Page 6 of Spoonful

Jaylin nodded. “Thank you, I appreciate that.” He was out of his element with Miyazaki, because the man was a friend of a friend and someone Jaylin wanted to impress, but at least Jaylin had learned how to accept being treated graciously without making it too weird. It was all about not looking a gift horse in the mouth.

This was a far cry from the interactions Jaylin usually had with men more powerful than him though. Those were all about him angling to get a meal or cash from them in exchange for the only thing Jaylin had to give.

He still didn’t know what Miyazaki’s game was. What the man wanted.

Why he was acting sonice.

Jaylin looked up at the menu as a distraction from the worry, but his heart sank as he took in the hand-lettered chalkboard. All the menu items and prices were written in cheerful bubble letters that bled into one another.

Jaylin couldn’t read them.

“Does anything look good to you?” Miyazaki asked after Jaylin had spent too long trying to pick apart even one of the menu items. He sounded careful again, like he was worried Jaylin might bolt.

Jaylin cringed. He knew he had to be making a terrible impression.

“Just a lot of options,” Jaylin said. He summoned up a smile. It wasn’t one of his best, but it would do. Time to just fall back on what he always did, when he was out with someone else and he couldn’t read the menu. Certainly Brent never minded the chance to jab at how even a simple menu was difficult for Jaylin to read. “Maybe uh, you could order for me? Since you know what’s good.”

“That’s a heavy responsibility,” Miyazaki said with gravity. “Hot cocoa is serious business. Are you sure you trust me that much?”

Jaylin couldn’t help his startled look. Miyazaki had to be joking. Right? “Sure,” he said weakly.

“Right,” Miyazaki said decisively. “Then I accept my mission. Any allergies I should know about?”

Jaylin shook his head. “Um, no.”

Miyazaki nodded, considering. “Are you a sweet person or a savory person?”

“I-I like both?”

Miyazaki tapped his lips in thought. “How to do you take your coffee?”

“However I can get it,” Jaylin said bewildered, not expecting the deluge of questions.

“Not a picky coffee drinker, huh?” Miyazaki asked, looking amused.

“Not, um, not really,” Jaylin said, stomach fluttering for no reason.

“Okay,” Miyazaki said, and he really seemed bent on his “mission” to get Jaylin the perfect hot cocoa. “But if you had a choice, what would you prefer? Cream? Sugar? Black?”

“Cream and sugar I guess,” Jaylin said.

“Okay, one last question,” Miyazaki said. “Do you like potato chips?”

“What do potato chips have to do with hot chocolate?” Jaylin asked before he could stop himself.

Miyazaki laughed, rich and deep. “Nothing,” he said, shooting Jaylin a grin that made his ears burn. “I’m just learning what flavors you like. But I think I’ve got it. I’ll go order, if you want to find us a table?”

“S-sure.” Jaylin could do that. He curled his hands around the straps of his backpack and set out.

The cafe was busy but not overcrowded, which was sort of a miracle considering it was Saturday on a college campus. It was still on the earlier side of the morning though, just after ten fifteen, so Jaylin guessed that might be why. After some searching, he was able to find a small table right next to the window. It wasn’t his first choice, because it was colder near the glass no matter how well-insulated the window was, and he hadn’t completely warmed back up yet. But he wanted to make sure he had a table ready when Miyazaki came to find him.

He kept his jacket on and sat down, hunching over and trying not to shiver. His insides were cold, which was the worst. It was so much harder to warm up when your insides were frozen.

In many ways, Jaylin had been lucky. He’d never spent time on the street. He’d always had a roof over his head. Sometimes he hadn’t been able to afford heating the room that roof belonged to, but what could you do? He knew there were plenty of people worse off than he’d ever been.

“Here we are,” Miyazaki’s voice said, and Jaylin startled, jerking his head up to see the man setting a tray down on the table. Two steaming mugs, one with a dollop of whipped cream and a caramel drizzle, and a little plate of cookies shaped like snowflakes.

Jaylin blinked down at the tray, then back up at Miyazaki as he took a seat opposite him.

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