"Are you fraternizing with the enemy?" Darlene snapped from behind her.

Cora flinched, and the scoop of coffee grounds in her hand moved with her, sending some scattering onto the counter. She hadn't heard Darlene approaching her, but even if she had, she wouldn't have been prepared for such a question.

She turned, hoping her face exuded nothing but innocence. "Sorry, what?"

Darlene narrowed her eyes. "The Fruitastic girl. Are you giving her trade secrets?"

"They're actually nonbinary and genderfluid," Cora said.

"Fine," Darlene said. "Are you giving trade secrets to the assistant manager of our enemy?"

"No! Why would I do that?" It's not like Fruitastic needed help anyway. Cool Beans was the one without any customers.

Darlene hummed, her eyes still narrowed. "I have my theories, but according to chapter six of the Cool Beans Employee Handbook, I'm not at liberty to say them. Just remember that the beans we hate the most are spilled beans. Got it?"

Cora's eyes darted to the coffee grounds scattered across the countertop before returning to Darlene with a wide smile. "You got it, boss!"

After a few more seconds of silence, Darlene huffed before heading towards the backroom. As soon as the door closed behind her, Cora sighed and slumped against the counter. While she had told the truth and was completely innocent, she still felt guilty, as if being suspected was a crime on its own.

"You're not, are you?" Kevin whispered from the other side of the bar counter, broom in hand. "Spilling beans, I mean. Metaphorically."

"Of course not." Cora frowned as she turned back to the coffee filter basket. Great, she forgot how much she had already measured.

"Of course. So...what do you two talk about? Or do you...do other stuff besides talking?"

Cora hoped Kevin wouldn't notice her flushed cheeks as she set up the scale. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kevin gasped. "So it's true! Tell me everything."

"Why would I do that?" Cora hissed towards the coffee grounds. "Besides, nothing has happened. Not whatever you're thinking, at least. We agreed to take things slow."

"Right. So I should expect a wedding invitation next year. Got it." He paused. "Wait...you are going to invite me, right?"

"No one is getting married!" Yet. "We're not even...official or exclusive or whatever you call it."

Kevin hummed with a hint of skepticism. "Well, do you want to be?"

Cora narrowed her eyes at the filter on the scale, pretending to carefully scoop in coffee grounds as if she wasn't over two hundred grams away from what she needed.

"So you do," Kevin said. "What's the hold up? They don't want to be?"

"No!" Well, that wasn't suspicious at all. "I mean...I don't know. We've only gone on two dates."

"And you've been staring at each other across the food court ever since I started. That's at least four months of flirting, and who knows how long you two have been at it since before I got here."

Cora spun towards Kevin, glaring. "Aren't you supposed to be sweeping right now?"

Kevin scowled before he began to slowly move the broom back and forth, not breaking eye contact with Cora all the while. So Cora broke it for him, turning back towards her own task and hoping she could at least pretend to look busy.

But maybe Kevin was exactly what she needed. Her only resource for advice was the internet, and from her research, there weren't many people in the same situation as her. She wasn't keen on asking for help from strangers either. A twenty-eight-year-old with zero dating experience? In this century? She'd be laughed off the internet—or have her inbox flooded with unsolicited pictures. While Cora didn't even know about Kevin's dating history, that didn't matter. All she needed was a second opinion from someone who was unbiased and relatively level-headed.

When she turned to him, ready to have a semblance of a heart-to-heart conversation, he was performing some sort of tango dance with the broomstick.

"Am I interrupting something?" Cora asked with her best Darlene impersonation.

"Sh—" Kevin jumped, almost losing his hold on his slender dance partner. "Aren't you supposed to be brewing coffee?"

"I need your opinion," Cora said, struggling to maintain her resolve after seeing Kevin's shock. "Do you...do you really think we're moving too slowly?"

Kevin tilted his head as he studied her. "Do you think you're moving too slowly?"

"I...I'm not really sure." She sighed, her gaze trailing to the bar counter between them. "I... Don't laugh, but I've never actually been in a relationship before."

"I wouldn't laugh at you for that."

When Cora dared to lift her eyes, Kevin's serious expression proved his words to be true.

"There's no shame in taking your time with relationships. Or with anything in life for that matter." He paused. "Okay, maybe I could've learned the tricks to blending drinks faster, but that's besides the point."

Cora shrugged. "The added pressure from...someone probably didn't help. You seemed like you were more focused on doing things properly instead of rushing and making mistakes, so I don't think it was a bad thing."

When Kevin gave her a pointed look, emphasized by jabbing the top of the broomstick in her direction, it took Cora a few seconds for the realization to sink in. Perhaps she was approaching her relationship with Farron the same way that Kevin approached his work at Cool Beans. Still, she couldn't help but frown.

"That's different," she said, turning back to scooping coffee grounds. "You can't really compare blender operation to dating."

Kevin clicked his tongue. "Says who? Both will give you subpar results if you don't put enough into it—or if you put too much."

"So we're comparing acts of love and affection to ice and fruits right now? That's touching."

"Both can create unwanted results if the ingredients aren't discussed beforehand."

"What are you talking about?"

"Both could go up in flames if you stick stuff in places they don't belong."

"Kevin!" Cora hissed, whirling around.

Kevin raised his hands in surrender. "I'm just saying! Anyway, my point is that it's fine if you're taking things slow or you don't have much experience. And I'm sure Farron agrees."

Cora sighed as she finally added the last scoop of grounds into the filter. "I hope so."

There was a moment of silence as Cora started the batch of coffee, only broken when the machine began to gurgle to life and steam hissed from the large tank. From the corner of her eye, she could tell Kevin was only pretending to sweep, so she focused on cleaning up the stray grounds scattered over the counter, hoping she could prepare herself for whatever his next words might be.

"So..." Kevin finally said. "You wouldn't mind if things were serious then? Between you two?"

Cora paused, one hand gripping a wet rag while her other held the evidence of her mess.

Her initial feeling was panic. What if Cora was a terrible girlfriend? What if Farron grew tired of her and her boring personality? What if Farron realized how stagnant Cora's life was and decided she was too embarrassing to be around? Cora didn't think she could survive being rejected like that. Not again.

But this was Farron they were talking about. The person who engaged with Cora's silly rivalry and gave their battles dramatic names. They had stood up for Cora against an angry customer, then comforted her in the aftermath. They would change conversation topics as soon as Cora grew uncomfortable, and they would even assure her with thoughtful words in their soft, soothing voice. Farron would never leave Cora simply because she wasn't cool enough or she wasn't successful enough. They valued more than just money and social status.

That was why Cora liked them so much, wasn't it?

"I wouldn't mind," Cora whispered, more to herself than to Kevin. Then, slightly louder, "I mean, as long as Farron would be fine with it too."

When she turned to Kevin, he was grinning.

"Well, there's only one way to find out, right?" He rested an elbow on the bartop, then set his chin on his hand. "So, when's your next date? We need a game plan."

Cora spun back around to wipe the already clean counter. "A game plan? For what?"

"To ask Farron to be official, of course. Or to at least test the waters, get a feel for what they're thinking."

"I don't need to do that. It's too soon."

"It would be too soon if you didn't feel ready, and, from my unbiased, third-party, totally-not-invested opinion, it seems like you're ready."

Cora sighed at the shiny metal counter, looking for an area that was anything less than spotless. A beat later, she turned to tackle the area by the cash registers.

"But what if I just think I'm ready?" she asked, wiping dust from even the smallest nooks and crannies. "You heard what I said. I have zero experience with this sort of thing."

"Then this is the perfect time to get experience! Farron's a nice person. They're not going to make fun of you just because you don't know how to do things." Kevin rounded the bar to join Cora by the registers, bringing his barely used broom with him. "Besides, good relationships are built on good communication. By clearly saying what you want now, you're starting this relationship off on the right foot, even if they do end up saying no for now." He gasped, snapping his fingers. "Oh! And it'll show how mature you are. That's always a bonus."

Cora stood up straight with another sigh, not bothering to pretend to clean anymore. "I guess you have a point." She frowned. "Since when were you such a relationship guru?"

Kevin shrugged. "Comes with the territory. I'm in a polycule, so things can get real chaotic real fast if people refuse to be open about their feelings."

Cora blinked, her mouth ajar. Her research hadn't covered this.

Thankfully, Kevin seemed more amused than offended by her shock as he grinned. "You have questions."

"A few, yeah, but..." Cora shook her head. She struggled to process her feelings for Farron alone. Just thinking about doing that for multiple people was stressing her out. "Maybe that's a conversation for a different day."

"No arguments here. Personally, I'd rather talk about your love life instead." He folded his hand atop the broom and rested his chin on them. "So, your next date. Tell me everything."