Summer of Love

“Welcome home, Master!”

I sighed heavily when I saw it was none other than my usual patron, and he lifted his brows quizzically.

“That’s not the way you’re supposed to treat your customers,” he said matter-of-factly and I forced back the urge to roll my eyes and smiled instead. I led him to his usual table in the corner by the window and went to retrieve his drink while he mulled over the menu.

It had been a month since the death of my brother, Derek. The funeral had been hard, but I had all of my friends there with me and Derek’s as well, to support me. Since then, Sara and Hannah had both moved themselves into my house so I wouldn’t be alone and would be able to afford the house and property payments. I had a lot of memories in that house and I didn’t want to lose it for anything.

What happened at the dance, you ask? Well...it wasn’t that bad. All the students were dressed up in their fancy costumes and had a good time with the neighbouring schools. That night, something extraordinary happened...twice I might add.

First off, Jordan had made his appearance and consoled me for the loss of my brother. He too, was dressed as a black cat—a very sexy one I might add—wearing a black leather vest with no sleeves and matching pants. He looked like some demigod from mythology. He had asked me to dance and I was more than surprised when he waltzed me around the dance floor with ease and grace. I had been so flustered by his handsomeness and ability to dance, I forgot I had been staring and he smiled. Next thing I knew, the song had ended and we were still dancing. It was then he confessed that he had grown fond of me and parted, saying that he was keeping an eye on me.

If I wasn’t already flustered enough, Cian showed up late to the dance and was dressed as a sexy pirate with a navy blue jacket and black captain’s hat with two black cat ears poking out beneath and an eye patch. His hair was mussed up and sticking out all underneath in his face and his silver eye seemed to glow in the dim light of the room.

He asked me to dance as well and I was surprised he would even bother. Of course he then proceeded to say it was because I owed him for taking care of me and I got ticked and chewed his head off on the dance floor causing a scene. He seemed to enjoy himself however and just smiled the entire time. Since I had already been feeling confused when it concerned Cian, I was even more so as we danced and the way he looked at me. I felt like a giant tomato, but I couldn’t look away. For the first time, it was like he was seeing me.

He twirled me around and brought me close to him, too close for comfort and leaned down to rest his mouth beside my ear. As the song came to a close, on the last few notes he admitted that he enjoyed my company and said he had grown fond of me—the exact same confession Jordan had made.

I caught myself before I overfilled Cian’s drink and sighed, my heart beating loudly. I had allowed my thoughts to get carried away and I dipped my head, relaxing my shoulders. Since last night, it was all I could think about. A handsome stranger confessed to me, as did my enemy and friend. What is a girl supposed to do? Both were extremely good looking and kind characters—well Jordan is for the most part—and I didn’t know what to do.

I chewed on my lip and sighed once more before heading out on the floor and set the drink down on the table, pulling out my pad and pen.

“Are you ready to order, Master?” I asked as cheerfully as I could and heard a chuckle. I lifted a brow when I saw the smile on Cian’s face. He looked different today; less harsh and withdrawn.

“I love it when you call me Master.”

This time I rolled my eyes and groaned. “It’s part of my job, now what do you want?”

His eyes sparkled with amusement as he gazed up at me through his bangs. “That’s no way to talk to your Master, Misa. I just might have to punish you for misbehaviour.”

I was distracted by his caramel smooth voice that I stiffened right up when his lean fingers wrapped around my wrist and he pulled me onto his lap with a wolfish grin. I gasped out loud and my face went up in flames. I was too surprised and embarrassed to move.

“Now Cian, you know better,” Chief said, poking her head out from the kitchen and shook her finger with a wink. “No harassing the maids!”

The other customers watched and chuckled at the scene, obviously thinking we were lovers and I wanted to crawl under a rock. I was mortified at the position I had been put in. If things couldn’t get any worse, the bell rang as the door opened and Jordan stood there, his emerald green eyes on my form and I felt a lump in my throat.

His face remained curiously passive, his eyebrows raised before he allowed the door to close behind him, and set his hands in his pockets. His lips curved slightly, a clear challenge. I muscled my way out of his arms and rushed over to greet him. I bowed, feeling flustered and extremely embarrassed.

“Welcome home, Master!” I said, hoping he wasn’t angry about what he had just seen. I realised that neither of them knew about each other confessing on the same night.

He was smiling when I straightened, his eyes light as always. It seemed he was pretending he hadn’t seen anything and tilted his head.

“Thank you, Misa.”

I stared for a moment before I snapped out of it and smiled with relief. I led him to a table and handed him the menu before disappearing to fetch his usual Jasmine tea. I touched my face in hopes of cooling it off while the others watched with amusement, trying to hide their smiles. When I couldn’t cool my face, I walked over to the fridge and stuck my head inside, taking a deep breath.

“That was so romantic!” Chief said, appearing beside me and I turned to glare at her, closing the door once I felt some of the blood drain from my cheeks.

“There was nothing romantic about that. He made me look like a fool while working in front of customers!” I hissed angrily and snatched Cian’s order from the countertop in the kitchen and stormed onto the floor. Of course I softened my glare as I slid the plate in front of Cian and narrowed my eyes.

“Don’t pull a stunt like that again!” I whispered fiercely and he just smiled up at me, ignoring his chocolate brownie cake.

“Why not?” he asked, his eyes shining. “ I’m sure we both enjoyed it.”

I couldn’t tell if he was just teasing me, but he sure was acting strange. It gave me butterflies and caused me to blush at random moments throughout the day. I stared down at him, not knowing what to say in response to that. The man flustered and confused me to no end!

Unable to find a word to say, I turned and greeted some new customers and took Jordan’s order. He too, smiled up at me though I caught him looking at Cian seriously from the corner of his eye.

“Are you guys dating or something?” he asked innocently and sipped his drink while I dropped my pen in surprise.

“N-No of course not!” I stuttered with embarrassment, feeling hot all over again. Did he honestly think that? Oh god!

His smile widened with amusement, but I sensed relief and frowned in confusion. What was with these guys?! They are driving me insane!

Caroline and Rita watched from afar, smiles on their faces as they moved about the cafe, keeping an eye out. Customers watched as well, some couples whispering to each other and girls giggling. I felt flustered and embarrassed by all the unwanted attention and sighed heavily, wondering how I was going to make it through the rest of the day.

During the afternoon lull, I finally had the chance to take my break and plopped on a stool in the kitchen where we had our staff room off to the side out of the way. I sighed and lowered my head on the cool tabletop, feeling exhausted. Both Jordan and Cian were still here, each doing their own little thing and enjoying the atmosphere and tea. It made me wonder if it would be like this every day I came into work. I sighed again.

Rita walked over and sat down beside me with a smile, her eyes warm. She too, finally had the chance to take her break.

“Come now, Misa,” she said affectionately with a teasing tone. “It can’t really be that bad to have two handsome men paying you so much attention!”

I lifted my head on a groan and looked at her pleadingly. “Why does it have to be here? I can’t work properly when they pull stunts like that!” I cried, grasping my head in frustration. “They’re driving me nuts with their weird mind games!”

She laughed softly and tilted her head. “Are you sure they are mind games? Maybe they actually have feelings for you.”

I blinked at her in silence, wondering before shaking my head and dismissing the idea. “Yeah right. Cian just likes to bug me and Jordan...I don’t know about him.

Caroline paused as she passed by with two plates of coconut cream pie and lifted an eyebrow.

“Misa, honey...those boys have it bad,” she said knowingly and disappeared, humming a little tune. I rolled my eyes and rested my chin on my hand until the Chief appeared and grasped her hand.

“Misa?” she asked questioningly and I frowned. I knew what I needed to ask, but in truth I didn’t want to have to. I knew however, if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to afford my childhood home.

“Chief...I know your having problems already with the finance of the cafe, but I need more hours,” I said softly and lowered my head in sadness, feeling a healing wound break open, exposing the rawness inside. “But with Derek gone...”

I stopped with a start and stared at her when she placed her hand over mine and gave me a motherly smile.

“I know, Misa. I’ve already put up next week’s schedule so be ready to work your butt off!” she said happily with a wink and disappeared to pester the kitchen crew, chatting away in the background.

I stared after her in surprise and looked to Rita, who smiled wisely and I sighed with relief and returned it. Once Rita was finished her break, I looked to the clock and saw I still had some time left and headed out onto the floor to see if Cian and Jordan were still there.

I peered around the corner and saw Cian lounging back in his chair reading a book, not looking the least bit bored and enjoying the sun coming through the window. Jordan was where he was still as well, enjoying his tea and chatting companionably with a few customers and Tori.

I sighed and headed towards Cian’s table and glared down at him. He read the rest of the page he was on before looking up curiously.

“On break?” he asked casually and I slammed my hands down on the tabletop.

“Are you seriously going to be here every day, all day?” I asked in exasperation and my anger rose when he flashed that boyish grin of his.

“Why not? It’s not like I have anything better to do after school and on the weekends,” he lied and returned to his book while I sputtered in disbelief.

“I don’t need you here every day! I’m capable of going and doing things on my own without you watching me all the damn time!” I hissed furiously, leaning closer to catch his attention.

Lightning fast, his fingers snaked my chin and I gasped in surprise, haven’t even having seen him move. His wolf eyes pierced into my own and I felt entranced and rooted to that one spot, unable to look away.

“Don’t lie to yourself, Misa,” he murmured, his voice deep and smooth as honey. “We both know that you’re starting to enjoy my company.”

My cheeks began to burn and I tried to jerk away because I could feel people’s eyes on us, but he refused to let go, his eyes growing intense.

“It would be easier for everyone if you just admitted to yourself that you’re in love with me,” he said, his warm breath washing over my face and I felt a tingle down my spine while my eyes grew wide.

“Don’t decide things for me!” I cried and pulled away, despite the fact that it had hurt. I stared down at him in disappointment, burning with embarrassment.

His face remained passive; his eyes were thoughtful as he stared back at me. Then he smiled and returned to his book as if the whole conversation hadn’t even happened and I groaned, walking away. I met Jordan’s emerald gaze and felt my face burn even more. If I blushed more and I was going to spontaneously combust.

His eyes were calculated as he watched me and I looked away, disappearing into the kitchen where I took a deep breath and paused when I found everyone staring at me.

“You know,” Caroline said with a sweet smile, a glint in her eye. “Cian is here every day, so why don’t you make him work?”

I opened my mouth to refuse, but I felt a solid body press up behind me and I bristled in horror, my body absolutely burning.

“You know, that sounds like a great idea. I’m really not that bad of a cook and I can bake a thing or two,” Cian said from behind me and I craned my neck to look at him in horror. Our noses actually touched and I jerked away from him, the butterflies turning rabid inside of my stomach and my heart threatened to burst from my chest into his open hands.

He leaned in the doorway with his hands in his pockets, smiling away and I just stared, mortified before I recovered and glared, pointing a finger at him.

“I could sue you for harassment, you creep!” I cried, bright red and shaken while the others laughed with amusement and Cian stepped forward and lowered my hand with a grin.

“Go right ahead,” he said with a wink as he passed to join Chief in the kitchen for a briefing.

I stared at the spot he had been while the others watched my face and I groaned when reality hit.

“You have got to be kidding me!” I shrieked, cradling my head while the girls giggled happily.

They were enjoying this way too much for their own good!