Beyond the Ordinary

KATE 

"Kate, you look good!" Penny called to me over the counter, smiling widely.

Axel turned to look at me and his eyes widened in shock, making me wink at him.

"Thanks, you too!" I called back and headed into the restroom to change.

"Well, my shift's over now, thanks for taking over, Kate," Penny announced, patting my shoulder gratefully.

"Have a nice night, Penny!" I called to her.

Penny gave me a wave before heading back into her office.

Axel sighed and crossed his arms, looking at me sideways.

"What?" I asked.

"You look different," he declared, his tone distant.

Suddenly a customer came in and walked up to Axel, smiling at him sweetly. "I'd like a coffee, please, Axel," she said, still smiling.

It was obvious to me that she liked him, but it was also clear that they were friends by the way that Axel smiled nicely back at her.

"Actually, sorry, Haley, but that's Kate's job, right Kate?" Axel asked me, gesturing to the customer.

He knew her name, which only proved my suspicion.

Haley sighed. "Actually, I'd like you to make it, Axel."

You've got to be kidding me, I thought to myself. Jealousy rushed through my veins, making me cross my arms. "Yeah, Axel, why don't you serve her?" I commented, my voice sounding harsher than I'd meant it to.

Haley smiled too widely and licked her lips. "That'd be great, thanks, Axel," she said.

Axel rolled his eyes and glanced at me, clearly annoyed, but I couldn't tell if he was annoyed by me or his friend, Haley.

He handed her the coffee and she blew him a kiss. "See you in school, Axel!"

Axel turned to me once she'd left, the frustration rolling off of him in waves. "What the hell, Kate?"

I smiled, feigning innocence. "What?"

"You're unbelievable," Axel replied, sounding frustrated.

Suddenly, feeling guilty, I walked up to him, taking his hand. To my surprise, he took it, looking into my eyes. "You're wearing makeup," Axel said, running his thumb from his free hand along my left cheek.

"A friend did it," I responded, brushing it off.

"I don't like it," Axel said with a sigh, "it's not you."

I glanced up at him since he was quite a few inches taller than me. "I can take it off on my break," I replied.

Axel removed his hand from mine as he heard the door open and another customer walked in. "You do that," he muttered to me as he walked away to take the customer's order.

✡ ✡ ✡

"It's time for your break," Axel said to me as I reached around him to grab a styrofoam cup for a customer's coffee.

"Okay, I'll go after this customer," I replied, handing the cup to the customer and muttering a 'have a nice day'.

I brushed past Axel on my way out the side door, meeting his gaze before walking off to the bathroom to remove my makeup. Thankfully, one of the things Corey had grabbed off the shelves as we'd waited in line, was a small package of makeup remover pads. I took out my makeup bag and wiped off all of Corey's hard work.

Once it was off I washed my face with tap water from the sink and used a paper towel to dry it. I glanced into the mirror, seeing my normal makeup-less self looking back at me. With a heavy sigh, I put my backpack back into the back room and headed out to the room where Axel had trained me, my lunchbox in my hand.

That day feels like years ago now, I thought. That day, I still hadn't had my first kiss or even a boyfriend yet. Now I had experienced both. The thought alone was crazy. I hadn't even owned any revealing clothing and now I did, thanks to Amy and Corey's persistence.

I pulled out my peanut butter and (unsweetened) honey sandwich and took a bite, scrolling through Instagram on my phone. I finished my sandwich, took a sip of my mini water bottle, and tossed it into the recycle bin before putting my lunchbox away and heading back to work.

"How was your break?" Axel asked me, leaning against the wall.

"Not bad, you were right about that room being peaceful," I replied, leaning against the wall beside him.

"I didn't mean to be rude to you," Axel stated, staring guiltily at his feet. "I just hate it when girls wear makeup."

I took his hand, running my thumb along the side of his. "I'm sorry too, I got jealous."

Axel smiled. "I know, but I'm all yours," he declared, leaning forward to kiss my nose.

I felt my cheeks flush pink and he sent me a wink as he walked up to serve another customer. With a sigh, I walked up behind him as well, trying to hide my flushed face.