by _Anthology
Saada shrugged. “She had it coming. Anyone who has the nerve to wear fur…” Did she trail off, or did Toby just stop listening, gazing at her in disbelief? Saada had balls. She was a force of nature! Grabbing a raspberry Danish out of the glass case, Saada ripped it into not quite equal halves. The dab of blood-red filling stayed all on one side. Biting off half the circle of jam, Saada passed the big half over to Toby. “Thanks, babe,” she said. “You’re too good to me.”
“No worries.”
Tearing his semi-circle of Danish into shreds of pastry, he watched his best friend scoop the drizzle of icing from hers. “What?” Saada shrugged. “It looks like come.” Rolling his eyes, Toby threw a Danish strand at her—a pre-emptive strike. He knew Saada was about to launch that saccharine blob straight at him. It wasn't that he was psychic, only that he knew her so well. Fortunately, Saada’s aim was off, and the icing flew to the left and plopped down on the red vinyl stool beside him.
“Toby! If you’re in front of the counter, you’re cleaning,” the voice of God came booming from the back room. The dreaded Nero de Sade was back from her break. “No problem, Jin,” Toby exclaimed to his boss in what he hoped was his typically endearing manner. Hopping off his stool, he scooped up the blob of icing with a napkin and grabbed a Jcloth to wipe down the tables.
Toby was the favorite wherever he went, and Saada freely admitted that drove her nuts when he first started working at the café. His pleasant demeanor and eagerness to work didn’t jive with the atmosphere of deliberate indolence cultivated by the other baristas. Why was he always so happy? He worked for minimum wage, for fuck’s sake! But his amiable manner had nothing to do with the job. He was in love, back then, and when you’re in love that glee gushes into every facet of life.
“Sa-ay-da! Sa-ay-da!” the boss hollered, though they were standing side by side.
“Sa-ha-da,” she corrected Jin’s pronunciation for the three hundred and thirty-third time. It never made any difference.
“Sa-ay-da, go restock the condiment bar. Toby, you empty the trash yet?”
“I’ll get right on it,” Toby said, clicking his heels.
“Whatever,” Saada muttered, dragging hers. The heavy-sweet scent of coffee garbage filled the air as Toby grabbed hold of the black plastic bag. As Saada nestled in beside him, sorting through the cartons of milk and cream, tossing out the empties, he tried so hard to catch hold of her elusive aroma. Saada didn’t wear perfume. The scent of her was truly the scent of her. But all Toby could smell in that moment was rotten trash.
“So, when are you going to tell me what happened?” she whispered, her sweet breath warm against his long neck.
“I’m moving back in with my parents,” Toby relented. He would have to tell her eventually. Saada never let up when there was gossip to be shared. “Simone kicked me out.”
“Why? What did you do?”
“Nothing! She just ended it out of nowhere. Why would you assume it’s my fault?” Sniffing at a carton of half and half, Saada offered a casual shrug. That girl had the biggest, greenest eyes he’d ever seen, but they always seemed to be looking elsewhere. Now she was sorting the packets of raw sugar from the packets of refined. Those lashes, too! Saada didn’t even wear make-up, and still she had the long, thick lashes of a heifer. They were gorgeous, gorgeous eyes. Why had he never noticed that before?
“I guess it just wasn’t meant to be,” he continued. “I’m really sorry, sweety,” Saada consoled, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling his hip against hers. Shocked she was actually touching him, Toby could barely breathe as Saada set her head against his shoulder.
“Hey, you two! This is work time, not touchy-feely time!” Jin barked behind them.
“Lick my zesty asshole,” Saada muttered, recoiling under the manager’s command. “You deserve so much better than Miss Priss, anyway. Every time Simone came in here, she treated me like dog shit. And she didn’t treat you much better.”
“I know,” Toby confessed, shaking the memories from his head. “I’ve had it with women. From now on, it’s back to guys. Fewer complications. Less mess.”
“Yeah, right,” Saada laughed, giving him a playful shove. “You said exactly the same thing when you broke up with Mark: I’ve had it with guys. Girls only from now on.”
“Well, Mark broke my heart.”
“So did Simone, from the look of you. See? Heartbreak is an equal opportunity destroyer.”
“Fine, then I’m not dating anyone anymore.” The automated doorbell chimed as Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome entered the building. “Not even him?” Simone’s hot breath sizzled Toby’s ear before she rushed behind the counter to greet the guy they referred to as The Regular. Sure, there were a number of regulars at the café: the morning-rush regulars whose faces were all a blur, the afternoon regulars who stared endlessly at their laptops, playing more solitaire than getting actual work done. This regular was different. He came in every Thursday, late, when the new issue of the free weekly GLBT newspaper came out, so to speak. He bought a bold coffee and drank it black.
Smoky and mysterious, they only really took notice of The Regular because he was just so fucking hot. Half his appeal lay in his thin goatee, with moderate stubble embracing his jaw line. His eyes were such a strange shade of grey, you would almost call the color foggy amethyst. At once cocky and coy, his longish jet black hair was dripping wet with rain that evening. He ran his hand through it as Saada bent over the counter to engage him in a hushed conversation. Strange, since The Regular didn’t usually make small talk.
Suddenly Saada was looking over at Toby, and then The Regular was looking at him too. Were they talking about him? What were they saying? Standing in the middle of the café, a garbage bag in one hand, Toby felt like a total doofus in his forest green apron. Although this was precisely what he’d been wearing when he met Simone, and she fell for him, for whatever reason. Shit, this guy was so striking, like a model or a Bollywood star, that Toby felt like an awkward teenager in his presence. How could Saada converse with him so casually? How could she talk to him without her throat twisting into a dry knot? Without her stomach heaving? She had balls, that Saada. She could do anything.
The Regular picked up his coffee cup, newspaper tucked neatly under his arm, and turned in Toby’s direction. His gleaming leather shoes made a clacking sound against the faux-marble floor as he took one step forward, and then another, and then a third. Toby’s chest seized as The Regular came closer, and he held tighter to the putrid garbage bag. Is this what a heart attack felt like? But it wasn’t all that painful. Actually, now that his heart was beating again, this was more like excitement than anguish.
Maybe The Regular would draw nearer, would press Toby against his hard body, would lean in to kiss him like Clark Gable. That’s what Toby wanted, a man like Clark Gable. A man who would take control. A firm hand to show him who’s boss. The Regular could be that man. He could easily be that man. And he was on his way over.
“Hey, Toby,” Jin bellowed, and his fantasy was gone with the wind. “Do I pay you to stand around, or do I pay you to take out the trash?”
“Do you pay me at all? Barely,” Toby scoffed, suddenly aware that he was becoming way too much like Saada. That which we love, we grow to resemble. The Regular’s goatee encapsulated an amused grin, and he offered Toby a formal dip, almost like a bow, as he turned on his heels. At his regular table by the cozy fireplace, he set down his coffee cup and his newspaper. On his regular purple velvet armchair, he sat down himself. Oh, to be that chair, caressing The Regular’s firm ass, embracing his back, holding his arms!
“Hey, Toby! What is this, nobody do any work day?”
“Sorry, Jin. I’m going,” Toby answered, dragging the leaking sack behind him. Why did Jin have to be so insulting, and today of all days? Couldn’t she see she was embarrassing him in front of The Regular? Well, there was a reason the staff called her names behind her back. She never cut them any slack. Saada claimed it was a ma
nagement technique— that a team united against their manager wouldn’t take out their aggressions on the customers— but as far as Toby was concerned, Jin was just plain mean.
When he returned from dumping the trash, the boss was serving a coffee-lush at the counter, and Saada was mopping the trail of coffee the garbage bag had left in its wake. The Regular was still at his table, looking hotter than ever in his reading glasses. Sneaking up beside Saada, Toby’s stomach tumbled as he tried to imagine what she might have found out about the mysterious stranger. It wasn’t usually his style to reach out and touch the women he worked with, but in all the anticipation he grabbed her by the elbow. A serious spark of electricity sent Toby snapping his hand at his side as Saada turned, wide-eyed, seemingly to ask what he meant by grabbing her.
“Didn’t you feel that shock?” he asked to mask his self-consciousness. “Hurts like hell!”
“Yeah,” Saada replied, gazing out at the downpour. “Strange that there would be electricity in the air when it’s so damp outside.”
“Okay, whatever,” Toby skipped over the science lesson. “Why were you looking at me? What did he say?”
Saada’s eyes shone with their characteristically misleading innocence. “What did who say?” “You know who—The Regular!”
“Oh, you mean Q….” She went back to mopping the floor, turning away from Toby. Oh, no. No way Saada was getting off that easy. She could be such a little tease sometimes. “Q? What, is that an initial or something?”
Shrugging, Saada replied, “I don’t know. I introduced myself and he said to call him Q. If you want more information, you’ll just have to ask him.” “Me? Talk to him? But he’s so…and I’m just…and he’s all….” It was difficult for Toby to express the amount of raw physical sexuality oozing from The Regular’s pores, but easy to admit how inferior he felt.
“He said you’re pretty cute, you know.”
“No, he didn’t,” Toby replied, taking the mop from his friend’s tough hands.
“Yeah-huh. He did.”
“And you’re just telling me this now?!”
“Must have slipped my mind,” Saada smirked, slipping her serpent pendant between her lips.
“I am so not ready for this.”
“Suit yourself,” Saada started to say as their boss squawked for her to get behind the counter. A group of university students had just traipsed in, creating muddy puddles along the floor Saada had just finished cleaning. Toby dragged the mop across the faux-marble. Weren’t students supposed to be poor? How could they afford to drink here? Or maybe the café was the new bar, and their beer money was being diverted to caffeine. A pretty practical switch, when you thought about it.
The store’s duct-taped cordless phone rang—an unusual occurrence, since it wasn’t to be used to personal calls. It was for Jin. She turned away from her underlings while the distressed voice on the other end parleyed loudly in Chinese. By the time she’d pressed the red ‘end’ button, her eyes were bloodshot and her countenance utterly blank.
“We have to close. I have to go. We have to close.” Saada topped a peppermint cream hot chocolate with whipped topping and cocoa powder before turning to see how distraught Jin was trying not to be. Grasping at the serpent charm hanging around her neck, she asked the boss what was wrong.
“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. I have to go. We have to close.”
“You can go, Jin,” Saada offered. “Leave us your keys. Toby and I can lock up.” Jin stared blankly at Saada, then right through Toby to the rain still pouring down outside. “Okay,” she finally agreed, running to grab her jacket and purse from the back. Tossing the hood over her head, she began to say, “Don’t forget to….” but then seemed to forget what she was warning to remember. Looking straight at Saada, her eyes still red, Jin simply nodded before rushing out the door.
Toby was about to comment on how unlike Saada it was to do any more work than was absolutely necessary. Normally, she would jump at the chance to close up shop early, to get the hell out of there and go somewhere fun. But Toby didn’t get a chance to say anything before a smooth voice with just a hint of a spicy accent addressed them from the corner of the café: “It is a shame about her husband.”
It was The Regular.
Toby glanced over at wide-eyed Saada, whispering, “I didn’t think Jin was married.”
“Whose husband, Q?” Saada asked, bold as brass. Just the idea of talking to that sexy creature…. He took another sip of black coffee, setting the paper cup down on the table all in good time, then running a brown paper napkin across his thin black moustache. “Your manager. Her husband has taken a turn for the worse. It is most unfortunate. You ought to behave very compassionately toward her in the coming weeks. It will be a hard time.”
“Are you a friend of Jin’s?” Toby asked before he realized the words had slipped from his mouth. He’d done it! He’d talked to The Regular without making a fool of himself. But his heart started thumping at double time when this guy Saada called ‘Q’ glanced up at him. Q’s eyebrows arched, and Toby was convinced he’d said something stupid after all.
“I met Jin and her husband many years ago,” Q replied, never letting his gaze stray from Toby. Oh…. Toby was beginning to get the picture. The arched eyebrows were not critical, they were beckoning. So Saada was telling the truth after all: this dark and desirable man was actually interested. Q’s smoking hot stare had Toby feeling suddenly relieved to be wearing an apron and standing behind a counter.
“Here I thought Jin was just a big bitch,” said Saada, whose voice sounded very far away even though she was standing right next to him. “You never stop to think what other people are going through.”
“Yeah,” Toby agreed, fixated on the mysterious man whose gaze was fixed on him. He wanted to squirm, to scratch his nose, to cover the smile breaking across his lips, but Q’s confident stare held him still. He could barely breathe, but he stood still.
“Q,” Toby addressed the man in the corner, then realized he hadn’t planned what to say next. “Are you…do you….”
“Can we get you another coffee?” Saada came in with the save. “You should try the Sumatran blend, on the house of course.” Leaning back in his armchair like Alistair Cooke, Q pressed together the pads of his fingers and held the arch against his lips. Toby almost fell to the floor, imagining that dark pink mouth against his own fingers, against other throbbing portions of his anatomy.
“A most generous offer,” Q replied. “It is unfortunate that I must depart.”
“No!” Saada cried. “Don’t stay!” Toby echoed, realizing his mistake. “I mean, stay! Don’t go. I mean…that’s not an order. Like, I know you’re not a dog. I just mean…you should hang out with Saada and me a little longer. We don’t get much excitement around here.”
Rising easily from the deep purple chair, Q brought an antique pocket watch from his jacket and pressed the clasp. “I would be most inclined to stay, if it were not closing time.”
“Closing time?” Saada asked, checking the clock on her cell phone. “This can’t be right. Jin left just after nine, and that was only a couple minutes ago.”
Toby gave the café a quick once-over. “Wasn’t this place full of coffee-lushes just a second ago? Where is everybody?”
“Everybody has gone home, and so must I. It is late. I should leave you two to your lock-up activities.” Nearly tripping on Saada’s heels, Toby made a mad dash for the glass double doors. Q must have thought he was a total nutter, blocking the exit alongside his punk of a best friend. He had to redeem himself, somehow. He needed to say something that would make him seem a tad less…crazy….
“You can stay,” Saada blurted before Toby could come up with anything. “It won’t bother us. You can have your second cup while we’re cleaning.” Glancing back and forth between them, Q petted the stubble of his chin like it was a black lab. He stood there by the fire for a moment, his every action slow and deliberate. “It would be my pleasure. But, please, le
t me be of service. Allow me to help you by clearing the tables.”
The image of the man in the gorgeous suit cleaning their café made Q seem more approachable, somehow, but Saada wouldn’t hear of it. “No, that’s our job. You sit right down while Toby gets your coffee.” Glaring, she motioned madly for Toby to fetch a cup of Sumatran while she ingratiated herself on the arm of Q’s chair.
“Why are you reading the personals?” she was asking him. “A hottie like you? I bet all you have to do is look at a guy and he strips naked and falls into your bed. I know I would, if you were looking at me.”
“Ah, but Saada, I am indeed looking at you, and yet you remain fully clothed.” Bringing Q’s hot coffee over to the table by the fire, Toby tried to ease himself into their conversation, but Saada threw him Jin’s keys along with the instruction to lock the doors. The keys landed with a clink and a splash on the muddy faux-marble floor. What the hell did Saada think she was doing? Toby’d been convinced she was trying to procure this delicious male for him, as a consolation prize after his break-up. And all along, she wanted Q for herself?
Toby didn’t want to take his eyes off the pair, but he didn’t know how to lock the double doors from the inside. He had to go out in the downpour, lock up, then walk all the way to the rear entrance in the dark, rain striking the back of his neck like ice pellets. The café had fallen into darkness, illuminated only by the gas fire. From the corner of the shop, Toby heard a weird noise. Before he could compute precisely what it was, he was running to its source, shouting, “Saada? What’s going on? Are you okay?”
His drenched boots soaked the forest green apron strewn on the floor. The gold letters of her nametag glinted in the firelight. S-A-A-D-A. Her beige top was hanging from a wooden chair near the window and her familiar cargo pants had found their way under the coffee table.
Honestly, it was her bare ass he noticed first. That’s probably because she was waving it in the air as she straddled the guy to whom Toby was so drawn. He never imagined he’d be seeing Saada in this state, in this context. Well, maybe back when they first met, but then there was Mark, and then there was Simone, and Saada was always getting pushed to the side. Always at his side, though. Always there for him. She was his best friend, his closest friend. Even when he ignored her to get with Simone, she always understood. And there she was, kissing some other guy, some guy whose name she didn’t even know. Q? What the hell kind of a name was that?