Leticia entered the coffee shop, waving at Hal. “My usual!”

Hal shook her head. “You don’t need it.”

Leticia frowned. “Of course I need it.” She narrowed her eyes. “Is this some misguided attempt to get me to cut down on my caffeine? Because I assure you—”

“No, she’s referring to the fact that I already bought yours for you,” Carter said from behind her.

Leticia jumped, turning around to see that Carter had, in fact, two coffees in his hand. “How do you know my coffee order?”

“Hal told me.”

Leticia whipped back around, pointing accusingly at Hal. “Traitor!”

“He tips well,” Hal replied, completely unabashed. “Maybe if you’d bribed me more often I wouldn’t have sold you out.”

“You’re a horrible capitalist and your operas would have been shut down during the Stalin regime,” Leticia declared.

But she turned and accepted the coffee from Carter, who was clearly trying not to laugh, while Hal spluttered about how that wasn’t even really an insult, it was more like a compliment.

“What led to this?” She asked.

“I saw how much you need your coffee in the mornings, and I was stopping by here anyway, and I know that I tend to get here earlier than you do, so…” Carter trailed off. As he took a sip, Leticia noticed that the tips of his ears were pink.

She grinned to herself as she sipped her coffee.

Leticia had thought that it was a one-time thing, but then the next morning when she walked towards the coffee shop, Carter was emerging from it, two coffees in hand. She’d given him a suspicious glare but he’d just smiled at her and passed her the cup.

After a few days, she got used to it. She’d still say hello to Hal, maybe grab a pastry for dessert after lunch so she could ask the girl how’d she been doing and all, but in the morning she got used to Carter bringing her coffee.

He’d bring her some in the middle of the day sometimes too, when she’d been trapped in the office all day. Leticia wasn’t sure what to think of it. Was this… was he courting her, for lack of a better word? Or was this just him being friendly? Maybe he’d done this for his previous coworkers as well.

What if this was his way of trying to win favor with her? She’d have thought that he didn’t need to, with how friendly they’d gotten with one another and their relatively smooth start (even with the one-night stand). But maybe he saw it differently? Maybe he was still worried that she’d be angry somehow for how they’d met?

After about a week and a half of this, Leticia couldn’t take it anymore. She had to ask and find out why Carter was going out of his way for her.

“All right,” she said, taking the coffee. “What’s going on here?”

Carter blinked at her. “You like coffee.”

“Yes, we’ve established that I might be slightly addicted. Only slightly, whatever my friends may say. But why do you keep buying this for me?” Leticia realized that she probably sounded a little aggressive, and tried to soften it with a smile. “I appreciate it, I’m just curious.”

She knew that Carter had to be going out of his way a little to give this to her. He hadn’t frequented the coffee shop the first couple of days at work, and he had to bust his ass to get there before she did.

Carter shrugged. “It’s not a problem, really. I need coffee, too. I know that you appreciate it and I like doing it for you.”

Leticia stared at him for a moment. She knew that was a lie—or the part about it not being a problem, anyway. But he seemed really sincere about wanting to do it for her.

This was new. The idea that a guy would go out of his way to do something for her because he knew she liked it? And her liking it made it worth it for him? That had never happened to her before.

Leticia cleared her throat. “Look, if I’m wrong in what I’m about to say here, we can pretend I didn’t say it. But… if this is what I think it is… don’t you think that just asking me out on a date might have been easier?”

Carter ducked his head down, the tips of his ears turning pink again. Leticia smiled helplessly. He was adorable. “All right, so maybe I had a bit of an ulterior motive.”

“You just couldn’t get enough of all this, could you,” Leticia said, teasing, gesturing at herself.

Carter arched an eyebrow and stepped a little closer, his gaze skimming over her body before dragging back up to look her in the eyes again. “Maybe,” he admitted, his voice dropping down low and confident.

Leticia swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. The memory of their night together came rushing back. The way he’d ground into her on the dance floor. The way he’d gripped her and the confidence he’d had when he’d brought her to climax. She shivered and hastily took a sip of coffee to cover it up.

“And maybe I like the idea of you finally getting to go on a proper date,” Carter added. His voice was still a little low, possessive. “Where you know you’ll be more than just a hookup. Where I can treat you and help you feel taken seriously.”

Oh, great, he had to be a gentleman about it, too. Leticia mentally decided that if he made good on that promise at their date, he’d be getting a blowjob at least.

“When are you taking me out, then?” She asked, taking a step forward of her own. The action nearly put them completely chest to chest, their coffee cups held awkwardly between them. She tipped her face up, close enough that he could kiss her if he wanted to.

She kind of wanted him to, even though they were near work and Hal was probably watching all of this through the window and grinning like a maniac. She knew the younger girl was rooting for them to get together. Not that Hal had been very subtle about it.

But there was no way that could actually happen. There were too many people who might see them that they worked with. The last thing she needed was for either her job or Carter’s to be jeopardized because of an office romance.

Leticia stepped away reluctantly. She thought Carter understood why, because he gave a wry twist of his mouth before it slid into another grin.

“How about this Friday? That way if we end up hating each other we’ve got the weekend to get over it before we have to see each other again.”

Leticia laughed. “That works for me. Although I doubt one date is going to make us hate each other if we’ve been doing this well so far.”

“It has gone well, hasn’t it?” Carter bumped his elbow against hers, conspiratorially. “So, since we work together and all, how about we just head out after work? Or do you want some time to get ready?”

Leticia thought about that. She generally stayed at work a little late on Fridays to wrap things up, so she had taken to bringing a clubbing outfit with her on those days so she could just change into it and head straight out from work. A date she could treat pretty much the same way.

“Sure, but I’m sure you’ve noticed I stay an hour late on Fridays. Is that okay?”

“That’s totally fine. I could use the extra hour of work, too. I’m still getting into the swing of things.”

“Perfect.”

They started walking back towards the museum. “Any place in particular that you have in mind?” Leticia asked, mentally going through her closet to figure out what to wear.

“Hey now, I can’t tell you.” Carter snorted. “That would be cheating.”

“Oh c’mon.” Leticia grabbed his arm, resting her head on his shoulder. “Please?” She pouted.

“Uh-huh. Your feminine wiles don’t work on me. It’s a surprise.”

“You’re awful,” Leticia declared. “I don’t know why I’m going out with you.”

“Because I’m charming?” Carter suggested. “I played Prince Charming in my high school’s production of Cinderella.”

Leticia laughed. “Oh my God. I can totally picture that.”

Carter seemed pleased that he’d made her laugh. “I’ll have to see if my mom saved any photos. I’m sure she did. I thought I looked ridiculous in the outfit they put me in.”

“You must have had all the girls,” Leticia replied.

“Hardly, I was way too shy to ask anyone out,” Carter admitted. “Oh, look, we’re at work. I can dodge more questions about my awkward teenage years by doing my job.”

“Just until Friday,” Leticia promised him. “Then I can grill you all I want.”

Carter laughed. “I’m looking forward to it.”

She found that she was rather looking forward to it as well.