Page 21 of Bad Influence
“Really? You seem like the kind of person who only drinks black coffee strong enough to make you see your past life,” Caroline quips.
“No, I only drink sugar with a side of coffee. Sweet enough that my present seems bearable.”
Caroline grins at me. “Perfect! Then we’ll both have the same thing. See, our thoughts are already aligning and we’ve only been roommates for one night.”
She turns around, her ponytail almost hitting me in the face as her hair flies. I stare after her as she walks into the cafe. What is she up to? She’s already at the counter and I walk in before she ends up ordering me a cupcake with the latte because it’s what she wants. I draw the line at eating sugar first thing in the morning. The coffee is going to be bad enough.
The kid behind the counter looks way too eager to help her. He’s leaning over the counter, close enough to touch her as he points at the board displaying the coffee blends.
“What do you recommend?” Caroline asks, her voice sweet as sugar. It’s not a tone she’s ever used with me. Not even when she was younger and sneaking glances at me, blushing red when I looked back at her. Somehow, Gerry and I were the only two people around whom she didn’t have to hide her mess.
“I personally like this blend,” the barista points one out. “It’s got a nuttiness that I think goes really well with the lavender oat latte. But you can also try another blend.”
“Nope, this one works perfectly. If I don’t like it, I’ll know who to blame,” Caroline says.
I narrow my eyes as the barista laughs, his ears turning red. Is she flirting? He’s just a kid, can’t be more than twenty-one or twenty-two, not that Caroline is ancient at twenty-seven.
“You can also try matcha,” the kid says.
“I do love a good matcha,” Caroline admits. “Maybe next time you can make it for me.”
The kid’s face turns red. “Uh, yeah, absolutely. I’m Luke, I’m usually working the day shift.”
What’s next? He’s going to ask for her number? I step up behind Caroline, glaring atLukeas he smiles shyly at her. His eyes drift to me and his smile slowly drops, replaced by fear. I’m sure my expression tells him exactly what’s going to happen if he doesn’t take a step back right now. There’s an entire counter between them, but it’s still too close for me.
Caroline glances up and sees me, smiling brightly. My mind blanks for a second, like someone flashed a bright light into a dark room. Nothing but light, and then it flickers back to darkness when Caroline turns around.
“He’ll have the same thing,” she tells Luke. “I’m also going to have a danish and for him, maybe a bran muffin?”
Luke covers his laugh with cough and as soon as I turn my glare on him, he reddens, turning away to start preparing our drinks. Caroline puts her hands in her pockets as she moves down the counter, reading the menu.
She leans in towards Luke. “Do you enjoy working as a barista?”
What is she doing?
Luke shrugs. “It pays the bills. I’m in art school, and until I make it or get spontaneously discovered by a rich patron who wants to pay me to paint, I might as well get used to making coffee.”
“I don’t know anything about art, but I’m sure you’re great. I’d love to see your work next time if you want to show me,” Caroline replies.
I grind my jaw, completely missing whatever Luke says to her because I’m too busy watching her. The way she talks to him, how she’s open, and leaning forward slightly, nodding along to whatever he says. It’s not how she was last night or this morningwhen talking to me. And why the hell is she talking to him about art when I’m standing right here?
She laughs at something Luke says, and it makes me irrationally angry. I want to grab her and make her stand outside while I get our coffees so she can’t flirt with him.
The thought is unexpected and absolutely fucking crazy. I have to get away from her before I lose my fucking mind.
Turning, I leave the coffee shop and wait outside. I think back to just yesterday, when I walked this same street with Eve back to our building. Life was simple. Sure, my best friend thought I’m a serial killer, but I wasn’t being driven crazy by the embodiment of sunlight in my apartment.
Caroline steps out, carrying our two coffees, and dessert for breakfast. There’s a small smile on her face as she stops in front of me, handing me my coffee and muffin.
I scowl at her, which doesn’t go unnoticed.
She rolls her eyes. “If you don’t want the coffee, I can get you another one. You can give this one to Eve.”
“What the hell were you doing in there?”
“Uh, getting our coffees?” She looks confused as she looks around, probably trying to figure out if she’s getting pranked.
“Did you also get his number while getting our coffees?” I ask through gritted teeth.
