Sharing Steven - A Tale of Roles and Passion (The Education of Steven - Book 1)

Sharing Steven - A Tale of Roles and Passion

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Copyright
©
2013  CDH Publishing

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              “Hello, Steven.”

              “Hi, ma’am! Wh-what can I get for you today?”

              “I’ll have what I normally do, if you wouldn’t mind, Steven.”

              The strapping, slightly scruffy young man standing in front of Celeste at the coffee shop’s register swallowed and looked away as he punched in a few numbers on the register.

              “Sure…” he mumbled, furtively looking around to see if any of his co-workers were looking.

              Celeste smiled in satisfaction, flipping her silky auburn hair over her shoulder. She turned to the side and leaned against the counter a bit. “That’s not going to be a problem, is it?”

              Steven shuddered. He avoided looking at her and pretended to diddle with the order processing on the register’s screen even though he only had to click a simple button to have Celeste’s mocha latte made in the back of the shop. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed, but exasperated; the beautiful woman standing in front of him had asked him for the same order every day. That in itself wasn’t too big of a deal, but over the last few months, she’d somehow learned his name and the fact that he paid attention to her enough to remember exactly what she wanted and how she wanted it.  She
knew
, but she hardly acknowledged it of him. She left him every day wondering “What does she want with me?”

              As Steven continued fiddling with his register, he angrily cursed himself internally.
I’m probably just making this whole thing up. She doesn’t like me, she’s just amused because she knows I like her. Why must she be so teasing, and why am I so afraid to ask her own? For some reason, the way she asks me to make her coffee…it…it embarrasses me. I don’t want the guys in the back to know how I’m so whipped over one chocolaty coffee drink…

             
And perhaps the biggest bash on Steven’s pride was a sign hanging over the counter at his place of work:
“Our employees are not responsible for knowing your “usual”. Give your name, your order, and help us move the line along!”

              Celeste, Steven guessed, had read the sign; she was a frequenter, after all. She seemed perfectly intelligent enough to read, likely fluent in English…perhaps even a little too articulate, too good with words to be playing with a frazzled young man’s mind. She would always smirk at him, her pallid and moist lips lightly dashed with sparkling pink lipstick. Her gaze nearly always scratched and clawed underneath his clothes like she’d never seen him before; Steven could have sworn it. Steven wore the same Bean-Bean Café smock every day, but she was always particularly fascinated.

              At the tender age of twenty-five, no woman had ever given him that type of look before. He’d had his girlfriends, but even the long-term flings throughout college weren’t nearly as invigorating as his 9:10 mocha latte-ordering regular.

              Celeste’s eyes were a piercing hazel, striking and dangerous. Beneath it rested a petite nose with a slight upturn—a doll-like quirk Steven loved most about her. She had a slim but curvaceous physique, often modestly covered up in a purple turtleneck. She dressed smartly, a librarian-chic and perfectly intelligent woman. She wasn’t some throwaway tease, and Steven knew that. But Celeste was also insistent on Steven knowing that he was wrapped around her fingers.

              He himself felt as though he was no match for his best customer. Curly brown locks swept over his forehead, wavy and having fallen into place—girls often liked it, calling him Caesar reminiscent of ancient Greek and Roman statues that his conventional curliness resembled. He had a strong jawline, a bit of an after-shaved look, (
mostly
intentional) and striking green eyes framed by black, square glasses. He had olive skin and a strong build despite his puppyish, gentle facial features.

             
One day, I should just pretend that I forget what drink she wants. How can one pretty girl manipulate me with eight little words? I know she notices me—does she just think of me as candy? Is she waiting for me to make a move? I—

             
“Excuse me… is there a problem with ordering my mocha today?” an almost derisive chuckle.

              Steven started, his head having snapped up from the register. He’d forgotten moving the order along, caught too busy contemplating his next move.
Man, why do I trip up so much around her? And why…why the hell do I enjoy it?
“Ma’am, I’m extremely sorry; it was just, ah, the program’s got a small virus and it freezes everything up.”
Bullshit. I know nothing about the computer system here; I normally don’t play all of that macho-man stuff…she controls the way I want to act. I just want her to know I know something other than being some cute barista boy. Then maybe she’d give me a chance.

             
Celeste licked her lips, clearly suppressing a grin. “Right. I’m sorry.”

              “That’ll be $3.22.”

              “No problem, Steven. Thanks.” The smile had disappeared.

              Steven began to panic upon witnessing how quickly Celeste had swiped her credit card. She’d done so without any kind of prompt, typical of a customer regular but violently opposing the physical chemistry the two had conjured. There was no Hollywood movie small-talk, no porno-video outbreak of the pair kissing wildly. She had her sense of dignity, and she had her expectations. It was almost as though she was telling him that she had no interest in toying with him, and that it wasn’t her who was going to make any kind of move. It was so sneaky, so conniving…it drove him to a nearly unbearable hunger.

              A receipt popped from the register’s printer, a startling break in what was now silence between the two. Steven simply handed it to her and nodded, wincing a weak smile.

              Celeste raised an eyebrow at him, and then rolled her eyes amusedly with that little smirk again. Steven clenched his fists as she strolled over to the “Pick-Up” counter. He almost wished he could have been the one to grab her coffee; he’d write her name on the cup with a little heart or something.
No, no…maybe that’s too effeminate. I don’t think she’d like that.

             
Over the next few moments, Steven licked his lips forlornly as he, between customers, looked after Celeste. She waited for her drink patiently, staring down some sort of book on her tablet—she wasn’t giving anyone else “the eye” the way she had with him. When her drink was delivered, Celeste glanced once more at the main counter and left.

              Tim, a younger coworker in-training, approached Steven’s register once she was gone. He cocked his head, in a bit of a hurry. “Hey, dude. Can I borrow a pen or something, if you have one?”

              “Yeah, yeah…” Steven mumbled, attempting to snap his mind out of work especially now that she was gone.

              “Sorry ‘bout that, the management wants me to write down some security stuff…so, you like that Celeste girl, huh…? She seems pretty into you.”

              The barista startled as he pulled a pen out of the nearby drawer and handed it to the kid. “What? People know about that? And-…and her name?” Steven had only known her name by himself in the context of credit card usage.

              “’Course people know about that, dude. She’s a beautiful girl, and you’re one lucky guy to apparently be her favorite cashier boy. I mean, she gets you a lot and we all see the way she looks at you. It’s not like I’m not rooting for you, dude!”

              “Sure, thanks for all that. Here’s the thing, though: she never talks to me.”

              “I think that’s because she’s in a relationship.” Tim smiles uneasily. “When I do the night shifts, she’s around a bit more with her lover.”

              Steven’s heart begins to pound in anger, remorse, disbelief. “A…relationship. So, even if she was looking at me, she’d be cheating on her boyfriend.” He closed the drawer and threw his head up to gaze at the ceiling of his workplace exasperatedly. “Why, why must everything end like this? Of all girls, this one’s gotta be in a relationship…”

              Tim smiled cheekily as he decided to then finish Steven’s sentence.   “…with a girl.”

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     “Hun, I’m back!”

              “Aves!” a kitchen apron-sporting Karen cooed, emerging from the hallway to greet her girlfriend in the living room. “I’ve missed you so much, babe. How was your day?”

              Celeste pecked Karen’s lips to greet her, tossing her purse to the nearby couch and stroking her hands into her short, curly locks. It was always hard for Celeste to simply peck her love as of two years; they were plump, full, and positively delectable.

              Celeste sighed in satisfaction, happy to be home. She stared longingly at her partner, a genuinely rewarding sight to see after a long day at the office. Karen was two years younger than Celeste, only twenty-four. She was of mixed race, black and white whilst sporting many locks of curly hair. Her large brown eyes, Celeste swore, could melt any heart in the world, not to mention her pouting lips and the tiniest button-like nose. Her gentle, light-chocolate skin was incredibly smooth, soft to the touch and bite—simply irresistible.

              “My day was long, but it started off right so everything seemed to go alright. With just the coffee I need, I can do anything.” Celeste began to move away from her girlfriend, sidling toward the kitchen whilst sniffing. “Hm, smells good. What are you making for tonight?”

              Karen’s brow furrowed. “Yes, you seem to be well-energized with that new coffee shop down the road ever since it opened. You sure you’re not, you know…drinking anything you shouldn’t be on accident? You know you can’t have the double espresso.”

              “I’m aware,” Celeste laughed, continuing into the kitchen in an avoidant manner. She shouldn’t have mentioned the coffee shop, but too often couldn’t contain her excitement about Steven. 
She can’t know about that, can she? God, Karen’s so cute when she’s cooking. I just want to pin her to the kitchen counter and…
“Babe, I asked you what’s cooking. Should I stay home tonight to help?”

              “I didn’t know you were planning on going out.” Karen stated incredulously.

              Celeste sighed as she sensed Karen follow her into the kitchen. To take a peek at what was cooking, she popped the lid off of one of Karen’s pots. A simple spaghetti sauce was brewing within, but a self-conscious Karen immediately shut it on her before she could get a good look.

              Celeste’s eyes flashed aggressively toward Karen. A maroon blush crossed Karen’s caramel-colored face, and she licked her lips.

              “Why are you being feisty with me?” Celeste glared, deciding to take advantage of the situation. Karen was quite passive, submissive; Celeste preferred to be dominant, and the two had fit together like a puzzle piece when they met a few years ago at a lesbian bar. Karen liked to fulfill a more effeminate role amongst the two of them—it turned Celeste on, especially when Karen would make a practical move that defied their sexual stance.

              “It was a surprise.” Karen took a step back from Celeste, frightened but still defiant. “You won’t say why that new coffee shop is so special to you, so I shouldn’t tell you about dinner. It’s a surprise.”

              Celeste began to unbutton her white blouse a bit, advancing threateningly. “Maybe I don’t like surprises.” Though she attempted to distract Karen with a bit of fun before dinner, the situation at hand was concerning: perhaps the messages she was sending about the coffee shop were enough to raise suspicion. It wasn’t as though her attraction to Steven would threaten their relationship’s integrity; the twosome were quite open and experimental. However, Karen was easily the jealous type in that she’d want to butt in on the development amongst Steven and Celeste for her own gain. Celeste wanted her privacy for a bit, and then would introduce her girlfriend and the barista boy she’d been flirting with.

              Karen had given into Celeste’s subtle advances, licking her lips desperately and dropping the cooking utensils she’d had in hand. The blush across her face intensified, and she began to stammer and shiver a bit as she saw her superior’s lips curl into a sly smile. “I’m- I’m sorry for questioning you, Celeste. I-I didn’t mean—“

              “You’d better be. And I’m sorry, what did you call me?”