Page 53 of Cream & Sugar
I man the counter while Shaun is held hostage talking to Lara and Bigvig. He’s clearly uncomfortable, one hand shaking behindhis back as he fends off what I’m sure are more stupid questions about matcha. Lara, to my surprise, looks a little awkward too. As she bloody well should! Dangling her new boyfriend in front of her ex in a place he can’t leave is prime dickhead behaviour and I hope she feels like a colossal twat for coming in here. As I make a takeaway tea order for a smartly dressed man, I find myself glaring daggers at her. Then I remember I’m not supposed to know who she is and force my attention back to the tea.
As I put the lid on the cup, Bigvig’s booming laugh fills the café. “Babe, you didn’t tell me he was so funny!”
Lara smiles tightly, her eyes on the floor.
I place the customer’s tea on the counter.
“Here you go,” I say, trying to eavesdrop as I ring up the order on the till. “That’ll be two fifty—”
“No way!” Bigvig booms. “You actuallybakeit all yourself?”
The customer throws an irritated glance in Bigvig’s direction as he taps his card on the machine. As I tell the customer to have a nice day, I look over just in time to see Bigvig poke Shaun in the belly.
“Just don’t eat it all yourself, hey big guy?”
My blood boils. I want to leap over the counter and punch Bigvig in his stupid, godlike face. Admittedly, the guy is twice my size and could fold me like a warm Curly Wurly, but that split-second of justice would feel so damn good. How fucking dare he?
“Yeah,” says Shaun, his voice small. The back of his neck has gone bright red. “Anyway, I’d better get back to work. Washing up’s not going to do itself.”
I steal a glance at the empty sink. Bigvig stands up and holds out his hand. “So good to meet you, man! Cute place.”
Shaun’s shoulders tense. Bigvig’s taller, but not by much, and judging by the look on the guy’s face, he’s used to having more of a height advantage over guys he’s trying to intimidate.
After a moment’s hesitation, Shaun takes his hand and they shake. Cords of muscle ripple in the two men’s forearms, leaving no doubt they’re trying to crush each other’s hands to a pulp. Neither of them so much as wince. My chest fills with pride for Shaun.
“Can I get you two anything else?” Shaun asks once they finally stop shaking.
“Just the check,” says Bigvig, pulling out his wallet.
Shaun nods and makes a beeline for the till. I start tapping in their order but Shaun gently ushers me out of the way.
“Thanks Freddie, I’ve got this. Would you mind clearing their table for me?”
There’s the faintest tremble in his voice. All attraction aside, I want more than anything to give Shaun a hug. Instead, I give him what I hope is an encouraging smile as I grab a rag and an empty tray.
Lara’s on her feet when I approach, finishing the last dregs of her coffee.
“Thanks for everything!” she says, placing her empty cup down with a clink. Behind her Shaun’s pressing buttons on the till while Bigvig taps his card impatiently on the countertop. Wanker.
“So how’s working here?” Lara asks as I start loading their dirty crockery onto the tray. “Shauny said you’re brand new!”
“Yeah, it’s great,” I say. “Shaun’s great too. Best boss I’ve ever had.”
Technically the only boss I’ve ever had, but Lara doesn’t need to know that.
She lowers her voice so only I can hear. “Sorry if it was a little awkward before. I dunno if you realise but Shaun and I actually used todate.”
I gasp. “No way!”
“Yeah! It wasn’t the nicest breakup. I didn’t actually want to come in here today, but we were passing and Viggo wanted…” She trails off, losing her words. Luckily, I’m here to help.
“To meet your ex-partner?” I say.
Lara blinks, her smile faltering for a second.
“Hey babe! Quick picture?” Bigvig calls as the card machine prints his receipt.
“Sure!” Lara snaps out of it and starts digging in her coat pocket. “Can you take a picture of us please, Frankie?”
