Is a love triangle brewing? 👀 What do you guys think?

Happy reading!

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Something felt off, which caused my consciousness to wake up. My limbs were aching. I stirred and realized I wasn't in my dorm room. The rock hard bedding and the potent smell of coffee beans whiffed through the blanket. Whipping myself up to a sitting position, I realized I was still in the office. The lights were dim, only coming from the desk lamp. Bradley hunched over the computer, eyebrows scrunching in concentration.

"What time is it?" I asked, yawning.

He looked up from the screen and smiled. "You're up. It's around six in the morning."

"Oh? Didn't you get any sleep at all?"

"I couldn't leave you in the shop alone, so I got more work done."

"You could have just woken me up, you know. Sorry, I fell asleep. I didn't know I was dead tired."

"We covered the first task, so we're on schedule. Breakfast?" He offered with a relaxed smile.

I shook my head. It was embarrassing enough that I fell asleep while working last night. "You don't have to. I can just buy some later on the way to school."

Bradley stood in his seat and went to head out the door. He looked over his shoulder and said, "I insist. I'm about to eat, anyway."

Without hearing my reply, he left. It was hard to deny him when he was offering free breakfast. I did a quick stretch before following him to the kitchen. The blanket I used was actually Bradley's hoodie. It was a chilly morning, so I borrowed it. A faint scent of detergent was all I could smell, definitely unused.

He was busy cooking eggs and toasting grilled cheese sandwiches on a griddle. The smell comforted me in a way, reminding me of home. I stood by the door and waited.

He looked back and smiled when he noticed my presence. "I'm almost done. Would you mind making us both a cup?"

"Sure!" I replied a little too eagerly. With how nice he was treating me, I could have swooned.

Mindlessly, I prepped two cups of cappuccino. I didn't know what he liked, but this was how I liked to prepare my comfort coffee with milk. I set it down on the counter at the same time saw him put down a tray with our food. Looking up, I gave him a grateful nod, and we exchanged the goods.

We sat in comfortable silence for a bit until he spoke. "What time do you need to get to class?"

I had to chew faster because I just bit into my sandwich. Swallowing, I was seconds away on choking but I managed to get it down. "I still need to get ready, so I might leave as soon as I finish."

"Alright, I'll drive you."

"You really don't need to do that," I sheepishly replied. This was the most interaction I've had with him ever since he came back from his trip. He wasn't really as social back then. When I started working at the cafe, we only had a few weeks before he had to leave for a year or so.

"It's the least I could do. Plus, you're a friend."

There was no arguing with this one. I was just going to go with the flow. In all honesty, we became friends from working the same shift together for the past few weeks. He was hands on with the operational aspect of his business. It was pretty neat to observe. I had always wanted to work with what I wanted to do freely.

The course that I took wasn't really my first choice. But after watching a lot of crime documentaries, a career related to what I was taking piqued my interest to study about it further.

"Thanks. It's really nice of you."

After breakfast, he went up quickly to freshen up before driving me back to my dorm. He said he needed to do some errands after dropping me off.

"Are you sure you're capable of driving? You didn't get a wink of sleep last night." I told him.

I was already following behind him. We exited the back, which led to a garage where he parked his car.

"I'll be fine. I just needed to buy a few things. It won't take long." Bradley just laughed it off.

"If you say so. I'll be needing a double pay when you're not around later."

"Stop bossing me around."

I laughed as I entered the car. "I kid. But you definitely owe me."

He chuckled, "Yeah, your double pay."

"Well played."

We bickered throughout the ride just to keep ourselves awake. I couldn't believe I had to get through the day without sleep. I badly needed another coffee before class.

Bradley had dropped me off after teaching him where I was staying. "Thanks for the ride. I'll see you later!" I yelled when he slowly started running the car.

When I got to the dorm, Beck wasn't in the room. She was probably looking for something to eat before class. After quickly taking a hot shower, I got ready. I didn't have time to pick an outfit, so I just wore sweats and a plain shirt. I failed to hand back Bradley's hoodie. It was really comfortable though, so I wore it today as well.

I made it just in time to get another coffee and walked through the hallways like a turtle. My hair was up in a top bun with a few loose tendrils tickling my face. With the weather changing, my body was slowly acclimating to the cold. Therefore, it's hibernation mode for me.

"Sab!"

I turned my head to see Beck and Jonny together. Great, I forgot I had to deal with my humiliating rejection today. With a tired smile, I waved back and waited for them to catch up.

Act like you would normally do.

"Where were you last night? You look like shit." Beck went straight to the point.

"Gee, thanks." I had to roll my eyes at the obvious remark. "Hi to you, too."

She had the gall to sniff me out. "Hmm, you also smell different."

"I took a shower this morning?"

Beck was giving me a look that was telling me that there was no use in avoiding the subject. "That hoodie is not yours," she speculated.

My eyes nervously darted to Jonny. He had said nothing since we saw each other. His face looked neutral, like always.

"Oh, I borrowed it. I had to work since last night and got cold," I shrugged. Beck was trying hard to make it a big deal. She wanted to see Jonny's reaction, which miraculously made him speak.

"You rarely do overtime." He stated.

"Um, your brother asked nicely." I wasn't sure what to tell him. It was true, though. Last night was an exception, I guess.

"Huh." Jonny just quirked an eyebrow like he couldn't believe it.

I had no time to dwell on that reaction. "Anyway, we'll be late for class. I'm hyping myself up to keep me awake all morning. Lectures with boring ppt slides are the worst," I groaned.

"I know, right?" Beck said in agreement.

"The coffee gods need to hear my prayer today. In palpitations, we trust." I chanted a little too seriously.

"Amen, bestie. Amen."

"You guys are dorks," Jonny chuckled.

A laugh erupted from my mouth. I was glad we were past the awkward stage. I didn't need to care anymore. It was draining me mentally. If it fated us to end up together eventually, then good news for me.

We walked together to class and bickered over the smallest things. It kept my morning interesting. The lectures were definitely a snore, but they both made it bearable.

As lunch rolled in, Jonny said he would head to the cafe first because he knew Bradley was going to scold him for taking a day off without his permission. I didn't have to ask, but he told me why he didn't come to work yesterday. He had suffered a massive migraine, nursing himself in bed all day. I was sure his brother was understanding.

Beck and I ate lunch together before I headed out to my afternoon shift.

"Bradley, huh?"

I just put a forkful of spinach salad in my mouth. With Beck, my love life was her cup of tea. She liked it when I spill them. "What are you on about?"

Wriggling her eyebrows, she sighed in exasperation. "Oh, come on, Sab. What's the deal with Bradley? Are you two-timing the Knight brothers?"

Stopping mid-chew, I looked at her like she was crazy. "Are you crazy? The fact that I had to protect my friendship with Jonny is stressful enough."

"A little love triangle won't hurt. You'll never know. Jonny might get jealous if you pay more attention to Bradley," she laughed.

"As much as it sounds like a good idea, I'm not mean enough to use his brother like that." I wasn't that type of person. My anxiety levels were too high. Also, it wouldn't end well. One of us would get hurt at some point in the future.

"I know why I liked you. Keep it real, bestie." She grinned teasingly.

I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes again. "Like you have a choice. I'm your roommate."

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