Coffee Break

August. This means one thing in Coffee Break. Stock up on ice cubes, there’s going to be a lot of frappuccinos. It also means that it’s slower after lunch – people don’t want coffee in the heat of summer, not even the regulars as much.

Today is one of our typical slow days. Zack texted me yesterday to say that his dad wants him to start getting mid-afternoon drinks now, a few hours after their lunch order, so he told me he’ll come to Coffee Break. I don’t know why though – there’s probably somewhere he can get one cheaper. But whatever, it’s not like I’m going to pass up the chance to talk to him!

Just before 4 in the afternoon, Zack walked into the shop. There aren’t many customers at all, so William served him straight away.

“I’ll have two cans of diet coke and…well, my brother wants to try something new. What frappuccinos do you guys do?” Zack asked.

“Uh, vanilla, caramel, strawberry, kiwi and lime, and…mango,” William listed.

“I think he’d like strawberry. Just a tall one, please,” Zack said politely.

“1 tall strawberry frapp, Alex,” William said, handing Zack the two cans of diet coke.

Alex nodded and reached for a take-away cup. Zack moved down to the collecting end, so I smiled at him from where I was finishing a latte order. Zack smiled tiredly back. Huh. I guess he had a late night or something. I handed the latte to the middle-aged woman waiting beside Zack, quickly cleaning my steamer so I’d get to talk to him quicker.

“What a fucking faggot,”

My head snapped up, trying to see where those words were coming from. My eyes landed on Zack, whose eyes were wide, his face draining of colour. Shit, did someone say that to him?!

“Little fucking fairy looks like he’s gonna piss himself,”

I growled at the guys sitting down near to where Zack was standing. How dare they speak to Zack like that! Zack just froze, his hands clenching into fists as they started to shake. Fuck, he looks like he’s going to cry! No-one makes Zack cry in front of me!

“What a fucking pansy,”

“Where are you going?” Alex hissed.

I ignored him and stormed round the front of the counter, standing between Zack and the two ape-looking men with a scowl on my face.

“Get out,” I said firmly.

“Excuse me?” one of them scoffed.

“We don’t allow homophobic assholes like you in this shop. Get the fuck out,” I frowled.

“You’re shitting me, right?” the other spat.

“I will quite happily kick your asses out, if you don’t fucking move right now,” I retorted angrily.

I felt someone standing behind me, and I knew it was William. Good. They can see the manager supports this. I turned around as they stood up, grabbing Zack’s hand. He made a soft noise of protest but I pulled him through to the back room, waiting until the door was closed to look at him.

“Are you okay?” I asked softly, helping him sit down on a comfy chair.

“Y-Yeah, I’m f-fine,” Zack choked, still not unclenching his hands, his face still a sickly pale colour.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I offered, sitting down next to him.

Clearly this is more than just a couple of homophobic comments.

But Zack just shook his head desperately, tears springing to his eyes again. Shit, what happened to him?!

“Hey, it’s okay, you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to,” I soothed.

I took the chance to cover his fists with my hands, rubbing my thumbs back and forth until he relaxed a little and uncurled his hands.

“D-Do you mean that?” Zack asked nervously.

I smiled warmly, not only to reassure him, but because he hasn’t moved his hands out from under mine.

“Of course I do. I don’t want to pressure you into talking about something you’re not comfortable with,” I said softly.

Zack looked a little surprised, but he smiled weakly at me.

“Thank you. I appreciate that,” Zack said quietly, averting his eyes.

No! Don’t look away from me!

“Any time. Um, you can stay out here for a little while if you want. Do you want a bottle of water?” I asked,

“That would be great, thank you,” Zack nodded.

I’m assuming he meant both, so I walked over to the fridge we have in the corner and pulled out a bottle of water. Sure, I’m probably not meant to do this, but it’s for Zack – William will understand, right?

“Um, I’ll just be out the front if you need me,” I told him, heading to the door.

“Wait!” Zack called out.

“Yeah?” I frowned, turning back to face him.

“I-I…could you stay?” Zack asked nervously.

As if I could say no? I’ll work out a double-shift to cover this. Later.

“Yeah, sure,” I smiled.

I untied my apron and threw it in a bundle on the floor, before sitting back down next to Zack.

“Can I have a hug?” Zack asked softly.

Get me a bucket, because I just melted. William will have to carry me around in puddle form from now on.

“Yeah, sure,” I repeated, this time barely concealing a grin.

Zack immediately leant towards me, burying his face in my neck as his arms wrapped tightly around my waist. Fuck, something really bad must’ve happened to him to shake him up like this. Still, I hugged him tightly back. He needs someone right now, and that person just happens to me. I’m not going to mess this up. If he feels he can trust me enough to hug me when he needs comfort, then I’m going to take this chance and hold onto it with all my might.

Holy shit, he smells good.

No, not the time Martin! I took a deep breath, before taking the courage to rub my hand up and down Zack’s back, trying to comfort him like I’d comfort any friend. Not that I want Zack to be just a friend, but still. I’ve got to start somewhere. A smile spread over my lips as I felt him calm down a little, his hands no longer shaking, his breathing less erratic. This feels nice. This feels right, having him in my arms like this, it really does.

But I’m not going to get ahead of myself. Baby steps. Clearly there are some things about Zack that I can’t push, and I’ve got to respect that.

I don’t know how long we were sitting there for, but when Zack eventually sat up he looked a lot better, the colour having come back to his face.

“I’m sorry about all that. I don’t normally break down like that,” Zack murmured.

I smiled softly and placed a hand on his shoulder, making him look at me. Fuck, his hazel eyes are so intense right now, I’m actually tingling a little. Wow.

“It’s okay, it doesn’t matter. I’m glad I could help,”

Wait, did I actually help? Why did I say that?!

“Yeah, you did help. Thank you,” Zack smiled.

Oh good. Phew.

“You’re, uh, frappuccino’s probably melted now, so I can get Alex to make you another one if you want?” I offered.

Zack blushed slightly and nodded, so I got up and left the room. William and Alex immediately walked towards me.

“Is Zack okay?”
“What’s wrong?”
“What happened back there?”
“Why did he freak out?”

“Woah!” I chuckled, holding my hands up in surrender.

They both backed off a bit.

“Can you make another strawberry frapp? I’ll tell you while you do,” I said to Alex.

He nodded and grabbed a new takeaway cup.

“I don’t know why he froze and got all scared, well, I’m guessing something bad happened to him in the past, but he couldn’t tell me because he was shaking so bad so I said I wouldn’t push him for information. He looked a bit surprised but he said thank you, and I said he could stay in the back for a little while to calm down. But he asked if I could stay with him,”

“He wanted you to stay?” Alex grinned, pouring Zack’s drink into the cup.

“That’s not the best part – he asked me for a hug!” I squealed.

“Oh my gosh!” William gasped.

“I know! We were just sitting there hugging for ages and it was perfect and he’s just so amazing!” I gushed.

“Aww yay! I’m so happy for you!” William giggled.

“I know! It’s progress! He trusted me enough to comfort him – that’s so much fucking progress!” I sighed happily.

“Here’s the drink. I got two new cans of diet coke too,” Alex smiled.

“Thanks!” I trilled, grabbing the drinks and walking back into the back room.

Zack was texting when I reached him, and he smiled when he saw me.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, my dad was just asking what was taking me so long so I gave him a brief summary and he wants me to come back to our shop now,” Zack explained.

Did his smile turn a little sad, or is that just my imagination?

“Oh, that’s fair enough. Uh, here are your drinks. Alex made it fresh again for you,” I said, passing them in their cardboard carry case.

“Aww you didn’t have to!” Zack laughed.

“I wanted to,” I shrugged, smiling shyly.

Wow, that was lame. Nice one, Johnson.

“Thank you. For all this. I really appreciate it,” Zack said warmly.

“Any time,” I smiled.

I mean it. Any time he needs a hug, I’m here with open arms.

“I’m sure I can think of some way to repay you,” Zack said softly.

Before I could ask what he meant, Zack leant forward and pressed a kiss to my cheek. Holy shit. Oh motherfuckingshitballs. He just kissed my cheek. Zack Merrick kissed my fucking cheek!

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Zack mumbled, blushing heavily.

Before I could squeak a reply, Zack sped out into the shop. My hand rose to the spot his lips had hit, tracing the tingling skin lightly with my fingertips. That just happened, right? I didn’t just dream that?

“Care to explain why Zack left the shop like it was on fire with a deep blush and why you’re standing out here looking like your birthday and Christmas came all at once?” William mused from the doorway.

“Zack kissed my cheek,” I whispered, still not entirely convinced that it happened.

“Holy shit,” William gasped.

"Mmhmm," I squeaked.

"I'm so telling everyone at John's birthday tonight!" William squealed.

John's 22nd birthday. August 4th. How could I forget? Oh yeah, Zack.

"This is the best day ever," I sighed happily.

"I told you he liked you too!" William grinned.

I just flipped him off. Today is not a day for teasing. Today is a day for rejoicing and drinking and having my stomach filled with butterflies. Today is fucking awesome.