Sugar

5

chapter five
florence thompson
song: earth angel - the penguins
(diner music)

     "Girl, you got yourself a whole ass sugar daddy?!" Rico's high pitched voice pierced my ears as I stood next to the coffee machine, filling an order for a customer as he sat with his elbows on the counter between us, propping his head up with us hands.

    "No!" I hissed, pulling the cup out and tearing two sugar packets open before stirring them in.

    Rico is my other coworker at Glenn's Midnight Diner, self proclaimed gay BFF and Dance Dance Revolution King.

    He has many titles.

    I accidentally spilled the beans to him this morning when Aria called me during our break and hounded me about the oh so mysterious sugar daddy. Of course Rico's cat-like hearing picked up quickly on what Aria said on the other line, much to my annoyance.

    He hounded me for far too long before I finally caved and told him everything from the conversation I'd had with Aria the other night all the way up to the phone number I'd saved in my phone but had yet to text.

    Truth be told, I had no idea what I was supposed to say.

    Hey, super hot guy that is totally and completely out of my league, it's that Plain Jane girl you met on that weird sugar baby app. Which one? Oh, just the one that sometimes pours her milk into her cereal first, of course.

    No? Not a good idea? I didn't think so either.

    "Oh, so what?" He scoffed, pushing himself up from the counter, still resting a hand on it as he gave me an unamused look. "You're just gonna let this cute, rich, clearly interested in you dude go to waste? Send him my way, honey! Sis got debt to pay." He pursed his lips, flipping his imaginary hair sassily.

    I rolled my eyes.

    "I'm not going to let him go to waste," I said, using air quotes, "I just don't want to get mixed up in that whole...mess. I'm not cut out to be a sugar baby, even Ben thinks so–,"

    "Ben thinks what?" A new voice entered our conversation and I turned to find Ben coming from the swinging door that led to the kitchen.

    His messy brown hair was effortlessly boyish, per usual, along with his silly grin that pulled up to one side more than the other. He was currently tying his apron around his waist, his gaze locked on me and my words seemed to be stuck in my throat.

    "That Rico is the sexiest human alive, of course," Rico quipped quickly, a teasing grin tugging at the corners of his pink lips.

    I released a snort, stirring the sugar into the customers drink before handing it over to Rico to bring to the gentleman in the corner of the shop who also happened to be half of the guests we have currently.

    "You're a funny guy, Rico," Ben chuckled lowly, running a hand through his waywardly hair.

    Rico and Ben had the cutest dynamic, admittedly. Rico has been crushing on Ben—who doesn't have a crush on this guy at some point in their life, seriously?—since Ben got hired at the diner two years ago, and made no effort to hide that fact.

    Ben didn't seemed bothered by his playful comments, and usually just bantered back and forth with Rico.

    "He's a hoot," Ben mumbled, shaking his head with a grin spreading across his face as he leaned forward onto the counter.

    Rico skated off with the cup of hot coffee, skillfully not spilling any as he arrived to the man in the corner, serving him with a smile across his handsome face.