His Venomous Lips

When I woke up I noticed that the sky had darkened outside, the clock over the fireplace read that it was just after one in the morning. Groaning, I realised that I wouldn't be tired for the rest of the night. During a weekend that wouldn't bother me, but having work the next day meant that I would be walking around sleep deprived and cranky. Not the best thing when you're in a job that involves social interaction.

Resigned to my sleepless fate, I threw myself off the sofa to search for food. I had been meaning to go shopping after locking up after work, that plan flew out the window as soon as I was lying on the floor, my cheek bleeding. That, of course, meant that my cupboards were pretty bare. After opening several cupboards and only finding tinned beans, pasta and bread, I decided to have beans on toast sprinkled with the cheese I scavenged from the fridge. Not the most filling meal, but a meal none the less.

As I made my way back towards the living room I noticed a letter on the floor directly beneath the door. The post had already arrived hours ago, in fact, the post only came in the mornings, so I knew that it wasn't just bills lying there. Slightly curious, I retrieved the letter and straight away I heard the jingling from inside. Setting down my plate I opened the envelope and pulled out a very familiar set of keys, a note attached to them.

I found these keys outside of the café and realised that they probably belonged to you. I hope your cheek isn't too sore. x

His messy scrawl made my eyes widen, I'm not sure why, it could have been surprise. I thought his handwriting would be neater than that. My focus zeroed in on the small 'x' at the end of the note, my mind asking itself; "Who the hell puts kisses on a note to a stranger?" After the initial shock however I managed to feel the slight stirrings of gratitude, the boss would have killed me if I had lost the keys. Setting the keys aside, I moved back towards the living room to finish my food and watch mindless Tv shows until I had to leave for work.

Several hours later I found myself stood behind a till serving an old lady who was dead set on paying her £10 total in all pennies. Tiredness was already beginning to itch behind my eyes and I began to curse myself for the nap the night before. My patience for the old lady was wearing thin, the huge line behind her doing nothing to help my growing irritation.

"That's nine twenty, oh, I'm sure I have another eighty pence in here somewhere..." She mumbled while furiously searching her purse.

"You know what miss, that eighty pence is on me." I said smiling politely at her, it was all I could do to stop the glare that my mind was giving her.

"Oh thank you! You are wonderful. You remind me of my granddaughter, she's sat over there, can you see her? Anyway, she's always doing kind things for others, I always say to her that kindness is the way you know?" She rambled causing me to grit my teeth together. It was then that she looked behind her at the increasing line. "Oh my! You have got your work set out for you haven't you! Well I'll go sit down now, thanks again dear."Forcing myself to be polite I responded positively behind my gritted teeth.

It was a busy day, the hours following the old woman were relentless. By lunch time I could barely stand any more, the tiredness overwhelming me. I almost sang with joy when it was time for a lunch break. Quickly I made myself a strong coffee, grabbed a slice of cake and sat in the back corner of the café. Most people like to leave during their break, but my best friend and I shared the same lunch break so we'd spend it together in our corner.

"You look like shit." Jasmine greeted me, her green eyes scanning my face in concern.

"I'm just tired, I got home yesterday and took a nap and the rest of the night I was wide awake. So I'm running on adrenaline and coffee right now." As if proving my point I took a large gulp of my drink.

"Of course, only you would stay up all night before having to work the next day!"

"It wasn't like that! It's all because some prick knocked me over outside yesterday, I guess I was just tired because my face was hurting and because I had to walk home in the pouring rain, all the while some stranger was just giving me the creeps since he wouldn't bugger off..."

"Wait, hold up, a stranger? Was he good looking?" Jasmine asked, curiosity lacing her voice. Usually I would roll my eyes at her shallowness, but her question made my cheeks burn and I knew I wouldn't get out of answering.

"He was beautiful. But creepy, did you not hear that part?"

"Does it matter if he's creepy? Really?"

"Oh dear lord, Jazz. I worry about you!" I spluttered, my coffee spraying the table in my shock.

I really did worry about her. The girl had no common sense. All her past relationships had been with good looking guys, but none of them had treated her right. It's not as if they hit her or anything, but some cheated and others just wanted her around for when they had nothing better to do. Jazz always played it off as if it didn't bother her but I knew it did, she never went for the sweet guys that asked her out because then she'd start to expect things from them, and when they didn't happen it would leave her hugely disappointed.

In other ways she was smart. She finished school with all A's and above and then finished sixth form with top grades too. She'd been thinking about applying for University, she couldn't afford it herself but she figured she'd get a student loan to help her out. I was proud of her, she was following her dreams while I wasted away in a coffee shop with no plans for the future. Sure, I was only 19, but if I didn't start thinking about what I wanted to do with my life then it was going to pass me by, and when I finally did decide, it would be too late. Or that's how I thought of it anyway.

"Grace, lunch breaks over. You're still on the till, Susan's had to go home sick so Jason's had to come in. But since he doesn't know how to work the till, you'll have to stay there. Sorry." My boss explained apologetically, knowing just how much I hated the afternoon shift behind the counter. That's when all the bratty teens came in thinking that they owned the place. Yeah, so I was still a teen, but I wasn't as stuck up as some of the people I served.

Hugging Jasmine goodbye, I dragged myself to work and tried to put on a happy face. My smile looked more of a grimace than a heart warming hello.
Just as the afternoon rush was coming to an end, a pair of blue eyes I never thought I would see again appeared at my till. His lips were pulled up into an amused smile while I gaped at him, my spine shivering with some unnamed emotion. Pulling myself together, I swallowed and plastered my grimace-smile on my face.

"Hello, what can I get you?" I asked casually, maybe with a slight hitch and cracking to my voice.

"Just a coffee please. Black, two sugars. How are you today?" His eyes which were gazing into mine were intense, with every second he looked at me I felt smaller and smaller.

"That'll be £1.75 please. And I'm fine thanks." Quickly I reprimanded myself for being so sharp to the stranger. He'd helped me out and I'd snapped at him like he'd done something criminal. It's no wonder I had less tips than normal.

"You don't look it. You look like the living dead. Did you sleep okay?" Instantly I felt better about snapping at the man. I felt insulted to say the least, only my friends can tell me I look like shit!

"Soundly thanks. Now if you don't mind, I have other customers to serve." It was his amused face that stopped me glaring at him until he turned to dust. It was only when he glanced behind him that I noticed he was the last person in line. Almost instantly my face burned cherry red with embarrassment.

"It seems to me as if I'm the only person in line. What's your problem with me anyway? I've only been nice to you, hell, I walked through the pouring rain to return your keys to you, I could have waited until today but I thought that you might need them. So what's your problem?" The way he asked the question, the tone of his voice, his body language, the amusement that still shone on his face, told me that he knew the answer to the question. It was me that didn't know.

A stunned silence stretched between us before and almost smug grin settled across his face. Handing me his money he whispered a quick 'keep the change' with a wink before he grabbed his drink and sat down at a table across the room. Every now and then my eyes would dart towards him to see that his attention was claimed entirely by the paper in front of his. It took me a few minutes before I noticed Jason's curious stare burning into me. Waving him off I gestured I'd tell him later before turning to put the money in the till.

£20 rested in my hands. That meant he'd just given me a £18.25 tip. Who the hell is this guy! Rolling my eyes I made my way towards his table, dead set on giving him his money back.

“Thanks for the tip but I can't accept this.” I sighed placing the change on the table.

“Why not? Surely you take tips from other people?” He asked teasingly, his eyes glinting with laughter.

“I do. But they don't tip ridiculous amounts!” I argued quickly, annoyed by the smile that spread slowly across his face.

“Well...” He glance down at my name badge, “Grace. As much as I have thoroughly enjoyed our chat, I have to leave. Places to go, people to see. You know how it it. See you around.” He winked, purposely ignoring the change that lay on the table in front of him and walked away, leaving me frustrated behind him.

Taking a deep breath through my nose I grabbed the change on the table and placed it in my tip jar with the intention of buying his drink if he ever returned.

“Who was that?” Jason asked, his tone inquisitive.

“That... that was someone I hope to never see again.” I told him truthfully while staring at the door hoping that it really was the last time I saw him.