Work Text:
“Hello, welcome to Starbucks, May I take your order?” the blonde barista recited, not even looking up from the register.
“Um, I’ll have just a grande iced coffee, please,” the customer replied, her voice capturing the barista’s attention.
Evan looked up and saw a girl. A beautiful girl, with caramel hair that cascaded around her shoulders, glittering green eyes, and a kind, patient smile gracing her gorgeous face.
“Uh, would you um…like cream with that? Ah! Cream or sugar? Or milk? Or anything, I guess…” he stammered, flustered.
The girl giggled. “Light cream and sugar, please,” she replied.
Evan nodded, looking down trying to keep his hands from shaking and sweating all over the register buttons. “Uhm…that’ll be $3.27, and what’s the name for the order?” he asked.
“Zoe,” she said, swiping her card.
“Zoe,” Evan repeated, looking up once more, “that’s a nice name.”
“Thanks…Evan,” she responded sweetly, looking for his name tag.
They smiled blankly at each other for a few seconds before Evan regained his composure. “Oh! Your order will be at the counter when your name is called,” he said quickly.
Zoe giggled again. “Thanks. Oh, and by the way, I work at the music store next door, if you ever want to drop by sometime,” she said slyly, then scurried off to find the counter.
Evan could only stare after her, lost in a daydream for several moments after she’d left until the next customer in front of him cleared his throat.
“I haven’t got all day, are you going to take my order?” he said crossly.
“Oh! Uh, yes, of course, um, what can I get for you?” Evan asked, slumping his shoulders slightly as he braced himself for another boring day at work.
—-
Evan took his lunch break around 12, and instead of hanging out to do homework with his friend Jared like he usually did, he dashed over to the music store as fast as he could. A little bell jingled as he burst through the door, signaling his entry to the employees.
“Hello and welcome to Musical Innovations, anything I can help you with to- oh! Evan! Hey, you actually came!” the employee at the counter started, revealing herself to be Zoe.
“Oh, hey! Um, yeah, I uh- came in here because…” Evan began, trying desperately to think of an excuse.
Zoe tilted her head to the side. “Looking for anything in particular?” she asked, leaning forward on the counter.
“You! I…came in because of you,” Evan admitted, turning bright red.
Zoe giggled, a sound that was quickly becoming one of Evan’s favorites in the whole world. “I was hoping you’d say that. Unfortunately, I can’t take my break until later, but I can show you around the store if you want to make it look like I’m actually working,” she offered.
Evan was taken aback by her admittance of her interest in him. “Um, sure! That would be…that would be great,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
The caramel haired girl grinned. “Great! Follow me,” she said simply, eagerly bolting from behind the front register, “I hate working register, I also teach classes for beginners and fix broken instruments, I like both of those things a lot more than dealing with crabby customers,” she added quietly.
“My entire job revolves around dealing with crabby customers,” Evan grumbled.
“Oh no! I hope most of them aren't too bad,” Zoe said sympathetically.
“Oh, most are fine! But, uh, there are a lot of angry people, kinda looking for someone to get mad at,” he elaborated.
Zoe nodded. “I get it. Someone once threatened to break a guitar over my head if it wasn't fixed properly,” she said, laughing.
“I've always wanted to learn guitar,” Evan mused as they wandered by a wall adorned with racks on racks of hung guitars.
“Well, lucky for you, guitar is my specialty! I can show you the basics right now actually, if you want,” Zoe offered excitedly.
Evan grinned. “Um, sure! I have about 20 minutes left before I have to get back over,” he said.
Zoe smiled and took one of the guitars off of the wall, then settled cross-legged onto the ground. Evan sat down across from her.
“Okay, so first there's strings and frets. The strings are pretty self explanatory, but the frets are each of the little lines along here, got it? And strumming a certain string while-” Zoe started explaining.
“Zoe? Zoe! Where did you go?” a gruff voice called from the other side of the store.
The girl shot up, almost hitting the instrument against the wall in her haste to put it up. Evan caught the neck as it tipped over and almost fell, then looked up to Zoe, who was holding the other end. She smiled gratefully and mouthed a ‘thank you’ as she finished mounting it on the wall.
Thinking quickly, she grabbed Evan by the shoulders and positioned him closer to her, as if they were inspecting models of guitars. “...and then if you're looking for a more affordable model, I would look at the-” she started calmly.
“Zoe! What are you doing?” her manager asked angrily, rounding the corner.
“Oh! I was just showing this nice young man some beginners guitars,” she explained, Evan nodding supportively behind her.
“Oh, really? Because I thought you were flirting instead of working,” the manager said, looking Evan over.
“Um, I was just about to get going! My break is almost over anyway,” Evan said quickly, blushing slightly.
“He really was interested in guitars,” Zoe grumbled.
“You work at Starbucks next door?” the manager asked, glancing down at the apron Evan had forgotten to take off.
Evan nodded, slightly embarrassed. “Yeah, I mean- yes! Um, we met there this morning, she told me to drop in sometime,” he began, then suddenly realized he was digging Zoe into a deeper hole, “and! I've always wanted to learn guitar so that's why I stopped by, to, um, look at guitars,” he amended.
“Uh huh. Well, you should come back sometime to maybe try some out. You know, it's Zoe’s specialty,” the manager said innocently.
“I think he has to leave now,” Zoe said quietly, trying to end the conversation.
Her manager only smiled. “Alright, I expect you back up at the counter once he's gone. Immediately,” she said threateningly, then turned and walked off.
Evan smiled. “Yeah. Thanks for showing me around, I'll come back tomorrow?” he asked.
“Uh, sure! Or maybe tonight?” Zoe asked hopefully.
“Oh, I would, but um, I already have plans with my friend Jared. And I have a big test tomorrow, but-” he started.
“I get it, don't worry about it! I'll see you around,” she replied, waving awkwardly.
“Okay, Jose,” Evan replied, saluting back.
Zoe giggled. “Okay, Jose,” she said before scurrying off to the register.
Evan smiled to himself as he watched her leave, then exited the music store and sighed before stepping back into Starbucks.
---
Later that evening, Jared and Evan’s so-called study group had devolved into playing Super Smash Bros and eating Chinese takeout. Eventually, Evan told his friend about his encounter with Zoe earlier that day.
“Wait, so you mean to tell me you picked up this super fucking hot chick just because you happened to be working the register?” Jared asked, incredulous as he thoughtfully picked up .
Evan blushed. “I mean, she just asked me to come over to the music store where she works,” he said defensively.
“Please tell me you at least got her number,” his friend said, slightly nervous.
“Um, no, but she just works next door, and I'm going to go see her tomorrow,” Evan replied happily.
“Dude, you need to get her number! That's how you know she's actually into you and not just being nice,” Jared said, flicking a grain of rice towards Evan.
“I mean, why would she invite me to visit her at the store if she didn't at least want to get to know me?” the blonde boy retorted, slightly hurt.
Jared shrugged. “Guess I can't argue that.”
They both fell silent for several moments, picking at the Chinese food containers.
“Hey, um, Jared?” Evan eventually piped up.
“Yes?” he replied.
“What do I do next? I mean, I'm going to see her again, but how do I figure out if she's actually interested? How do I get to know her better? You have more experiences with this kind of stuff,” he asked, mumbling towards the end.
“Evan, I am a sad, lonely gay man, what makes you think I'm qualified to help you with this?” Jared asked.
“I mean, you have actual relationship experience,” Evan grumbled, picking up a piece of chicken with chopsticks.
“Well…I guess just keep talking to her, ask her out to lunch sometime, I don't know, just don't screw this up,” Jared offered.
Evan groaned. “Telling me not to screw it up doesn't help,” he said, reaching for a throw pillow and hurling it towards Jared.
His friend dodged to the side and cackled. “I'm sorry! I have nothing else to offer!” he said, grabbing the pillow and hucking it back over.
The blonde grabbed it in mid-air. “You're no help,” he grumbled, causing Jared to grab another pillow and throw it squarely at his friend’s face.
“Hey!” he exclaimed, then jumped up, holding a pillow in each hand.
Jared cackled as Evan dashed over and tried to pummel him with the pillows. “You know, beating me up isn't going to change anything about your personal situation,” he said reasonably.
“But it makes me feel a lot better,” Evan replied, laughing as Jared tried to tug the pillows out of his grasp.
—-
Evan had hardly been at work for an hour, and he was counting down the minutes until he could see Zoe again. He had forgotten to ask her when she could take her lunch break, but decided an hour later than yesterday would suffice. He was almost trapped in a haze of happiness, feeling lighter than he had in a long time. Suddenly, he was snapped out of the daze and brought back to reality with one word.
“Hey!” Zoe said, stepping up to the counter.
“Oh, hey! How- how's it going?” Evan asked, beginning to sweat nervously.
“It's going great!” she said, beaming.
Evan gazed at her for a moment before snapping out of it. “Uh, so, um- what can I get for you?” he asked.
Zoe snapped back to attention as well. “Um, my manager sent me over to get drinks for her and a coworker, so I need an iced white chocolate mocha, a chai tea latte, and an iced coffee today,” she recited.
“Okay, what's the- oh, nevermind,” Evan started saying robotically, then remembered who was ordering.
Zoe giggled. “I'll see you later today, right?” she asked.
“Um, yeah! Of course! Uh, say, when’s your lunch break?” he asked in return.
“I can take it at 12 today! I’ve got a whole hour if you wanna go somewhere else,” Zoe offered.
Evan grinned. “Sounds amazing, I’ll come over and meet you?”
Zoe grinned as well. “Perfect! I’ll see you then,” she said, sliding away from the register before the angry person behind her could scream at Evan.
He quickly finished writing Zoe’s name on all the cups for her order, stopping on the last one for her iced coffee. Barely thinking about it, he added a heart beside her name. Looking down at his work as he was about to pass it over, he panicked. Before he could do anything about it, the cup was plucked out of his hand and whisked away. He tried to say something and reached out to get it back, but it was too late. The coworker who took the cup simply nodded in his direction approvingly, and continued making the drink. Evan resigned himself to his fate and turned back to the next customer in line.
—-
At exactly 11:59, Evan rushed to the back, threw off his apron, and grabbed his jacket before running next door to find Zoe. The bell rang as he pushed open the door, almost running into Zoe in the process.
“Oh, hey! I was gonna surprise you over there. I appreciated the little doodle on my coffee this morning,” she said coyly.
Evan blushed. “Um, thanks! I'm glad you liked it, I kinda did it by accident? Like, I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry if it weirded you out at all-“
“Aw, don’t worry about it! I already said I liked it, it was cute,” Zoe said, reaching up and squeezing Evan on the arm.
He blushed further at the unexpected contact. “Well…thanks. Um, do you wanna go somewhere, get something to eat?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Yeah! There’s a really good falafel place, actually it's a cart in the park, a bit away from here, if you want to go there,” Zoe suggested.
“Sure! That sounds great. I've never actually had falafel,” Evan said.
Zoe gasped. “Never?! Well, if you want to try it-”
“Sure! Let's- let's go there,” he said supportively.
The pair swung out of shop and began strolling down the sidewalk, Zoe semi-leading the way to the park. They walked in silence for several moments before Zoe started up a conversation.
“So…do you go to school here? I just assumed since you're working at the campus Starbucks,” she asked.
“Um, yeah! I came here mostly because it's in-state, but also there's a good naturalist department and I really want to be a botanist,” Evan explained.
Zoe nodded. “That's nice! I'm studying psychology here, it's a calling that just kind of found me when I was younger and…I guess was always there,” she mused.
“How did it find you?” Evan asked, curious.
The caramel haired girl sighed. “Well…it's all kind of from my brother and-” she started, getting slightly choked up.
“It's okay, you don't have to talk about it!” Evan quickly assured, placing a hand on her arm.
“No I- I want to talk about it. I don't know, I don't get to talk about this kind of stuff a lot, and you seem like you actually want to listen,” Zoe said, turning and smiling slightly, “and something about you just makes me want to open up. We barely know each other, but I feel like I've known you forever, if that's not too weird,” she added, giggling.
Evan smiled back. “Me too. Feel free to talk about as much- or, as little, as you want,” he said, realizing he was still touching her.
Zoe gave a small smile. “Thanks. I mean- I was 13 when I decided I wanted to go into psychology, and it was mostly because I…wanted to be able to help kids like myself. My older brother, he…he abused me in a lot of different ways. And my parents tried to help both of us, but didn't take it seriously enough until it was too late for-” she began explaining before before breaking down.
“No no no, it's okay, it's okay, I'm here,” Evan attempted talking Zoe through it, impulsively bringing his other hand over to rub her back.
“Thanks. I- I’m sorry, I don't know if I can talk about it anymore. I want to, but I realized it's probably way too much information for a first date,” she said, calming herself down and adding a humorous tone.
Evan’s breath hitched. “Wait, this is a date?” he asked, incredulous.
Zoe laughed. “Oh my god, I'm so sorry that slipped out,” she said, wiping away the tears that had made their way down her face earlier. “But, I mean, if you wanted it to be a date…”
“We can, uh…labels aren't important,” Evan said quickly.
“Alright. No labels then,” Zoe said, smirking as she slyly reached over and took Evan’s hand.
He almost simultaneously fainted and had a heart attack right on the spot.
“Oh, and I’m sorry I just had a mini-breakdown. My mom’s coming into town this weekend, and I haven't seen her in a while so everything's just…fresh, you know?” she explained, somber.
Evan nodded thoughtfully. “I know what you mean. My dad left when I was 6 and…well, uh, a couple years later, he invited me out to Colorado to meet his new family, and I just…didn't know what to say, so I hid the letter from my mom and never responded. I wonder what might've happened if I'd gone sometimes, but…I have to live with it,” he said, slightly wistful.
Zoe chuckled. “Glad I'm not alone in my familial issues,” she said, squeezing Evan’s hand.
They rounded a corner and the campus park sprawled out in front of them.
“And we're here! The cart is right over there, we can find a nice place to sit somewhere around it. I love how pretty the whole place is,” Zoe said, gesturing towards it.
“Especially since the actual school buildings look like they're part of a prison,” Evan grumbled, causing Zoe to laugh.
Several minute later, the pair had falafel sandwiches in hand and were seated on a stone bench beneath the branches of several beautiful cherry blossom trees.
“So…a botanist, huh? Where did that come from?” Zoe asked as they ate their lunches.
“Well, um, it's actually a funny story, because it's from my dad. He used to take me to local parks and would spend the time explaining each plant and animal in the area, since he was a park ranger in college. I was really interested in it, and right before he left, he helped me build and plant a garden box in our backyard. It's ironic because as I got older, I used gardening as my outlet for everything I was feeling, and actually was a volunteer park ranger during my summers in high school,” Evan gave a long-winded explanation.
Zoe nodded. “Kinda funny how we both got our occupations from our worst family members,” she said sardonically.
“Yeah. At least I don't have to see my dad at all. But do you still have to see your brother?” Evan asked.
“Um…well, that's the thing- my brother took his life when I was 16. The last conversation I had with him was ironically about how worried I was for him, since I caught him smoking weed with someone in his car after school when he was supposed to drive me home. I got a ride from a friend instead and…I regretted it since he…never made it home,” Zoe answered.
Evan bit his lip and settled a hand on her shoulder. “I'm so sorry that happened,” he said simply.
Zoe reached up and placed a hand on top of his. “Thanks. It's…it's been almost 5 years, but it's still rough, since we never had closure. I guess it's better that way, since I never had to confront him about everything he'd ever done to me. But also, I'll never get the satisfaction of telling him what he did to me and how much it hurt,” she said, slightly defeated.
“Yeah. I sometimes wonder what I would even tell my dad if I ever saw him again. But it's not that comparable to your situation,” Evan said.
“But it's still a valid experience. It still…hurts,” Zoe said, moving her hand away and staring down into her falafel. “Say, how do you like the falafel?”
“Oh, it's great! The sauce is really great too,” Evan said.
Zoe beamed. “Great! I'm glad you like it,” she said, finishing her pita.
“Well, um…this was really nice. We should do this again sometime,” Evan said.
“Of course! I work afternoons most weekdays since my dumbass self enrolled in morning classes to finish my requirements,” Zoe replied, laughing at herself as they stood up and gathered their trash.
“Me too! I mean, I did it on purpose to have a mostly free day, but I have regretted it too,” Evan said humorously.
“Maybe we can make lunch a regular thing? I make my own lunches a lot- here, let me give you my number so I can keep in touch,” Zoe offered, reaching for her phone.
“Oh, yeah! Here, we can put each other's numbers in our phones,” he agreed, pulling out his own phone and handing it to Zoe. They quickly created contacts for themselves and swapped phones back.
“Great, thanks! Are you working this weekend?” she asked.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Evan said, groaning.
Zoe laughed. “Ah, that sucks. I have off since my mom’s in town, the one good thing about the music store is that they're extremely flexible,” she explained, “also it's my 21st birthday tomorrow.”
“Oh my gosh, happy early birthday!” Evan said as they began to walk back to their places of work.
“Thanks! I'm…kind of excited, but also kind of nervous. You know, growing up and all that,” Zoe added.
“Yeah. Well, um, I hate to break it to you, but I only have three more minutes before I have to get back, so I'm gonna have to literally run. I'm so sorry, this is a terrible way to end a- lunch, I guess, but uh” Evan started.
“Okay, let's run then! Beat you there!” the green eyed girl said, taking off down the sidewalk, not waiting for Evan.
He laughed and dashed to catch up, running alongside her. The pair ran all the way to their stores, laughing all the way before they came to a screeching halt at the doorways.
“That was fun,” Zoe said breathlessly.
“Surprisingly, yes,” Evan affirmed, gazing into the girl’s eyes for several moments. She was about to take a step closer before the blonde boy snapped out of it.
“I'm so sorry, I have to go, I'm almost late. I'll text you later?” he added quickly.
“Oh! Yeah, of course,” Zoe said trying to hide her disappointment as she waved goodbye to Evan as he disappeared into the Starbucks.
---
Evan’s Saturday was rather uneventful, working all day at the Starbucks and being slightly disappointed that he didn't see Zoe at all. At exactly 5 o’clock, he escaped and crashed in his dorm room, taking the opportunity of Jared not being there to take a nap. His roommate arrived an hour later with takeout pizzas and bottles of cheap beer.
“Hey sleepyhead, ready to get destroyed in Fortnite?” Jared asked, setting down the food on their coffee table.
Evan snorted, rubbing his eyes. “In your dreams, because I'm not playing Fortnite,” he said.
Jared pouted. “Oh, come on! You're no fun.”
Evan won, however, and the pair ended up playing League of Legends instead. Two pizzas, three beers for Jared, and several hours later, Evan checked his phone and gasped.
“What's up, big dog?” Jared asked, not looking away from the TV screen.
“I have…a lot of voicemails from Zoe,” Evan said incredulously.
“Well, let's hear em then! Also, turn on your notifications, that means she was trying to call you, genius,” the bespectacled boy chided.
Evan ignored him and turned up his phone volume, ready to listen to the first message.
“Hey, Evan! It's my birthday! You already knew that, but I'm at a bar for the first time! Isn't that exciting? Anyway, are you 21? You should come down and find us! Okay, talk to you later!” the first message went along.
“That was pretty normal, I can only imagine it spirals from here, though,” Jared said, cackling.
Evan clicked the second message.
“Yo, Ev! Are you off work yet? Let me know if you are, I really want to see you! I know it's been barely 12 hours, but I feel like we really connected yesterday. Like, I’m with my friends right now and none of them know as much as you do. That's crazy, right? I'm crazy! Ha, I'm crazy. Anyway, hope to see you!”
“Oy vey,” Jared said simply.
Evan clicked the third message.
“Hey, Evan, do you like me? I mean, I know you do, but why are you ignoring my calls? I guess you're busy, ugh, why is the world spinning? Also this bartender is so ugly. Like, reeeeally ugly. And you're so hot. You're so hot and you don't even know it. Ugh, I've only known you for a few days, but fuck, I'd hit that,” the second message went, Zoe’s speech slurred slightly more than in the last.
Evan clicked the fourth message.
“Evanevanevan, I just have to tell you that I told my friends that I reeeeally like you, and usually I lie about those things, but I don't think I'm lying here! I really like you! Y’ know, I was so disappointed that you didn't kiss me yesterday after lunch, I was going to before you had to leave. I bet your lips are so soft.”
Evan clicked the fifth message.
“Evan. Breakthrough. I did shots for the first time after a couple other drinks and I think I've unlocked all the secrets of the universe. Like, just fuck everyone, y’ know? I saw my mom earlier today, and she was fine, but she wouldn't talk about Connor. Like, fuck mom, I didn't know we could just ignore the worst parts of our lives. If I'd known it worked like that, I would've been doing it all along.”
Evan clicked the sixth message.
“Okay yeah, so I just want you to know I really like you, and I would not be opposed to the idea of you kissing me when I see you next. Just kiss me. Fuck, I haven't had a boyfriend in so long. Or a girlfriend. Just anyone. I had a girlfriend a while ago, but she left me for someone hotter. Just- yeah, I was talking about Alana! Ugh, dating is overrated. But I really like you. Like, really, really like you.”
Evan clicked the last message.
“Hey, I just wanna let you know that you're incredible. Like, I don't know why, but I really just want to let you find out everything about me. I want to touch you. I want to get to know you better. Also I think I'm- ack, Tiffany, are you okay? Yeah, I guess I'm a little drunk. Just a- oof, are your insides supposed to hurt so much?”
“Wow, guess she had a case of ‘first-time-seriously-drinking’ and decided to take it out on you,” Jared said unphased.
Evan sprawled out on the floor, completely taken aback. “Yeah. I guess so.”
---
Monday came, and Evan was extremely apprehensive about going into work. He didn't see Zoe all morning, and decided to go over to visit her during his lunch break. The time came, and he walked into the place, looking expectantly at the counter. Another female employee was sitting boredly behind it, filing her nails.
“Um, hi, is Zoe working today?” he asked nervously.
The employee nodded to the left. “She's teaching a class right now. It's almost over though, if you want to stick around,” she answered.
“Thanks,” Evan said gratefully before heading over to the practice room. He reached the doorway and looked in to see several kids sitting in stools on a half circle, Zoe at the front of the room. Each person had a guitar balanced on their lap.
“Okay, thank you so much for coming, and remember to practice before next time, okay?” she was saying to the room.
The kids responded affirmatively and moved to put up their instruments. Zoe looked up towards the doorway and smiled.
“Hey, Ev. How’s it going?” she asked, setting down her own guitar and walking towards him.
“Ev? Is this your husband?” one of the kids asked, astonished.
Both Evan and Zoe blushed. “No! He’s um, he’s my friend,” she explained.
“Yup, that’s right!” Evan added in response to the unsure looks the young children kept giving them.
He then turned back to Zoe. “Hey, could we talk about what happened Saturday? Somewhere more…private?” he asked, whispering.
“What happened Saturday?” the girl echoed, bewildered.
Evan nodded as the kids all filed out to meet their parents, who were all gathered in the lobby.
“Thank you, Zoe!” one of them called, to which she leaned out of the doorway and waved.
“We can just go in here, there won’t be another class for an hour,” she said, grabbing Evan by the wrist as she bolted into the room and shut the door.
“So tell me, what happened Saturday?” she started.
“You…you don’t remember, do you?” Evan asked.
Zoe shook her head. “I’m afraid not. I know I went out drinking for the first time, but-”
“You left me a few voicemails…” the blonde boy said sheepishly.
“Oh my god, no I did not,” Zoe said, bringing her hands up to cover her mouth.
“Um…do you want to hear them?” Evan asked, pulling out his phone.
Zoe could only nod, still horrified at her past self. She turned and sat on a desk behind her.
Evan clicked the first message.
“Okay, well, nothing too bad yet,” Zoe said afterwards, still full of hope for herself to recover.
Evan smiled sympathetically and clicked the second message.
“Still not too bad,” Zoe said simply.
She was silent after the the third message. And the fourth. And the fifth. And the sixth. Only after the last one did she speak again.
“Wow. I’m so…so sorry you had to listen to that, Ev,” Zoe said sincerely.
“Look, I don’t care that it happened. Accidents happen. I just…want to know if you meant some of the things you said,” Evan replied hopefully.
Zoe raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”
“Like…was that bartender really that ugly?” Evan asked with a straight face.
The caramel haired girl burst into laughter. “Yes! Oh my god, I’ll have to take you there sometime to see him, I can’t even describe it he’s just…bad.”
Evan smiled. “Absolutely, I would love that. But, uh…about some of the other things…” he said, getting up onto the desk beside Zoe.
She nudged him with her shoulder. “Like?”
“Like…do you really like me? Like, like me-like me,” he asked, unsure.
Zoe giggled. “Well, do you like me-like me?” she asked in return.
“Y- well…yes. Of course, why wouldn’t I?” Evan replied.
Zoe smiled radiantly. “Well…I do too,” she said matter-of-factly.
“You like-like yourself?” Evan asked, teasing.
“No! I…heh, I like-like you! I already told you so!” Zoe said, playfully shoving him and gesturing toward his phone.
“Okay, okay! Well, um, the other thing I wanted to ask about…” Evan said, leaning in closer, his voice getting quieter and huskier.
“Do you actually want me to kiss you?”
The question sent a chill down Zoe’s spine. Instead of respond verbally, she closed the minuscule gap between them and pressed her lips gently against his. It only lasted a moment before both of them drew apart. They both stared at each other in wonder for a moment before Evan broke the silence.
“Were my lips as soft as you were hoping?” he asked, jokingly referencing her messages.
Zoe laughed. “That and more,” she said simply before working her arms around Evan’s shoulders and drawing herself closer, so their bodies were almost completely flush against one another.
She dove in for another kiss, this one needier than the last. Evan wrapped his arms around her waist, bracing himself as she leaned in further and as she ran her tongue along his bottom lip. They came up for air after another moment and Evan looked down, smiling.
“Just for the record, so we clear the air…” Zoe started quietly, “I wasn’t lying about wanting to hit that.”
Before a furiously blushing Evan could respond, Zoe giggled and kissed him again, this one back to being tender and soft.
He moved his hands up to root in her hair, being the one to deepen the kiss this time. Zoe let out a slight moan of approval before suddenly the door swung open. The pair stopped at the sound of the door clicking open, lips still locked at first before they thought to separate and turn towards the doorway.
“Hey…uh, when you’re not so busy, uh…Mel wants to see you,” her coworker said uncomfortably from the door.
“Th…thanks, Heather. I’ll be right over,” Zoe said, embarrassed. The other girl simply gave an approving nod and a sly smile before closing the door.
“I, uh…I should…”
“No, I got it! I should probably go actually eat lunch before my break is over,” Evan said, “but, um…we should do this again sometime.”
Zoe giggled. “Of course, I’ll text you my schedule later?” she offered.
“Yeah! Um, are you free later tonight? Maybe?” Evan asked hopefully.
“Actually, I think so. I’ll call when I’m off work,” she said, planting one last kiss on his cheek before untangling herself from Evan and hopping down from the desk.
“See you later tonight!” she said from the doorway, waving to him before running off to find her manager.
Once she was gone, Evan smiled to himself and involuntarily pumped his fists in the air. He couldn’t believe his luck, and wasn’t sure if the past ten minutes had actually happened or not. All he knew for sure was that he had a date tonight. And he only had five more minutes to make it back to Starbucks and eat lunch.