Tales of Rain and Sunshine: A sapphic coffee shop short story by Kayla Faber

Author:Kayla Faber [Faber, Kayla]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-03-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 3:

With Sunshine in Her Arms

It was 6:30 AM. It was still dark outside and Jade was alone in the café, the radio already on to keep her company while she got things ready before opening. The croissants and the brownies were baking in the ovens, the coffee machine had been filled and was ready to get to work. All Jade needed to start the day was a good espresso and a chocolate chip cookie.

She had just started preparing the coffee when something brushed against her hip, making her jump and drop the spoonful of ground coffee.

A soft laugh tickled her ear.

“You should lock the back door when you're here on your own, you know?”

Jade turned around, heart hammering in her chest, to meet Vera's half amused, half scolding look. Her irises shone bright in the strong lights of the kitchen. So up close, their colour was almost the same as her ice blue beanie hat—so, definitely not green, but... blue or grey? It was impossible to tell.

“Aren't you off on Wednesdays?” she snapped, swatting Vera's chest in mock indignation. She could smell coconut and sandalwood on her skin.

“I am,” was Vera's laconic reply.

“Then what are you doing here at this ungodly hour?”

“I don’t like sharing.”

No further explanation was offered and Jade didn't prod—she didn't need to. A small impudent grin stretched out her lips.

“Then you're probably not interested the last blueberry parfait I meant to split with you.”

“I don't like sharing some things,” Vera argued, giving Jade's apron an eloquent tug. Jade's heart grew three sizes just by catching the overwhelming tenderness seeping through the cheekiness of her look.

Shaking her head helplessly, she fished the parfait from a corner of the display, stuffed two spoons into it, and placed it on the counter between herself and Vera.

“Grab yourself a chair, smartass.”

* * *

Vera often came in after closing time only to help Jade tidy up. She said she liked to feel useful and her strong arms did come in handy when Jade had heavy crates to move in the back. She also kind of enjoyed watching Vera show off her strength, but Vera didn't need to know that. She was already enough of a tease.

The first night without rain they went to sit on the bench outside to watch the moon through the clearing clouds with steamy cups of tea warming up their hands.

“There's a question that's been haunting me for the past few weeks,” Jade said out of the blue.

“Oh, wow.” Vera sat back against the wall and cast her a curious sideways glance. “Shoot, I guess.”

Jade did the same, rolling her head to her left to meet Vera's gaze in the dim light of the street.

“What colour are these incredible eyes of yours?”

Vera got caught in a moment of understandable bewilderment. Slowly, her face melted into a smile, then her head fell back and suddenly she was laughing—the most sincere, heart-warming, contagious laugh Jade had ever heard. The sound of it spilled into Jade's heart and filled it with something that felt like liquid sunlight, warm and bright and addictive.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.