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Eurylochus hummed quietly to himself, running a cloth over the front of the countertop. He glanced up at the clock across the cafe from him. 20 minutes until Olympus Coffee closed. 20 minutes until he could leave. He couldn’t wait to get home, the day had been exhausting- he’d been on his own all day as his co-worker, Perimedes, hadn’t shown up. (Although a small part of him was rather glad about it- it was useful to have another pair of hands on deck, but good lord, the man was loud, if the word ‘extrovert’ was a person, he’d be Perimedes) He’d counted three different Karens coming in and screaming for overpriced caramel cortato drip affogato ristretto cappuccino mochas with double pump hazelnut syrup, extra soy milk, and coco dusting or whatever extreme drink they seemed to come up with by randomly stabbing their acrylic extensions at 20 different items in the menu. Personally, Eurylochus didn’t see the point in all the insane add-ons and alterations; he was perfectly happy with a simple black coffee. He glanced back up at the clock, which was moving infuriatingly slowly. How did he still have 20 minutes to go? He finally deemed the counter clean enough to leave it be and allowed his mind to drift to his plans for the evening. His housemate Ctimene was out at a concert with one of the many friends who often ended up crashing on their couch, so he would have the entire place to himself. Not that he really needed the space, he’d either end up continuing with his book sat at the kitchen table or get some pent-up anger from dealing with customers out on the punching bag in the corner. He’d originally bought it for himself, but Ctimene had quickly established that it was a communal item and had ended up using it more than him.
He heard the bell by the door jingle and tried not to internally scream. He took a breath before quickly pasting on his customer service smile. “Hi, how can I- uh, I, help you?” Eurylochus froze, stumbling over his words as he saw the man in front of the counter. He frantically tried to get his brain to think any other thought than “Damn, he’s hot” but he really couldn’t blame it. The man’s hair was a rich brown, with curls that bounced and jumped over each other, his skin a gentle brown spotted with dark freckles, and his eyes sparkled a deep brown in the gentle sunlight of the coffeeshop. As cliché as it sounded, Eurylochus would do anything for the man to keep smiling at him. “Hey! Could I get a medium mocha, please?” Eurylochus quickly shook his brain into something close to functioning and grabbed a cup from behind him. “Sure, can I get a name for the cup?”
“Polites- that’s P-O-L-I-T-E-S by the way,” Eurylochus nodded as he scrawled down the name. He always found it mildly annoying when customers tried to imply he couldn’t spell, but he pushed the feeling down, knowing there was no real malice behind it. “That’ll be £3.50, cash or card?”
“Cash,” Polites replied, reaching into the tote bag slung over his shoulder. It was emblazoned with a smiley face and curved text which read: ‘Greet the world with open arms!’
“Nice bag,” remarked Eurylochus, Polites’ face lit up as he looked up from searching in his bag. “Thank you! It’s from this small business a couple streets away- The Trojan Horse. All their stuff has really nice messages and it’s great quality too!” He looked back into the bag before frowning, “I could have sworn I put my wallet in here..” After a couple more moments of frustrated rummaging, Polites smacked himself in the forehead. “I let my friend borrow some money yesterday- I bet you he forgot to put it back in” he turned to Eurylochus apologetically “Sorry, do you mind if I call him quickly?- Perfectly fine if not, I understand you’re probably busy” Eurylochus shook his head “Nah, go ahead.” Polites smiled gratefully and moved slightly further away. Realistically, Eurylochus recognised he should probably tell him to go somewhere else and come back when he has money. Some corporate jargon about “upholding professional standards” and “maintaining an efficient and un-busy shop floor.” But the shop was uncharacteristically quiet for a Tuesday afternoon, and he was more interested in talking more with Polites than following the rules of a manager who rarely showed up on time sober and often forced Eurylochus to take on the role of ‘manager’ when a particularly angry customer showed up. He looked over at Polites and almost felt something inside him melt. Way back when Eurylochus had just been starting at the job, the shop had gone through what Eurylochus’ co-workers had dubbed its “Not like other shops phase.” In an attempt to distance itself from chains like Costa and Starbucks, the store had tried to market itself as “cozy, welcoming, magical small town-chic” in the words of management. This had involved adding in plants and vines everywhere the eye could see, placing several small crystals on the counter and (before the realisation was made that they’d gone incredibly over budget) installing a small circular stained glass window with a coffee cup design. The crystals had been stolen 2 weeks in, and the plants were long dead, but the window still remained. It was currently bathing Polites in dashes of rich purple, warm orange, and sparkling gold, which danced playfully across his face, gently stroking his cheeks before tripping over his nose and kissing his freckles. Eurylochus envied the light. He watched Polites wait for whoever was on the other end of the phone to pick up before beginning to talk. “Hey, do you know what you did with my wallet the other day?….. .No, when I lent it to you…..so you could buy a gift for your sister because you misplaced yours…..yeah where did you put it after?…..well it’s not in here now… Yes, I have checked! Otherwise why would I be calling you?….Ok that was one time….two times…that’s not the point here, do you know what you did with it………….That’d be really helpful if you could- I don’t have time to run and grab it, and I’ll need it later…. I’m at Olympus Coffee- it’s by- …. Oh you know it?….. Perfect! I’ll see you in a second then?… Alright, bye.” He turned to Eurylochus, “Is it ok if I wait here for my friend to drop off my wallet? He won’t be long, he’s just a couple streets away,” He asked. Eurylochus smiled, “course, I can get that mocha started for you as well.” It wasn’t exactly custom to make a customer's drink before they paid, but Eurylochus needed something to do with his hands, and he didn’t feel like Polites was the type to drink and dash as it were. “So, you up to much today?” Eurylochus asked, turning to grab a medium to-go cup, beginning to make the drink. Polites folded his arms and leant on the counter towards Eurylochus. “I’ve got an appointment to go pick up this set of hand painted ceramics I got commissioned for my best friends wedding gift- thats why I needed him to drop off my wallet, I can’t miss my time slot or I’ve got to wait a whole two weeks before I can pick them up again.”
“Figured you weren’t just desperate for a drink,” responded Eurylochus. Polites chuckled. “Buying wedding gifts is a pain in the ass, friend of mine’s getting married soon too and I still haven’t gotten him anything” Eurylochus continued. Polites hummed in agreement, “Can’t argue there. I’ve known this guy since we were 10, but I still had to google top 10 wedding gift ideas.”
They fell into a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes, punctuated only by the gentle hissing of the milk frother in Eurylochus’ hand. In a burst of what was either pure bravery or madness, Eurylochus turned to where Polites was staring into space and asked, “So… are you taking anyone to this wedding?” There was a moment’s silence. Eurylochus regretted asking instantly. He’d been way too forward, he was being weird, he shouldn’t have said anything and now he’d ruined his chance to ever talk to this amazing man again and- “nope, no one” Polites’ eyes flicked up to meet Eurylochus’ before adding “yet” with a smile. “Yourself?” Eurylochus’s face became tinted with red. Was…was Polites flirting with him? “No, still single currently.” Replied Eurylochus. Polites grinned playfully. “Would’ve thought someone as charming as you would be drowning in…girlfriends?” Polites joked, an unasked question hanging in the air between them. Eurylochus’ heart tripped and stumbled over itself before almost doubling it’s pace. Polites had to be flirting with him. There was no way Eurylochus was just misreading the interaction. Well, in that case, he thought, two can play at that game. Eurylochus snorted, hopefully casually- as if Eurylochus hadn’t a care in the world, most likely like he had a blocked nose. “You’ve definitely overestimated my ability to talk to people- men or women.” He instantly realised that talking about his lack of charisma, perhaps, wasn’t the best method of flirting. He’d never been much good at flirting at all, to be honest. Eurylochus recognised that most of the time he came across as rather standoffish, and he had a tendency to be more blunt than necessarily needed, a combo which didn’t tend to bode well in social scenarios. Polites didn’t need to know that however. Regardless, Polites simply laughed in response. They fell into another comfortable silence. Eurylochus finished assembling the drink- one of the easier ones to make, it was just espresso plus chocolate syrup and foamed milk with cocoa powder on top- and slid it across the counter to Polites. “All done.” Polites smiled, “Thanks.” He blew gently on the drink, making the top ripple before taking a small sip. “So how long have you been working here?” He asked idly. Eurylochus shrugged. “2 years maybe? Not much longer, hopefully, soon I’ll have saved up enough to move on.”
“What’re you going to do next?”
“The plan's always been to open my own martial arts centre- been really into that sort of thing ever since I was a kid.”
“What type do you practice?” It didn’t feel like Polites was asking just for the sake of asking- there was a genuine interest that warmed Eurylochus. “Muay Thai- been weekly practicing since i was 8. I’ve got a friend that’s been introducing me to kendo recently as well.”
“Oh nice, so do you think you’d want to teach Muay Thai then? You must be pretty good if you’ve been doing it that long.”
“I’d like to say I’m pretty good, hopefully good enough to teach people.”
“Maybe you could teach me sometime.”
“If you’re willing to put up with me for that long.”
“More than willing.” Eurylochus smiled. Polites grinned in response, locking eyes with Eurylochus as he did. Eurylochus had noticed how beautiful Polites’ eyes were as soon as he’d entered the cafe, but seeing them now in the light of the stained glass, they sparkled like the tigers eye crystal that used to sit on the counter next to the creamer, as the light moved flecks of gold and amber danced in his iris, flickering this way and that, like autumn leaves. After a few moments, Polites ducked his head, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks. Eurylochus awkwardly moved to tidy the counter. It didn’t need tidying- since he’d only had to make Polites’ drink, he’d tidied away the ingredients as he’d made it, but it felt less awkward than just standing there and looking at Polites. He cleared his throat before asking, “So, er what do you do for work?”
‘I work at the animal shelter a couple streets away.”
“Oh, ‘The Lotus Shelter’?” Polites nodded in response. “My co-worker adopted a dog from you guys last week- he spent our entire shift showing me photos.”
“Aw, cute.” Eurylochus snorted, “Yeah, would’ve been, if I hadn’t had to deal with a whole line of customers on my own whilst he did it.” Polites winced sympathetically before asking, “You got any pets?”
“Nah, my housemate’s allergic to most animals- we used to have a goldfish a while back, but my friend stole it after he fish-sat for us and got attached to it. Guessing you do though? Working at a shelter and all.” Polites smiled in response, “Yeah, I’ve got a little grey cat called Aeolus, and a pittie called Polyphemus. I got Aeolus about five years back, and Polyphemus 2 years ago- I actually got him from The Lotus- since he only has one eye, not many people were interested in adopting him, so I took him instead.”
“Cute. What’s it like working at the shelter? Gotta be better than here.”
“At least your customers don’t bite you.”
“There’s been more close calls than you’d think,” Polites laughed, Eurylochus couldn’t help but join in. “I’m not even joking-” Eurylochus said grinning, after the laughter had worn off, “There was this one lady in particular that came in with her three year old and let him run loose- had the imprint of his teeth in my hand for the rest of the day after I stopped him from stealing one of our syrup bottles”
“Ouch”
“Yeah, wasn’t fun- also, yet another thing I had to deal with, since Perimedes was busy chatting to a customer”
“Must have been annoying, I’m honestly quite glad I’m mostly on my own at the shelter, and if there are other staff around, they’re generally people I can rely on to know what they’re doing.” Eurylochus shrugged and smiled, “I think I’m starting to understand his choice, to be honest.”
Polites opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the shop door slamming open and a man with wild eyes and hair that looked like he had been dragged through a bush running in. “Sorry, sorry! I know I said I could be here in five minutes but you will not believe the journey I’ve had- I got stuck behind a bunch of people handing out leaflets about a storm, and then this person with the storm people grabbed me and handed me a bag of leaflets- I think they wanted me to hand them out? But they wouldn’t let me hand them back, so I had those. And then I ended up dropping them after that and this guy started lecturing me about littering and the effect on marine life for like 10 minutes- despite the fact I said sorry and pointed out the fact it didn’t even matter because we’re no where near the ocean, and then this other woman grabbed me and started talking to me about her love life? I think she might have been hitting on me? But I couldn’t get out of that conversation for what felt like 7 years, and that’s barely a quarter of what happened- here’s your wallet.” The man passed a brown leather wallet to Polites before spotting Eurylochus. “Hey! I completely forgot you worked here.”
“Odysseus?” Eurylochus replied incredulously. Polites turned to him in suprise “Wait, you know Odysseus?”
“Yeah, we’ve been friends since college, I’m housemates with his sister- how do you know Odysseus?”
“We grew up together- we’ve been friends since we were little.”
“Wait, so the friend’s wedding you’re going to- Odysseus’ one, right?”
“Yep- you too, I’m guessing?”
“Yeah, so I guess I’ll see you there.”
“It’s a date.” Polites smiled before reaching into his wallet. “£3.50 you said?”
“It’s on the house, don’t worry about it.”
“Well, in that case…” Polites grabbed a pen out of his tote and hastily scrawled down something on his cup before sliding it to Eurylochus, “Let me pay you back sometime- coffee at a place you don’t have to make it.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Polites waved goodbye as he and Odysseus exited the shop a little while later, which had ended up being five minutes after Eurylochus should have closed up, but there was little rush, he had nowhere to be. 10 more minutes later, and the shop had been locked up. As Eurylochus walked home, he turned over the cup in his hand idly, studying the looping cursive on it. “Polites- 07-768-987-654 Call me! ツ’ He smiled, taking his phone out of his pocket and tapping the number in before gently tucking the cup into his coat pocket. He should really start leaving the coat at home now, he thought, looking at the lazy summer sun melting below the hills in the distance. He looked back at his phone, opening up his messages and typing out a quick message to Polites, ‘Hey, this is Eurylochus. Are you free this weekend to meet up?’ He placed his phone back in his pocket along with the cup and continued his walk home. It was a pleasant walk, warmed by the gentle sunlight and the thought of the afternoon's events. As he walked up the steps in front of his house, reaching his door, he felt his coat buzz. He pulled out his phone and clicked open the message whilst unlocking the door. It was from Polites ‘I’m free the saturday! What time are you thinking? :)’ Eurylochus smiled, pushed open the door, and began to tap back a message, letting the door softly click shut behind him.