Love is Weakness. [1]

The day after our shoppings I have to get to work again. I work at a small coffeeshop. It's warm and cozy, the walls with a shade of coffee. There are small buits everywhere and I only have two collegue's. The moment I walk in the store the coffee smell hits my nose. Oh, how I love coffee. All sorts of coffee, but my favorite was a simple Nespresso. I nod at Dim behind the counter. Dim is around 40 years and literally never happy. The moment she sees me she throws her hands in the air and says

'Finally! Jeez, you're late and when you were sick I had to cover your shift. You owe me.' She throws down her apron on the bar and grabs her coat. I say nothing to her knowing that'll only make it worse. I put on my own apron and carry the open sign outside. Just as I'm walking in a guy bumps onto me.

'My goodness, I am so sorry. I am late for my first day at work. Are you alright, ma'am?' A man with a musculair build, light brown hair and blue eyes look at me in concern.

'No, it's okay you just scared me.' I say almost drooling over his appearances.

'Come inside, I will pay for your coffee! If my boss hasn't killed me yet.' He says with a half smile. Wait, is he working here now?

'Uhm, I work here. Nobody told me about a new...' The door crashes into me from behind me. I turn around and see Dim's grimmy face.

'Can you move?' Her eyes dart from mine to the man next to me. 'Oh shoot! I totally forgot to tell you, this is the new guy Marcas. You need to teach him everything.' She walks by and then she's gone. Well, that leaves no room for asking questions. I stare at the direction she disappeared in.

'Uhum, hello? Are you still with me?' The fine young man says with a chuckle.

'Oh oh, I'm so sorry. Yes, come in.' I say feeling my cheeks get red. I walk in front of him into the shop to get him an apron. Not sure where to start explaining to him I point at the coffee machine.

'This is the coffee machine. We have another one all the way to the right but we never use that one.. Though I don't think we could use one coffee machine at the same time. Unless one of us takes orders and the other makes it.. I'm sorry, I've never had to work with anybody.' I ramble.

Marcas lets out a giggle again and my cheeks turn red again. 'It's okay, we'll just do as you said. I'll take the orders and you make the coffee. Nothing can go wrong with just barking orders right?' I turn around to throw him the apron and I see that he is eyeing me curiously. This makes my cheeks turn even more red.

'Right, I'll go get the pie. Can you set up the tables for me outside?' I say while quickly running to the back.

Jeez, what is wrong with me? It's not like I haven't seen a cute guy before. Get it together, Stacia. He is a guy and a guy means pain. I walk back with two pies, one strawberry and one applepie. I set them under the counter behind the small window so the costumers want to grab a piece of pie with their coffee. I look through the window outside to see Marcas bend over to put down a chair. Damn, he has a fine ass. As if he heard me he turns around to look straight at me. At this point I'm pretty sure I'm as red as a tomato. I quickly look away knowing all too well that it's too late. Dammit, I got to stop staring. I eyeroll at myself. To my great pleasure I see a costumer enter.

'Goodmorning sir, what would you like today?' I reconize him as one of the early ones who always stops by to grab a coffee before he catches his train.

'Goodmorning, love. The usual and give me a piece of that delicious strawberry pie please.' I nod and go to work to make his regular chocolate coffee. When I turn around to grab a piece of pie Marcas is suddenly in front of me. I jump and nearly spill the coffee all over us. Concern crosses his face again.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Give me that.'

He takes over the coffee and puts it on the counter for the costumer. Then he grabs a little paper plate, puts a piece of strawberry pie on it and hands it over to him too. The costumer looks back and forth between us and I realize this must be awkward for him too. I flash him my sweetest smile.

'There you go, sir. I hope you'll catch your train this time.' The costumer smiles back and puts some money on the counter. 'Keep the change. Thank you, love. You are truly kind. Have a nice day.' He says before walking away.

The rest of the day goes easily. Marcas learns quick and before I know it I'm the one doing the orders while he does the coffee. I catch him looking at me a few times and everytimes I catch him he puts on a big delicious smile. I instantly decide that I like him. And as much as I hate to admit it, I'm glad I'm not alone in this shop anymore. Suddenly it feels like I was missing out. I look at the clock and decide that it's lunch time.

'Marcas, it's time to have a coffee and something to eat ourself. Are you okay with bacon and eggs?' I ask.

'Yes, ma'am. That would be delicious.' Marcas says while licking his lips. I stare at his now shiny lips. They're beautiful, they're not big but not too small either. Suddenly aware of my stare my cheeks turn red for the tenth time today and I walk out back. I quickly grab the ingredients to make our lunch. What is wrong with me? I never have looked at a guy this way before. Well, nobody but Conan that was haunting me in my dream tonight. I need to get it together. I quickly put together our eggs with bacon and grab two fresh orange juices from the fridge. Before walking back upfront I take a deep breath. That's when I hear Marcas say my name. I scoop a little closer and listen.

'... Yeah, her name is Stacia and she is beautiful ... No, I'm not going to ask her out, she wouldn't be into me ... I'm at work! I will see you when I get home.'

I take a step back, getting out of sight. He thinks I'm beautiful. This makes my cheeks turn the brightest of red. Omygod, I need to stop thinking like this. He is just a guy and I don't need love in my life. I had Tiff and Tiff would never hurt me. Cursing under my breath I regain my posture. Head up, shoulders up and loose. This is gonna be hard. Marcas and I sit down for lunch, within a blink of the eye he has eaten his.

'That was delicious. You're a good chef too!' He says with that dammed smile again

'Thank you. How did you end up here?' Marcus eyes darken and he looks sadly down to the table. Instantly I feel guilt wash over me and I grab his hand. 'Hey, I'm sorry if that was the wrong question.' I say sympathically.

'No, no. I'm sorry.. It's just that my grandma died recently. I used to live with her all my life, since my parents didn't want me. So I needed a second job to be able to keep paying rent.' He says, a single tear escaping his eyes. I stand up and walk around the table to hug him. With his head against his chest I softly brush his hair.

'I'm sorry, I know how it feels when you have no one left. But nobody is alone forever. Your grandma must have been wonderful for looking out for you.' I whisper. He leans back and looks me in the eye with a small smile across his face.

'Thank you. I am sure she is looking out for me. She must have guided me here.'

After our emotional conversation we go back to work. I find out that Marcas is quite the funny guy. He makes me and the costumers laugh multiple times. Suddenly my work got a lot more fun.