"Yeah I'll have a shaken espresso trenta," the college freshman stated with the level of confidence only a mediocre cis het white guy could possess. "And blend that with cold foam for me, then top it off with whipped cream and caramel drizzle."

For the next second or two I just stared at him, while I internally listed all the things that were wrong about his order. I asked myself if it was worth my time to point any of them out to him, if the satisfaction I might get from correcting this idiot might possibly outweigh the hassle he'd likely cause at the audacity of a mere barista to assume she knew more about preparing coffee than him.

In the end I kept my objections to myself. I simply asked for his name, and I wasn't the least bit surprised when he responded with Brad. Then as I finished entering his order I asked myself for the thousandth time why I was still working there.

My Goddess rarely came by anymore, she tended to teleport directly to and from college these days. And as she no longer required food or drink there wasn't any reason for her to come in on her own. She still went out for meals with Theresa on occasion, but her high priestess had no reason to stop for coffee where I worked either.

And it wasn't like I needed the money that badly. Even if I did I could certainly do better than a minimum wage job at an overpriced coffee chain.

I barely paid attention as Brad tapped his phone on the terminal to pay for his order, but I did notice that he didn't bother to tip. Then he moved on to await his hell-beverage while the next customer stepped up to my counter.

The tall attractive brunette hesitated slightly before ordering a vente vanilla latte, and happily she didn't add a bunch of complicated or contradictory customizations. I was just about to ask her name for the ticket when I realized I already knew it.

"Oh," I said as I stared at her for a moment. "Avery, right? I haven't seen you here in a while."

She nodded, "Yeah that's right. And no, I haven't been around since I graduated back in June."

"Ah of course," I responded as I continued to stare at her.

Avery was one of only a couple humans who knew what I really was, without being part of my Goddess's friend group. And awkwardly, I knew she used to have a crush on me. Back before I rather unceremoniously shot her down with a cowardly excuse.

At the time it seemed like the right thing to do, but I'd be lying to myself if I said I didn't regret it now and then. She seemed like a nice person, I'd seen how she looked after her younger sister. And she obviously had the patience of a saint if she was putting up with that little cambion troublemaker.

That led me to wonder if the half-demon was still around, along with Avery's sister and her catgirl friend. It didn't feel right to ask though, considering we really didn't know each other. And I was sure she wouldn't be comfortable regardless, after the way our last conversation went when I turned her down in the college parking lot.

After a couple awkward seconds she finally broke the silence between us, "So can I pay for that?"

"Sorry!" I blushed as I finished entering her order.

My thoughts were all over the place though, and as she tapped her bank card against the payment terminal I suddenly blurted out "Were you planning to have that here? Or do you have to leave right away?"

Avery stared at me in surprise for a second or two before finally responding, "I'll be staying here for a while. I'm here to meet my sister and her girlfriend, but their classes won't be over for another forty-five minutes."

"Then why don't you have a seat?" I offered with a tentative smile. "I'll bring your drink over to you as soon as it's ready."

"Ok," she responded, although she seemed a little bemused by how I was acting.

Fortunately the place wasn't too crowded yet so there were a few tables available. I knew in another half hour it'd be packed. It was late Friday afternoon and as soon as classes were over at the college half the students would be in there looking for their caffein fix.

I watched as she moved to one of the nicer tables. It was in the back corner and surrounded by four large comfortable chairs, perfect for customers who wanted to stay a while, and maybe have a semi-private conversation during their stay. Which suited me just fine.

"Kimberly," said to my coworker, "Take over on cash please? I'm going to make this one myself, then I'm going on break."

She gave me a funny look as she teased, "The world must be ending. I don't think you've ever asked me to cover for you before. It's usually the other way around."

I rolled my eyes but otherwise ignored her as I focused on Avery's order. And perhaps it was silly but I made absolutely sure it was the best vanilla latte possible. Then I grabbed a bottle of spring water out of the fridge for myself. I remembered to pull off my apron and tucked it under the counter before I headed over to the table where Avery was sitting.

She appeared to be reading something on her phone, so she didn't see me approaching. And she likely wouldn't have seen me personally make her beverage, or remove my apron afterwards.

"Here you go," I said as I set the cup down on the table in front of her.

"Thanks," she replied as she picked up her drink. Then she looked up at me as I continued to stand there by her table.

After another brief hesitation I asked, "Would you mind if I sat down with you for a few minutes?"

Avery shook her head as she gestured, "Have a seat. Is this about Cheryl? Or Jinx? I hope they haven't been causing you any trouble since classes started up again."

"Not at all," I replied as I slipped into the large cushioned chair across from her. I set my water down on the table, then immediately picked it up again as I found myself fidgeting slightly.

After another awkward second or two I sighed, "I'm making a fool of myself, but I suppose I just wanted to apologize? I was very terse with you when we last spoke, and..."

"You don't need to apologize Raven," she stated. "I can only imagine how much of a headache Jinx caused you. She's a little better nowadays, but not by much."

I grimaced and shook my head, "This isn't about her. It's about... Well assuming she wasn't mistaken or lying, you used to be interested in me. And I gave you a cowardly excuse about not socializing with humans, then I ran away. That's why I owe you an apology."

"And um," I hesitated again before forcing myself to just say the words, "I suppose I'm also wondering if maybe you'd give me a second chance?"

Avery stared at me for the next few seconds, like she had no idea how to respond to that. She slowly lifted up her drink and had a sip of her latte, then lowered it down again.

After what felt like half a minute she finally asked, "Just so I'm clear on this, are you really an angel?"

"I am," I nodded.

"And your name's really Raven?" was her next question.

I replied, "My full name is Ravenna. I also answer to Raven, and a few friends call me Rav."

Then she asked, "And that silver-haired college co-ed we've seen a few times is really a goddess? And you work for her?"

"She is," I nodded. "And yes, I serve Her."

She stared at me for another couple seconds before asking, "What does it mean, to be an angel? Like are we talking about a golden halo and a harp and big white wings? Or are we talking about wheels turning inside wheels with unfathomable eyes?"

"The first kind," I told her. "Except my wings are black, so is my halo. And instead of a harp I have a sword."

Her lips twitched slightly as if she was fighting a smile, "So the goth thing isn't just a fashion choice? You're actually a goth sword angel?"

I nodded slowly, "I suppose that's an accurate way of describing me, yes."

Avery finally smiled, "I'd kind of like to see that."

"I'd rather not do it here in the cafe," I responded. "But if you really wanted, I could show you."

The cute human woman continued to smile as she shook her head, "I don't want you to freak everyone out. Or get yourself fired."

Then after another sip of her latte she asked, "So um, you were asking about a second chance? What does that mean exactly? What are you saying, Raven?"

Once again my cheeks started heating up, and this time I opened my water bottle and had a gulp of it. Not because I was thirsty, but to buy myself a few more seconds. I finally forced myself to come out and say it, "I was wondering if maybe I could buy you dinner? To make up for my foolish behaviour back in June."

Avery smiled again, "Ravenna are you asking me out on a date?"

My cheeks grew brighter as I nodded, "Yes. I hope I haven't made things even more awkward for you? And I'll understand completely if you don't want to -"

"I'm free tomorrow night," she interrupted. "Do you drive? Or would it be easier if I drove? Where do you want to meet? Do you live around here? Or do you live in heaven or something? Actually how does that work for angels?"

It took me a couple seconds to catch up with all her questions, and it felt like I'd already lost what little control I had of the conversation. Except it seemed like she was interested, and perhaps even excited about going on a date with me. I forced myself to try and stay calm though, I didn't want to risk scaring her off. I didn't want to get my hopes up either, just in case.

I shook my head, "I don't have a car and I don't know how to drive. I usually just teleport everywhere."

"You can teleport?" she gasped in amazement.

My cheeks continued to burn as I nodded quietly. Then after a moment I added, "I don't live around here, nor do I reside in the heavens. I have an apartment in a small town a little ways west of here."

I ended up giving her the address, and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Seriously?" she asked. "That's like about half a kilometre from my place!"

"Oh," was about the best I could manage at that point.

Avery had another gulp of her latte then smiled, "All right Ravenna, how does this sound? I'll pick you up at your place tomorrow evening at six, and you can take me out to dinner. We'll see how things go from there, ok?"

"O-ok," I nodded. "Thank you."

She was still smiling as she enquired, "May I ask you a personal question?"

I nodded again, "Yes?"

"Have you been on a date before? Or is this your first time?" she asked. "I don't want to make assumptions, but you're acting adorably anxious about this whole thing."

"Sorry," I apologized again. "I haven't... It's been a long time since I was with anyone, and things didn't end well last time. And I suppose a lot of things have changed since then, so I don't really know what I'm doing."

She seemed to consider that for a moment. Then she sounded a little wary as she asked, "So you're on the rebound from a bad break-up?"

I shook my head, "Not exactly. We didn't break up, he was killed by the English in seventeen ninety-eight. I haven't been with anyone else since then."

She smiled and almost started to laugh, before her eyes widened and her expression fell. She whispered, "Holy shit you're serious? I'm sorry Raven, I didn't mean to -"

"It's fine," I interrupted. "I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have said anything. I hope I didn't make things awkward again."

Avery shook her head, "You haven't made things awkward. But if you haven't been on a date in two hundred years I can see why you're so anxious about it. Please relax though, ok? I'm not going to judge you Ravenna. And honestly, I'm really looking forward to getting to know you better. Ok?"

This time it was her cheeks that started to colour as she added, "Jinx wasn't lying when she said I had a crush on you. You're cute and quiet and mysterious, and I've wanted to get to know you for a long time now. Finding out you're an angel... That's only made you even more special, as far as I'm concerned."

"Honestly," she added with a sigh, "If I hadn't already made plans with Cheryl and Tabby this afternoon I'd be happy to go out with you right now."

"Tomorrow is fine," I told her. "I'm already looking forward to it."

She smiled, "Me too Raven. So why don't we trade contact info, then we can stay in touch. And I'll be at your door tomorrow at six. How's that sound?"

"That sounds perfect," I responded with a smile of my own.

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