"Finn. Come on. Stop being ridiculous." Rey giggled as her best friend continued to slide further and further down into his chair until he was nearly under the table.
"I can't let him see me." Finn hissed, trying not to draw attention to himself.
"Why?"
"Because it's embarrassing! That's why!"
"Finn, you're acting like an idiot. He probably wouldn't recognize you if he saw you again." She offered. Finn narrowed his eyes at her.
"I'm not taking that chance." He whispered. "Quick, do something distracting so I can slip upstairs and hide until he leaves."
"I don't think he's leaving anytime soon." Rey told him, watching as Maz handed the man a paper and pointed to their table. "In fact, I think he's coming over here."
"What? No. No. No. Please, God. Why me?" Finn mumbled as the man approached their table. Rey gave him a warm smile.
"Hi, Ms. Kanata said you guys could help me fill out this application." He said, a smile tugging at his lips when he saw Finn, who was trying to look as small as possible. "Hey, I know you. Remember? We met this morning!"
"Uh no. I, uh, I don't think so." Finn stammered.
"Yes, you did." Rey interjected. If looks could kill, Rey would have been dead ten times over.
The man smiled, extending his hand to the flustered barista. "I'm Poe. Poe Dameron."
"Finn." He replied, tentatively shaking the man's hand. Poe. The name fit him. It rolled of the tongue smoothly and just sounded right. Rey cleared her throat and took Poe's hand.
"I'm Rey. It's good to meet you, Poe." She smiled charmingly. "How can we help you?"
"Well, I'm new to town and I saw an ad saying that this cafe was looking for someone to play music." He explained, patting his guitar case with a smile. "Figured I'd come down and give it a shot."
"Are you any good?" Rey teased. Poe chuckled lightly, biting softly at his bottom lip.
"I like to this so." He glanced back over to Finn, his smile shining brighter. He shook the application in his hand and shrugged, "Would you guys mind helping me fill this out?"
Before Finn could even speak up, Rey jumped out of her chair, grabbed a hold of Poe's shoulders, and guided him into her empty chair. "I, actually, have to get back to work but Finn would be more than happy to help you out."
"But, Rey, I should probably get back to work, too. The afternoon rush is about to hit." Finn called out, his face growing hotter by the second. He couldn't believe his friend was doing this to him. Rey just waved him off with a knowing smirk.
"Nah, that's fine. Maz and I can handle it. You two take your time." She smiled devilishly. "Poe, can I get you something to drink? It's on the house."
"No, I'm fine. Thanks." Poe nodded, stripping off his jacket. He laid it over the back of his chair, running a hand through his glorious hair. Finn gulped, trying so hard to not look at Poe's bulging biceps. His eyes caught a glimpse of something silver tucked under his white shirt. Poe fished it out, revealing worn and battered dog tags.
"Are you in the military?" Finn asked in a timid voice. Poe looked down at the tags with a small, sad, smile.
"Yeah. I was in the Air Force." He answered. Finn wanted to ask why he was no longer in the Air Force but he could tell by the sad look in his eyes and the tightness of his smile that it was probably a sore subject. So instead, he just cleared his throat and pointed to to application in Poe's hand.
"So, um, do you have any questions about that?"
"A few. It says here that Ms. Kanata-"
"Maz. She feels old when people call her Ms. Kanata." Finn grinned, risking a glance over his shoulder. Rey and Maz were busy with customers but they were obviously trying to eavesdrop. Poe chuckled lightly.
"Alright then. It says that Maz provides boarding for her employees. How much is rent?"
"It's free. Maz doesn't charge rent as long as you're an employee. Even if you didn't get the job, you could still rent from her at a low price." Finn explained. Poe let out a sigh of relief.
"That's great. Right now I'm living in this crappy motel that was probably once a crime scene." He joked. Finn couldn't help the butterflies that sprang to life in his stomach. "Do you know if she allows pets? I've got this corgi puppy. He's really well behaved and I've already got him potty trained."
"Maz doesn't mind pets as long as they don't cause any issues." Finn assured him. Poe looked relieved.
"Well, I guess I only have one more question."
"What's that?" Finn asked, taking a drink. Poe folded his arms on top of the table, his eyes smoldering as he grinned.
"Are you single?" Finn choked on his drink, spewing hot coffee all across the table. Poe's eyes widened in concern, "Are you okay, buddy?"
"Yeah. Yep. I'm good. I just need to, um-" Finn stuttered, turning in his seat to look back at Rey. She and Maz were watching the entire scene with horrified expressions. With pleading eyes and a burning face, Finn mouthed HELP ME! Rey ran to his rescue.
"Sorry Poe, I need to steal Finn from you. We're getting slammed and we need all hands on deck." she told him with a fake apologetic smile.
"That's fine. I'll just fill this out and come back tomorrow." He told them, standing up and shrugging on his jacket.
"We'll be here." Rey assured him as his picked up his guitar. Poe shook her hand.
"It's was nice to meet you, Rey." he said, shooting a panty-dropping smile to Finn. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Um, y-yes. You will." Finn stammered, unable to catch his breath. Poe just smiled and headed for the door, waving goodbye to Maz as he left. Finn was frozen, horrified by what just happened.
"Oh sweet, innocent Finn. That was hard to watch." Rey mused, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"I spewed hot coffee all over him."
"I know. I saw. We all saw." Rey giggled. She sighed heavily and interlocked their arms. "Come on, Peanut. We have to get back to work."
"I want to die."
"You can die after your shift's over."