Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. No profit is being made from this story.

new customer

Preparing a good cup of coffee was an art form. My boss Joe had branded that phrase into my mind since the first day I'd started working at his coffee shop. You cannot add too much sweetener to the coffee, he'd tell me regularly. Sugar ruins the intricacies of a smooth roast.

It was a tiny and warm, nestled on the corner of Lake and Elmwood between a boutique clothing store and a trashy day spa. Cup 'O Joe was certainly not glamorous in its name and held a form of unavoidable cheesiness that did not exist in the more luxurious, modern Beanery that had opened months prior a few blocks down. Regardless of the subtle outdated hues permeating throughout the store, I held a fondness for Joe and the quaintness of his shop he'd been running for over thirty years. He'd taken me in as an employee when I was eighteen years old and desperately needing some cash to line my wallet for college. Three years later, and I still find myself taking the long walk to his store to prepare coffee for the regular customers I'd grown to know.

This particular morning had been beautiful. It was mid-month October, with a sweet spiciness breezing through the air and brushing against my face. The walk was pleasant during these cooler months, and I was able to encompass a lingering appreciation for the colors that autumn offered. The sky was blanketed in deep grays, casting a comforting dimness to the sidewalk pavement. I loved this time of year so much.

I strolled through the doors, the recognizable dinging noise echoing as I made my way towards the counter. Joe was hard at work, exchanging a wad of bills from a woman for a cup of steaming coffee. As I walked towards the back of the counter, I recognized the woman to be Mrs. Howard; she was a sweet woman in her fifties with more stress lining her mouth and eyes than most her age. She gave me a small half-smile and nodded before making her way out of the store and into the cool morning air.

"Bella," Joe said warmly, closing the register and wiping his hands across his apron. "How was the drive?"

As I hung my jacket and bag over a knob in the back wall near the pantry door, I smiled slightly. Joe was in his sixties - an older man with salt and pepper hair and a heart of gold. While his energy as a manager and owner of his beloved shop was still noticeable, his progressing age was definitely shining through.

"I don't drive here, Joe," I said teasingly, reaching for my red apron and tying it around my waist. "I don't have a car, remember?"

Smacking his hand lightly again his thinning hairline, he let out a short laugh. "Of course. My mind does not work the way it used to."

As I washed my hands in preparation for the heavy traffic that would soon flood the store, I saw a petite form skipping towards the counter. It was Alice; she was a regular employee and one of my best friends for years.

"Morning!" she sang, stepping around the counter with her trademark bubbly grin plastered on her small mouth. "It's a beautiful morning, isn't it?"

"I didn't know you were working today," I said. "I thought you usually work the afternoon shift."

"I do," she affirmed, hanging her heavy coat and deep blue scarf on an empty knob next to my things. "But I have an exam at three, so I figured I'd take the earlier shift today."

Alice strode towards Joe, leaning over and pecking him lightly on the cheek. This gesture brought in a slight grimace from a customer waiting for her decaf latte. I was used to it, however - Alice saw Joe to be a fatherly figure to her and nothing more.

"Always energetic," Joe mused as he handed the warm cup to the woman. "You always give life to my shop, Alice."

"That's what I'm here for," she smiled before turning to me. "Are you coming out with me tonight?"

I suppressed the urge to groan aloud. Alice always went out drinking with a few of her friends from various classes - usually to local bars or the occasional club - and that wasn't something I was into.

"I think you know the answer to this."

"Come on, Bella," she pouted, tying an apron around her narrow waist. "You never come out with us - I promise it'll be fun."

"It always is," I murmured, smiling at a young girl with her mother as they approached the counter. "Hi, there. What can I get for you?"

The woman pursed her lips together slightly, narrowing her eyes at the large menu plastered on the wall behind me. "I'll have a black coffee - " pausing, she glanced at her daughter. "What do you want, sweetie?"

"A hot chocolate," the little girl said, her blonde curls bobbing with a nod. "I want cinnamon on it, too."

"One black coffee and one hot chocolate with cinnamon on it coming right up."

As I poured the coffee into a paper cup for the woman and started on the hot chocolate machine, Alice let out a loud sigh as she handed the customer her change. "You don't even have to get that drunk."

"Alice, there's a little girl here - "

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she huffed, waving at the woman and little girl. "It's just that I can't stand to see you sit inside with a book or a movie rental again. You're twenty-two, Bella! You need to live a little!"

"I live just fine." Handing the two cups to the clearly annoyed woman, I offered an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about that. She's hyper in the morning."

The woman gave a long look to Alice before turning to leave. "I can see that. Thanks."

As the door closed with her departure, it was my turn to stare at Alice. Joe had been in the back, thankfully, so he wasn't around to verbalize how wrong it is to talk about getting drunk in front of a little girl and her mother. "I know you want me to come out - "

"More than anything."

" - But I'm not into that."

"Please, Bella?"

I sighed. She was persistent.

"Fine," I said. "I'll think about it."

Alice let out a squeal at this, rushing towards me to envelope me in a hug. "I knew you'd come around! You won't regret it, I swear."

I winced as her small arms crushed around me in a vice grip, and then patted her shoulder gently. "I said I'd think about it."

She pulled away then, smiling in my face. "Thinking is better than a flat-out no."

At that, the door opened again and I caught a strong whiff of expensive cologne. Turning to glance at the door, I saw a young man - probably a little older than me - strolling towards the register. He was tall and draped in an expensive dark suit with a light grey silk tie knotted around his neck. His hair was a brown color of some sort, cut short and neat. He made his way to the register, his dark brows furrowed together and his mouth downturned in a frown.

"Hello!" Alice greeted enthusiastically. "What can we get for you today?"

His eyes, which I think were a hazel color, slowly drifted from Alice to me and then to the board. Staring for a long moment, he let his gaze fall back onto me. "What do you have that doesn't taste like shit?"

For the crudeness of his question, his voice was surprisingly calm - cold, even. I let out a little laugh, thinking he'd been joking around, but when I did so, his face remained stoic. Clearing my throat, I chewed my lower lip uncomfortably and craned my head to look at the board. I didn't like how heavy his stare was on me.

"Well, um - " I coughed at the back of my throat, turning to look at him. "Do you like plain coffee or are you into the more elaborate drinks?"

"I take my coffee black."

I nodded. "Okay. Anything in it? Cream? Or sug -"

"No cream. No sugar," he paused, blinking once. "No bullshit."

I blinked. Alright, then.

"That's fine. We have an excellent roast here - "

"I'm only here because my usual place is too crowded and I have a meeting in twenty minutes," he drawled, his gaze never faltering. "So get me my cup of mediocre coffee so I can be on my way."

I was speechless. Who the hell did this guy think he was? Alice, who was usually running her mouth nonstop, was even stunted and staring quietly at the outwardly cold young man.

I resisted the urge to ask him what his problem was - he was a customer, after all - and poured him his mediocre coffee. Handing it to him, I made no attempt to smile. "It'll be two twenty-five."

He let out a little laugh, the corner of his full mouth quirking up only slightly. Fishing through his pocket, he threw a ten onto the counter and grabbed his coffee swiftly. I looked at the bill for a long moment before glancing up at him.

"I said it was two - "

"I'm not deaf," he sneered. "Keep the change."

His gaze lingered for a moment on me before he turned and walked out the door. He was gone before I even realized. Alice was leaning against the counter, staring towards the front of the store with a bewildered expression on her face.

"What was that about?"

I sighed, my shoulders slumping. "I have no idea."

"Bad day, maybe?" she looked towards me.

"Maybe."

We were quiet for a moment before Alice spoke again. "I know one thing's for sure - "

I yawned against my hand, glancing to her. "What's that?"

She grinned then, the whites of her teeth gleaming under the dim lighting. "He was gorgeous."

I sighed, rolling my eyes. Typical Alice.

Forcing a smile to my face as another much friendlier customer entered the store, I couldn't shake the vision of those cold eyes searing into me.

It would be a long day.