the men's bathroom. Refusal will end in complications to the surrounding crowd.

She glances back up, eyebrows furrowing as she clenches the paper, heading straight for the cafe's bathroom, and turning away from the girl's bathroom when she arrives.