Hey Guys!
Sorry for the late update! But an extra long chapter for my lovelies! ;)

Jasmine's POV -

"Hey," Al greeted me as she entered my room.

"Hi," I reply while sitting up from my laying position and gesturing her to sit down on the bed.

"So, I got you this," Al replies while sitting down as she hands me a packet of Oreo.

"Wow, as to what occasion do I get the privilege of Alexia Lancaster willingly giving me a packet of Oreos? Might I add, she is the same Lancaster who's very health cautious," I say as I keep the packet between us.

"Hahaha, very funny, Jazz," Al replies, sarcastically while rolling her eyes.

"But, seriously what have I done to receive Oreos from you? You always tell me how unhealthy they are, how they'll make me fat, rot my teeth, give me cavity and destroy my figure," I ask as I scrutinize my best friend.

"I... I-Uh, Ray told me what happened at the mall," Al replies, hesitantly.

"He told you?" I ask, frowning.

It's not like I have a problem with Al knowing about the incident or not like I forbade Ryan from telling me.

"Actually, I had to dig for the information and force him to spill it. Who knew making him listen to non-stop fifty eight songs of Taylor Swift could be a perfect method of torture?" Al replies, grinning evilly.

"As said by Mr. Gandhi: Non - violence is not the weapon of the weak. It is the weapon of the strongest and the bravest," Al says, seriously. Her acting side kicking in.

"Wow, what should I be more shocked that you remember Mahatma Gandhi or that some of my words finally rubbed off on you. Though I am pretty sure, you just invented a new torture method," I reply, playfully while Al just rolls her eyes.

"But, really I am so sorry, I wasn't there when you needed me to slap that witch and squeeze out her brain from her nose, tear her limbs away and drown her in a pool of her own blood and then obviously we'll have to use bleach to clear the evidence away, I mean her blood," Al says, giving me a devilish grin.

"I don't even want to know from where you get that sick imagination from," I reply as I shake my head in disbelief.

"When will hours of watching American Crime Story, pay off?" Al asks, proudly.

I roll my eyes at my best friend, who derives inspiration from the weirdest things. Might I add, she is the same person who was preaching non-violence a few seconds ago. Well, at least, I know the split personality is common in both the Lancaster siblings.

"ine, Jasmine!!" Al literally screams in my ears.

I am blaming my young age deafness on this girl!!

"What were you thinking?"

"I was just thinking that randomness runs in your family, I guess. Ryan too, like you has extreme mood swings and spilt personality. He suddenly turned so... um," I stop midway, not able to describe Ryan's weird behavior in the mall.

"Cold? Distanced? Rude? Guarded?" Al asks as she lets out an exasperated sigh.

I merely nod at my best friend, my mind still trying to figure out Ryan.

"He-well-I..." Al stops staring at me while I arch my eyebrow at her.

"It's not my place to tell you, Jazz. Just remember that Ryan does not intentionally become cold. Trust is something you have to earn. Only if you earn his trust, he lets you come in and honestly you can't blame him after--" Al stops again, staring at me and then shakes her head sideways.

"What?" I ask as Al starts to fiddle with the edge of the packet of Oreos.

"Nothing, it's not my place to tell," Al says, flashing an apologetic smile.

"Besides, I am so much cooler to be discussed. Why do you want to discuss my bastard, twat of a brother?" Al asks, grinning evilly.

"ALEXIA HOPE LANCASTER!!! What have I told you about swearing? You did not just demean my son?" Mrs. L shouts, standing from the doorway as she glares at the younger Lancaster.

"I did not?" Al says, sheepishly.

"You better never repeat it," Mrs. L says, glaring at her daughter.

"You better never repeat it," Al whispers back, trying to mimic Mrs. L.

"What?" Mrs. L asks, frowning.

"My middle name. You know I don't like it. I understand I was your only hope of an ideal child after Ryan, but giving it as my middle name, went a bit too far," Al grumbles.

"Look at the bright side, at least your first name ain't hope," I say while smirking.

"Don't give her ideas!" Al whisper-screams to me.

Mrs. L clears her throat as she looks at her daughter.

"You know that I know that you haven't liked your middle name since forever, but you just gotta bear it for your whole life, honey," Mrs. L says, flashing an innocent smile.

"What are you doing with that packet of Oreos? What had we decided to limit Oreos for a while, right? We don't want Jazz to fall sick," Mrs. L says, glaring at my second love of life - Oreos.

People are becoming soooo merciless. First they separated Romeo and Juliet and now it's our turn - me and Oreo. I can so see someone writing a story on me and my unrequited love.

Al looks at her mother then me and finally my love.

"Okay, it's better to come out fair and true," Al says, pouting sadly.

I feel bad for her, maybe--

"Jazz asked me to bring them for her," Al says, cutting off my thoughts midway.

"What?" I say, puzzled.

I take my words back, I don't feel sorry for her at all.

"What are you doing with the packet of Oreos, Mom?" Al asks as she quickly snatches a packet of Oreos that Mrs. L was successfully hiding till now.

"Jazz asked me to bring them for her," Mrs. L replies, immediately.

"Again what?" I ask, looking incredulous between the mother-daughter duo.

I shake my head in disbelief as the mother and daughter grin at each other. Just then the 'ding' sound of incoming messages come from my phone. It shows a message from Xander.

Xandy - Are you free, right now? I need some help.😅😅

Me - Sure, I can help for some packets of Oreo and Coffee in return.

Xandy - For some weird reason, I knew exactly what you'll say.

Me - Deal or No deal? XD

Xandy - Hmm...

Me - You have only thirty seconds to think, Mr. Lennox.

Xandy - Uh...

Me - 10

Me - 9

Me - 8

Xandy - Okay, deal.

Me - Congrats, Mr. Lennox. You can expect me by your door in ten minutes.

Xandy - Pleasure to do business with you, Miss Arora. ;)

"Who are you chatting with? Better question who managed to make you grin like a cheshire cat?" Al asks, looking at me.

I realize Mrs. L already left with the two packets of my love. I sigh sadly, trying to make myself come in terms with life's reality.

"So??" Al asks, eyeing me as I get up and open my wardrobe.

"I was texting Xander, he asked me if I would like to come over his house and help him," I reply as I scan the wardrobe and pull out my denim jacket along with a white v neck top and a pair of blue skinned jeans.

(A/N - Jazz's outfit.)

"Xander? You mean, the hot barista, who apparently lives four houses away?"

"Yeah," I nod, as I simultaneously close the wardrobe.

"Wow, he invited you! Wait, when did you two exchange phone numbers? When did you even plan to tell me that?"

"It's not a biggie, Al. We usually are able to meet during morning walk for a few minutes. We exchanged our numbers during one of those walks," I reply to Al, who gives me smug look.

"You sure it's not a biggie?" Al asks, smirking.

"Yes," I reply as I bolt for the washroom with my clothes.

After barely managing to come out alive from Alexia's interrogation, I quickly made my way to Xander's house.

Standing before the blue black mansion, I push the intercom button just as the front door opens revealing an apron wearing Xander along with Oreo.

As I make my way towards them, Oreo tackles me to the ground, licking me on my face and making me feel really ticklish.

"Oreo, my buddy. I missed you too," I say while gently ruffling Oreo's fur.

"Hey," I greet Xander, who watches Oreo and me with amusement written over his face.

"Hi Cocoa," Xander says as he extends his hand to help me up.

I roll my eyes at his nickname, but willingly take his hand to stand up. He quickly pulls me back on my feet, like I weigh nothing.

In all this, my eyes involuntarily wandered to his broad chest and muscles, which are clearly being outlined by his white v neck shirt. The whole muscular thing is a huge contrast to the brownish purple apron with the odour of coffee beans.

Boys, who can cook and make delicious coffee while managing to look handsome even in an apron are so cute.

"I know right," Xander says as we all come inside.

"What? I said it aloud?" I ask as my cheeks get flushed.

"Yes," Xander replies, smirking as we enter his kitchen.

"I wasn't talking about you. It was a general statement," I argue back weakly, trying to save the remnants of my dignity.

"Sure, you were," Xander replies, sarcastically.

"You know I also think girls who aren't afraid to be themselves, who prefer comfortable before scantily dresses are cute," Xander adds as he winks at me, before gesturing me to take a seat.

He thinks you are cuuute! Ah.. my heart. It's beating.

FYI, the only job that heart does is to beat.

What a party pooper.

"Honestly speaking, I think the clothing style of an individual is the individual's choice or wish. If they are comfortable in wearing dresses, skinny or not, then it shouldn't bother us either. Same goes for people who like makeup. If it's something that makes them happy, who are we to judge them?" I ask Xander, as he studies my face.

"I guess you are right. That was actually a deep speech. But, the fact is, that I am not attacking someone's choice of dressing. I am just stating my own personal liking for comfortable clothes."

"Well, that's true. Even I am more of a comfy clothes person," I respond as a smile makes it's way across my face.

"So... You want anything? Coffee, tea, soft drink, water?" Xander asks as he sits down on one of the dining chairs.

"No, I am good. So, what help did you need?" I ask as I look around and see various cups of coffee inside the kitchen's basin.

"I am trying to master or well even make a Rainbow Latte. Every other barista knows how to make it in the cafe, except me. So, the manager has asked me to practice it," Xander says, letting out an exasperated sign.

"Rainbow latte? They are my favorites. All the hues of vibrant colors just makes coffee even more attractive," I reply, dreamingly.

"Attractive?" Xander laughs as I blush in embarrassment, again.

"I meant delicious," I argue weakly.

What is with people, these days? I can't even praise my first love's outfits.

What? Rainbow latte is in a twisted way an outfit of my coffee.

"So, do you have any idea, how to make it? I tried to do it on my own and as you can see they all went to say hi to their comrade, trash," Xander replies with a straight face, causing me to laugh.

"Yeah, I can help. I have some knowledge about it."

"Cool, so let's start?" Xander says as he goes to the kitchen island with me following him.

"What are you doing?" I ask Xander, the most obviously question.

"Making latte. First step to make rainbow latte is to make an ordinary latte and then add colors, right?" he asks, stopping to hear my reply.

"You are right, but remember rainbow latte is different from ordinary latte. So, when steaming the milk, less is more. You want to steer away from overly frothy cappuccino froth and aim for a silky 'micro foam'. There should be no more than a few visible bubbles when you've finished the milk steaming process. This helps in sustaining the art on the surface of the latte," I explain, simultaneously demonstrating it.

"Wow, you are really good at it," Xander says as he too starts to make his own latte.

"Yumm... I just want to drink all of it."

"You can, after you have taught me how to make it and trust me, by the end of it, you'll have plenty of cups to drink."

"You are no fun," I murmur as we both keep our lattes on the kitchen island and Xander takes out a bunch of food colorings.

"So, a fun way to add a little latte art is just to use food coloring in the milk. That way, the design you pour will be the color of whatever you choose instead of the normal white against brown. You could have a blue Rosetta or a green Tulip or something like that," I explain to Xander while making a pink Rosetta.

"Here try it with blue color and make me a cool blue Rosetta Latte," I say to Xander as he mixes blue food coloring with white milk and starts to pour it.

After, three trials, we have a beautiful blue Rosetta Latte from Xander Lennox.

"You know for first timer, you have done an amazing job," I remark while sipping my pink Rosetta Latte.

"Making a Rosetta isn't what's difficult. I make them on ordinary latte too. Getting the right texture is difficult," Xander replies as I nod in agreement.

"So, let's start with the rainbow latte," Xander says, putting aside the rest of the lattes.

"You know, I wasn't finished with them yet," I grumble as I wash my hands again.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't you get tired of asking the same question again and again, Cocoa?" he replies, irritatedly.

"No, I don't and for your information, when making rainbow latte we don't have to use brown color as base. White and black colors are more preferred because other colors can shine on them, not as much as they can on brown."

"So, to obtain the rainbow texture. We just mix the colors in milk and pour them accordingly?"

"Yes, we use a mix of coloured food dye drops to make the rainbow, the colours mix in the milk and create the secondary colours, that is how we get our 'rainbow' affect," I explain to Xander as I mix the colors in milk.

"After ensuring that you have the right texture, all you have to do is make whatever design you have in your mind. Like this," I explain to Xander as I pour the mixture of colors and try to make a Rosetta.

(A/N - That's how you do it 😉.
Anyone, who has ever tried, Rainbow Latte?)

"Wow, this is amazing," Xander says while looking at my latte art.

"Why don't you try?"

After six lattes, Xander still hasn't been able to mix the colors in a balanced way.

"Ughhh... I can't do it," he says as he drops the the food coloring bottles, wiping his hands on his apron as a frown mars his face.

"You are doing an incredible job. Come on one last try toh banta hai (Meaning - should be attempted)."

"What did you say?"

"I said that you should try one more time. I haven't wasted so many beautiful lattes like that. So, don't be a sore loser and get up."

"I am pretty sure a few seconds ago, you said something in a different language."

"Yes, I did. I tend to use my native language - Hindi, when I get too worked up or annoyed. So, it's not that big of a deal," I reply as I show him how to mix the colors one more time.

"Okay," he replies, concentrating on achieving the right texture.

He turns his back to me, not allowing me to see how this latte is coming.

Suddenly, he slumps down on his chair, his face bent down and eyes closed.

"I-Xander, it's okay. I am willing to stay awake all night to help you out. We can try ag--"

My words are cut off as Xander suddenly stands up and lifting me up, spins me around while holding me tight, but not tight enough to squeeze the life out of me.

Between me screaming and Xander shouting 'I did it!', my brain decides it's the right time to function, making me aware of our proximity, my hands on his shoulders and the odour of his cologne mixed with sweet bitter fragrance of coffee.

He slowly stops spinning me and places me down on the floor. But, our arms continue to hold onto each other as we stare at each other.

Xander breaks the eye contact and clearing his throat, steps back, making some space between us. For a few seconds, my body immediately loses the warmth from the contact. But, I lock these thoughts away.

"Thank you so much for everything, Cocoa. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have mastered rainbow latte," Xander says, flashing me his million dollar smile.

"So, let's have a competition? We have half an hour and have to make maximum rainbow lattes?"

"Done, be prepared to lose to me, Cocoa," Xander says, smirking.

"Let's hope you are not a sulking person when you lose, Xandy."

We both work for half an hour, making so many lattes and cracking jokes now and then. By the end of it, I can't feel my fingers. I smile at Xander as he counts our lattes for the third time.

"There's got to be something wrong somewhere," he grumbles, looking down at the lattes.

"There's nothing wrong, except the fact that you can't accept you lost to me," I reply while chuckling.

"By one latte," Xander argues back as we both sip on our lattes.

"Which is your favorite one?"

"The one with floral designs."

"Mine too."

"So, you live alone?"

"No, I have Oreo. But, if you want, you can stay too, Cocoa," Xander replies, smirking at me.

"I did not mean that. Your parents don't live here? Do they also live in New York?"

"Yeah," Xander replies as he sips his latte. The atmosphere becoming somber all of a sudden. So, I decide to change the topic.

"Siblings?"

"None. I am an only child. What about you?"

"I have a younger sister. We have a five year difference. Her name's Mrinali."

"Mrinali?" Xander asks, the name sounding foreign on his tongue.

"Yes, it means Lotus in Hindi."

"Jasmine, Mrinali. I guess your parents are environment lovers?" he asks, laughing.

"My mom loves nature. Hence, the names."

"But I'll stick with Cocoa. Though I have a new name for you," Xander says, mischief dancing in his blue eyes.

"And may I know what it is?"

"Official Caffeine Queen."

"What?"

"You are my Official Caffeine Queen that not only lives on coffee but makes amazing coffees too," Xander replies, smiling at me.

"Haha, very funny," I say as I roll my eyes, but my lips betray me as they curl upwards in a smile.

"And that would make you as the barista our Official Caffeine King. We'll rule the caffeine world together," I reply while fist bumping the air.

"Definitely," Xander replies, smiling.

Who knew some cups of rainbow lattes could earn me a title of Official Caffeine Queen and a partner in crime.
______________________________________________________________________________
Hello Fellas!
I am back!

How are you, all?
Sorry, I wasn't able to update recently. My house is going under renovation, so everything is really scattered. Sorry.

Back to the story, what do you all think of this chapter?

Finally some Xander and Cocoa, moment?😁😁

Was this humorous? I know it wasn't really the best. But, that's all I got for today.

Oh and before I forget my best friend SakinaNasir5253 has published an awesome book 'Glittering Death'. Please give it a chance, it's so worth it ❤️.

Lastly, this chapter is dedicated to my good friend Lil_cutipiee. Thanks for reading TBG😍😍

Till the next update, keep shining ;)

- Love Addy :)