There he was.
He was behind the counter, same as always, cheerfully taking orders. Charlotte always timed her visits to A Whole Latte Love across the street from the high school for the days when he was working. She tried to be stealthy about it, at least at first: she didn't go every day he worked, because he might catch on, and she tried to go to whichever barista was free first so that he didn't think she was lingering. He made sure to say hi, but it both made Charlotte's heart soar when he noticed her and crash back down to her feet when he was equally friendly to whomever she'd dragged in with her that day.
Both Becca and Haley had become convinced that Charlotte had developed a sudden caffeine addiction over the summer; if either one of them found out what her real addiction was, she thought she might die. Instead, she stopped in the bathroom each day to primp and then convinced a friend or two that they needed to work on their homework at the café rather than the library. By the third week of school, it had just become a routine. After their activities were over but before they had to go home, Charlotte's friends gathered for coffee and homework. She'd even managed to sneak her real motive past Vanessa once—Vanessa, who had eagle eyes for flirting and crushes. Vanessa, who would have been disgusted if she knew Charlotte's secret.
And so Charlotte had learned to be good at multitasking. She could answer critical thinking questions for English class while paying far more attention to his every movement. She could read her physics textbook while listening for hidden meanings in his downtime conversations with his pretty redheaded coworker. She could even tutor Haley in algebra while wondering if he might actually notice her if she had Haley's dimples, Becca's height, or even the female barista's auburn locks.
This Friday, though, Charlotte found herself with just her laptop for company. While the WIFI provided her with an excuse to be there, the keyboard lay untouched. Instead, she watched his mannerisms with others: the way he'd shake his brown hair out of his eyes, how he smiled higher on one side than the other when he took orders. She didn't need to work on homework, as she had the whole weekend for that, so she'd made him her assignment for the evening. It went well...until she got caught.
He gave her that lopsided smile and she buried her head over her laptop, pretending furiously to be looking at anything but him. When she raised her eyes over the monitor again, she found him handing an iced coffee to a soccer mom, a touch of a blush still on his cheeks. A rush of customers fifteen minutes later meant the safety to surreptitiously watch him again, wishing it was she that he was joking with instead of that bubbly cheerleader who stopped in for her coffee fix before The Big Game. But the rush slowed again, and Charlotte didn't have to be home for another hour. Fearing another incident like the one before, she opened up an old story she'd been editing and redrafting since she was twelve, forcing herself to ignore him for a long enough to work through a full page.
She'd almost met her goal when a cup of coffee thrust between her and the laptop. She looked up to find him standing beside her. "You've been here a while today," he said, leaving the cup in front of her with a flourish. "I thought you might need another drink."
She glanced at her original cup, which was still full. That was the other part of her secret: Charlotte hated coffee. Every time she came here to study him, she spent nearly $5 for a drink she threw away, completely untouched, as she left. "Thanks," she murmured, trying not to embarrass herself again.
She reached into her purse for her wallet, but he stopped her. "It's on the house. I'll be honest; someone ordered it and then changed her mind and decided she wanted soy milk instead. Normally, we would have thrown it away, but it's your usual. Don't worry, she didn't touch it at all." He gripped the back of the chair across from her so hard that she thought he might be using it to hold himself up. "No friends today?"
Charlotte shook her head and clutched the warm cup with both hands; she was still shocked he actually remembered her coffee order. "Haley's cheering at the game. Becca had to go to New York for the weekend, so it's just me."
"Oh." He looked down at his own feet, and she cursed her lack of small talk skills. Just when she thought she'd blown her chance, he squared his shoulders and spoke in rushed, almost squeaky words. "What are you doing tonight? I-I mean, it'll be dark soon. You shouldn't be walking home alone. I could walk with you—after my shift's over…or…."
She fought a small grin that spread slowly across her face. He was as nervous as she was! "What time does your shift end?"
He looked over at his coworkers, who had gathered to watch the action instead of doing the sort of chores they should have completed in their down time. The redhead winked, and a taller guy waved lazily. "Get out of here," he said, sounding bored. "We got this. See you tomorrow for the early shift."
Charlotte looked expectantly at her crush, who removed his apron. "Let me help you with this stuff." He grabbed the hot coffee as she deftly slid the other one into the trash before she could realize it had merely been an excuse. He retrieved a backpack nearly as heavy as her own from the backroom and the two of them set off towards her house—which was in the completely opposite direction from his own. When Charlotte looked down to adjust the straps on her bag, she caught him looking at her, same as she'd been staring at him.
Now she was the one blushing.