Then, Lorna and Giselle sat down next to Alex until he was practically pressed into the corner, looking nervous because Giselle was sitting right beside him.
"Hey Alex, Devon, meet Giselle—Luke's cousin," Lorna said, introducing her.
"Hi... nice to meet you," Giselle replied with a smile.
"Yeah... nice to meet you. I was wondering who this girl was clinging to Luke earlier, haha," Devon said.
"And who is this?" Lorna asked, looking at Sarah.
"That's Sarah. She's my regular every Saturday, right Sarah?" answered Luke as he came out from behind the bar, grabbed a chair, and sat down in the middle.
"Yep... that's right," Sarah replied.
"We're dating now," Devon added, taking Sarah's hand next to the laptop.
"Now that's what I've been curious about this whole time. Spill it," Alex said quietly.
"How did that happen? Sarah already graduated and works at a logistics company, right? Natalie mentioned she only does freelance projects here on Sundays," Luke asked, observing Devon and Sarah.
"Hehe... true. I did talk to Natalie about that. I graduated last year, but there isn't much of an age gap between me and Devon, right babe?" Sarah said, turning to look at Devon.
"Um... yeah, it's a two-year difference. I'm the younger one, but... it's not an issue," Devon replied, looking shy but clearly proud.
Then Luke turned to look at Alex, who seemed either annoyed, happy that his friend got a girlfriend, or jealous; it wasn't clear because his expression kept shifting as he watched Devon and Sarah.
"What's with you, man?" Luke asked Alex.
"It's fine. I guess that just means we're the single duo now, man," Alex said proudly.
"Hah... you're unbelievable for even bringing that up," Luke remarked.
"You're such an idiot, why are you happy about being single?" Lorna added, directed at Alex.
"Wait... aren't you single too?" Alex asked with a smirk.
"I'm single by choice, not because of fate, like you," Lorna shot back.
"Same goes for him," Alex said, pointing at Luke.
"As if. He has me," Giselle chimed in, having been quiet until now.
"Huh... what? Aren't you his cousin?" Alex asked.
"Yep, that's why I'm saying, he's mine, so don't worry about it," Giselle said smugly while turning to look at Alex.
Suddenly, Giselle felt a powerful pressure from behind. She turned and looked back at Lorna, who looked ready to pounce and swallow her whole. But before Lorna could say a word, a "murmur" of noise drifted in from the front of the cafe. Luke turned toward the door, as did Giselle, Lorna, Alex, Devon, and Sarah.
"Chime,"
A crowd of people streamed inside—men and women, almost all of them dressed up and looking sharp. They all immediately flocked toward the counter. Luke stood up instantly and ran behind the bar to start taking orders.
"Why are there... suddenly so many people?" Lorna asked, confused.
"Hmm... it's usually never crowded on Saturdays; that's why I'm a regular every Saturday," Sarah added, taking out her hair rollers.
"I never come here on Saturdays, so... I wouldn't know the difference," Alex said.
They watched Luke moving back and forth, then a few women who had already ordered passed their table to sit at the far end.
"It really is true, this cafe is so quiet and cozy, but is it actually a good place to find a date?" one woman asked.
"You saw her post, didn't you? She took a selfie here and you could see a couple in the background—they say they just started dating, too," the other woman said.
Then the two women turned and looked shocked to see Devon sitting next to Sarah, who was also looking back at them. Immediately, the two women started whispering and hurried past them.
"Oh... I see. So this is why," Giselle muttered, holding her smartphone out for the others to see.
"Oh, that was her... I remember her taking a selfie... but I didn't realize we were in the shot," Sarah said, sounding casual but clearly annoyed.
"Whatever, I'm going to help Luke. Are you coming?" Lorna asked Giselle.
"Yeah, I'll help. Let's go," Giselle answered.
Both of them immediately got up from their seats and ran into the staff room, while Alex turned his gaze toward Devon.
"I'm going to help out too. What about you two?" Alex asked.
"Uh... I..."
"Come on, let's help, it looks like fun," Sarah said, cutting Devon off.
"Huh... okay then," Devon replied.
The two of them immediately closed their laptops, and then they all headed into the staff room just as Lorna and Giselle were coming out. Since they were already wearing black shirts inside their hoodie from earlier, they only had to put on their waist aprons. Not long after, Alex, Devon, and Sarah also came back out in uniform.
Devon showed Sarah how to run the register, while Alex immediately headed to the floor to work as a server. Luke kept working without a break while glancing around; five girls had just sat down at the bar and were staring at him.
"Um... Mr. Barista, what's your name? I'm Irene," asked a girl who looked like she was still in high school, maybe a junior and only seventeen.
"Luke, nice to meet you," Luke replied with a smile, giving Irene a quick glance.
"I'm Chloe, nice to meet you," added the girl next to Irene, who seemed to be her friend.
"Yeah, nice to meet you, Chloe," Luke replied, smiling again and glancing at her.
"Um... um... I'm Naomi, nice to meet you too," Naomi added.
"Yeah, nice to meet you," Luke replied. He was busy and starting to feel a bit distracted while working, though he kept his smile in place.
"I'm Jessica and this is Hailey, we're still in high school. What about you?" Jessica asked while introducing the girl next to her.
"Nice to meet you," Hailey added.
"Yeah, nice to meet you. I go to the college across the street," Luke explained.
"Oh really... that's pretty close then," Chloe said.
"What's your major, Luke?" Naomi asked.
"Me? Business. What are you planning to take later?" Luke asked, making small talk.
"Hm... haven't really thought about it yet, still looking around," Naomi answered.
"I want to major in business too... but I want to look into it first... I'm still confused," Irene added.
"Yeah, just take your time. Are you all from the same school?" Luke asked.
"Yeah, that's right. The five of us are also in the cheerleading squad at school," Jessica answered.
"Oh, cheerleaders, huh? That's cool," Luke replied.
"Sometimes the practice is exhausting, haha," Hailey added.
"Well, practice is supposed to be tiring, right? Hey, sorry, I have to turn around for a second to grind some coffee," Luke said.
"Sure, go ahead," the five of them replied.
After Luke turned his back, the five girls in front of him immediately started whispering, making him feel even more uneasy. They went back to staring at him as he worked until he started to get nervous, feeling all five of their gazes boring into his back. Then, the five of them pulled out their smartphones, fully intending to ask for his number the moment he turned back around, but before Luke could even face them again,
"Hey, two cappuccinos for table eight. Hang in there, babe... mwah," Lorna said as she stepped behind the bar, kissed Luke on the cheek, and handed him the order.
"Okay thanks, just a second," Luke replied casually, but he hadn't actually realized he'd been kissed since he was so focused on his work.
"Got it, I'm heading back out front," Lorna replied, just as relaxed.
After that, Lorna immediately ran back out from behind the bar, completely unaware of the five girls whose faces looked like they'd just been slapped as their eyes followed her. They looked disappointed, and their expressions seemed to say, "Damn... he already has a girlfriend, and she's... beautiful and exotic."