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“No,” Otabek says.
“I’m being serious,” Leo says earnestly, waving his phone at Otabek. “Look, all the replies to our Facebook and Twitter posts are just your fangirls going ‘the barista making coffee behind the counter is so hot’, ‘can you let him wait on customers every once in awhile?’, or ‘Leo is adorable, but sometimes I just need a cool guy to serve me my coffee’… Let’s switch out a little, business is going to be so-”
“Leo.”
“At least consider it! Even though their comments hurt my feelings a little, but-”
“Leo,” Otabek pinches the bridge of his nose, “I only hired you in the first place so I could focus on making coffee instead of making small talk with strangers.”
“You have no problem making conversations with me.”
“You’re not a stranger. Besides, it’s not that I can’t chat with people, I just don’t want to.”
“Yes, and I, as your kind-hearted best friend since childhood, am here to help you with that, and to ease your mother and sister’s worries of you not being able to make friends.” Leo waves his hand dismissively at Otabek, as if to stop him from sprouting words of thanks. “I am such a good person. Let’s open up now!”
Otabek can’t help the laugh that escapes from him, and follows in Leo’s steps towards the shop-front, opening the heavy metal shutters with a woosh.
—
On this morning in the early-spring, the skies are laden with grey clouds, and the wind blows rather cold, but if one observes, the trees are already beginning to shoot, signifying the start of a new season. The coffee shop in our story operates in the middle of a sloping cobblestoned street that is sandwiched by two columns of trees bare of leaves. The window frames and the handle of the door to the shop gleam in the light. On a normal day, just after sunrise, the coffee shop will be filled with patrons grabbing a quick breakfast before heading out to work.
Otabek Altin, in his tirelessly-ironed brown apron, stands behind the glass display counter where the desserts go, checking his coffee beans. He’s been living on his own for five years now, and a year ago, he finally managed to fulfill his dream of owning his own coffee shop.
Outside of flying back home to Almaty to visit his family during holiday seasons, his life is rather routine — he wakes up early, stock-checks at the shop before opening, prepares to open the shop, makes coffee throughout the day, stock-checks after closing, closes up, and either goes out for supper with Leo, or goes home alone. Rinse and repeat.
It’s the ideal life, in Otabek’s opinion. Especially after Leo became involved in the coffee shop, and solved Otabek’s problem of having to socialise with his customers — that’s the most ideal thing out of all.
Of course, if Leo doesn’t keep trying to sneakily elbow-jab him into smiling at customers, that would be even more ideal. But one can’t win everything. For example, even though the weather is pretty crappy today, and they’re experiencing a dip in customers, but all their customers up to this point have been courteous, the sweet smell of coffee permeates the air in the most pleasing way, and—
“-three large Americanos, one with sugar but no milk, one with milk but no sugar, one black, and I need them fast, fast, fast.”
—there. The impolite customer he was waiting for.
Otabek doesn’t stop what he’s doing, but he does spare a moment to glance at the cashier to his side; Leo is already smoothly repeating the order. On the other side of the counter, the one who dashed into the shop, trailing noisy footsteps and the sharp till of the bell at the door, is a man wearing a leopard print jacket, slightly shorter than Leo. His right thumb flies across the screen of his phone, typing away at something, and all the while, he’s tapping at the countertop with his left hand impatiently.
“Alright, here’s your change. And your name is?” Leo hands him a few coins, and picks up his marker pen.
The man looks up, and reveals a pair of green eyes. “Yuri, Y-U-R-I,” he says. And then, as if he can’t keep it in, “Hurry!”
At this, Otabek finally lifts his head. He catches Yuri’s eyes as he’s looking over, and for some reason, this makes Yuri clear his throat a little, and add, softly, “...please.”
“Alright, please head over to the counter over there to collect your order. It won’t be long!”
Leo is pointing to where Otabek is, and Yuri shuffles over. Otabek takes this as his cue to start dividing the coffee he’s just made into three separate paper cups, and busies himself with adding the milk and sugar as ordered. He places the lid on each of the cups carefully, and slips a sleeve onto each of the cups.
Otabek isn’t usually too fond of paper cups —the fragrance of the coffee dissipates too quickly in this weather— but what can he do? There are always customers who are in a rush.
He sets the three paper cups onto the counter, and nods at Yuri. Yuri takes a step back at that, almost as if he’s startled, before he reaches out to grab the carrier for his drinks, disappearing out of the door as quickly as he appeared.
Otabek watches as Yuri climbs into the backseat of a waiting vehicle outside — he hands the coffee over right after he opens the door, and yells (rather angrily, from Otabek’s observation) at someone inside the car.
A gust of cold air blows into the coffee shop; Yuri hasn’t shut the door properly, huh.
It would be better if it was warmer out.
—
About a week after that (the weather has, as per Otabek’s wishes, picked up), Otabek is late to the shop because he had to make a detour to pick up his dry-cleaning. When he comes out of the staff room after having hurriedly changed into his uniform, he finds Leo leaning against the counter, chatting with someone familiar.
The man turns over, flashing green eyes.
Oh.
This time round, he isn’t wearing the leopard print jacket, but rather a simple sports outfit in red, white, and blue. But it’s none of Otabek’s business what customers wear.
He murmurs a simple good morning to Leo, and takes over the job of making coffee.
“...so, if you’re not in a hurry today, you should definitely try something new,” Leo says to the customer- What was his name again? “We’ve got a lot of different coffee here, and they’re all great! Did you only try the Americano the last time? Do you mind milk in your coffee? If you don’t, you can try this latte.”
The man makes a face. “I had a latte at the shop round the corner the other day, and ugh, you could barely taste anything besides the milk,” he says, and to his credit, he does sound less impatient than he did the other day, almost casually at ease today.
“You can bet the latte at our shop— Yuri, was it?” Leo spares a moment to smile gleefully. “Ha, I remember all the names of our customers.”
Leo is actually exceptionally good at that, Otabek thinks.
“Really?” Yuri asks. “That’s awesome! Do you remember what that person by the window is called?”
“Of course I do. But that’s confidential information, and I can’t possibly share that information with you.”
“So, you’re exaggerating.”
After a little more banter, Yuri finally decides on the latte. Otabek listens for his order, and turns to the refrigerator behind him to reach for more milk.
When the milk is bubbling evenly just the way Otabek likes it, he pours it into the cup, slowly swirling the cup to produce the leaf pattern he has on all his coffees.
An actual ceramic cup, how nice.
Yuri doesn’t head straight for a table after he collects his coffee, but rather takes a sip right where he’s standing.
He turns to Leo with wide eyes.
“Right? That’s a Leo de la Iglesia recommendation for you!” Leo cocks his head smugly. “Our Otabek’s coffee is the best in town!”
Otabek doesn’t wait for Yuri to look to him, turning away to prepare the next order, and so doesn’t get to see Yuri’s reaction to that. When Otabek has a moment to himself, Yuri is already sitting at a table by the window, still tapping furiously at his phone while occasionally sipping at his coffee.
It’s about half an hour later that Yuri reaches out for his coffee, brings the cup to his lips only to set it down again immediately, blinking at the now-empty cup with what looks like regret. He doesn’t take long to make his way to Leo, again.
“Another latte.”
Leo’s smile is happy and bright. “Another large latte!” he calls out to Otabek.
Otabek nods slightly, and starts with the espresso machine.
It is around this time that he hears Yuri whisper to Leo, “Can I ask you something?”
“What?” Leo asks, also in a whisper.
“Your...co-worker, does he always have that terrifying expression on his face?”
Otabek almost spills the milk in his hand. Sometimes he really hates that he has such good hearing.
“He’s not my co-worker, he’s my boss,” Leo says hushedly, even though it doesn’t really matter because Otabek can still hear him pretty clearly. Case in point, he even hears the tiny noise of astonishment Yuri makes. “I mean, he doesn’t look it most of the time, but he’s such a good person!”
Otabek shuts his eyes.
Okay, it’s one thing that he really dislikes talking to customers, but it’s another altogether if he’s starting to affect customer service. He takes a moment to think about how to fix the situation, before recalling Yuri’s phone cover — a stencil of a huge cat on a leopard-printed background.
He picks up his milk frothing jug, and starts carefully pouring the milk into the cup he has ready for Yuri. Even though it’s been a long time since he last did this, but he has faith in his skills.
“Large latte,” he calls out, when he’s done.
Otabek sets the coffee on the collection counter, and then experiencing an inexplicable moment of nervousness. He counters it by making his way to the back room to retrieve some more sugar syrup. He’s already opened the door to the back room when he hears the loud gasping from behind him.
“Fuck- Ahhhhhhh! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Yuri is rooted in his position at the collection counter, eyes gleaming brightly with uncontained excitement, looking like he’s completely losing it, and before him, Otabek’s latte still sits innocently on the countertop, and the cat that Otabek has drawn for him on his latte, smiles up at Yuri, cocoa-powder eyes and claws and all.
As the creator of such latte art, it’s so satisfying to be on the receiving end of such reactions.
After his (many) seconds-long of screaming, Yuri quickly but carefully picks up his cup, and makes his way back to his seat. Right then, a ray of sunlight carefully peeks out from its place behind some rather dense clouds, and shines on cosy white furniture in the coffee shop, and Yuri takes the opportunity to whip out his phone, and snap a few photos of his new foam-based feline friend from all the possible angles. It is while he’s twisting and turning to capture the best photo that the hoodie he’s always had on falls to lie limply past his shoulder.
And then, he raises his head, catches Otabek’s eye, and raises his thumb at Otabek, beaming widely all the while.
Green eyes and blond hair is not a bad combination, Otabek thinks.
He resolutely doesn’t think about the sudden nervous clenching of his chest again.
—
Yuri becomes a regular after that, and he never orders the Americano again.
Instead, his new usual drink becomes the latte, and this, in turn, becomes the new source of all of Otabek’s troubles.
“I don’t think it’s the source of your troubles…” Leo says with a grin.
Otabek ignores him.
At first, Otabek only makes the same foam art cat for Yuri with every latte he makes for him —Yuri snaps a picture every time, and according to Leo, who has evidently exchanged Instagram handles with Yuri, posts a photo to Instagram every day, rain or shine; the caption and subsequent hashtags to the posts are sometimes happy, and at other times, speak of how the cats saved his day from being horrible—, until one day, he switches up, and draws a chubby cat lying belly up for Yuri (Otabek found a photo on the Internet one day, and practised replicating it a good many times, wasting a shit ton of milk in the meantime).
Yuri’s excited flailing increases in pitch that day, and at the end of the day, as they are closing up, Leo shows Otabek the new addition to Yuri’s Instagram account that day. The post is captioned:
#thisisthecutestthingintheworld
His (numerous) fans comment to ask him where he’s getting his coffee, but Yuri doesn’t reply to any of them.
This is what starts Otabek trying to create new foam art cats for Yuri. Big cats, small cats, fat cats, thin cats, black ones, white one, striped or spotted, lying or prowling or curled up in a ball, Otabek does them all. At one point he even does three kittens, just hanging on the rim of the cup. These are all ideas that he collected tirelessly over the Internet, and worked hard on perfecting, but the one that makes Yuri the happiest is the black Himalayan cat he did one time.
“This one looks exactly like my cat at home!” Yuri skips over to the cashier (he seems to have already gotten used to only getting nods from Otabek), scrolling through his phone to show a photo of his cat to Leo. “Oh no, oh no, I can’t possible drink this now! Ahhhhh!”
Otabek quietly washes the empty glasses, listening to Leo and Yuri laughing to the side, and feels that spring gradually creeping closer, bringing with it new warmth.
These days, Otabek feels that he’s at his happiest whenever Yuri comes in for his coffee.
He learns many things about Yuri from Yuri’s conversation with Leo: Yuri is a figure skater, and comes by every day because Otabek’s shop happens to be stark in between Yuri’s newly rented apartment, and the rink where he trains at. When he occasionally orders three large Americanos for takeaway, the other two cups are for his rink-mates, the people who, Otabek now knows, were in the car waiting for Yuri the first time he came over. (“Victor and the Katsudon are so disgusting. They’re always being lovey dovey in front of me,” Yuri will say, sticking his tongue out in a mock-barf as he does.) He loves cats (he has a Himalayan cat at home, but also feeds the stray cat that enjoys ignoring him near his skating rink), and he loves wearing anything with tiger or leopard prints. And, he thinks that Otabek’s latte is not just the best in town, but the best in the world.
The last one, Yuri says quietly when he doesn’t think Otabek is listening.
But, as we all know, Otabek has incredible hearing.
—
When the temperature outside rises till it’s almost completely warm, Otabek encounters an incident that ruins the singularity of Otabek making foam art cats just for Yuri.
It’s busy in the shop that day, and under these circumstance, dealing with a customer while making cute cats on Yuri’s latte is no easy feat. Otabek’s hands feel numb from reaching for mug after mug, one takeaway cup after another, one jug of water and then the next; sweat drips from his neatly-cut hair.
“What is this?” comes a shrill voice by the counter.
Otabek lifts his head to see a customer who has already her drink squeeze past the line of customers to stand before Leo, angrily lifting the lid of her paper cup.
“Hello, is there a problem?” Leo asks as jovially as he can manage, gesturing with his hands in an attempt to placate the customers in the line.
“I ordered my latte with cocoa powder instead of sugar syrup, and what do you do? You add the syrup, and skip the cocoa powder! My friend is allergic to sugar syrup! I want a refund!” the customer demands.
Leo turns to look at Otabek, stunned, and Otabek knows what Leo wants to say — Leo has never gotten an order wrong, and usually, when Otabek tops his lattes, he does so with cocoa powder instead of sugar syrup, unless otherwise requested. But arguing with a customer at such a time, with so many customers still waiting to be served, seems like a bad idea—
“Take mine. I haven’t started on it yet,” Yuri’s voice rings from the side.
Everyone —Leo, the line of customers, and the customer here for a refund— turns to look at him. The customer in for a refund still looks rather displeased, and Otabek is so sure that she’s about to start ranting again, but she catches sight of the kitten drawn on Yuri’s latte, and quickly relaxes.
“Uh… Okay. Okay, then. I’ll…”
“Just take it,” Yuri says. “There’s still a long line at the bank. And I’ve had enough coffee today already.”
This is true. Yuri’s already had two coffees in the shop today; the one he’s giving away was meant to be for him to take home.
After the troublesome customer leaves, Leo mouths thanks at Yuri, and Yuri waves at him. He turns over to Otabek too, to nod at him, and leaves the coffee shop after tugging his hood on his jacket on.
—
“What are you doing?” Leo’s says from behind Otabek, startling him, even though his reaction to being scared half to death by Leo is somewhat calmer than anyone would have in his place — all he does is to sigh loudly, and close his laptop.
He turns over to Leo, and replies, “I’m not doing anything.”
“I saw what you were doing.” Leo’s expression is smug, and seems to very specifically say: God, look at what I caught this guy doing. “You’re actually ordering cat-shaped marshmallows. Cat-shaped marshmallows.”
“Occasionally adding new products to the shop isn’t a bad thing,” Otabek murmurs, shrugging.
Leo sees through him completely, and has no qualms about calling him out. “Are you ‘adding new products to the shop’? More like adding new products to Yuri’s latte.”
“He’s a customer in the shop, and he’s drinking a product of the store,” Otabek replies calmly. “I’m not wrong.”
“Otabek Altin, why have I never noticed how thick your skin is?”
“What’s your point?”
“You’re not going to be able to win him over like this,” Leo says, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I’m not trying to win him over,” Otabek says, equally as calmly as before.
“You might be able to fool other people with that shlock, but you’re talking to me, the great Leo de la Iglesia. I’ve seen you trip over your feet, wet your bed, and jump into mud piles-”
“Excuse me,” Otabek says, “but I remember that it was me carrying you on my back all the way to the hospital when you used to trip over your feet, I helped you bring your wet sheets over to my house for washing so that no-one would know that you wet your bed, and I accompanied you when you wanted to climb over the neighbour’s fence to play in some mud-”
“-anyhow,” Leo waves his hand around, “it’s not going to work like this. Let your beloved and wise elder brother of the heart help you out.”
“I don’t plan on making anything work out, I’m just making him coffee,” Otabek says honestly. And since he’s already been caught red-handed buying the new marshmallows, he might as well keep getting on with it. “Also, you’re like two months older than me. And, you can come and advice me about how to deal with my relationships when you figure yours out, thank you.”
“What haven’t I figured out about my-”
“Guanghong is coming over on Friday,” Otabek says casually. “Have you figured out what you’re going to wear when you pick him up from the airport?”
“Fuck!”
—
On Friday, it pours.
Leo paces the coffee shop, worrying himself out of his mind.
“What if his flight is late? He’s going to be okay, right? He can be in such a daze sometimes…”
“If you’re so worried,” Otabek says, finally stopping with his work at hand, “then you should go early to the airport to wait for him.”
“Yes. Yes! I should go early. But...what about you? Are you really okay on your own? If I’m not here-” Leo says, placing his hands on the counter, leaning closer a little.
“I’ll still remember how much the coffee costs. I was alone here before you came, remember?” Otabek says. “So, don’t worry about me, and just go.”
“Uh, but don’t you hate making small talk with the customers the most?”
“I won’t make small talk with them, then.” Otabek glances outside. “There’s not going to be a lot of people out in this weather. I can close up early.”
“But…” Leo pauses. “But what if you-know-who comes?”
“Is this really the time for you to worry about this?” Otabek asks, arching an eyebrow.
“Okay, okay, I’m leaving then.” Leo takes hold of his phone, and runs to the back room for his coat and keys. When he emerges to make his way from one end of the shop to the other, heading for the front door, he cups his hands around his mouth and yells, “TALK! TO! HIM!”
Otabek rolls his eyes.
It gets dark really quickly when it rains, and to his expectations, there are less customers at the shop. Those who are here are only here for a hot drink to warm themselves quickly, and have no wish to prolong conversation. Otabek does his job quietly, and when he next notices the time, it’s already rather late.
Yuri still hasn’t showed up yet.
It’s dark outside the storefront window, and the rain platters loudly against the trees outside. The last customer in the shop reaches for their umbrella, and leaves.
Otabek eyes the clock again; it’s already past their usual closing time.
It looks like he won’t be showing up today.
Otabek lets out a long sigh, and rolls his shoulders a little, before he starts packing up. It’s at this time that the door swings open, bringing in a gust of cold wind and the strong scent of wet mud. There’s a muffled sound of a car coming to a halt outside, and oh, a completely wet figure in his shop.
It’s Yuri. He’s wearing a purple leopard print raincoat (seriously, where is he getting these clothes?), but what use is that flimsy raincoat in this weather?
When Yuri lifts his head, he does a visible double-take.
“Am I too late?”
Otabek shakes his head.
“The weather is horrible,” Yuri says, walking over, and sweeping the hood of the raincoat off his hair, “and practise was extended today. It’s been a horrible day, overall. I’ll have a latte.”
Otabek doesn’t wait for Yuri to finish; he’s already steaming up milk.
Yuri, on the other hand, seems to not mind that Otabek isn’t replying to him, going on to say, “It’s the worst feeling losing to the same person all the time, so I can’t really complain about extended practise hours… Oh, and can I get the latte to-go, please? My friends are waiting for me outside. Where’s Leo?”
“He has something on today,” Otabek says, reaching for some salt, before turning to open one of the nearby cupboard to retrieve the new cat-shaped marshmallows.
“I thought you couldn’t speak,” Yuri says behind him, and Otabek turns to set the paper cup in front of him. “Thanks- Wait, what is this?” Yuri asks with a frown.
“It’s too late for coffee now,” Otabek says.
In place of Yuri’s usual latte is a cup of hot chocolate instead.
“This is a drink for cajoling kids into being good,” Yuri complains, lifting his head to look at Otabek.
Otabek doesn’t say anything in reply to that, just takes his bag of marshmallows out —Yuri losing his ability to protest the moment he sees them—one, two, three, four, five. He sets the marshmallows, five kittens white as snow, carefully on top of the cocoa.
Yuri’s jaw has dropped, but he doesn’t seem to be able to make a sound. Finally, he manages to reach into his pocket for some cash, sets it down noisily on the countertop, picks up his drink, and heads out.
He almost walks into the door.
—
“Two sentences?” Leo looks incredulous.
Otabek doesn’t lift his head to look at him, but continues cleaning the coffee jugs and cups, and wiping down the tables. There’s a lot of things to do just after opening, and he doesn’t have the time to deal with Leo, especially when he’s still riding on the high from picking Guanghong up at the airport.
“You only said two sentences to him the entire night?”
“It wasn’t the entire night. He was in really late last night.” Otabek passes Leo a washcloth. “If you’re so free, come and help out.”
“You’ve said more to me now than you’ve ever with him!” Leo takes over the cloth, and then sets it aside immediately. “What is wrong with you?”
“You don’t need that many words to sell a drink,” Otabek says dryly.
“Who asked you to just sell a drink? I was out on purpose the entire night, hoping to give you a chance in the limelight, and after all that, you didn’t even think to flirt a little with him?”
“Wait, did you say ‘on purpose’-”
“Of course it was on purpose, you dumbass!” The exasperation in Leo’s voice is clear. “Was I going to let you pine anxiously while not doing anything about it instead?”
“Lower your voice,” Otabek says, turning over helplessly. “Leo, I’m very thankful for your concern, but-”
“But what?”
“I know my mother and my sister-”
“This has nothing to do with them, Otabek Altin!” Leo yells. “This is me, being your friend, not having the heart to see you not approaching the person you like!”
“I think you misunderstand me-”
“I understand you very well. The cats, the marshmallows, and the fact that your ability to speak spirals even downwards whenever he shows up… Can’t you just admit that you like him? Hmm?”
Otabek leans against the counter, feeling the energy drain from himself. Leo has always been like this, once he has his mind set on a particular issue, the Spaniard in him comes out, bringing along a fiery brand of stubbornness.
“Okay.”
“...that could have been more sincere, but I’ll take that as an admission of interest. So, what comes next?”
“Nothing comes next.”
“You like him, so can’t you go say a few words to him? Would you dare to write your number on his cup instead of just making him insanely cute foam-art cats when he comes in today?”
“The thing is,” Otabek grits out, setting the jug in his hand down on the rack forcefully, “just because I like him doesn’t mean I have to go and talk to him!”
The moment the words leave his lips, Otabek realises that his voice has grown in volume through the conversation; he’s just in the process of regretting everything in life when he catches sight of the smirk on Leo face.
Damn.
Nobody knows this look better than Otabek. It’s the look that Leo only ever gives him when he’s managed to drag Otabek down into some kind of trouble.
Which means—
“Uhh…” a familiar voice comes from behind him.
—just as he expected.
Otabek turns around swiftly. Yuri is standing behind him, separated by the counter, face and neck blushing bright red. He’s got his head tilted down, and the hood on his jacket covers his eyes. Every few seconds, he chances a look up, but shies away quickly after his gaze lands on Otabek.
“I’m just here to ask about the...the marshmallows…”
He must’ve heard everything.
Otabek doesn’t even need to be looking at Leo to know that the bastard is sniggering from beside Otabek.
“...the uhmm...marshmallows. That is...where did you, uh…”
Yuri is babbling, and it seems to be about the marshmallows that Otabek put in his drink last night, but God, this situation right now has nothing to do with marshmallows. Well, okay, the look on Yuri’s face right now? That might be as sweet as marshmallows.
Leo raises up both his thumbs up at Otabek smugly, mouthing oh yeah.
It’s been so many years, but this is the first time Otabek has felt so conflicted about Leo. On one hand, he’d really like to disown this best friend he’s had for more than ten years now, feed him into the coffee grinder, label whatever comes out of the grinder as “RUBBISH”, and then throw it straight into the trash; but on the other hand, he’s maybe just a little bit grateful for Leo.
Okay, more than little.
If nothing, the look on Yuri’s face right now is worth any price Otabek has to pay. It’s the one look that Otabek is going to remember and cherish forever.
“So,” Otabek says finally. Even though he really, really dislikes talking to other people, the situation right now calls for him to say something, and really, at this point, does he have much to lose? “So, are you going to go on a date with me or not?”
And no, he takes his previous statement back — this here is the one look of Yuri’s that Otabek is going to remember and cherish forever.
—
The weather outside is great; the sun is shining, the brush of wind feels warm on his skin, and the two looming trees outside the door have finally sprouted leaves again.
—
Bonus:
“I think he has a grudge against me,” Yuri says, and smushes his face angrily into the car seat before him, making Yuuri laugh.
“He does not. He gave you such cute marshmallows. Even Victor has never bought me any.”
“That’s because you don’t like marshmallows, dearest.” Victor says gently.
“Whatever,” Yuri says, opening the car door, and getting out of the car. “He just really refuses to speak to me.”
“Some people are like that. They’re just not good at making conversation.” Yuuri sticks his head out of the window. “Good luck!”
Gritting his teeth and shoving his hands into his hoodie, Yuri makes his way towards the familiar glass doors of the shop. From afar, he sees Leo there, which is great, because this at least means that the situation won’t be as awkward as last night.
“You like him, so can’t you go say a few words to him? Do you dare to write your number on his cup instead of just making him insanely cute foam art cats when he comes in today?”
“The thing is, just because I like him doesn’t mean I have to go and talk to him!”
Huh?!