AN: This prompt is: 'i ordered a pumpkin spice latte at starbucks and you made a heart with the foam and i decided to drink it here so i can smile at you some more' au. Reviews sustain me.
The redhead had spunk, Riley would give her that. Anyone able to bully a six-foot asshole out of a Starbucks at ten at night was certainly crazy enough to be interesting.
"-and fuck you kindly!"
The barista slammed the door behind the rude-as-hell customer with slightly more force than necessary, and stalked back over to behind the counter. She took a deep breath and combed a few strands of red hair out of her freckled face, then turned to Riley with a forced smile bordering on scary.
She couldn't help but grin back. "So. Your day seems like it went well."
The smile turned into a grimace and the barista pinched the bridge of her nose, leaning against the counter. "You've no fucking idea."
Riley turned a laugh into a cough, hiding her smile behind her hand. "Sucks, man. But I hear coffee has bean the grounds of many a strong and heated discussion."
The barista looked up, her jaw slack and eyes wide.
Jesus, that's a vivid green…
"Did you just…?" She broke first into a fit of giggles, which progressed to full laughter. Her laughter proved to be infectious, and Riley joined in. The few other patrons in the small coffee shop stared at them like they were insane, but the barista either didn't notice or didn't care.
"Coffee's my daily grind," she said with a wide grin once she calmed herself down enough to speak. "But it can cause a latte problems."
Riley doubled over in her laughter. They both were probably finding the puns way too funny—she could have sworn the barista's laughter was slightly hysterical—but she couldn't bring herself to care. It felt good to laugh. She'd been so stressed lately, trying to juggle work and her late father's wishes for her to join the military—which was enforced by a judgmental Memaw several states away and a lifetime of being groomed for it—that it was amazing to just let it all go for a minute. By the dark circles under the redhead's eyes and her hair messily pulled back into a ponytail, Riley guessed she felt much the same.
Their laughter faded to giggles and the barista combed a few strands of hair out of her face again. "Oh, man. Thanks for that. So, what would you like?"
"I...actually don't know. Never had the pumpkin spice latte before, I guess, " Riley said, remnants of mirth still tugging at the corners of her lips. "Is it any good?"
The barista put on a deadpan expression. "It's pumpkin perfected; the taste of fall."
Riley snorted and grinned, recognizing the words straight from the advertisement. "What's it really?"
"Overpriced shit."
She barked a laugh and the barista grinned crookedly. "In that case, just a regular old vanilla latte."
"Here or to go?" she asked, moving away from the counter to make the drink.
"Here, please," Riley replied, pulling out her wallet. "How much do I owe you?"
"Oh, don't worry about it; I'll pick it up," the barista said offhandedly, waving away the money.
Riley blinked. "What?"
The redhead shrugged and Riley could have sworn she saw a blush creeping up her cheeks. "You made me laugh. It's the least I can do."
Riley pointedly dropped a five dollar bill in the empty tip jar and smiled cheekily. The barista rolled her eyes and put the finishing touches on the coffee. "It's two thirty, genius. Says it on the sign."
"Maybe I was tipping how much money I'd have if I had five dollars every time I saw someone as beautiful as you."
Oh shit. She bit the inside of her mouth. Where the hell did that come from? The barista almost dropped the coffee, turning bright red. She set it down on the counter and bit her lip, not quite meeting Riley's eyes, which were watching the barista's lips.
Fuck. This isn't supposed to happen.
She tore her eyes away from the barista and picked up the cup. Either there was a sloppy heart drawn in the foam, or the Powers That Be were fucking with her.
Shit. Shit shit shit. I'm not even into girls. Am I?
She glanced up at the barista, who was still blushing and awkwardly staring at her shoes, and imagined kissing her. A little thrill shot through her.
Fuck. Guess I am.
Riley stared down at her latte and made a decision. She leaned against the counter—there was no line to hold up—took a sip of her coffee, and grinned at the barista when she looked up. She's cute and seems interested; might as well see how deep this rabbit hole goes. She turned redder, if that were possible, and nervously hunched her shoulders.
"I...uh...I-"
"-want my number?" Riley finished for her with a slight smile. Her green eyes slid away and she wrung her hands.
"If that's okay? I-I don't want to assume, I just-"
"Hey," Riley said, cutting her off. She leaned forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, glancing down at her nametag as she did so. Ellie. Fucking hell, even her name is adorable. "Relax, Ellie. I don't bite. Can I see your phone?"
Ellie fumbled pulling her phone out of her pocket, nearly dropping it, and handed it to her. Riley opened the contacts list to add herself and paused. There was only one contact; Marlene.
What the hell? Who only has one—No, not my business. I'm not going to ask.
Riley made a new contact and added her number, then handed Ellie her phone back. She looked down at it, then smiled sheepishly.
"I guess I probably should've asked your name before asking for your number, Riley."
Riley grinned back and shrugged. "It's fine. When does your shift end?"
"It actually ended an hour ago," Ellie admitted, rubbing the back of her neck. "But there's no one else here and I'm not supposed to board everything up until eleven."
"Which would be in thirty minutes."
"Which would be in thirty minutes," Ellie agreed with a sigh, crossing her arms. Riley leaned back against the counter and smiled.
"Guess you're stuck with me 'til closing time, then," she said. The redhead shook her head, but she was smiling.
"You don't have to do that. It's late, and you probably have someone waiting for you at home, right?"
Riley's smile faded and she looked down into her latte, which had grown lukewarm while they talked. "Not really. Just a house of ghosts."
Ellie went still behind her. "Yeah. Me too."
