Chapter 5 Over the Counter

"Bye" Sophia waved at Alex shyly and entered the house.

She was blushing heavily. She walked to the couch in sheer darkness and crashed on it.

"Oh my gosh" She gushed in excitement.

Suddenly, the light came on and she jerked up in surprise. Clio was standing beside the light switch in her pajamas. She was staring accusingly at her and Sophia knew she had been caught.

"Welcome back, big sister" Clio smirked.

"Oh hi. I thought you went to bed already" She muttered in embarrassment. There's no doubt that she had seen her display.

"How could I go to bed and miss such an entertaining sight? My favorite Korean actor should come and learn from you" Clio folded her hands on her chest.

Sophia sighed in frustration. She sat down gently and squirmed on the couch.

"Why aren't you asleep? Who told you to peek out? Why?" She yelled defensively.

"Why are you yelling at me? I'm not the one hugging a guy outside my apartment at 10 pm" Clio murmured.

"I wasn't hugging him. You saw wrong" She scratched her hair nervously.

"Indeed" Clio scoffed.

"Your food is in the kitchen. I'm off to bed, big sister" Clio said the big sister part sarcastically.

"Yeah. Bye. Good night. I will join you soon" Sophia responded nervously.

She heaved in relief when Clio closed the bedroom door behind her.

"Gosh, why is a twelve-year-old so smart?" She soliloquized.

The door opened again and Clio peeped out again.

"Good night to your boyfriend too" She shouted and jammed the door closed.

"Just kill me" Sophia stared at the door and muttered miserably.

...............................

The Next Day

THYE CAFÉ 2 pm

Sophia's ailing boss staggered weakly into the Café. He dragged a chair and sat down on it quickly. The Café was scanty with few people chatting over a cup of espresso or typing away on their laptops.

"Boss" Sophia called and rushed to him.

"The espresso expert" He flashed her a weak smile.

"Why are you here now? You look frail too. What are the doctors saying" She asked with concern laced with her voice.

"I'm on my way to the hospital. I just came to see how things are" He said and looked around gloomily.

"Things are good around here. I made a lot of sales this morning" She smiled cheerfully.

"And about the money you asked me" He started and coughed heavily.

Sophia was alarmed and she rushed to bring him water. He drank the water and put the cup gently on the table.

"Thank you. The money I gathered is what I want to go and use for my hospital bills. I'm sorry" He said apologetically.

"You don't have to be sorry. Health comes first. I understand." Sophia waved his apology off.

"I have to go now" He stood up weakly and walked towards the Café entrance.

Sophia was worried. She was worried about her boss's health and her inability to pay for Clio's tuition fee. Her boss was once a healthy man until he lost all his family in an accident some time ago which caused him to always overthink thereby turning him into an ailing man.

Sophia watched him sympathetically as he left. The customers soon filled in once again and her thought was occupied with filling a cup with an espresso from the machine, making a latte design on it, giving it out with a rehearsed smile, and finally chanting her happy drinking signatory appreciation which made the Café stand out from other café around.

Her phone rang again for the umpteenth time today. She checked the caller and it's Clio class teacher.

"Oh gosh. I need a new job" She sighed out in frustration.

..........................

6 PM

Sophia found herself anticipating Alex's presence. He had called her earlier that he would soon be here once he was done with his afternoon shift in his new part-time job. She stole occasional glances at the door whenever it opened and a customer came in but her hopes were always dashed.

"I'm totally whipped" She looked down and bit her lower lip afterward.

"Hello, girlfriend" Alex's sudden voice jolted her out of her charade and she almost fell.

"Hey easy" He flashed her a boyish smile.

"Why do you always come in when I'm not looking? Do you appear and disappear like in those movies now?" She scoffed and served the coffee to the last customer in the Café. The café was once more empty with only them remaining.

"Well, seems like you've been anticipating my presence since morning" He teased and poked her cheeks which made her blush heavily.

"Stop it" She muttered and walked to change the square-shaped placard outside to close.

"How was your day?" He asked earnestly while looking at her as if he could see through her.

"Stop" She murmured and started packing up.

"But I'm not even doing anything" Alex raised his hands in surrender.

"I mean stop looking at me like that" She intoned shyly.

"I wish I could" He leaned closer to her over the counter and whispered.

His breath was fanning her face and she couldn't help but concentrate on his sweet mint breath. She could see his facial features clearly and she felt like running her hands through the sexy ruffled hair, the pointed nose, blue eyes, and the soft pink lips. She finally regained her composure and moved back.

"Why can't you?" She quizzed in a low tone.

"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? You're so beautiful MI lady" He whispered to her face again.

Sophia felt something hit her throat and she coughed gently. He was concerned and quickly grabbed the bottle of water on the table, opened it, and offered it to her.

"I'm fine" She told him gently.

"Are you sure?" He was concerned.

"Must you be so cheeky with your compliments? Gosh," She eyed him jokingly.

"It's not my fault that I can give compliments and I am not stingy with them" He stared into her eyes and it turned into a staring contest.

"You're such a flirt" She chuckled and poked his chest.

"Only for you" He ruffled his hair unconsciously and Sophia felt the usual butterflies in her tummy again.

"Does he know the effect he has on me?" She wondered.

She's now done parking and changing out of her work uniform. They both went outside and locked the Café door. They walked slowly on the street, their hands were interlocked in each other as they walked side by side. Alex glanced at her lovingly and couldn't take his eyes away from her but he knew something was not right with her countenance tonight.

"If you keep staring at me like that, I might just melt" Sophia joked and tucked her hair behind her ear shyly.

"Are you okay?" Alex finally asked.

"Honestly, I'm not. I badly need a new and well-paying job. The cost of living is on the rise every day" She whined.

"Oh... I know right" That was all he could say.

He hadn't known what it was to be bothered by a cost of living in all his existence so he couldn't relate to the predicament. A car truck suddenly came out from the sharp bend and was speeding towards Sophia's side.

"Watch out" Alex was alarmed and dragged her to himself and they both ended up hugging under the street solar light.

She wrapped his hands around him instinctively, sniffed his sweet scent and moaned unconsciously. She nestled closer to his chest with eyes closed and savoring the moment

"With this pace, I'm afraid you are going to eat me raw" He muttered which made Sophia's eyes snap open in realization.