Hard Day

A/N: Thank you for all the amazing reviews as always!

"This is a fucking nightmare!" Punk yelled, standing in the kitchen in the back of his coffee shop.

"Dude, there's a lot of unhappy people out there." Daryl groaned, walking into the kitchen, "And a big queue of angry, hungry men who we're going to make late for work." He added.

"Yeah, I know, Daryl." Punk snapped, "Finn?!" Punk yelled.

"What?" Finn came out from the walk-in fridge with more sausages and bacon.

"I need you to move over to assembling the bagels. This system is not working." Punk made it clear.

"Ok." Finn nodded.

After being hired a few days ago, this was only the nineteen-year-olds third shift and it was pure chaos as they tried to debut their breakfast sandwich menu. Punk hadn't anticipated how many people would show up and order from the menu, and it meant they were a little run off their feet.

"What do you want me to do?" Daryl asked.

"Stay out front and keep people happy." Punk nodded, throwing some sausage patties on the grill along with some bacon.

"Yeah, I don't think that's going to be achievable." Daryl said, "I fear they might start throwing things at me."

"I need you out there, Daryl. Please. You're the best out of all of us with people." Punk nodded to him, "When we've got orders ready, I'll shout you in."

"Ok." Daryl nodded, sensing the desperation in Punk's voice as he headed back out to the front.

"It's not always like this, right?" Finn asked worriedly, quickly cutting bagels in half which Punk had baked fresh this morning at 5am.

"No." Punk answered, keeping his eye on the grill, turning the sausage and bacon, whilst also cracking some eggs.

It was incredibly hot in the kitchen, especially since he was leaning over the grill and panicking feverishly.

"I take it you're not a chef, then." Finn said.

"Well spotted, my man." Punk shook his head, "I underestimated how difficult this would be during a morning rush." He said, feeling stupid for not thinking things through entirely.

"It's the first day, I'm sure it'll get easier." Finn nodded positively as Punk just grumbled.

He'd hired Finn immediately after interviewing him. He was a polite and considerate kid, eager to work any days and any hours. So far, he'd done exceptional at learning how to work the coffee machine and how the coffee shop was run on a day-to-day basis. So far, he and Daryl had been civil, although they hadn't really had a proper conversation.

"I got more orders for you." Daryl cringed, walking back into the kitchen as Punk rubbed his forehead stressfully.

"What are you scribbling about in here?" Lyla asked, walking into the kitchen in the back of The Brewberry Café where AJ was sat on a stool at the counter, writing in her large work diary. Meanwhile Shiv and Becca were taking care of customers out the front.

"Working on some stuff for a new menu." AJ said, "I'd like to take it back to my roots and put out some desserts from my childhood." She admitted, tapping her pen against the diary.

"Like what?" Lyla asked.

"Me and my Aunt would always go to this Puerto Rican bakery in New York whenever we went for the day. It did the most amazing Pan de Mallorca." AJ said.

"Which is?" Lyla asked.

"It's like a sweet bread. Really light and fluffy. Almost like brioche but not quite." AJ nodded, "And I want to try out some Quesitos." AJ said, "Maybe put my own spin on it. Instead of filling it with cream cheese like it normally is, maybe try it with like… a cherry cream." She nodded to herself, writing it down as she thought about it, scribbling little pictures beside the ingredients and recipes.

"It all sounds delicious." Lyla nodded, "Maybe Phil could help you try them out in your apartment." She smiled deviously as AJ turned to her with an unimpressed look.

"Don't be mean." AJ tutted.

"I'm not being mean." Lyla chuckled, "Just curious to know when your next baking date is, that's all." She teased as AJ rolled her eyes.

It had been a few days since Punk had been at her apartment making bagels and getting her off. They hadn't spoken in person since, but they had been texting constantly. She knew today was the day he was trying out his breakfast sandwiches, and she hoped it went well. She also knew she was desperate to see him again, and not just to show him how to bake.

"We haven't arranged anything yet." AJ said, "Although I could use him as a guinea pig for these new ideas." She nodded.

"I thought we were your guinea pigs." Lyla frowned, "Is it because we're not handsome and broody enough?" She smiled.

"You're the worst." AJ groaned.

"C'mon… there's no way you just made bagels the other night. You've been bouncing around here like a new woman." Lyla said. She was no dummy. She knew AJ perhaps better than anyone. She knew something was going on with her and Punk. Her particular reluctance to speak about Punk with her was a big indication she was hiding something.

"I'm just excited for the new recipes." AJ said, "And the sun is out. You know I'm always happier when the sun is out."

"Liar liar, pants on fire." Lyla hummed as AJ rolled her eyes, "Please tell me." She begged, resting her chin on AJ's shoulder, getting uncomfortably close deliberately as AJ shrugged her off.

"Tell you what?" AJ huffed.

"What you and him have been up to?" Lyla said.

"Making bagels." AJ said, "And touring the town."

"And?" Lyla waited with anticipation as AJ tapped her pen rapidly against her diary with annoyance.

"We've kissed a couple times." AJ said as Lyla grinned deviously, "And he… sort of… had his hand down my pants for a while." She nodded as Lyla's eyes widened, grabbing her friend's arm with surprise and excitement.

"Stop." Lyla said.

"God, you're like a gossip deprived gremlin." AJ shook her head.

"He… he got you off?" Lyla asked as AJ nodded, "Oh my God… this is… this is a big deal." She said.

"No, this conversation is creepy." AJ said, feeling a little uncomfortable, yet it still felt good to tell her friend everything.

"So you two are dating? Fooling around? What's the deal?" Lyla asked, "Man, I know this is a big thing for you. Who would have thought it'd be with an old man?"

"He's not an old man. Stop saying that." AJ scoffed, "I don't know what we're doing. We're just spending time together. This was why I didn't want to say anything to you… I'm still trying to figure it all out." She said.

"Do you have any idea the small percentage of men that would voluntarily get a woman off and not expect anything in return?" Lyla said, "I mean… go Phil." She said, impressed.

"I felt bad, though. He was clearly… excited." AJ said, "But I… it was overwhelming. Really good, but overwhelming."

"But you felt safe?" Lyla asked.

"Yeah." AJ nodded.

"I'm really happy for you." Lyla said seriously.

"For having an orgasm?" AJ asked.

"You know it's more than that." Lyla said, "I can't imagine how overwhelming it was for you after so long but... you felt comfortable and safe with him… that's better than any sex you'll have with him." She nodded.

"I do really like him." AJ nodded, "It's just so new and different. Not anything I'm used to. And we've been texting all the time."

"You're right, you don't need to rush anything. Let yourself figure it out slowly. Take your time with it. Maybe that's been the problem all along, you haven't met a guy yet who is willing to be patient." Lyla said.

"I mean… he does know about what happened to me." AJ said.

"You told him?" Lyla raised her brows.

"Yeah. When I was giving him a tour of this place. It just came out… and he listened." AJ nodded.

"Oh, you're more serious about this guy than I thought." Lyla realised. Her friend hadn't shared her past with anyone besides her and her aunt. For her to trust this man with such private and traumatic information… she knew her friend was in deep with her feelings.

"I'm just taking it day by day. I don't want to shock my system with too much all at once." AJ said.

"I thought it was more likely you would have murdered him than sleep with him." Lyla admitted as AJ rolled her eyes.

"Haven't slept with him yet." AJ reminded her.

"Meh. Honestly, that's the boring part. Take your time with that other stuff. Enjoy it." Lyla grinned deviously.

"Ok, go away now." AJ shook her head.

"That was a complete shit show today." Punk determined, standing with Daryl and Finn after closing the shop up.

"No kidding." Daryl said.

"Maybe we just need a better system." Finn suggested, sitting over at a table whilst Daryl stood behind the counter.

"You've been here for like two minutes." Daryl rolled his eyes.

"I can't make suggestions?" Finn asked.

"No, you just don't know enough about this place yet." Daryl said.

"Alright, both of you shut up." Punk shook his head, "Finn is right. We do need a new system. That's on me to fix. But you two need to communicate better during shift. We had a lot of fuck ups today with orders because you two won't speak to one another." He said.

"I spoke to him." Finn defended, "He won't speak to me."

"Shut up." Daryl shook his head.

"Hey, I'm serious." Punk looked at Daryl specifically, "We were a mess today."

"Funny how we've been a mess ever since he started." Daryl nodded to Finn.

"You would have been extra fucked today if I wasn't here." Finn stood up angrily, "I'm not interested in being your friend. I need the money and it's impossible to get a job in this town so I'm taking this shit seriously." He made clear as Punk watched them both.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Punk interrupted them, "What's the plan?"

"You're the boss." Finn said.

"I think we gotta have our own zones. We were tripping up all over each other." Punk said, "I'll have a think about how to work it out. In the meantime, I need you to both be professional. Stop losing your heads over a damn girl." Punk shook his head, hearing his phone bleep in his pocket as he took it out and read the message from AJ.

Wanna learn how to make scones tonight?

Punk smiled to himself, replying with a simple yes before shoving his phone back in his pocket, "Ok, everybody out. Let's go. We are done for the day." He said, rushing them both out of the shop so he could lock up and head straight to AJ's apartment.

"How did the sandwiches go?" AJ asked against Punk's mouth which had been plastered against hers since the minute he stepped foot inside her apartment. It felt so good to have his hands on her body again, gripping her waist as they kissed their way over to the couch.

"Awful." Punk said whilst kissing down to her neck, sitting down on the couch and pulling her with him as she straddled his lap.

"Wait… really?" AJ pulled back from him.

"Yeah. A hot mess." Punk nodded, "We had way too many orders and customers were waiting a long time to get what they ordered. I think I underestimated how hard it would be to cook food on the job instead of just serving already made cakes and pastries."

"It was really that bad?" AJ asked with concern, steadying herself by keeping her hands on his shoulders.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "And Daryl and Finn won't talk to each other so it's like communicating in morse code." He shook his head as AJ watched him. She could see the stress on his face, feel the tension in his shoulders. He really did seem to have had a bad day.

"It was the first day." AJ said, "It'll get easier, I suppose."

"We have to be more organised." Punk nodded, "How was your day?"

"Good compared to yours clearly." AJ said, "Working on some new recipes to put out."

"Like?" he asked, running his hands up and down from her hips to her ribs, caressing her gently.

"Puerto Rican sweet bread that I used to get with my Aunt in New York. And some Quesitos." She nodded.

"Sounds tasty." He nodded, eyeing up her mouth again as she smiled.

"Mhm." She hummed, leaning in and kissing him passionately, feeling his fingers run through her hair as he buried them into her scalp softly.

Without even realising it, she was beginning to grind her hips against his whilst they kissed, the friction feeling nice against her crotch whilst she rubbed against his own, feeling him getting harder through his shorts.

The best part about spending time with him like this, was that nothing was forced. She didn't have to take a deep breath and talk herself into anything. It just felt so natural and right. Ever since the other night, she'd desperately wanted to return the favour to him, to try and make him feel as good as he made her feel.

Punk felt her beginning to unbutton his shorts, breaking away from the kiss as he looked into her eyes.

"You don't have to." Punk swallowed.

"I wouldn't if I didn't want to." AJ assured him, pulling his zip down and stepping off from straddling his hips.

Punk lifted his hips a little as she pushed his shorts and boxers down, freeing his hard length as she knelt down in front of him. He almost came at the very sight.

AJ wrapped her hand around his pretty overwhelmingly sized length, stroking him up and down for a few minutes whilst looking up at him. Part of her wasn't just nervous because of her obvious fears, but she also hated to admit she was nervous she'd forgotten what men enjoyed. Six years was a long time and she almost felt like she was relearning everything again.

She eventually leaned her head forward, wrapping her mouth around him, hearing a joyful sigh escape his mouth as she sucked the tip of him.

"Fuck." Punk moaned, looking down at her as she stared up at him with him still inside her mouth. It felt like warm velvet around him, light yet firm enough to make him moan.

"Is that ok?" AJ asked innocently, even though she knew by the look on his face that it was more than ok.

"Yeah, keep doing that." Punk said desperately as she smiled, wrapping her mouth back around him, swirling her tongue around the tip of him before taking him a little further into her mouth and beginning to suck up and down, "Fuck." Punk moaned, running his hand through his hair, feeling every nerve in his body tingling.

All AJ could think about was how much she enjoyed the look on his face, how much she enjoyed making him feel good. She could feel herself wet just at the sight and sound of him.

"Fuck, I'm gonna cum." Punk said quickly, feeling all his pleasure gathering to the max, placing his hand on her head as she continued bobbing her mouth up and down on him, feeling him stiffen as he released himself inside her mouth.

"Fucking hell." Punk groaned, rolling his head back on the couch, riding out those glorious waves of pleasure whilst AJ released him from her mouth, wiping under her chin and standing up, collapsing down beside him on the couch.

"You seem a little less stressed now." She teased as he chuckled, turning his head to look at her and leaning in to capture her mouth as she cupped his face, feeling him reaching down to unbutton her jeans as she smiled against his mouth.

"Your turn." He said, kissing into the curve of her neck whilst pushing his hands inside her panties. There was no way he was leaving without seeing her lose herself like the last time they were on this couch.