That night, after the last customer had left and Luke flipped the sign on the door, Noel approached him.
"Hey, can I borrow the truck? I want to drive Vanessa home. Even though tomorrow's a day off, it's not like she can stay the night here," Noel said.
"Sure, go ahead. Grab the keys from by the register," Luke replied.
"Got it, thanks," Noel said.
After Noel grabbed the keys and Vanessa said her goodbyes before heading out with him, Luke turned around and walked over to where Giselle and Lorna—both still in their uniforms—were sitting at a table taking a break. Luke took off his apron, unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, and sat down across from them.
"Where's Ava?" Luke asked.
"She went upstairs. Said she wanted to get some rest," Giselle answered.
"Oh, I see. Fair enough," Luke replied.
"Well, since it's getting late, I'm going to head out now," Giselle said.
"Want me to drop you off?" Luke asked.
"Um... then how would you get back here?" Giselle asked.
"Oh, right. Good point. You have your car anyway," Luke answered.
"Exactly, so it's fine. I'll just head back on my own," Giselle replied.
"Alright, drive safe," Luke said.
Then Luke turned to see Lorna, who had rested her head on the table and seemed to be fast asleep. Her head was dangerously close to his coffee cup, so Luke just laughed and moved the cup out of the way.
"She's out cold," Giselle noted, looking at Lorna.
"Just let her be. She does this all the time," Luke replied.
"Okay then... I'm off. My car is over at the campus," Giselle said, standing up.
"Got it. I'll walk you to your car," Luke said, standing up as well.
The two of them walked toward the door, but suddenly—chime—the door opened and the bell rang. A beautiful girl walked in wearing a floor-length gown that managed to look incredibly sexy by hugging every curve of her body. She had long, light-brown hair that draped over one eye, but the most striking thing was that she was pulling a rolling suitcase. The girl looked at Luke and Giselle, who were standing frozen in front of her.
"Oh... hello... are you closed? I'm so sorry, I didn't see the sign. Since the lights were still on, I thought you were still open," the girl said, her face looking guilty but also as if she were on the verge of tears.
Seeing the girl's disheveled appearance and her face looking like she was on the verge of tears, Luke finally spoke up without a second thought.
"We just closed, but if you're still looking for coffee, I can whip something up for you," Luke said, observing the girl standing in front of him.
"Thump," Giselle elbowed Luke in the ribs and looked at him with a pout. Luke turned to her.
"What?" Luke asked.
"Unbelievable. I'm just going to go home by myself. Bye," Giselle said, sounding annoyed.
"Wait... hold on a second. (Turning to the girl) Please, have a seat. We haven't started cleaning up yet anyway," Luke said, gesturing for her to stay.
"Are you sure it's okay? I'm not a bother, am I?" the girl asked.
"Not at all... please," Luke answered. He turned to Giselle and whispered, "Wait a minute, just sit back down. After I make the coffee, I'll walk you out."
"Ugh... fine," Giselle replied, still grumpy.
Finally, Giselle sat back down next to the sleeping Lorna and woke her up with a nudge of her elbow.
"Huh... what... is it morning already?" Lorna asked, startled, as she sat up straight.
"No, it's still night. Wake up and stay with me, I'm in a bad mood now," Giselle answered peevishly.
"What's wrong with you?" Lorna asked, confused.
"Look over there," Giselle said, using her thumb to point at the girl sitting at the far end, who was now chatting with Luke behind them.
"Whoa... where did that girl come from?" Lorna asked in surprise, turning around to look at the girl and Luke.
"We were already closed, but she just walked in carrying a suitcase... looks like someone running away from home," Giselle said, also looking back.
"And Luke let her in?" Lorna asked.
"Yeah... and even though I was about to leave, he told me to sit back down. It's so annoying," Giselle replied.
Eventually, both of them turned back with interest to watch Luke interacting with the girl at the end of the bar. Then, Luke walked behind the counter, likely to prepare some coffee and food for her. Lorna and Giselle quickly scurried over to the bar to corner him.
"Hey... Luke, who is she?" Lorna whispered, glancing at the girl.
"Yeah... why did she come here so late at night with a suitcase?" Giselle whispered too.
"Her name is Susan. She just got here from the next town over and just moved here. She's also a transfer student at our campus, a design major, still a freshman," Luke answered while brewing the coffee.
"Design? That's the same as Devon, then," Lorna said.
"Wait... then why is she carrying a suitcase?" Giselle asked.
"That's the problem. When she got to town, she went straight to the room she'd already rented, but there was bad news. A pipe in her bathroom burst and flooded the whole room. The owner apologized, but unfortunately, there were no other vacancies. Then she spent the day looking for a room online and on foot, but she couldn't find anything. She's been wandering around lost all day because she doesn't know the area. She just asked if she could stay here tonight and use the shower tomorrow morning," Luke explained.
"Huh," Lorna and Giselle said in unison, turning to look at Susan, who looked absolutely miserable at her table. Without another word, Lorna and Giselle stepped out from behind the bar and marched over to Susan, sitting down directly across from her. Their sudden presence made Susan—who had been staring at Luke without blinking—jump in surprise.
"Hi... my name is Giselle. I'm Luke's only cousin. Who are you?" Giselle asked, putting on her best PR face while clearly marking her territory.
"And I'm Lorna, Luke's childhood friend. Can we get your name?" Lorna asked, smiling as she reached out her hand, making her own position just as clear.
"Um... Susan... Susan Reed... nice to meet you," Susan stammered, clearly confused by the two girls in front of her who were smiling but obviously hostile.
After the introductions, the atmosphere turned dead silent. Susan slowly looked over at Luke as he prepared the coffee, her face practically begging for help. Then Lorna turned to Giselle, who was still forcing a smile, and pulled her by the shoulder to whisper in her ear.
"Hey... you're his cousin. Why are you acting like this? Don't tell me you still have a crush on Luke?" Lorna whispered.
"Huh... so what? I'm allowed to have a crush even if we're cousins, as long as it doesn't go further than that," Giselle shot back, annoyed but trying her best to maintain her smile.
"So you're a wolf in sheep's clothing, huh?" Lorna whispered through gritted teeth.
"I told you this afternoon—I'm letting you have him. But I also said I'm not chasing him anymore because I've already got him in my grip as a cousin, get it?" Giselle said, stretching her smile to the limit.
"I'm getting confused... does that mean you're letting him go or not?" Lorna asked.
"Man, you really are an idiot. How could I ever let go of my own cousin? There are all kinds of love, you know, hoho," Giselle replied.
"Grrr... damn you. You total snake... you freaking intruder... bastard," Lorna hissed, cursing under her breath.
"Hey, we have a common enemy right now. Stop fighting," Giselle said.
"Oh, right. Good point," Lorna replied.
The two of them turned back to look at Susan, who flinched at their gaze and looked like she was truly about to burst into tears.