Black Coffee

“Come on,” Jessica urged, pressing the ‘black coffee’ button repeatedly.

 

“Even the machine is against me,” she lamented.

 

After umpteen times, she finally heard the sound of coffee beans sliding down the nozzle of the coffee machine and they were being grinded. A few seconds later, the dark coloured liquid came into contact with a white cup.

 

Jessica wasn’t a coffee drinker. In fact, she didn’t like the strong aftertaste of coffee, preferring the lighter taste of tea instead. However, today was one of the rare exceptions. She picked up the white cup carefully and held it to her lips. She blew on the hot coffee as she leaned against the cabinet.

 

She took a sip of the black coffee and winched at the bittersweet taste when it touched her tongue. She swallowed it, letting the bitter liquid trickle down her throat. The bitterness in her mouth wasn’t as bad as the bitterness in her heart.

 

Last year, Jessica worked very hard. She took on big projects and they were very successful. However, last week, when the managing director announced the list of people who were promoted, her name wasn’t mentioned at all. She was disheartened and felt like giving up. Drinking this bitter coffee, she felt worse.

 

Jessica slammed the cup onto the table, causing it to spill a little.

 

“Hey gorgeous, taking your anger on an innocent cup of coffee?” a familiar voice, accompanied by footsteps appeared in the pantry.

 

Jessica raised her head to look at her colleague who had just entered the pantry.

 

“What are you doing here, Taeyeon?” Jessica snapped.

“Getting my usual cuppa, isn’t it obvious?” Taeyeon replied in a casual tone.

 

Taeyeon brushed past Jessica as she went to the coffee machine. Jessica was at a loss for words when she saw the coffee machine whirled into action immediately when Taeyeon jammed her finger on the ‘black coffee’ button.

 

Once her coffee was ready, Taeyeon torn a packet of sugar and emptied it into the cup. Throwing a stirrer into the cup, she mixed the sugar with the coffee before finally taking a sip.

 

“I thought you didn’t like coffee?” Taeyeon asked as she lifted the cup towards her mouth.  She inhaled deeply, savouring the scent of plain black coffee before taking a sip.

 

Jessica was surprised Taeyeon remembered her preference as she had only briefly mentioned about it once during a company function. She didn’t get the opportunity to interact much with Taeyeon since they were from different departments. Taeyeon often liked to hang out at her department’s pantry because it was more “classy” as they had a proper coffee machine. She never failed to stop Jessica’s cubicle daily and bore her with her lame jokes.

 

“My taste can change anytime, can’t I?” Jessica said, shifting her weight on her legs.

 

The pantry was rather narrow but deep. They were standing in a rather close proximity, facing each other.

 

“You look like you’re feeling down in the dumps. Need some company? I’m a very good listener,” Taeyeon offered. Her eyes never left Jessica as she drank her coffee.

 

“Why should I confide in you? Are we even that close?” Jessica sneered.

 

“Well, I’m just being nice. Actually I’ve been meaning to get close to you, it’s just that you seem to dislike me. Everyone telling me how scary the ice princess is but I don’t believe them. I’m sure you’re ‘warmer’ than you look,” Taeyeon said frankly.

 

Jessica couldn’t help but let out a giggle. “What are you, a glaciologist? Sounds as if you’re talking about ice caps in the Antarctic.”

 

Taeyeon nearly gulped down her hot coffee by accident when she heard that honest comment from Jessica. Fortunately she didn’t burn her throat. It was an extremely rare moment she heard Jessica tell a joke.

 

“Since we’re being honest here, I just want to tell you that I can’t stand your lame jokes. They aren’t funny at all,” Jessica continued.

 

“I guess I used the wrong approach,” Taeyeon sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

 

“What?” Jessica was puzzled by Taeyeon’s comment.

 

Taeyeon merely smiled. “Couldn’t you tell I was trying to talk to you, making my presence felt by stopping at your cubicle daily? I want to see you everyday because…”

 

“Because?” Jessica asked, raising her brows.

 

“I realised you’re the only person that makes my heart beat faster than usual.”

 

Jessica’s eyes were wide open as she studied the woman standing in front of her. She had never paid so much attention to Taeyeon before. Other than her lame jokes, Taeyeon was seemingly a nice person to talk to. She was a capable department head who took good care of her team and Jessica heard her colleagues singing praises of Taeyeon before.

 

Why didn’t I notice her cute little nose before? Oh, her cheeky smile is really cute.

 

“Ya, so I finally told you my reason for hanging around your cubicle,” Taeyeon said, using the back of her hand to wipe away the coffee from her lips.

 

Jessica reached out and held Taeyeon’s hand. “No one uses the back of their hands to wipe away coffee. It’s pretty unhygienic.”

 

“Oh? Then what should I use?”

 

Jessica took a step forward and narrowed the gap between them.

 

“Let me help you,” she whispered, looking into the pair of brown eyes that were staring back at her.

 

On impulse, Jessica closed her eyes, bent down and kissed Taeyeon on her lips. Taeyeon was staring back at Jessica with her eyes wide open. This was something unexpected from the ice princess at the office. Letting her desire for Jessica take over, she closed her eyes and kissed her back. She placed one hand behind Jessica’s head and shifted her body so that she could be the person leading the kiss instead.

 

Those rumours at work are right. Taeyeon is indeed a good kisser. She’s so gentle yet passionate. I feel my knees going weak. Oh this feels so good…I feel much better already. Who cares about that silly promotion!

 

Their lips moved in sync. Taeyeon traced Jessica’s lips with her tongue, as if to ask for permission to enter her mouth. Jessica obliged and parted her lips. Soon she felt a warm tongue entering her mouth and exploring every nook and cranny there was.

 

Finally, their lips disconnected, their hearts were still beating very fast. Taeyeon ran her fingers through Jessica’s hair. The bitterness of the coffee on Jessica’s tongue was long forgotten.

 

“I assume the feeling’s mutual ,” Taeyeon said with a smug before planting a peck on Jessica’s lips.

 

“Honestly, I couldn’t hate you even if I tried. It’s…your face. With that supposedly innocent looking face of yours, I bet you can get away with almost anything. But please stop your lame jokes, it’s really irritating me,” Jessica replied, still slightly breathless.

 

“Now that’s a good start.” Taeyeon tucked Jessica’s hair behind her ears. She looked at Jessica’s lips and couldn’t resist closing the gap between Jessica’s lips and hers.

 

“Hey hey hey, go get a room ya.” One of their colleagues had just stepped into the pantry when she chanced upon the intimacy.

 

Taeyeon merely opened her eyes and looked in the direction of her colleague, her lips still touching Jessica’s. She shot her colleague a death stare and said jokingly, “Get out of here and close the door when you leave.”

 

“Ya!” her colleague grunted before storming out of the pantry and slamming the door.

 

“Let’s catch up over coffee, shall we?” Taeyeon teased as she pinned Jessica against the cabinet. “This time, remember to add sugar.”

 

= The End =