So here it is, the chapter you were all waiting for! I hope the wait was worth it!
Rrrriiiiiiiiiing!
I am wide awake suddenly and my heart is beating hard inside my chest. The sight before my eyes goes blank because I got up too fast and my head is spinning as I successfully turn off my alarm, blindly swiping on the screen. Once my eyes are able to see colors again, I check my phone and see that I woke up an hour before my work. I think about going back to bed, as I'd usually do, but I don't think I'd be able to fall asleep after waking up this harsh, so I decide to expand my morning routine.
I am under the shower in no time and it takes me only twenty minutes to take a shower, brush my teeth and put on clothes and subtle makeup. The next thing I do is make fast breakfast – nothing better than milk and cereal, right? The only thing I feel sorry for not having this morning is a coffee machine. And my mind wonders off to a certain brunette with deep, brown eyes and skin made of gold. I'd have my coffee with her this morning. She promised to teach me how to make foam and, even though I am not the biggest fan of coffee with milk, I'd drink ten lattes this instant if that meant ten minutes spent with Regina.
The rest of my morning routine flies away and I am in front of the café ten minutes before my shift and, look at that, the door is unlocked. There is no black Mercedes as I expected outside, but as I walk inside the little restaurant, Regina's figure is clear behind the counter.
"Miss Swan, you're early. Breaking my little morning routine." Her voice is a bit hoarse, sounds like she woke up a couple minutes ago and these are the first words leaving her lips today.
"I can just sit while you drink your coffee, if you want." And I truly mean it. I wouldn't mind having a seat and a gorgeous view on my boss sipping her morning coffee. Black, I notice. No milk. She probably drinks it with no sugar, or with that natural sugar – stevia, was it? She also looks like a person who exercises at least five times a week, eats salads and doesn't cheat on her diet even for the most delicious piece of cake. All in all, she looks like everything I am not, and that excites me, that is exactly what makes my eyes and mind glued to her like a moth to the flame.
Her laugh brings me back to reality from my thoughts and suddenly, my lips are widening into a smile, following her lead. "Am I that scary to you, Miss Swan?" She's leaning over the counter, resting her elbows on the white surface. Her cleavage is very nice from where I am standing and I force my eyes to meet hers again after dropping a bit too low. Looking at her face now, I realize she's still smiling and most probably joking. I don't know why people said she was the biggest bitch in this town. Then again, she was not very nice with me yesterday and come to think of it, this might be the first time she seems genuinely nice with me.
"No, it's just… You're my boss and I didn't want to intrude." My answer is only partially true. I do want to intrude, but she is my boss so I thought it would be the best if I respected her privacy.
"I am your boss and I did make a promise for this morning. So would you mind?" She's motioning for me to come behind the counter and I drop my bag on one of the chairs before joining her. Now that I have the full picture, I am even more in love with this woman because, damn, she's full of surprises. Her legs are wrapped up in a pair of skinny jeans, torn at her knees. A plain, black shirt with a V neck looks way more refined on her than it ever could on me, but either way, I did not expect to see the Evil Queen wearing a shirt, jeans and sneakers when I woke up this morning.
She must have caught me staring because she's crossing the small distance between us and fixing her eyes on mine. Just when I think how she's gonna make the one last step to close all the distance, she stops and holds my gaze with the weirdest, most self satisfied look I've ever seen on her. "I'm guessing that Lucas girl told you quite a bit about me the moment I walked out the door. I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that it was all bad." Her look is giving me chills and I feel incredibly small. At the same time, I am aware that she is close enough for me to be breathing the same air as her, and I don't mind one bit.
Still, as I open my mouth to lie to my boss, I am aware that whatever's gonna leave my lips is going to sound ridiculous because she probably knows no one in town likes her. So instead, I just shrug my shoulders and decide to say the partial truth. "Well you know how people are here in Storybrooke, everyone talks. Doesn't mean it's true." The smile I offer is small and my answer seems to be enough to Regina as she shifts away from me and sighs.
"Well, I don't care what people say about me, Miss Swan, as long as it doesn't affect how you work here, is that clear?" Her brown orbs are back on me and I nod my head in confirmation quickly. "Now, we're gonna teach you how to make foam, right? Because we can't have bad foam served to our guests."
I say nothing, as I feel the conversation between us is over and we are down to actions now. Actions I find quite to my liking because the goddess of a woman in front of me is turning around and bending down, opening one shelf from the bottom and pulling out milk from it. During the process, my eyes are mainly stuck on her perfect backside, but I remind myself that she is my boss and I don't stand a chance.
"Milk is always down here." She's turned towards me once again, and I walk a short distance to where she is, just to, once again, nod in confirmation. "I hope August told you already, but we have soy, almond, rice, coconut, oat and regular, cow milk. Depending on the preference of our guests, you'll be making coffees with these milks." And she's turning to the other side of the counter, pulling out a metal pot for milk. "Come here, you're making the foam."
"But… I've never made foam before. Can't you show me first?" I am insecure because yesterday August tried to explain the process to me, but it was very early in the morning and milk really wasn't on my mind as much as Regina.
"Don't worry, I'll help you." Gone was the cold woman people called the Evil Queen. She seemed genuinely nice and as I stood in front of the counter, she closed the space between us, so now she was standing side by side with me, our shoulders brushing slightly. "I am guessing August already showed you how to make an espresso, but let's go through it again, shall we?"
"Yeah, I know that." I smile and take control over this. Okay, I've made a thousand espressos yesterday, at least. I take the coffee extract bar and push it into the coffee grinder. It already smells amazing, even before it's made, and I continue with my process. I take the round thing you press coffee with, which yesterday I referred to as "presser", and August didn't correct me, and press the coffee into the bar. Just as I'm about to put it back into the coffee machine, I feel a warm hand stop me. I wondered how her touch would feel many times, but I didn't know my body would react this way to her. To the proximity, to the feel of my skin under her fingers, to the warm breath leaving her lips just to settle on my shoulder. She feels like the only person in the world right now and I can't help stealing a look on her eyes. Her eyes, though, are focused on my hand, and gliding slowly down it, to my palm and moving it so the coffee bar is set on the counter once again.
"You see the bits of coffee left on corners? You can't leave anything out, it has to be perfectly pressed and equal everywhere, not leaning on any sides, okay?" I am thinking of replying with words, but I am also pretty sure that only a groan would go out of my lips, so I settle for a nod, once again. She must think I am stupid or something, I barely spoke two words since I came this morning and all I do is move my head up and down. A way to impress your lady, Swan. But it doesn't matter, because the next thing I know, she's taking the bar in her own hands, our fingers touching for a moment. I am pretty sure I am blushing because suddenly the room feels incredibly hot, but I ignore the feeling and watch her fix what I've done. Internally I kick August for not showing me how to do this the right way, because today I could have impressed Regina and instead she is showing me how to make coffee from scratch. Before I even notice, she's done with everything and pouring milk into the pot. She doesn't seem to make notice of my mental wandering away, but I am suddenly freaking out about what comes next.
But seriously, what the hell is wrong with me? It's just milk. We're gonna make hot milk and foam, that's it.
"Miss Swan? Would you mind?" She's stepping away and motioning for me to stand in her place. "Are you feeling alright, dear? You look flustered and seem a bit lost." My cheeks burn even stronger at this notion and I smile awkwardly before muttering out a "yeah". "Would you mind taking the pot, then?"
"Oh, yeah." I am indeed lost because I am pinned in a very small space between Regina and the counter and I feel like the air is getting thicker with each breath I take. My hands close around the metal pot and I have no idea what to do next.
"This is the steam wand, you have to be careful with it, the air coming out is hot and you don't want to burn yourself." Before I know what the hell is happening, Regina's body is pressed against my back, her hands on each side of my own, almost as if she was embracing me. My heart is beating like crazy, and I don't really hear the rest of the things she says. I let her hand lead mine, putting the steam wand or whatever inside the pot, and she flicks a plastic stick above it. "You have to let it blow just a bit of air on the surface, that way the foam will be soft and creamy, alright?" Her eyes are on my face now and as I turn to face her, I realize that there is only a breath of space between us that I'd need to close for a kiss. My eyes land on her pink, full lips and the scar on them for a moment too long and I can almost feel myself leaning in before I remember why we're there and what we're doing.
"Uh-huh." Is all I manage before looking away. She saw it. She must have seen it. I can still feel the warmth of her breath on my neck and her focus is back on the milk just a second after I turn away.
Her left hand moves a little bit down, not fully covering my own anymore, but also the pot. "Now, when you feel that the pot is hot enough so you can't hold it comfortably anymore, that's the sign your milk is warm enough. Can you feel it?"
Oh I most certainly can feel it. I am burning and I am a hundred percent sure that the pot in my hands is ice cold compared to me, but I nod my head, too scared to look Regina's way.
Her right hand moves away from mine and the moment it's gone, I miss the warmth there. But I can also hear the funny sound milk makes as she flicks the plastic stick back in place and I see that the perfect foam she helped me make now has a lot more bubbles than before. I must have moved my hand and messed it up when I lost the contact, and I want to kill myself on one hand, but on the other I hope she's gonna help me make another one, and another one, and as many as it takes until I get it right. But she doesn't and she's out of my personal space before I can even protest.
"I messed it up." I say, setting the pot on the counter and running a hand through my hair.
"It's alright. This one can be saved." Regina smiles and she makes an espresso in a big cup before taking the pot with milk, hitting it lightly on the counter a couple times. "You see, the milk settles when you do this and the bubbles go away if there's not too many of them." She's circling with the pot and I can see the foam getting its creamy look again. "And you have a pretty decent coffee with this." Regina says, pouring the milk in the cup, her hand doing movements I think I'll never manage. In the end, I see a little swan made of foam and espresso colors and my heart is full in an instant. She's a master of art and I can honestly say I fucking love her. "A swan for a Swan." Her smile is abnormally kissable and I'd want nothing more than to just run my hands through her brown, glossy hair and capture those full lips in a word shattering kiss. But it's not meant to be and I just take the cup from her hands, intentionally touching her fingers in the process.
"Thank you." I could swear her eyes linger on mine more than intended, and the smile she's giving me feels real, not like the one I got on my first day, or on my interview. But the moment is quickly gone as the front door opens and August walks in. Great. What a way to ruin what could have been the best day of my life.
"Good morning, Booth." If I didn't know better, I'd say I see disappointment on Regina's face too. But I do know better and this can only be my imagination playing with me. "Now, I'll leave you to your work. Enjoy your coffee, Miss Swan." She fucking winks at me and is gone right after.
"Fuck…" I mutter under my breath, completely unprepared for the rest of my day.
I sip my coffee in what feels like two swallows and I can swear on my life this is the best coffee I have ever had in my life. Because Regina freaking Mills made it for me, with me.
Hope you like this, guys. xoxo
