Secret Affair in the Coffee Shop

There are two new things in town: the amusement park and him. I pass by the empty amusement park which appears to be 90 percent done. Workers scramble to start their work in the 7 am sun. This is the first time in years that our town will be having an amusement park. Lucky youngsters. When I was a kid, all we can do is pick apples and dive in the river. I furiously ride my bike. The Cassiopeia is my first love. It was the first coffee shop in Rileville started by my Nana Suzanne in the 50's. Most of our customers are regulars, children and grandchildren of Nana's customers. It's a cafe that has seen couples get married, have their babies and retire together. It's a family tradition in Rileville, to always visit the Cassiopeia. And because of this so called "tradition", I was convinced by my Nana to take the reins and accept the role of managing it. After business school, I abandoned my dreams of studying abroad, came back to the town I grew up and run my coffee shop. I am not complaining at all, in fact, I love it. Everything in Rileville is calm and anticipated. Even the river today seems extra calm. I fill my lungs with a huge inhale of river scent and park my bike. I walk past the corner, fishing for my keys, and there he was, sitting on an inverted pot. Yes, an INVERTED POT. Hideous, right? But in my mind, I see a very attractive angel with midnight black wings, six pack abs and his jeans hanging too low revealing too much. What role in heaven did he play? Or is he even from heaven? He stands up and comes closer and closer... "Oh my god", I said as I close my eyes. "Are you alright?" I heard him say. I opened my eyes and found him still sitting on the inverted pot. I must be going crazy. "I'm sorry if I scared you. But I was wondering why the cafe opened late today?" he said. I was still red. I mumbled, "It's Sunday. We open late on Sundays." "Oh," he nods and stares at me. "If you are wondering about the pots, I didn't do anything. When I came, they were all messy and lying around. I didn't see any bench so I, I just sat on one. I hope that's fine." I open the door with the keys. "It's no big deal, we are doing some garden renovations." "Cool," he said as he enters the cafe. Is he trying to initiate a conversation? Why is he so talkative? Doesn't he have any manners? He is a total stranger but he acts as if we were old friends. Yesterday, he was talking to Alice, my assistant, on how he and his college room mates drove drunk in the streets of New York. As if we care about New York. There is something about him. He gets on my nerves but every time I look at him he appears as a very tasty temptation. Okay, before you judge me, I can explain. I only dated two guys in my life, the latest one was like five years ago. So it is totally fine to fantasize about guys once in a while. When you live in the country, you get rare possibilities of seeing attractive city guys. So I am just, you know, grabbing the opportunity. Or not. "Is there something wrong?" he asked. "You've been looking at me for like a couple of minutes." I stutter, "Uhm, well, I wanted to, to take your order!" Oh god, that was close. He laughed. "Yeah, I haven't even ordered. I was busy looking at the view." He was still looking at me. In my mind, "Which view are you referring to?" He smiled and pointed to the river. "Your cafe has the perfect spot." I nervously laughed. "Yeah, yeah. So, can I take your order?" "An Americano please," he smiled. I hurried to the kitchen and took off my apron. I am sweating so hard. Gosh, what is happening to me? This is insane. I hope he'll only be here for a couple of days and return to wherever he lives. What happened with the customer is always right? I don't care, his presence is driving me crazy. The chime dings. It's Alice. "Oh, you're back cutie!" she shouts at the guy. Cutie, seriously? Alice called, "Good morning babe, sorry for being late. I had a super bad hangover." I smiled. "No worries, it's a Sunday anyway." "But, you seem to have a new regular." she whispered as she looks at the New Yorker. I smirked. "He's been here for like two days, that doesn't make him a regular." She shakes her head. "Oh no honey, Kyle mentioned to me yesterday that he'll be in Rileville for a long time." Oh, so he's name is... Kyle. Doesn't suit him. Kyle sounds so angelic but he looks... naughty. He's looking at the kitchen again. I scurried to bring his cup that I almost tripped. He looks relieved seeing me with his order. "A cup of Americano for you, Kyle." I said. He smiled and stared. "You know me." That was a wrong move.  "I was not able to introduce myself to you." I said, "Alice told me your name is Kyle. We usually call our regulars with you know, their first names." He sipped. "So, I am a regular here?" I laughed. "Well, if you like our coffee then, why not?" He raised his cup and winked. "Just the Americano I need." He reached out his hand, "We should do a formal introduction. I'm Kyle and you are?" I quickly dried my hands with my apron and took his hand, "Robyn, my name is Robyn." "Nice to meet you Robyn." he said.