‘Do you think you can stop messing up the orders now Mr Pretty Boy has gone, eh Soph?’ Lee snapped as I came back to the counter.
‘What are you saying that for,’ I asked, picking up a cloth from the sink and vigorously wiping down the surfaces. My stomach was doing somersaults and my heart was beating through my chest.
‘I saw you checking him out when he came in. You couldn’t wait to go on your break and talk to him and you were making a hash of serving your customers. I won’t have sloppiness in my café. It’ll ruin my reputation, alright?’
‘I’m sorry it won’t happen again and anyway he was more interested in talking about Aimee, as everybody usually is,’ I said, trying not to show the resentment I felt about my infamous runaway sister.
‘He asked you out though didn’t he?’
I blushed furiously. ‘He didn’t ask me out, he just wants to talk some more about her, probably.’
‘Well don’t waste your time on that pretty boy. If he’s anything like his brother, he’ll be a sleaze. You’re a babe, Soph. You can do much better than him,’ he said, winking at me.
‘Urgh gross, stop being a wind up Lee,’ I said shoving him out of the way. Lee put on a fake hurt face then he walked off to clear some tables, chuckling to himself.

‘Told you,’ Lizzie mouthed at me, when Lee had gone.
‘What,’ I hissed back at her, shrugging my shoulders and shaking my head. The other girls were always saying that Lee fancied me, but I refused to believe it. He was nicer to me than he was to them, probably because of my sister, so I just presumed they were jealous. I certainly didn’t fancy Lee, in fact I could tell when he fancied a customer by the way he looked at them. And he definitely didn’t look at me like that, so I wasn’t worried. Lee was right about Jake though. I didn’t normally react like that to boys, but I had noticed Jake straight away because he looked so awkward, like he had no idea what he was doing. He seemed about my age, but he was tall; not skinny though. His body, what I could spy of it, looked fit and toned and his shoulders were strong and broad. The way he was absentmindedly running his fingers through his hair, making it all messy, was strangely distracting when I was trying to make coffee.

I had overheard Jake asking about Aimee and that’s why I went over. I’m desperate to know what happened to my sister and if there’s a chance that someone might know something about her then I’m on it straight away. Jake didn’t look too impressed, until I told him who I was. So when he asked to meet me after work I agreed, even though it was obvious he didn’t like me and was more interested in Aimee. But that didn’t bother me. At least it was something we had in common. If Jake knew something about my sister then I had to see him again. Ok, so he also happened to be completely gorgeous as well and Lee was right that I had messed up my order because I couldn’t concentrate when Jake walked in the door. But I couldn’t think about that right now. He was just a boy who might know something about my sister’s disappearance and that was all.

By the time 4.30 came around I was a sweaty mess and was thankful that I had brought a change of clothes. In the staff toilets I pulled the bobble out of my ponytail and put my head down to shake out my hair, hoping to bring some life back to it. I splashed some water on my face and looked at myself in the mirror. ‘You look like crap, Sophie, but who cares? You’re not out to impress anybody,’ I thought, shoving my uniform into my bag and walking towards the staff exit.

Jake was standing against the wall out front waiting for me. He was even cuter close up than I’d remembered. I couldn’t help admiring his smooth and lightly tanned skin and his dark messy hair, looking slightly damp as though he’d just showered. He sensed that I was there, turning towards me, and I was momentarily struck by the piercing blue of his eyes. With the sun shining on him, it was like looking out to sea on a beautiful sunny day and I wanted to dive straight in. Get a grip, girl. I mentally checked myself, took a deep breath and walked over to where Jake was standing.
‘Hi?’ Jake said staring at me. He looked awkward. Either that or he regretted asking to see me again.
‘Hi yourself,’ I said, forcing a smile.

If you would like to add your own story to this blog, please follow the link below: