That Thing I Do

Over the course of five weeks, a girl builds up the courage to ask one of her customers out on a date.

Looking back, I'm surprised I waited this long, I'm usually very impatient...

I didn’t pay much attention to her until she was on the stage. I thought she was just another customer, although I noticed she was pretty. She stepped onto the well-lit stage, guitar in hand. I was mesmerised by her, her dark hair curled over her shoulders in soft waves, highlighting the shape of her face. She was wearing a simple blue dress; matching the flower in her hair.

I wasn’t expecting her to be much good, most of the people we'd had in the past were mediocre at best. But she could play guitar which was a step up compared to the others. Most people thought 'Musical Café' meant amateur karaoke. But as soon as she started I knew she would be amazing; she played so flawlessly that I wasn’t even surprised at how smooth her voice sounded, echoing beautifully around the small room.

After her set, she came over to the antique counter and ordered a coffee from Jacob, which he gave me to make with a smirk. This made me a little wary since her order was actually very simple. I whipped it up, eager for a chance to talk to this new performer.

"Flat white for...Beyoncé? Jacob, is this a joke?"

The girl bounced forward, taking the cup from me. I quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Your name can’t actually be Beyoncé."

She shook her head, pulling her phone from her pocket.

"It isn't. It's just a thing I do. Thanks!"

She turned to go, and I blurted out the first thing I thought of.

"You look- you sang great today."

She smiled at me over her shoulder as she left.  

She sang again the next week, looking even prettier than the first time I saw her.

She was wearing a skirt and blazer combo this time, her hair up in a ponytail. She smiled over at Jacob and I before going over to the stage to set up. She sang beautifully again, and I was surprised when I realised she hadn't sung a single song she did last week. She must spend all of her time practising to memorise this many songs on guitar. I was so captivated by her that I completely forgot to do my job, leaving a few customers without their drinks and crowding the small gap between the counter and the tables.

After she gave her order to Jacob, he chuckled which made me think she was going to give another fake name. I was proven correct when I called out her order:

"Caramel frappe for...Lady Gaga!"

She practically skipped forward, taking the cup out of my hand with a wink. 

"So, do I look as good as I did last week?"

 I answered before I processed what she'd said.

"Better."

I felt the blush rising in my face as soon as I registered what I said.

“So, you noticed that last time? I'm sorry..."

She smiled, briefly squeezing my hand.

"Don't be...I thought it was cute. Like you."

I didn’t even know how to react to that. A beautiful girl called me cute.

"See you next week, Em."

"Wait! How did you-?"

She giggled at my confusion, pointing at my apron.

"Your name tag."

She didn’t sing the next week but she ordered a drink anyway.

"Green tea for Camila...Cabello? I don’t know that one."

 She came and took the drink from me, looking rather downplayed in jeans and a hoodie.

"She's from Fifth Harmony, and it’s Cabay-o...Spanish."

She wasn’t as upbeat as usual, something was wrong.

"Are you okay? How come you're not singing this week?"

She looked up at me, her eyes tearing up. I quickly glanced around, we weren't that busy so I shouted to Jacob that I was taking a break. I led the now crying girl over to a spare table in the corner and sat across from her.

"What happened?"

"My boyfriend. Well, ex-boyfriend now. He outed me to my parents. I ended it last week because I realised I had a crush on someone else, a girl. I didn’t think he'd think too much of it, he knew I was bi before we started dating. But my parents didn’t know, and for good reason. The things they said were awful. He knows what they're like."

I stared at her. She seemed so sweet, how could anyone be malicious enough to out her? I reached across the table, grasping her free hand in both of mine.

"I'm not going to lie, that's shitty. I don’t really know what to tell you if I'm honest, my mum was pretty great when I was outed to her. I don’t know, maybe it gets better, maybe it doesn’t but either way you shouldn’t have to hide who you are."

She was staring at me intently, it was almost uncomfortable.

"You're gay?"

 I nodded, wondering if she would say anything else, she seemed deep in thought.

 "You’re right. I shouldn’t have to hide who I am. This is me. And I'm proud of that, whether my parents like it or not. Thank you, Em."  

She came around the table, giving me a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek before dashing out the shop. It was only after my shift ended that I realised I still didn’t know her name.

The week after, things went mostly back to normal.

She almost danced into the shop, looking happy despite her slightly ruffled appearance, and made her way to the stage with a cheery wave in my direction. She must have managed to somewhat resolve things with her parents. 

After her set she reeled off her order to Jacob and came over to talk to me.

"Hello!"

"Hi, did you work things out with your parents? You seem very happy."

Her smiled slipped slightly but I noticed.

"No. No, they actually threw me out.” She sounded rather neutral, I thought. “I'm staying with my friend Luke for now. His mum kicked him out too so he's helping me through it. That’s why I look less put together than I normally do, I had to rush today. But I should be okay soon enough."

"You still look great.” She blushed, making her more beautiful. “But what are you going to do? No offence, but you can't live off of a couch forever and your job here doesn’t pay a lot."

"I'll be going to university soon so that’s the next few years sorted, after that I don’t know."

I nodded as I finished making her coffee.

"Hot chocolate for...Demi Lovato."

She grinned, taking it from me. I still don’t understand why she gets a kick out of that. I just want to know her name so I can ask her on a date without sounding like a complete idiot. Was that too much to ask?

"Thank you, Em. It was nice talking to you, always is."

I smiled at her, even though I could feel myself blushing.

"You're welcome. You too."

Today, hopefully I would finally find out her name. She was right on time, as usual. Today she was wearing more casual clothes. Jeans and a leather jacket with pin straight hair. I was starting to think she could never look bad. She performed some songs by LGBT+ artists this week; I’m glad she’s embracing that part of herself.

Afterwards, she ordered from Jacob again and I could tell by his face that she'd given him a singer's name again. This was so unfair. I just wanted to know her name but I always forget to ask her. This week I would. 

"Hey Em, busy day?"

"It was fine."

I didn’t mean to be snappy with her, but Jacob was annoying me and I didn’t want to seem like a fool for not knowing her name when I asked her on a date. I chanced a look at her and I could tell I'd upset her, she was frowning. I could hear Jacob sniggering behind me (why do I always have shifts with him?) so I turned around, giving him the finger.

"Shut up, Jacob!"

He held his hands up in surrender, backing off.

"Are you okay?"

Her voice, soft in uncertainty, made me turn around.

"I...yeah. I'm sorry for snapping at you. Although I'm not apologising to Jacob."

She nodded but didn’t seemed convinced.

"Vanilla latte for...Pink."

She took the cup from my hand but didn’t leave. 

"And you're sure you're okay?"

I turned to face her...it was now or never.

"I am. I just...I don’t know your name. I've wanted to ask you out for weeks now but I can’t  because I don’t know what your name is. I didn’t want to look like an idiot in case someone had mentioned it and I forgot. I'm sorry."

She giggled, sending me an almost blinding smile.

"Sofia, my name's Sofia."

It suited her. 

"Well, Sofia, would you like to go on a date with me?"

"I'd love to."