Coffee Wars - Excerpt # 18

Coffee Wars - Chapter Seven, Part One

With the patio open to customers, May’s became extra popular on Saturdays and Sundays. As soon as it did, Buddy stopped scheduling Christina for weekend shifts. Fine with her. The time off gave her more time to study. And with her Saturday free, Christina sat in Café Pizza doing just that.

She’d eaten a piece of pizza and was just about finished with her math homework when she glanced up and saw Adam walk through the door.

When he saw her, a smile lit his face. And he made a beeline for her table.

“You’re not working today?” Christina asked him.

“Uh, no. I asked for the day off. I’ll be right back. Gonna grab a slice of pizza. You gonna be here for a little while?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.”

He walked away, and Christina strained her neck as she watched him go. He was sooo cute. And she was all but drooling over him.

Her cheeks heated, and she turned back to her homework. Unable to keep still, she scooped her hair into a ponytail and secured it with the holder around her wrist. Then she dragged the textbook closer. Unfortunately, her concentration was shot. All she could think about was Adam.

A few minutes later, he was sitting at her table with his pizza and drink. “Why aren’t you working today?” he asked before taking a bite of his slice.

“Buddy took me off the weekend shifts.”

“Why did he do that?”

Christina lifted a shoulder. “Not sure, but I’m guessing it’s because the back patio has become super popular on the weekends, and he knows I disapprove.”

Adam wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Is it really that offensive to you that Buddy is letting people smoke weed back there?”

Christina crossed her arms. “What he’s doing is illegal.”

“Why do you care?”

“Because I don’t want to get arrested.”

Adam leaned his forearms on the table, inching closer to her. Christina wanted to back away, but she was already as far away as she could get without scraping her chair across the floor or standing up. And she refused to give in to either urge.

“As long as you don’t partake, I don’t think you have to worry about getting arrested,” he told her. “That’s why I stopped smoking while I’m at work.”

“You shouldn’t be smoking weed at all because it’s illegal in this state.”

“Well, that’s a whole other debate.”

“It’s not a debate. It’s a fact.”

He shrugged. “Is this conversation making you nervous?”

“No.”

He nudged his chin in the direction of her chest. “Then why are your arms crossed?”

Christina dropped her arms to her sides and gave him a huge grin. “They’re not.”

He grinned back at her. “You’re blushing.”

With a sigh, she changed the subject. “Why’d you ask for the day off? You’re going to miss out on a lot of tips.”

“Okay. Truth. I didn’t ask for time off. Buddy just didn’t schedule me today. He’s been acting weird since I stopped taking him up on his offers of a hit off his joint. I don’t think he trusts me anymore.”

“Ah, ha!” Christina pointed at him. “That means we’re both on his shit list. I can’t believe you lied. Why not just tell me the truth?”

“I don’t know. I guess I was embarrassed. I didn’t expect to find myself on Buddy’s bad side.”

“Yeah, me neither.”

“I wish he’d just fire me and be done with it.”

“He won’t. He’s too afraid of confrontation. It kills his buzz.”

Adam laughed. “Everything kills his buzz.”

“You’re catching on.”

He laughed again and said, “You want to get out of here?”

Christina’s heartbeat tripped. “And go where?”

“We could go see a movie.”

Her heartbeat stopped, or at least it felt that way. “Like a date?”

Adam smiled. “Yeah, like a date. I’ll even pay.”

Her heartbeat raced away.

© 2025 Beth Pontorno