The coffee shop was unusually quiet for a Saturday, what with many of the students having gone to their families for Thanksgiving. Joey was staying in Michigan for the weekend, and Lauren hadn't been able to get the time off work so he spent most of Saturday in the coffee shop keeping her company.
He was her only customer for the first few hours, and she spent almost all her time sat out front talking to him, their hands entwined casually on the table between them. He was still thinking about how he almost kissed her in the car the other night, and what it meant that she had bolted, but he tried not to show it.
At around lunchtime a flood of people came in the door, all wearing suits and carrying briefcases. Lauren watched them arrive, her eyes widening. Realising that she was the only person here and she was going to have to take care of all the orders herself, she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before sliding her hands from Joey's and jumping up to go behind the counter.
"Hi, what can I get you?"
She took order after order seamlessly, and Joey watched in awe, but he could tell it was starting to get to her. Her hands were shaking as she passed across cups and she almost dropped the change she was handed and she moved to put it in the till.
"I asked for a flat white, not a latte!"
Joey's hands tensed as he heard the customer shout at Lauren. He watched her take a deep breath and plaster an apologetic smile on her face.
"Sorry, sir, I'll get that for you right now."
"It's not difficult! You're a barista and you can't even make coffee?"
Her lips pressed together and he could see her trying not to cry, but she couldn't stop herself letting out a sob as tears starting rolling down her cheeks. Joey felt his heart breaking at the same time as a surge of anger overtook him. He rushed around to the other side of the counter and pulled Lauren into his chest, rubbing her back as he felt her shaking against him.
He led her by the shoulders into the back room, sitting her down and promising he'd be back. Then he returned to the front of the shop and placed his hands on the counter in a stance he hoped made him seem at least a little more authoritative.
"Hey, give her a break! She's been working this shift all by herself, working her ass off to get your orders done. The least she deserves is a bit of respect!"
He could tell neither the man who had shouted at Lauren nor his colleagues waiting in line behind him knew how to respond to this college boy reprimanding them. Some of them shuffled their feet, looking at the floor. The culprit coughed uncomfortably.
"Can I help anyone?" he asked after a minute. He didn't have the first clue about how to make some of these coffees, but he managed as best as he could. Luckily, the businessmen seemed more subdued after his outburst, and none of them complained about their orders.
After the last of them had finally left the shop, he went into the back. Lauren had calmed down, no longer crying, but she was curled up in her chair, her arms wrapped around her legs.
He crouched down in front of her, reaching up to wipe the mascara from under her eyes.
"You okay?"
She sniffed, smiling weakly at him. "Yeah. He just hit a nerve. I've been thinking a lot about how it feels like I'm never going to make anything of my life. It just feels like I'm letting myself and everyone down."
He tilted his head to the side, reaching a hand out to her cheek. "You could never let me down." She leaned her head into his hand, smiling gratefully.
"Is your boss in today?" he asked her after a moment.
Lauren shook her head. Of course her boss wasn't working on Thanksgiving weekend.
"C'mon then, we're closing up."
"What?"
"You've only got," he paused to check his watch, "an hour left of your shift, you're probably not gonna have any more customers anyway, and you deserve to finish early."
He held out a hand to her, and after a moment she took it. He pulled her up out of her chair and kept hold of her hand as she locked up. Once they were stood outside, she looked at him expectantly.
"So what are we doing now?" she asked.
"Anything you want."
"Do you just wanna come over and watch a movie?"
"I'd love to," he grinned.
She swung their hands between them as they walked in a comfortable silence. When they got to her apartment she gestured to the couch and Joey flopped down on it. She returned from the kitchen with drinks for both of them and a bowl of popcorn, and picked up the remote to bring up Netflix.
Lauren started off sat at the other end of the couch, but over the course of the film she edged closer and closer to Joey until she ended up leaning against him, her head on his chest. He put an arm around her, pulling her closer to him, and she toyed distractedly with the bottom of his t-shirt. He held his breath as her fingers unintentionally brushed his skin, but she didn't seem to notice.
Lauren got up towards the end of the movie to go to the bathroom, and while she was gone Joey spotted a picture on the mantelpiece. He stood up and wandered over to it.
It was a photo of Lauren and two people he assumed to be her parents. He picked it up to look at it more closely. She was much younger, and she was holding a silver trophy inscribed with her name.
He felt her come up behind him and wrap her arms around him.
"That's from when I won the regional dance championships."
He set the picture back down and turned around in her arms to face her. "You dance?"
She shrugged. "Not as often as I used to."
"Is there anything you can't do?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Make coffee, apparently." She rolled her eyes with a smile, but there was a slight frown on her face and he could tell she was still thinking about the incident earlier.
"You know you're not a failure, right?" he said softly.
She looked down, but he lifted her chin up with his thumb to meet his eyes.
He watched her gaze flick from his eyes to his lips and his breath caught. Just as he was leaning in towards her, she abruptly stepped back, picking up the TV remote.
"The movie's finished," she said blankly.
She was stood staring at the TV, refusing to look at him. He couldn't figure this girl out. He really thought she liked him, but twice now when he'd tried to kiss her she'd bailed. Had he got the wrong impression?
"I guess I'll head home then," he said flatly.
She nodded but didn't say anything. Joey sighed internally and started to head out.
He paused at the door, thinking. "We need a choreographer for our new show. Maybe you wanna help out?"
At last she turned to him, a slight smile on her face.
"I'd like that."
"Great. See you Monday?"
"Can't wait."
He walked home, still thinking about Lauren - although that wasn't unusual because she was swiftly becoming a very regular presence on his mind. They'd become so close over the month that they'd known each other, and from Joey's end at least it seemed like they were almost a couple. If it were up to him he'd make it official. Partly because he really liked Lauren, he loved spending time with her, they got on well and she made him happy. Partly because he really, really wanted to kiss her.
But he wasn't going to make a move until he was sure that it was what she wanted too. He could only hope that she gave him some sort of sign soon.
