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After the morning rush of people craving for their dose of caffeine there was a lull in business, so Kayla made her round and took care of the tables, since Darren did this earlier and it was her turn. She didn’t really pay attention to the counter, so she started when she heard someone delicately clear their throat. Looking up, she noticed a blond girl, looking around.
“Darren!” shouted Kayla. He probably went to the back… honestly. “Darren!” she shouted again and then gave up, going over to the counter, muttering to herself. “Really, leaving the counter unattended, I will- How can I help you?” she asked the girl with a sunny smile on her face.
The girl looked at her and then blinked. “Oh, um. Vanilla soy latte, please. Uhm, to go.”
“Righty-o, and what’s your name?” Procedures or no, Kayla kind of wanted to know her name… out of curiosity. She was a curious person.
The blonde narrowed her eyes and smirked delicately. “Rapunzel.”
Kayla’s hand with the marker halted for a tiny moment when she looked up with one eyebrow up. She saw the girl grin at her and she responded in kind, before writing down the name. “And where’s your Flynn Rider?” she made small talk while preparing the drink.
Rapunzel went pink. “Well, I don’t- really- no Flynn,” she smiled and looked at her feet, her blond hair getting in her eyes. She brushed the bangs away from her forehead in an impatient gesture.
“Really?” Kayla was focused on the latte. “Well, that’s- Oi, Darren, what did I tell you about leaving the counter unattended?” Her colleague just appeared at the door. She rolled her eyes at the girl and shook her head. “Here you go, Rapunzel,” she smiled cheekily when giving her the latte. Their fingers brushed and Kayla tried to ignore the shiver and heat in her belly. “See you soon hopefully.”
“Uhm, yeah, probably.” She made a few steps backwards, stumbled on a stray chair, turned red, and rushed out of the coffee shop. Kayla snorted.
“She was cute,” noticed Darren. “What was her name, you said?” His dark eyes were glinting with amusement as he watched Kayla busy herself with some washing up.
“Rapunzel.”
Darren looked up at her. “Well. I suspect that was not her real name, but I could be wrong,” he deadpanned.
Kayla sighed with exasperation. “You are usually wrong, Darren, nothing new here. But, yeah, I suppose she just likes Disney. What does it matter, anyway?” Then she groaned when Darren poked her with his elbow and laughed loudly.
***
She should’ve known it would end like this. Darren was such a romantic, it was just unavoidable. Two days later she came to her shift only to hear his “Your girl was here. Looked disappointed to find only me here, which would be pretty insulting if I didn’t know better.”, and pretend she didn’t really care either way.
Because she didn’t.
“What was her name then?” she asked lazily, hoping for a real one.
“Ariel.”
No such luck.
“You can ask her herself now, if you want, though.”
“What- oh. Hi,” Kayla put on her fifty kittenwatts smile. “What can I do for you today?” Except for giving you my number, she added quietly in her mind. Crushing the urge to pat her hair down, she tried to look professional and ignore Darren sniggering somewhere on the right.
Rapunzel’s – or Ariel’s – face lit up when she beamed at Kayla.
“You’re here!” She remembered herself momentarily, and then, more quietly, added, “I’d like a chocolate latte, please,” as if Kayla’s heart didn’t just skip one beat. “And, uhm… I’ll drink it here, I’m in no rush.”
Kayla smiled even wider. “That’s great, I mean, why don’t you take a sit and I’ll bring it to you when I’m done?”
Only after she left, Kayla turned to her co-worker. “What do I do?” she hissed, panicking only slightly. She was good at talking and rubbish at everything else, no surprise her relationships were short and sad, really.
Darren took her arms and turned her to the coffee maker. “Right now, you make her her latte-“
“Soy latte.”
“What?”
“Last time she wanted soy latte, maybe she forgot this time.”
Darren rolled his eyes. “You’re already gone, aren’t you. You make her coffee, you grab one of these cakes, and you go to her and ask her name.” He looked at her meaningfully. “And possibly her phone number, too,” he added as an afterthought.
Kayla inhaled deeply and set to work. Darren might have been wrong usually, but he was damn good at plans – and that sounded like a good plan. Well, better than any of hers, anyway. So when she brought her mysterious girl her coffee, and set a plate with raspberry tart before her, she was quite confident – until she hesitated, because can you just sit down with someone if they do not ask you to?
“Oh, I didn’t…” she gestured to the cake and Kayla waved her hand.
“On the house,” she announced, and then shrugged. “Can I sit?”
Rapunzel scrambled to get her papers and books in stack. “Yeah! Yes, please.”
Kayla sat down, licked her lips, looked around – caught a sight of Darren giving her a thumbs up which made her close her eyes for a second, mortified. Then she opened them, to notice that the girl was looking at her curiously. “Erm, so, what’s your name today?”
“Pocahontas,” she replied with a straight face.
Kayla snorted. “And what’s your real name?”
“Ah, well,” the blonde grinned devilishly, which looked a bit ridiculous on her innocent face. “That’s a secret that no one can know.” She took a bite of her tart and moaned obscenely. “Oh gosh, this is good,” she said with her mouth full. “You have to try it.” She shoved a spoonful at Kayla, so she was forced to take it, looking her Princess in the eyes all the while, making her flush. She was really pretty when she was blushing.
“And if I, say… gave you my number, would you text me your name?” Kayla decided now was time for bold, if not now then never, right? Then she proceeded with writing her phone number on a napkin, gave it to the girl, and got up with regret, seeing people queueing to the counter. “My break is over, but-“
“It was nice,” the girl interrupted her. They smiled at each other.
“Yeah, it was… it is.”
Half an hour later, she saw the Princess leave, and looked after her until she disappeared in the street. Seconds later, she felt her phone vibrating on her hip.
It’s Marissa.