Like A Forest Fire || Bbangsaz

I.

On the first day that Hanni starts working at Starbucks, she swears to herself that she will never write her number down on someone's coffe cup. No matter how cute they are. She will simply not allow herself to fall down to that level.

"It's so ridiculous," she tells Danielle when it comes up in conversation during one of her first days. "Completely desperate, and such a cliché too. I'd never do it."

Danielle gives her a knowing smile. "You just wait, new girl. It happens to all of us at some point." She grins, leaning back against the counter. "Someone unexpectedly attractive will walk in and you just won't be able to stop yourself, no matter how hard you try."

She waves her hand in front of her face pretending to be fanning herself. Hanni simply rolls her eyes at her new colleague and continues rearranging the pieces of a red velvet cake, while Danielle winks at her.

She hasn't even been working at Starbucks for even a month when indeed, it does happen.

Hanni was rinsing out the milk cans in the sink with her back to the counter when she hears someone cough behind her. In the hurry to spin around and help the costumer, she accidentally turns the faucet the wrong way, causing an abrupt wave of water to spray up out of the sink, all over her shirt.

"Fuck-" she swears as the water starts dripping down the front of her white shirt, soaking right through it. The fabric keeps sticking to her stomach, as she tries to wrench out her sleeves in a pathetic attempt to clean herself up. Jesus Christ - she's been working here for a month already, and she's still fucking up.

"Maybe you should take it off."

Hanni spins around and there she is - long dark hair, hazel eyes, teasing smile on her face that can either be interpreted as suggestive or innocent, which is quiet the unsettling combination.

"W-what-" Hanni stammers

The girl's eyes flicker down to Hanni's shirt.
"Your shirt - maybe you should take it off. You don't want to get yourself wet."

For some reason, Hanni can feel herself getting flustered, even though it makes no fucking sense to get flustered over something like that, because of course the girl doesn't mean it like that. Damn her mind for being so goddamn inappropriate all the time.

"Yeah, um," Hanni mumbles, pulling on the fabric. "I probably should - sorry about that - I'll just.." She can see her manager eyeing her from the other side of the café and she quickly straightens her spine, walking up to the register. "I mean - can I get you anything to drink?"

The girl smiles at her, the corner of her lip curling up in a way that makes Hanni's pulse heat up under her skin. "Just a cappuccino, please."

"A-all right," Hanni says, trying not to let the nerves of her embarrassment make her voice waver. She grabs one of the paper cups. "What's your name?"

The girl looks Hanni up and down, smile still spread on her face. "What's yours?"