"Excuse me," Sam heard a voice from behind him speak up, "I ordered a double shot soy latte with caramel syrup. Not...whatever this is."
Goddammit not already, Sam sighed, tying a work apron around his waist before turning to make amends with Peter's latest victim. The boy may be a genius, but he sure was inept at taking orders and fixing drinks. If Coulson and his Aunt May ever decided to call it quits, Sam hoped Peter was one of the first things his boss gave back, "Sorry about that, ma'am. My partner can be quite a..."
His voice trailed off as he took in the sight of the young woman before him, dressed in a red-and-black peacoat and dark blue jeans. She was rather pretty, with the way her brown hair framed her heart-shaped face and her eyes and lips twisted into a girly pout. Had she been around this place before?
"Can be a what?" she repeated the last of his words, leaning forward against the counter and quirking a brow, "Hello?"
"Oh - uh, sorry," Sam shook his head, giving her a wide smile, "Got sidetracked. Anyway, I just got here and my lame co-worker, the one who fixed that drink just left so I have no idea what you ordered. But, I would be happy to fix up another one for you, if that's okay."
"That's all I was asking for," she returned his grin, handing over the cup of questionable substance, "But it's kind of weird. Peter isn't normally like this."
"Wait, you know Peter?" Sam blinked, "Do you come around here often?"
"Yeah, almost three times a week if I can afford it," she replied, "Peter and I study in the labs together at the University down the street. I know he can be a bit braindead at times, but he's always been good at making my usual before. Maybe it's that girl..."
Sam laughed at her last remark while he brewed her coffee, "Oh, you mean Mary Jane? That poor kid goes on and on about her. Like he has a chance."
"Hey! That's my friend you're talking about!" the young woman exclaimed, her eyes fixed to the nametag on his apron, "I would really appreciate it if you didn't talk about him behind his back, Sam."
"Oh please, he does the same to me all the time," he rolled his eyes, taking in how miffed the girl was, "What? You got some little crush on him?"
The girl flushed, her sharp nails digging into the countertop, "N-no! We're just friends. Besides...I like someone else."
"Yeah? Is it his friend, Harry? Over half the goddamn city can't get enough of that guy," the drink was just about finished when Sam noticed a line starting to form beside the counter, three men and one girl looking at their watches every five seconds or so, "Actually, nevermind. I'm getting quite the crowd right now, so this little convo is going to have to wait until next time."
"Next time?" she said as Sam handed her the scalding paper cup, "Next...oh, the next time I order from you! Right, okay then, see you later!"
"Bye," Sam waved as the girl went out the door, realizing too late that he'd forgotten to ask for her name.
Oh well, he shrugged it off, ignoring the nagging sensation clawing at his stomach, Not like she was that pretty. Probably totally likes Harry too. That's it. Yep, digs Harry.
Unbeknownst to him, the young woman that exited the quaint coffee shop was bashing her head against her hand, cursing herself for acting so stupid.
All this time pining for the guy, too chicken to go over there and talk to him even with Peter around, and now he ends up thinking you like Peter or his friend Harry, she berated herself, taking another long sip of the delightful concoction Sam had made for her, And he makes such good coffee, ugh! Why did I wait so long and make up that stupid excuse! He may be a little more snarky than I imagined, but he's really cute...not like Peter didn't warn me or anything. Man, get it together, Ava! You have psychology with Liz in an hour and she always could see right through you.
She decided to try again in a couple of days and make sure that that time around, her intentions were clear. She might want the coffee, but she wanted the guy behind the counter just a bit more.