Old Fashioned

Chapter 1

     After exiting the coffee shop, Alex embarked on the long and arduous journey back from the cafe to his job at Brooklyn Books and Novels - which was right across the street. 

     It was a tiny little shop, nestled between several other businesses, with a faded coat of navy blue paint and a creaky wooden sign hanging over the door.

     He trudged his way inside, where the bell above the door rang and alerted his co-worker, Erin, who was still behind the register where he'd left her. She was also the only other individual in the shop.

     "How'd it go?" she asked, perking up.

     Alex dragged himself over to the counter and plunked down on the chair that was stationed behind it.

     "Pretty sure he thinks I'm a total spaz," he said, grimacing as he replayed the conversation in his mind. "It took all of two seconds for him to shut me down, and that totally threw me off my game."

     He used the term "game" loosely, knowing full well he didn't have any to begin with.

     "What?" Erin huffed, prepared to go throw down with this barista for being so foolish as to turn Alex away. "What happened?"

     Alex laid his head down on the counter with a loud thunk - a pathetic attempt to hide the color creeping into his cheeks. 

     "I asked for his number, and he said 'not on the menu,'" he mumbled. Though, he couldn't be too mad. It could've gone a lot worse. He could've laughed in his face, refused him service, or even been straight. "He wasn't rude about it. He just seemed... entirely uninterested."

     Erin shot a glare at the coffee shop, half tempted to go over there and give that boy a piece of her mind. However, she refrained. For now.

     She scooted over a bit so she could give him a couple comforting pats on the back. 

     "There, there, ya goof." She tried to reassure him with a soft smile. "It's his loss. Doesn't realize what he's missing out on."

     Alex lifted his head and let his eyes drift over to the coffee shop now, too. He could still see him through the window, ringing up customers with the same dull expression, entirely oblivious to the sour mood he'd left Alex in. 

     "Well, it wasn't all for nothing," he said, reaching down to pull the peanut butter cookie out of his backpack and handing it to her. "You got a snack out of it."

     Erin's eyes lit up as she snatched the cookie, then laughed under her breath,

     "You did all that and then still bought something?" she asked with an amused grin.

     "Well I had to play it off somehow," Alex huffed, a soft smile working its way onto his face as he felt his embarrassment begin to subside. "And besides, we've got a long day ahead of us. You're gonna need all the sustenance you can get. You're lucky I bought something I can't eat, otherwise you'd be starving."

     He ruffled her hair, causing it to stick out in just about every direction imaginable, to which. Erin batted his hand away with a scoff, then somewhat smoothed her curls back into place.

     "Better watch yourself there buddy," she warned, wagging her finger back and forth. "Or else I'll sneak some of this in your lunch. Getting to call an ambulance for anaphylactic shock would be the highlight of my day."

     She unwrapped the treat and popped a piece in her mouth, a sugar rush impending. Then, after a few moments, she looked back at Alex.

     "Hey, tell you what, I'll take you out for drinks after work, how does that sound?" she offered. "The place a couple blocks away is great, and maaaybe you'll even meet some guys there, ehh?"