Page 2 of Forget Me Not
“Shit, it’s cold in here! You got that heater off again?!” Gunther groaned, faking a shiver as he ducked his waythrough the door. Erhard, at six foot five, had been the only person in town who could look Gunther straight in the eye. After half-heartedly stomping the snow off his boots, he made his way over to the counter to set down his loot. “I know you probably made coffee upstairs,” he added, gesturing to the back of the shop before pulling a cup from the carrier. “But I know you can’t say no to a cup from Aim’s.”
Syve forced a smile as she took the cup from him, and watched as he ruffled the snow from his short blonde hair, hair the same cut and color as his cousin's used to be. She did not bother to answer any of his questions, knowing they were all rhetorical. She also did not bother to correct him for the thousandth time that Aimi hated that nickname, as he clearly never listened anyway. Even though he was dancing on a fine line of being annoying with his constant presence, she could not argue that he was right about the heavenly bean-water.
“Listen, Hardy would have myhideif he knew I was letting you freeze yours off in here,” Gunther scolded for the thousandth time as he fumbled with the thermostat. “I don’t know how many times I gotta tell you that sixty-eight degrees is too damn cold for winter. Jesus, Syve, it’s December!” Syve rolled her eyes behind his back as he cranked the heat up to his usual seventy-five. She would just wait ten minutes after he left, to make sure he wasn’t coming back, and then shut it off again. Fighting with him was not a hill she had the energy to die on.
“Gunther, you know I appreciate the coffee and—” she tipped her cup pointedly at the bag on the counter. “Donuts?” She paused long enough for him to wink a green eye back in response. “You really don’t have to keep stopping in to check on me.”
“It’s my job to check on you, and I’ll continue to do so until one of us gets to meet that damn husband of yours again,” he growled, turning toward the door. “Now, heat stays up. And Syve,” he said over his shoulder, “you look like shit. Get some more sleep, yeah?” The door slammed shut behind him as he trudged off into the snow.
“Fucker,” Syve muttered into her cup before taking a long pull of her latte, moaning as she swallowed. No one on this planet could make a cup of coffee like Aimi, and Syve also knew that the only reason her drink was exactly how she liked it was because of her best friend. Setting the drink on the counter, she pulled out her phone and opened the messages.
Syve:
This tastes EXTRA caffeinated.
Aimi:
You bet your ass
You’re welcome
Syve:
How many shots are in this?
Aimi:
Yes
Like I said, you’re welcome
Tell me you were going to handle Gunther’s grumpy ass with anything less than a straight fucking espresso, and I’ll call you a liar.
75 degrees?
Syve:
75 degrees.
Aimi:
EW. Tell me all about it tonight?
You’re not backing out of girl’s night
I already told Cam to ignore any messages from you
So don’t even think oftrying to cancel
Again
Syve:
OMG I canceled ONE TIME and it was for WORK!
Aimi:
Excuses
