High Test

by Elizabeth Noble

“I completely missed the cool and smooth mark though, didn’t I?” Neal cut Hayden off. He let go of Hayden and put both hands in his pockets.

  No, you blew by cool and smooth a long time ago.

  Hayden smiled and said, “I don’t have enough information to decide yet.” Where did that little clever, flirty statement come from?

  “I’ll have to work on providing more information.” The corner of Neal’s mouth twitched up.

  Hayden inched toward the end of the case, intending to get behind the counter. He caught a glimpse of Steffie shooing him back onto the floor. Feeling like the proverbial deer in headlights, Hayden froze in his tracks.

  Neal glanced around the coffeehouse. “Pretty dead tonight, huh? I like this—just us.”

  “Yeah, most of our customers come in during business hours.” Hayden shrugged. He heard Steffie hit the bean grinder. The noise made Hayden jump. “They need those caffeine shots to work a long day.”

  “All that stimulation?”

  Hayden gulped and nodded. He turned back to the case. “So, you never said. Decaf or… not?”

  “I like high test.”

  “Um… there’s—”

  Steffie appeared with two mugs in hand. “There were just enough beans left for two cups. It seemed silly to leave them until morning, and I wanted to clean the canister.” She plunked the mugs onto the table and nodded at Neal. “It’s one of Hayden’s favorites. I hope you like it.” Turning to Hayden, she put her hands on her hips and smiled far too sweetly at him. “I believe it’s your break time.”

  Neal touched Hayden’s arm and dipped his head to the table. “This smells wonderful. Join me?”

  Was Steffie in some conspiracy with his apparently newfound friend? Hayden threw caution to the wind, swallowed his shyness and apprehension, and sat down. If Neal was simply on the hunt for a one-night stand, at least Hayden would probably get a nice dinner from him. While they sat together, Hayden scrambled around in his head to find a way to say he wasn’t who Neal thought he was without blowing this whole thing.

  Neal sipped his coffee, sat back, and smiled. “Very nice. Hint of chocolate, I think.”

  Hayden nodded and took a taste to confirm which one it was. “Chocolate and caramel. It’s a popular brew here. I like it while I’m working.”

  “Putting in such long hours. How well I can sympathize with those!” Neal laughed a bit, shifted in his seat, and gently brushed his fingertips over the back of Hayden’s hand where it rested on the tabletop. “What’s your connection to the university?”

  “The high-performance engine design program,” Hayden said. He fiddled with his glasses for a second. Another sip of his coffee and Hayden tried to hide how mortified he was by his responses. “Car engines.”

  “Really? That sounds fascinating. I’d love to know more.”

  “I… um….” Hayden took a deep breath. “Most people think it’s geeky and boring. Too much math and not enough cool cars.” He realized right away there’d been no questions about the coffeehouse franchise and why Hayden would have a career outside of what Neal must think was Hayden’s family’s business.

  Neal laughed. It was smooth and pleasant. “I’m an architect, so sort of a related field, remember?” He drained his coffee mug and reached for Hayden’s. “Finished?”

  “Um… yeah. You don’t….”

  “Nonsense.” Neal stood up and took both mugs back to the counter, handing them over to Steffie. “Thank you. That was very tasty.” He took out a few bills, but Steffie waved him off.

  “Our secret,” she said and took the mugs.

  Neal returned to the table. He rested one hand on Hayden’s shoulder for a few seconds. “I’ll see you soon. I look forward to our second date.”

  Before Hayden could process what Neal had said, let alone respond, Neal was out the door. Second date? Had he just had a first date and not even realized it? He twisted in the chair and looked over at Steffie. She was smiling smugly and rocking on her heels.

  “He’s been checking you out, but you’re just too damn dumb to notice, or if you did realize he was interested, do anything about it.” He shrugged as she walked to the door and locked up, flipping off the Open sign. “So, maybe when he was in line and I knew he was close enough to hear me, maybe I let slip our late-night shifts were slow, but I liked this shift because you and I worked together.” Steffie shrugged and gave him an innocent look. “I guess he simply figured out for himself that this was a good place and time to ‘run into you.’”

  A first date and he’d been set up? “Thanks,” Hayden mumbled. Steffie threw a towel at him and laughed. “Shut up,” he added, but he was smiling.

  THE next morning, Neal arrived not ten minutes after Hayden opened the coffee shop. Whistling and tapping his fingers against his sides, he got into line behind others who were already there for their morning cup of brew. Hayden couldn’t help playing over in his mind how future encounters with Neal might go. What course their conversation today might take.

  Neal hung back and let several customers go ahead of him in line. Hayden was manning one of the two registers. Each time Hayden touched the frame of his glasses to adjust them or pushed them up his nose, one corner of Neal’s mouth turned up ever so slightly and he met Hayden’s gaze with his beautiful dark eyes.

  Settling at one of the small tables, Neal took out his phone and leaned back in his chair, reading. He’d positioned himself so it was easy to make eye contact with Hayden. Finally the rush of customers thinned out. A quick glance at his watch showed Hayden it was after seven thirty. Most people started work at eight, but it seemed that Neal wasn’t most people. He stayed at the table as if he had all the time in the world. After a moment, he took a small notebook from his jacket pocket and made some notes before putting it away again. Then he left his seat and stepped up to the counter.

  “Good morning,” Neal said.

  Hayden blushed and shifted from one foot to the other, adjusted his glasses, and finally let his hands rest on the counter. He glanced down for a split second, then looked up, met Neal’s gaze, and said, “Hi. Hello.”

  A slow, warm smile spread over Neal’s face, causing warmth to course through Hayden. “Hello yourself.” Neal looked up at the chalkboard and the handwritten list of specials. “What’s good today? Other than you?”

  “Um… wow, it’s a bit early for….” Hayden laughed nervously.

  “We’ll save the witty banter for later, then. Do you have a break coming up?”

  Hayden shook his head, truly disappointed. “No. I work straight through.” He shrugged. “Responsibilities and all.”

  “Pity. I was hoping to have at least a few minutes to sit and catch up.” Neal sighed and reached out, patting Hayden’s hand. “We’ll have to make do. How about a large house blend this morning?”

  “Sure.” Hayden rang up the order. “I don’t have a break, but as long as there aren’t more customers, I can talk for a bit.” Hayden’s gaze slipped around the coffeehouse, letting his disappointment show on his face. “But it looks like round two is coming in, so I guess I’d better start working harder.”

  “Will you be here tomorrow?”

  Nodding, Hayden said, “Yes. I start at six. We open at six thirty.”

  “I’ll see you then.” Much to Hayden’s delight Neal touched his hand before turning to leave.

  The following morning and the one after that, Neal showed up at the coffeehouse by six forty-five. On the second day, Hayden was still surprised and pleased when Neal walked in the door. By day three, and for the next several thereafter, Hayden made sure to greet Neal with a brilliant smile.

  The subject of Hayden working in the coffeehouse hadn’t come up again. It was clear Neal was interested in him, and Hayden didn’t know how to tell him he was nothing more than a barista. Steffie told him more than once to avoid lying, but to wait until their relationship was more solid before broaching that touchy subject. As she’d also pointed out, maybe he wouldn’t care. But Hay
den wasn’t ready to take a chance on that.

  “I won’t be here in the morning,” Hayden said, glancing down to hide his embarrassment. He slipped his hand in his pocket and fingered the piece of paper he’d written his number on. All he had to do was pull it out and offer it.

  Neal’s face fell for a second before he said, “Wait.” He laughed and held up one finger. “Evening shift? It was a week ago we had our first date.”

  “Yeah.” Hayden nodded enthusiastically. “You remembered which night it was.”

  Slapping his hand over his heart, Neal feigned shock. “How could I forget? I’m wounded to the core. Wounded, I say.”

  Hayden burst out laughing, then shut his mouth and bit his lower lip when several customers turned to stare in their direction. “It’s just that… I didn’t expect you to learn my schedule. Between here and my design projects, it’s a little crazy.”

  “How can I possibly stalk—I mean, woo you without knowing when I could see you?” Neal took a fast glance around the coffee shop. The morning regulars were starting to file in. He leaned one elbow on the counter and dropped his voice to be sure no one else heard him. “An auspicious occasion, our first date. So, how should we celebrate? Dancing, winery tour, or”—he pulled two tickets from his suit jacket pocket—“car show?”

  Hayden’s mouth dropped open. “I don’t know—”

  “The tickets are good for the entire three days of the show. We’ll talk about it tomorrow night over dinner? I’ll meet you here, and we can go to that little bistro down the street. I’ve wanted to try it since they opened, but I hate going to those places alone.” Neal raised his eyebrows and stuffed the tickets back into his pocket. “Hayden, I’m a successful, driven professional. I won’t take no for an answer.”

  “We close at nine. I have to stay and help clean up and close down afterward.”

  Neal smiled. “I know. This coffeehouse is your special one, and it’ll fall apart without you. Believe me, I get it.”

  “Something like that,” Hayden agreed. He pushed his glasses up and rubbed the back of his neck with his other hand at the same time.

  “I’ll be here at eight.” Neal reached over the counter and squeezed Hayden’s hand. “I did the inviting so it’s my treat.” He winked, then turned to leave, nodding politely to the woman behind him who was huffing impatiently. When he was on the sidewalk, he stopped, looked through the large front window, and waved discreetly. Hayden brushed back his bangs and fiddled with his glasses, and Neal nodded once, obviously convinced his message had been received.

  FOR the rest of the day Hayden’s emotions alternated between excitement and verging on a panic attack. The only thing he could think about was Neal and his smooth smile, sexy eyes, and quiet voice. Sex on legs didn’t begin to describe what Hayden thought of Neal.

  At long last his workday was over, and he rushed home to the small, crappy studio apartment he lived in above a store. After shoving a cup of instant noodles in the microwave to cook, Hayden began rifling through his closet. Checkered shirts, a few Henley-style pullovers, one gray-and-black striped and one green with a stain—he tossed that one to the side—a far-too-large collection of T-shirts, and a few solid-colored button-downs.

  “Jeans, jeans…. I have to have something besides jeans. There’s nothing wrong with jeans. Everyone wears them. Why isn’t Rick here? He’d help me.”

  The microwave bleeped, and Hayden dumped all the clothes on his futon bed and retrieved his dinner. He tried Rick’s number, but Rick didn’t answer, so Hayden left a message that said one thing: “Help!”

  Shoving noodles in his mouth, he looked over the two ties he had hanging on a hook inside the door. One was the clip-on kind his mom had bought him, and it was in a tasteful and, as she claimed, always stylish black. The other one had Jaguar cars from classic to the most modern all over it in garish colors. A guy he’d briefly dated in undergrad had given it to him. Hayden kept it because it was expensive and he loved Jags.

  He took a deep breath and looked down at his feet. “Oh shit. I couldn’t at least have one pair of shoes that aren’t Chucks or Nikes?”

  He heaved a sigh. There was nothing he could do about that now. Maybe he could wear some of Rick’s clothes, but their shoe sizes were too different. He held a few of the shirts up in front of him and looked at himself in the mirror.

  “I wonder if a beard or mustache would make me look older? I look too young.” Another heavy sigh. “I am young.”

  It was probably too late to grow any amount of facial hair that wouldn’t make him look like a bum before tomorrow evening. He didn’t have any classes the next day, which was a good thing; he was too wound up to sleep. He grabbed his headphones and his books. He had a paper to write that was due next week, and it wasn’t going to do its own research. Putting away his thoughts of what shirt to wear on his date tomorrow night, Hayden went to work on his studies.

  HAYDEN jerked awake with the Foo Fighters blaring in his ears, a stiff back, and sunlight coming through his one window. He pushed away from his desk and turned the music off, then set his headphones on his book. There was a message from Rick, and Hayden hit the speaker to listen while he got ready.

  “Steffie told me about your big date. Wear one of your Henleys and go for the hipster look. Your glasses will make the look perfect” was Rick’s advice.

  Hayden yawned deeply and stretched before he took care of some pressing personal matters. He slurped down the rest of the noodles and rooted around in his refrigerator. Leftover pizza made a nice complement to the cold noodles. He washed it all down with orange juice guzzled from the container. A run was in order. That always calmed his nerves and cleared his head.

  It was a clear, bright morning. One of the things he enjoyed very much about South Carolina was that the weather was much nicer than at his home in Wisconsin. It was cold there too many months out of the year. Today was early autumn, and Hayden liked that he could run all winter long and, for the most part, without fear of slipping on the ice and breaking his neck.

  He jogged along the main street to one of the side streets. The neighborhoods here were nicer, and some ran along the riverfront. The downtown district where he lived was a nice mix of old buildings, historic homes, shops, and offices. His apartment was one of several over a quaint bookshop.

  Hayden completed his route and returned home. He took a shower and went back to studying for a few hours. Working on his project was more of a chore than it had ever been. Usually he loved school and his assignments, but today he couldn’t concentrate. Finally it was time to go to work. He gathered the clothes he’d wear on his date after work. His plan was to change at the coffeehouse after his shift ended. Just as he was getting ready to leave, he rushed back and grabbed condoms from his bathroom. After the last few days, he thought less and less that Neal was simply out for a night of fun, but if he’d misread the man, Hayden wanted to be prepared. He wasn’t opposed to a one-night fling, but he was hoping for something more.

  They were uncharacteristically busy that evening, and there was a lot of foot traffic. Probably some event Hayden was unaware of tonight. It was for the best, though. He kept busy and didn’t have time to fret over seeing Neal in a few hours. He and Steffie rushed around, having time for no more than bits and pieces of conversation.

  “You are changing before you leave, right?” Steffie handed off two orders to Hayden.

  “Yeah. I have clothes in my car. I told him I had to stay and help tidy this place up for the morning crew. So I’ll have time to change and clean up a bit.” Hayden took a tray of pastries and refilled the front case. “I need to tell Neal the truth. He thinks I’m some high-powered businessman who also designs cars.”

  “Don’t offer those details unless he asks. Trust me, men like a mystery. As long as you’re not asking for a loan, what harm will it do?”

  “It seems wrong.”

  “You’ll know the right time. For now, go out and have fun. You’re not lying if he doesn’
t ask.”

  It was almost an hour later before Steffie was able to ask, “What are you doing with your hair?”

  Hayden stopped and turned to her. “I… um….”

  Steffie rolled her eyes and snorted. “I thought so. Don’t worry, I have a plan.”

  “I’m not sure if I should be grateful or scared,” Hayden said. Steffie threw him a fake sinister look before taking orders to people waiting at their tables.

  At long last it was eight o’clock. Hayden divided his time between looking at the door and attending to customers. Then it was quarter after eight. Every time the doorbell jangled, Hayden held his breath and willed Neal to walk through the door.

  Eight thirty came and went, and still no Neal. Steffie kept giving him sympathetic looks. Hayden noticed she was watching the door as much as he was. Finally there was a break in the orders.

  Steffie moved closer to him and ran one hand down his arm. Smiling, she said softly, “There’s a lot of traffic out there because of the concert. He probably didn’t realize and is looking for a place to park.” She shrugged. “If he’s used to being here during the day, he wouldn’t know.”

  “Yeah,” Hayden said and shrugged in turn. “Doesn’t matter. Not like I’m engaged to the guy.” He was careful to avoid looking her in the eye so she wouldn’t see his pain. “I never gave him my number.”

  Steffie huffed a sigh. “My God, you are dumb. It’s not quitting time yet, and he doesn’t have your number. You’re not officially stood up for at least an hour past meeting time. It’s a rule.”

  “Steffie, it’s almost been an hour,” Hayden said. He sounded miserable even to himself.

  All of a sudden, the coffeehouse cleared out. Laughing, happy people hurried in groups down the street, many of the couples holding hands and stealing quick kisses. Hayden watched them and fought back depression and hurt. He started pulling the remaining pastries from the cases.

  The doorbell jangled, and so did Hayden’s nerves. He didn’t want to turn around, put on a plastic, fake smile and make nice to any more customers. What was wrong with him, thinking that a man like Neal would want anything to do with him, let alone a poor college student half his age who didn’t even own decent dress shoes and was letting Neal think Hayden was someone he wasn’t?