Chapter 6

5:00 am came early and Jessica felt like she hadn't gotten any sleep at all. Her body shook and she felt stiff and sore. She was still upset that Shawn didn't call her but that didn't matter, she would fill her day today with good intentions and lots of coffee. That was something to be happy about. She got dressed and then went down the stairs to put on her shoes. Oh crap, buses don't run this early. Jessica had forgotten about the bus route. She had opted for the 8:00 a.m. start because that was the earliest time she could catch a bus for. Jessica sneaks up the stairs to her Mom's room and gently taps on the door. She pushes it open, but no one is there. Hmmm. Mom must still be at work. Jessica looks over her shoulder and sees Derrick's room, the door open just a crack. Jessica rolls her eyes and tries to think of how she can ask Derrick for a ride. She slowly tip-toes to the room and peaks through the crack.

His room is a disaster, there's clothing all over the place, dirty and clean. Socks litter the floor and hoodies hang from hockey sticks, hooks, and his computer chair. Jessica swallows hard and pushes the door open but stops to laugh, Derrick had brought the coffee cup to bed. Oh, brother. She thinks to herself. Derrick is in love with coffee. Maybe she can use that to her advantage. She lightly taps on his bedroom door. He grunts and rolls over. "Derrick." She whispers softly, trying not to wake him up too rough. "Derrick, wake up." She whispers again. "No." He says sleepily. "Go away." He pulls the blanket over his head and pretends like he's not there. "Derrick, I need a ride to work. Can you please take me?" Derrick moans. "You still owe me twenty bucks." He says from his blanket cave. "I know, and I will pay you. But I need to work to make the money… see?" She says convincingly.

He grunts, possibly thinking about it. Jessica sweetens the deal. "I'll ask Erika to make you another coffee." Derrick sits up looking like Frankenstein rising from one of those old black-and-white films. He pulls the blanket down from his face and says, "I want a big one this time." Jessica laughs at him, "What do you mean? You got the biggest serving." Derrick rolls his eyes at her disobedience. "Then I want two of them! And my twenty dollars." He bargains, Jessica thinks, and then nods offering her hand to shake. Derrick pulls his arm from under the blankets and his hand is grimy and covered in chip crumbs. Gross. Jessica thinks as her brother's hand squeezes hers. "Now I got to sanitize my hand. Get ready." She says pulling away from him. "I am ready." He says throwing off his blanket bearing yesterday's jeans and t-shirt. He even slept with his sneakers on.

Jessica rolls her eyes and steps into the bathroom to wash her hands. Drying her hands on the plush towel, she sees the time on her Mother's old battery-powered clock. 5:46 am. How have I wasted almost 30 minutes!!! Jessica frantically runs out of the bathroom and down the stairs. Derrick is digging in the cabinets for a snack when Jessica yells at him, "We need to leave NOW! I am LATE!" She throws open the door and runs out to Derrick's car. Derrick follows behind slowly, knowing he's irritating her with every step. "Come on, come on!" She repeats outside the passenger door. "It's unlocked." He says smugly. "No, YOU!" She says opening the car door and swinging herself into the seat. Derrick slowly gets in, starts the engine, pointlessly adjusts his rearview mirror, and smiles at Jessica. " No coffee," Jessica says to him sternly. Derrick puts on a sad face and reverses the car.

It's 5:58 a.m. by the time they arrive at the Café. Jessica shouts at Derrick to just drop her off and then park. The street is usually pretty full of parked cars from the residents who live in the loft-style homes above the stores along the strip. Derrick allows her to get out and then finds a parking spot. Jessica walks up to the café, Erika has just unlocked the door and is already serving the homeless man his usual. Jessica smiles and waves at both of them. "How was your date?" Erika shouts excitedly. The homeless man gives her a look without any expression. "Was that the nice man outside?" He asked curiously. Confused Jessica tried to follow and then realized he must mean Derrick. "No, actually he never called. And that's just my brother. Actually, Erika, I was hoping I could pay him for his services with one of your coffees?" Jessica begged her sweetly giving her the best impression of puppy dog eyes she could do. Erika laughed and rolled her eyes. "Erika makes the best coffee in town." Says the homeless man. Erika blushes and thanks him and he takes his seat at the window. Derrick walks in shortly, and the homeless man smiles at him. Derrick awkwardly smiles back and walks up to the counter.

"You must be Derrick," Erika says to him as he approaches the front counter. "I am." He says. She's busily working on his coffee, he watches in amazement. "So you like my coffee?" She asks him confidently. He smiles and tilts his head down, his bangs fall and cover his eyes before he looks back up at her and playfully says, "I do." Erika smiles back at him. Oh my god, Jessica's brother is cute! She thinks to herself smiling at Derrick. "I don’t know if Jess told you, but I was promised two coffees." He tells her, as he gestures with his fingers, Erika laughs at this, "Is that right?" She says seductively. She passes him his coffee with a beautiful leaf design drawn on top of the foam in caramel sauce. "Then you’re going to have to come back and pick Jessica up for the second one," Erika tells him with a wink, he stares intensely at her and smiles. She grabs his hand and flips it over, she then places a cup lid into his hand and lets go. Derrick is intrigued by Erika, her dark skin is glowing beautifully, and her touch is so warm. "All right, when should I be back?" He says to her, trying to make his voice sound velvety. "Jess should be done by 2:00 pm today, but I finish around 7:30 pm."

Derrick picks up on Erika's flirting and seems to be into it. "Well then, I might have to come twice." He says smiling and tasting his drink. "Maybe you will," Erika responds not missing a beat. He licks the foam off his lips slowly and then says "Yum." He walks backward, keeping his eye contact with Erika. Jessica walks out of the back room and sees what's happening. She makes a disgusted face at her brother and rolls her eyes. He smiles and waves. "My card is tucked in the cup sleeve," Erika calls out to Derrick as he leaves. He turns the cup and then nods at her when he sees her contact information. Erika cleans up the counter and Jessica interrogates her. "What are you doing with my brother?" Jessica asks her. Erika feels embarrassed and admits "He's cute Jess." Her cheeks grow red and are visible even on her dark skin, Jessica pretends to throw up and Erika laughs at her. "Is that okay? Can I think your older brother is cute? Maybe I can make him nicer to you." Erika jokes with Jessica. "It would be cool to have you around all the time. You could make our coffee and clean his room." Jessica jokes back.

"Well, let's see what happens," Erika says, trying to change the subject. "Are you ready for some learning?" She asks holding a sauce bottle. Jessica nods but isn’t sure she is. Her night was so long, and she was so disappointed in Shawn and his broken promise. Even though she is trying to look and feel confident on the outside, inside she really just feels like a mess. "Okay, because I need you alert, I'm going to show you how to decorate a latte and then you can drink that one in the back room. While you enjoy your latte, you will practice leaf designs with caramel sauce on napkins. Sound good?" Erika asked as she readied her sauce bottle. Jessica nodded and watched as Erika beautifully decorated the foam with an intricate leaf design with many veins and detailed lines. Jessica swallowed hard. "Don't worry. Do your best and try as many times as you want. This bottle is yours today, I already adjusted inventory." Jessica felt a little better, grabbing her latte and the sauce bottle she went to the back room and hoped for the best.