19 | a sweet treat

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CHAPTER 19

"Uh... Hey, I'm Drew." A deep voice announced from somewhere behind me.

I had been cleaning the inside of a cupboard with the kind of attention to detail that meant I had practically crawled into it, and up until then assumed that I was the only person behind the counter.

Hence why I startled when I heard the voice, hitting my head on one of the shelves and crying out in pain internally.

I spun around to face our most recent recruit, giving him what I thought was a smile but could have just as easily been a wince. "Hi Drew, I'm Cora. Nice to meet you."

With a chiseled face, sandy blonde hair and obvious good looks, the new guy looked as if he would be more at home in a surfing magazine than a cafe.

He offered me a boyish grin that forced his eyes to crinkle at the corners, shoving his hands into the deep pockets of his jeans.

"Where do I start?" He asked, gaze travelling around the room. Good, he was eager. That would make my life much easier.

"I'll show you how to work the register." I said, walking him over to it and keying in a random amount so that he could see how to give change.

He nodded and watched my every move with rapt attention, not settling until he knew everything from the abbreviations we used for orders, to how much water each hanging plant required on the daily.

"I think that was pretty good for a first shift." I commented, surprised at how much he had managed to learn in such a short space of time.

He only arrived about an hour ago but we had spent it so efficiently that it seemed like far more.

I moved my eyes from the counter onto his face to find that his were already on me, twinkling with what I assumed was excitement about the job.

His mouth stretched to accommodate a cheeky grin. "I already know I'm going to be the best server this cafe's ever seen."

I had to laugh then, something about the determination with which he said it. "Don't hold your breath. That spot's already taken by me."

I turned away from him and resumed with my own tasks, leaving him to fend for himself so I could see how much information he had actually absorbed.

The next three hours sped past and he proved to me that he was extremely capable, remembering everything I told him and using initiative to guess at the rest.

He was also surprisingly funny, reminding me of Lucy in the way that he could take the most ordinary of things and make me laugh with it.

Like now, the steam from the kettle that I had switched on to make a drink for a customer had covered the window at our side, making it impossible to see through.

He made his way over to it, using his finger to write something I couldn't make out and finishing with a look of satisfaction.

Sheer curiosity brought me to check what he had written, and I looked over at him unimpressed when I read the words "Drew was here."

"Really?" I asked. Apparently the new guy was a five year old in an adult's body.

He wiggled his eyebrows. "You don't have to pretend that you don't wanna do it too."

"Funnily enough, I'm not pretending." I said, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

"C'mon." He pressed. "My name looks lonely over there all by itself."

Shaking my head in exasperation, I lifted my finger and added the words "Cora was here," above his own messy scrawl.

I couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face, the childish excitement at having gotten his way lighting up each of his features.

"Thanks." He said, turning to face me and holding my gaze until it began to feel slightly uncomfortable, looking as if he was on the verge of saying something.

The sound of the door opening seemed to break him out of his reverie, and we both turned to face the customer that had just entered.

Gabriel was striding towards the counter with purpose, eyes blazing and solely focused on Drew before they met mine and softened.

I could see the clench of his jaw from here and wondered what had gotten him looking so angry.

"Hi and welcome to the Stone Cafe. How can I help you?" Drew asked just like I'd taught him when Gabriel reached the counter.

"I don't need anything." He replied and I could've sworn he was gritting his teeth.

His attention shifted onto me and he spoke. "Cora can I talk to you?"

My brows pulled together in confusion. "I'll be finished in about 10 minutes."

Nodding once he made his way over to a table, piercing blue eyes watching my every move intently.

"Boyfriend?" Drew asked, head gesturing towards where Gabe was seated.

"No." I said sharply. There was no way that I was getting into it with what was practically still a stranger.

The rest of our shift was spent in silence, and we parted ways as soon as two other servers came to replace us.

I noticed Gabe standing from his seat in my peripheral vision as I untied my apron. We met in the middle and I stopped in front of him with my arms crossed.

The ice he wore earlier seemed to have melted away, replaced by the wide grin he was now sporting. "Candyfloss."

The nickname and those perfect dimples were enough to weaken me, but I stood my ground and responded with a withering look. "What was going on with you earlier?"

He avoided my gaze, looking slightly guilty. "Nothing."

"Just basketball stuff." He assured me, dismissing it too quickly for me to be able to tell whether it was the truth or not.

Before I could consider it further he spoke again, eyes gleaming. "But that's not why I'm here. I have something to show you."

- - - -

I could feel the excitement radiating off Gabriel as he drove us to some mystery location, one that he refused to tell me no matter how much I badgered him.

A glance through the window had me noticing that the high rise buildings I was so used to seeing all over London had disappeared, making way for plants, trees and flowers.

I rolled it down and noticed that the air was clean and fresh, which was strange in itself.

Was he taking me to a forest? A countryside?

The car stopped directly in front of a field, the kind that only hosted miles and miles of grass and knew no colour but green.

He turned to face me with a mischievous smile, ordering me to stay in the car with my eyes closed.

The urge to peek when I heard his door open and close was quenched by my knowledge of how badly he wanted this to be a surprise, so I kept my hands over my eyes until he told me otherwise.

The door at the passenger side of the car opened and he slotted his hand in mine, leading me out gently. "You can open them now."

My eyes found his face first, noting how it was slightly tensed in anticipation, before travelling onto the field and noticing the blanket on the ground.

I gasped as I walked closer, looking at the wooden baskets sitting on the plaid material and opening them to find food.

But not just any food, desserts. Cakes, cookies, ice creams — and that was only in one basket.

"Too much?" He asked when I had finished scanning everything, nervously running his hands through his hair.

"No. It's perfect." I said, bewildered at the tears I could feel threatening to spill at the gesture. "How did you know I loved desserts?"

The confidence that was usually written all over his face returned when I confirmed that I liked his surprise, and he gave me that arrogant smirk that I couldn't decide whether I wanted to slap or kiss off his face.

"You basically inhaled the popcorn I gave you when we watched that movie together so I figured that you'd be like that for other sweet foods too. I don't call you candyfloss for no reason." He said, eyes sparkling.

My mouth dropped open slightly at how observant he was.

"I'm the best friend you've ever had aren't I? Don't worry, I won't tell Lucy." He winked.

"It's not a competition." I said, rolling my eyes playfully.

"It always is." He replied, humour filtering into his voice. "Should we start?"

"Please." I answered, eyeing the macarons that I could see peeking out of the open basket.

I sat down on the blanket cross legged and watched in amusement as Gabe struggled to do the same with his basketballer legs.

"So... who was that guy that was with you at the cafe?" He asked nonchalantly, biting into a cupcake while I attacked the macarons that had been calling to me.

I chewed as I considered my answer. "He's a new server. Lucy and I are supposed to be showing him the ropes."

He nodded, eyes glinting with something unreadable. "How long will you be doing that for?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure. Probably not for much longer cause he seems to be a fast learner."

"Thank goodness." He muttered, and I tilted my head to the side slightly in question.

His eyes widened by the tiniest fraction, almost as if he hadn't meant to say that aloud. "I just mean that it'll be good for him to be able to do those things on his own."

"That's how I feel too." I said, happily taking another bite into a macaron.

I noticed his facial expression morphing into something more serious, and found myself bristling.

"Cora." He called, meeting my eyes. "We need to talk about what happened on Saturday."

My face fell a little. I had been counting on him forgetting all about it.

Apparently I wasn't that lucky.

"What's wrong?" Gabe asked with concern, watching as a tear rolled down my cheek.

"I have to go." I said, panicking as the memories I was usually so good at suppressing bubbled their way to the surface.

Taking the car keys out of my bag, I started to make my way over to the door until the feeling of Gabriel's hand over my wrist stopped me in my tracks.

"You can't drive like this. Let me do it." He said with a frown.

Not having the strength to resist or start an argument, I handed my keys over and cast my head downwards.

The car ride itself was silent, but the noises my thoughts made as they clashed and fought meant that to me, those twenty minutes were far from quiet.

He stopped in front of my house and we both exited the car. Gabe settled the guilt I was feeling by reassuring me that he could get a bus home with ease, and I eased his worry by reassuring him that I'd be fine.

And I would be. I just had a feeling that our definitions of 'fine' were very different.

"There's nothing to talk about." I said calmly. "I don't even know why I was crying."

His eyes narrowed as he searched my face. "Cora."

He clearly found nothing because he let out a sigh. "You don't have to tell me. But don't sweep it aside."

"Okay." I said, giving him a small smile as a peace offering.

The conversation for the rest of our picnic was far more lighthearted, my many giggles swept away with the wind and the look on his face more content than I'd ever seen it before.

As we drove back in the direction we came and the leafy dark green of the trees became the metallic grey of buildings, I reflected on how easy it would be to let myself become lost in Gabriel.

In fact, I feared that I was already halfway there.

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