Work Text:
//
It was a hot summer afternoon, and it had been just minutes after closing when the door rang its auspicious jingle. The owner could have sworn the sign was flipped to “Closed”, and sighed.
“Coming!” She said from the back. The young baker, alone now after her last employee clocked out, wiped her hands clean off her apron before adjusting her cap back on her head. Alexa, the young baker and owner of the store, poked her head out from the backroom, and noticed a certain redheaded girl inside the store, glancing up at the various food items from the menu above, as most people did.
Becky, one of her usual customers, was typically in work clothes whenever she arrived in the morning for her tea and bagel. But this time as she waited patiently, Alexa couldn’t help but notice the odd timing on her part, as well as the neat yet casual attire she had on now. For one, it was later in the day than usual for Becky to arrive. In fact, it was hardly a typical phenomena, as the only other time she was here at this time was when she had to go in late to work for a double shift, to which Lexi happily accommodated her usual order even a bit after closing. Since then, Becky had complained that she would never ever take another swing shift again due to how fragile her sleep schedule was already.
Lexi vaguely wondered what it was that made Becky come this time at this hour. Even as tired as she was, Lexi still couldn’t help but gawk just a little even while she was distracted looking at the menu. Though, and Alexa had to admit, it was absolutely charming when Becky did it. But that was something her customer didn’t need to know. She had only been crushing on her for the past six months already.
Only just.
“Hey, how’s my favorite customer?”
“Just swell,” Bex sighed. “Just gotta pick up a couple of things for tonight.”
“What’s the occasion?” Lexi wiped her face away from sweat off the back of her hand. It had left some flour residue on her brow, but she hadn’t noticed. The redhead refrained from smiling at the owner of the small shop. “Don’t tell me you got another swing shift to cover?
“Oh, actually, I took your advice,” she grinned sheepishly. “I quit my job. I had enough of it.”
“Oh! Just like that?“
Becky nodded. “Just like that. So I’m celebrating tonight.”
“Oh, wow,” Lexi exclaimed. “Well, that’s good! You always seemed so stressed out over it. I mean, granted, all jobs are hard. But no one should ever have to deal with unnecessary bullshit. You know what I mean?”
“Yeah, absolutely. I get you.” Becky chuckled. She ran a hand over the back of her head. Lexi was almost starting to wonder what had made her look so uneasy.
“I mean, you know. Sometimes, you gotta just rip the bandage off. To get what you want, I mean.“
The other girl nodded, visibly gulping. “Sure. Yeah.“
Silence.
“Um,“ Lexi started a beat later. “So, where to now? Will you be working the same field?”
“Oh, uh, kinda,“ Becky said. She pointed up to the menu. “Actually, I was hoping I could answer that after I order some stuff.“
Lexi felt a faint pang of hurt. Just another day for them, and another order. She wouldn’t have minded much if it wasn’t for her feelings being involved. But Lexi pushed down her feelings. She was the owner after, and Becky her customer. She would keep things professional, crushes be damned.
“Sure.” The blonde pulled out her flip notebook and a pencil from her back pocket. “What’ll it be?“
“Uhh, let’s see.” Becky fumbled with her hands. “How about one baguette, two creme brulees, a peach puff pastry, and–you like strawberry, right?–a strawberry hand pie. Cuz I’d like to take you out, uh, for a date…“
“Whoa, hold on,“ Lexi fumbled with her pencil, crooked in her hand thanks to her left-handedness. “So one baguette, two creme brulees, one peach puff pastry, a strawberry hand pie–that’s my favorite–and a date… Oh.“ She looked up from her notes, to find a red-in-the-face Becky in near-panic mode alert.
“Yeah, um,“ she cleared her throat, and this time she had pulled out a beautiful flower from behind and showed it to Lexi. But in that moment, nothing else had appeared more beautiful than the flustered face that belonged to the wonderfully shy yet seldomly aloof girl before her. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, actually. Since I met you all those months ago. But I just got so comfortable with just being behind the counter, y’know? Just looking at you while you work, and me, just standing here. Waiting.“
Lexi blinked at the revelation, the words suddenly hitting her like a wave of heat on a hot and summer day.
“Which isn’t to say that waiting is a bad thing, I mean!“ Becky fumbled. She waved away at the air as though swatting away her words. “Waiting is okay! But, talking to you got me thinking, and got me wondering, what with all the talk about work and stress and being trying to be happy for myself, that sometimes you just need to take a chance. And rip off the bandage.“
“Except, in this case, it’s not really a bandage. It’s actually you and you’re actually really interesting and deserve no bandage.“ She laughed. “In fact, maybe you just deserve a date. And maybe I’d like to be the one to offer that. If you’re be willing.“
Silence again.
“Uh,“ Becky gulped. “If you want. Of course. Absolutely no obligation to say yes. I just thought that maybe–“
“Yeah,“ Lexi blurted.
“Oh… I mean. Yeah?“
She smiled. The notebook lay forgotten on the counter, as she pulled her cap off, pushed the swing door, stepped out in front of the baked goods, and into the arms of one beautiful redheaded girl she had only ever longed for for six months, meeting her soft lips and sinking deeper into this everlasting embrace like there was no care in the world. Her mind fell into a haze even as she pulled away, to greet her crush’s eyes just as she had the first time she meet her.
Becky grinned widely, forever stuck between bashfulness and endless affection. And it was a face that Lexi wanted to see again and again and again. The girl wiped the flour from her brow, and melted once more.
“So, it’s a date?”
Alexa laughed freely. “It’s a date.“
//