Page 41 of A Barista's Guide to Love & Larceny
“You mean, like on a date?”
“I think that’s what the kids are calling it these days, yeah.”
“Yes,” Dani said, and the smile that spread across her face felt like a fucking miracle. “I mean, yeah, I’d like that.”
“Cool,” Kass said, like it was no big deal, but he was rocking very lightly on his heels. “What’s a good night? You’re the busy one.”
“I’m off on Thursday this week, if that works.”
“Thursday’s perfect. I’ll pick you up at six. What’s your dorm?”
“Oh, I—I actually live off campus.”
“Gotcha. Same, obviously. Just shoot me your address on your quartz.”
Dani resisted the urge to pull out her quartzpad and do it right that very second. “Where are we going?”
“That,” Kass said, “is for me to know and you to find out.”
“Come on! How will I know how to dress, then?”
“Just come as you are,” he said with a mysterious smile. “You’ll be perfect.”
“I can guarantee you that I will not be,” Dani said, “but at the very least, I’ll be there with bells on.” She was giddy at the realization that everything Kass had said just now, he’d said because he wanted to. Was this what other people felt like all the time? Sincerity coming organically, instead of being prompted by some invisible hand?
“Great,” Kass said. “I’ll—I’ll see you then, I guess.” He started toward her, as if going in for a hug, then moved past her at the last second with an embarrassed laugh, off in the direction she had come. Dani reached for the door handle, pausing to look after him before she entered, and blinked when she saw a dark, scruffy dog with a backpack on, trotting down the sidewalk.
Mages, she thought to herself, smiling, and went inside.
The asked-out-on-a-real-date bliss didn’t last long. She was a bundle of nerves all the next day, wondering how Oliver was doing and torturing herself about agreeing to help Silva, whether she’d made the right choice or not. Her involvement would necessitate more people finding out about her ability, a prospect that made her uncomfortable—but she expected that would be the least of her worries in the long run. Dani went into Quarter Cast before her shift was scheduled and managed to pick up some extra hours by letting one of her coworkers go home early. She didn’t want to think. She just wanted to make coffee and deal with picky customers—something she never thought she’d actually wish for.
And she got her wish: The shift was a raging headache, complete with a pitcher of iced coffee dropped in the ice machine. The foot traffic didn’t die down until around eleven, when Dani finally got a chance to breathe and clean things up.
The door-ghost called out as she bent to sweep crumbs and coffee grinds into a dustpan. She couldn’t help but feel peeved, having hoped for a respite so she could actually tidy up the bar. But when she stood, those feelings melted away.
“Oh, gods,” she said. “Oh my gods, Oliver.”
She tossed the dustpan to the floor, sending its contents scattering across the tiles, then ran across the café, throwing her arms around Oliver’s neck and burying her face in their shoulder. They hugged her tightly around the waist, and for a minute the two just stood like that, holding each other.
When she finally pulled back, she realized she was crying. She brushed her tears away and looked up into Oliver’s face. They certainly seemed better—awake, their pupils back to normal, no signs of a nosebleed—but the expression on their face was so, so sad.
“Dani,” they said. “I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am—”
Dani shook her head emphatically. “No,” she said. “No, you don’t need to be sorry. None of this is your fault. I’m just glad we found you.”
“Me too,” Oliver said. “Sadie’s out of town at some music workshop, so I don’t know what would have happened if we hadn’t made those plans. Thank you.”
“How are you?” Dani asked. “I mean… did they help you at the clinic at all?”
She started to drift back toward the bar, and Oliver came with her, shrugging. “As much as they could. They were able to wake me up, just like last time, and then sedate me again with some combination of drugs that let me sleep without—without going into that kind of an episode. But they had to wake me up again, of course, and I still had awful nightmares.”
“I’m sorry,” Dani said, even though the words felt useless. She hesitated. “Um, when you were dreaming, you said something aboutme being the only one who could tell them. Were you actually dreaming about me?”
“Oh,” Oliver said, frowning. “No, I don’t remember you being in the dream. It was one of the shadow-demon ones—I think they were threatening my little sister.”
Dani nodded. “Emi. You said her name.” There was a sour taste in her mouth; she couldn’t imagine how scary it must be to have such realistic nightmares as that. “Did you—did the doctors call your brother?”
“Yeah,” Oliver said. “Emi’s fine, obviously. Asa was really concerned, but I managed to convince him that I’d just pulled one too many all-nighters. He has way too much on his plate to be adding me to it.”
