Robin & Lisa Ch. 08

"I'll look for a quieter apartment next time." he said.

The next two days passed by without any meaningful event whatsoever. Mark was gone for most of the day either to lectures or to his study group leaving Lisa all alone in the small apartment with nothing to do. She took long walks around the college town with no place to go. She dropped in some of the mom and pop shops and browsed just to kill time then returned to the apartment stopping off at the café for a latte before going upstairs to do nothing.

It was mid-afternoon, so the café wasn't jam packed yet. She walked up to the counter and the guy working the register bolted to attention upon seeing Lisa.

"A small caramel latte, please." Lisa said.

"Sure. Can I have your name?"

"Yellow." she said.

"Yellow?"

"Uh-huh. Like the color."

"Is that your real name?"

"Why not?" she said with a shrug.

Lisa paid and sat at a table over by the front window. She leaned back in the chair and aimlessly looked out wondering what to do. There was nothing here for her and she could feel it. With nothing to do, the burden of her time being wasted seemed hauntingly tangible. She made some mental calculations and came to the conclusion that if she stayed until Mark was done, another half year would be wasted.

"Yellow? Small caramel latte."

Lisa looked over and saw the working college guy looking at her with a big smile. Trent was what was written on his name badge. His eyes were glancing down at Lisa's bare crossed legs as she rocked her foot back and forth. She rose and walked over to the counter taking her cup without any thought then suddenly turned back to the counter.

"Excuse me? Could I talk to your manager for a second?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Oh no. It's that sign on your door. Are you guys still looking for help?"

"Oh yeah. Let me get her for you." he said and called over to the lady across the café, "Christine? We got one."

Christine was a short curly brunette that looked like a college student as well. She saw the tall blonde by the counter and gave her a smile before walking up to her.

"Hi. I'm Christine." she said and held out her hand.

"Lisa." she said and shook her hand.

"So you want to work here?"

"Sure."

"Wow. What enthusiasm. I can see you're looking for a part time position."

"No. I'll work anytime. Weekends too. It doesn't matter."

"Really? You know we close late." Christine said.

"I know."

"And you wouldn't mind working the closing shift?"

"Nope."

"What about tonight?"

"Tonight? Sure."

"Well Lisa, I don't know where you came from, but I'm glad you came. You're hired. Can you start around eight tonight?"

"How about now? Can I start now?"

"Now?" Christine said and thought about for a moment. She shrugged with a smile, "Why not?"

Robyn looked at her watch and saw it was close to 5 pm. She scheduled her reminders for the next day and closed out her computer. She leaned back in her chair with a stretch and picked up her phone. There was a text message waiting for her and she read it:

"C U @ 8. Cant w8! -Tash."

Robyn smiled and shook her head then headed out of the gym. There was no denying that she also feeling a twinge of excitement, but there still was time in between. She walked back toward her house and looked over at Katie's café still open for business. She smiled and strolled in hearing the tinkle of the bell above her as she entered.

There were a couple of customers still in the café and Katie was puttering around in the kitchen. She looked up when she heard the bell and saw Robyn walking in towards the front counter. Katie instantly flashed a bright and cheerful smile at her and waved. Robyn sat at the counter and smiled back at her.

"It's been awhile since I've been here."

"Too long. I've been wondering, hoping, when you'd be back." Katie said and gave Robyn's hands a squeeze.

"Too busy. Too tired."

"If you're too tired, you should come in for dinner. We could eat and talk and I'll take care of the cooking and cleaning." Katie said and placed a nice frothy cup of hot chocolate in front of Robyn.

"Thanks." Robyn said.

"Hungry?"

"A little."

Katie smiled and went back in the kitchen and placed a hamburger patty on the griddle then returned. "It's no trouble." she said waving a dismissive hand at Robyn.

"Thanks."

"I should be thanking you."

Robyn smiled, "That was nothing."

"Yes it was. It meant a lot to me."

The bell rung above the door and Katie's customers left the café leaving them alone. Katie looked over the café and saw that everyone was gone then smiled at Robyn.

"So we're alone. Again." Katie said and leaning against the counter.

Robyn smiled and raised her hand to Katie's face and dragged her two fingers down her cheek. Katie flinched slightly and backed away, but quickly smiled again.

"What happened, sweetie?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your face. It's bruised. You're trying to hide it with makeup."

"Oh, it's nothing." She said and went back and flipped the burger. Katie came back smiling, "I bumped into a door. That's all."

Robyn looked at Katie expressionless and with a growing anger, but she did not say a word.

"Robyn? Come on. I was just clumsy. It's nothing."

Robyn lifted her hand to Katie's face again and touched her jaw with a gentle but firm press instantly causing Katie to back away with a wince of pain. Katie looked at Robyn and saw her giving her a stern gaze which made her quickly look away.

"Who did this?"

"No one!" Katie said and went back into the kitchen only to have Robyn follow her.

Katie scooped the burger off the griddle and on to a bun and continued finishing the burger with Robyn standing next to her.

"Who hit you?"

"Robyn, please. It's not your problem to deal with."

Robyn said nothing but gave Katie a fiery eyed stare that burned like a branding iron. The burger was ready and plated, but Robyn did not seem to be hungry anymore. Katie tried to look into Robyn's eyes, but she couldn't look for any longer than a second or two.

"It's...It's just this guy."

"And?" Robyn said furious.

Robyn's anger changed her face into a fearsome scowl and her ferocious aura caused Katie to burst into tears.

"I'm sorry. I tried to do the right thing, but he wouldn't have any of it." Katie said sobbing.

Robyn's fists her balled with a white knuckled grip with her fingernails digging into her palms. With her anger bursting at the seams, she felt like slapping Katie for letting this happen, but stood there holding her anger and feeling it stewing inside her.

"Please don't be angry. I'm sorry." Katie said and took Robyn's hand trying to unfurl her fisted grip.

Robyn looked at Katie and saw she was staring right back into her eyes. Her eyes were wet, but she wasn't crying anymore.

"I know you're disappointed. I'm sorry." Katie said.

"Tell me all about it."

"Okay, but let's sit down."

Katie took the burger in one hand and guided Robyn back to the dining room. Robyn sat at a booth and Katie locked the door before sitting across from her.

"Okay. Now tell me."

Katie told her story. She told Robyn how her boyfriend would take money from her and she wouldn't say anything. She told her about the cash advances he would ask for with the promise to pay her back at the end of the week. She told her about the last time when he demanded money, but when she refuse, he smacked her around and left in anger. When he came back he smacked her around some more until she gave him whatever she had in her purse to get rid of him.

Katie tried to tell the story as dispassionately as possible, but her eyes were wet with tears. Robyn sat across from her wide eyed doing her best to control her temper and her sympathy for Katie, but as each word went by, the anger continued to grow until her story was done.

They sat in the booth silently for a moment thinking about the same thing, but both in their own worlds dealing with the situation. Once Robyn felt in control of her anger, she felt confident to speak again.

"You know you got to leave him."

"Oh really? Did it take that long to figure that out?" Katie said then quickly calmed down. "I know. I'm sorry."

"No. Don't be. You should be angry. You're the one getting screwed here."

"Well, how am I supposed to leave?"

"By getting up and leaving his sorry ass! Just tell him right in his face to fuck off and get out of your life because you're through with his shit!"

"And that's it? It's only going to make him mad again and he'll hurt me again."

Robyn stared at Katie feeling her blood beginning to boil again.

"Tell me sweetie. What would you rather have, him mad and hurting you or me mad and hurting you?"

Katie looked at Robyn's angry face and quickly looked away ashamed, "Okay, but he's going to hurt me again."

"Then you call the police on his ass. You file a police report on him and get a restraining order."

"And what if that doesn't work?"

"Don't worry about that! Deal with what's happening now first!" Robyn said breathing hard.

"Okay." Katie said and began crying again.

Robyn watched Katie cry and swung around the booth to sit beside her. She wrapped her arm around her hugged her close to her body.

"I'm sorry for being so mean to you sweetie, but you're tougher than this. This is your café. Yours. Not anyone else's. It belongs to you. And if you don't want to share it with a deadbeat, then you don't have to. No matter what." Robyn said.

"I know."

Robyn pulled Katie's head up and smiled at her. "I know it's going to be tough and you're probably going to have to take some more abuse from him, but I know you're tough. Tougher than I was at least. And you're going to stand up to this asshole. Push him back for once. You're going to keep pushing until he's gone for good."

"Uh-huh." Katie said flashing a wet eyed smile, "I will. I promise."

"That's what I want to hear." Robyn said and gave Katie a tight hug.

The two released their embrace and Katie leaned in and kissed Robyn on the lips.

"Thank you. I feel so much better now." Katie said wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"You know where I'm at. If you ever need me, you know where to find me."

"I know." Katie said and looked down at the uneaten hamburger. "Here. Eat. Please."

"I'm not feeling hungry right now. I'm still a bit upset."

"I didn't mean to get you involved in my troubles."

"Don't worry, sweetie. We'll work it out together until we get this mess behind you."

"Yeah." Katie said and thought about life without this dilemma and said, "Yeah." with a happy smile.

Robyn smiled back and gave her a quick kiss before rising from the booth.

"Hey. You're not leaving yet, are you?" Katie said.

"I've got some things to do back at home."

"No. Please stay. Just a little longer. I've got cherry pie in the refrigerator? Maybe we could share a slice after...you know."

"After what?" Robyn said playing dumb.

"You know. After a little...fuck?" Katie said shying away from Robyn's gaze which only made her appearance all the more cuter.

Robyn stepped close to Katie and bent down placing her hand on her chin. She lifted her face up and they looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Robyn kissed her on the lips. Robyn pressed her lips deeper into Katie's and slipped her tongue into her mouth eliciting a soft sigh from Katie.

Robyn broke off and stood up while Katie still had her eyes closed and her lips quivering. She breathed out heavy and laid back on the booth bench in pleasure as she opened her eyes and looked up at Robyn smiling.

"You're sweet Katie and I enjoy being with you. I'm sorry about this, but I have to be firm with you. I'm not going to fuck you until you've dealt with this boyfriend thing."

"No. No fair." Katie said bolting upright.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but that's it."

"Oh come on. Just a quick one? You haven't been in for so long. Please." Katie said grabbing Robyn's arm.

"No. You know what you have to do." Robyn said prying Katie's hands off her arm with a polite but strong grip.

"Jeez, you're more stubborn than my mom."

"That's because I'm not your mom. I'm the girl that likes to fuck you. And I'll fuck you again as long as you do what needs to be done."

Katie looked up at Robyn in accepted defeat. "You promise?"

"You promise to do what you have to with your boyfriend?"

"I promise."

"Then I promise too."

"I'm going to hold you to it."

"Katie, sweetie, if you get rid of your deadbeat boyfriend, I'm all yours."

"Really? All night?"

"Sure."

"Your place?" Katie said slowly creeping closer towards Robyn.

"If you'd like."

"Will you make me...come? More than once?"

"How about four times?"

"Four?"

"Uh-huh."

Oh four is good." Katie said with a shy giggle, "Four."

"You know what you have to do then."

"I know. Okay." Katie said coming back to reality.

"Be strong and be firm. Be angry."

"I will. And thanks. For everything."

"You're always welcome, sweetie. I'll see you soon. I promise."

"I'll be waiting."

Robyn kissed Katie's palm and waved to her before leaving and Katie waved back. She exited the café still feeling a bit upset, but hopeful that Katie will be strong enough to take care of her dilemma.

Lisa wore a coffee brown apron and a matching coffee brown cap with her long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. She was given the crash course in running the coffee machines and the cash register, but the instructions were sufficient and there was always a co-worker at hand to guide her if she needed any assistance. She already was on her fifth hour of work and lost count of how many customers she served already. Most of the guys noticed she was new to the café and asked her, "When did you start?" The usually follow up was, "When are you off?" and she told them that she would be here till closing with a perky smile.

Her co-worker, Trent, stepped close next to her and spoke by her ear.

"Um, Lisa. Are you seeing anyone?"

"Actually, I am. Sorry." she said.

"Hmph. Sorry, but I had to ask."

"I understand. Thanks for not making it an awkward situation."

"Well then let me say, if you ever reconsider your situation, I'm available." he said and gave a playful grin.

"Okay."

"Oh and one more thing. Try not to tell any of the guys that come in that you're taken. You're doing wonders to the tip jar." he said and gave her the thumbs up before returning to his work.

Lisa looked over at the tip jar filled with dollar bills than went back to her work and smiled. Even though it was her first day, she felt she already fit in with the job and with her co-workers. The boredom she felt that morning was all gone and although the work itself wasn't challenging, at least she felt her time was not idling away.

"Lisa?"

Lisa turned toward the voice at the counter and saw Mark with a surprised expression.

"Mark. So, what do you think? A perfect place to work. Just downstairs."

"Why are you working? Better yet, why are you working here?"

"I got bored." Lisa said with a shrug.

"But you don't have to work. And you definitely don't have to work here." Mark said growing upset.

Lisa's eyebrows dropped and the smile on her face disappeared. She looked over at Trent putting in a fresh batch of coffee grounds into the brewer then turned back to Mark.

"Go upstairs, Mark. I'll be there in a minute."

"You don't-"

"Go upstairs!" Lisa said quietly but stern.

Mark looked at her then left the café. Lisa sighed feeling her body growing upset and looked over at Trent.

"Trent, I'm taking a break. I'll be back soon."

"All right."

Lisa exited the café and trudged up the stairs and saw Mark sitting on the chair with his book bag tossed on the table in front of him.

"So?" he said with a calm tone.

"I told you. I got bored doing nothing all day."

"Doing nothing? You could do anything you want."

"Anything? Like what?"

"I don't know. Relax. Go shopping. Take a walk."

"I did. All of them." Lisa said crossing her arms, "And then what am I supposed to do? I'm not making any money to spend. I don't have a car to go anywhere. Am I supposed to just sit here in this noisy closet waiting for you to come home and watch you study some more?"

"I'll give you some spending money if that's what you want."

"I'm not asking for money. I'm bored! Do you get it?"

"Okay." he said after a heavy sigh, "But do you have to work there?"

"At the café? Why? What's the matter with it?"

"It's the people. It bothers me."

"You mean the customers? They're all students. You probably have the same lectures with some of them."

"Have any of them given you the eye?"

"The eye? You mean ogled me?"

"Well?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Who cares? The place is full most of the time. Nobody's going to do anything. And when I'm done, I just have to walk upstairs and I'm home."

Mark fidgeted in his seat and looked away unable to find any faults in Lisa's argument. He shook his head and stood up, "Lisa I'm sorry, but I don't want you working there."

"Well too bad. That's not your decision to make." she said and turned toward the door.

Mark raced over and grabbed her arm to stop her, "Lisa, please."

Lisa turned to Mark and he clearly saw her upset watery eyes, "This is bullshit and you know it Mark!" she said and wrestled her arm off his grip and went down back to the café.

Lisa walked back in with her head low to cover her face, but Trent saw her behind the counter and came up to her.

"You okay there?"

"I'm fine. I just need a moment. Thanks." she said and smiled slowly regaining her composure.

After a minute or two, Lisa lifted her head composed and perky once again ready to offer service with a smile. The evening turned to night and she thought she must've served over a hundred lattes but she still felt light on her feet. Nevertheless, the words Mark had spoken were never far from her thoughts.

"What am I going to do, really?" she thought steaming another mug of milk.

It was almost eight o'clock and Robyn looked over her apartment after giving it a good sprucing. Everything was put away and neat and she looked herself over in the mirror and felt her appearance was fine as well. She wore her silk pink kimono robe with white trim and nothing else. The robe crossed low over her breasts showing a sexy and ample amount of cleavage.

"Why am I nervous?" Robyn thought with a smile.

She sat down on the sofa and looked over at the door picturing Tash standing there with a big smile. She remembered her pretty face with her big eyes and long lashes, but it was the smooth even toned cocoa powdered skin of hers that Robyn had always admired.

"I can't believe this. I'm gonna fuck her." she said dropping her head back and closing her eyes with an incredulous smile.

She rested her head back against the sofa keeping her eyes closed and her body growing with a nervous excitement. She thought about the times she hinted to Tash about her feelings. She remembered sitting next to her at a club and hiking her skirt up high as if Tash would notice it as a sign of attraction. Robyn winced at the thought with a sour expression.

"Unsuave." she thought and shook her head.

She couldn't help but bridge her thoughts from Tash to Lisa and compared her feelings between the two. Tash was a friend first where Lisa was admired. She remembered her feelings for Lisa the first night at the motel. They were still strong and clear in her mind. There was no doubt in her mind from that moment, she was in love with her. Robyn opened her eyes and breathed out a frustrated sigh.

"Yellow, why won't you call me?"

Robyn stood up and went over to her phone when she heard a knock at the door. She stopped and walked over to open it and saw Tash smiling brightly on the other side.