"Hey, Gabriel! It's nice to see you here. Are you here to get coffee?" she smiled as she walked towards him. Trying to see if she can find a seat for him.

They left the guy with the flowers behind. "Yeah, I was in the area, and I dropped by to see how you were doing," he lied because he already called the owner earlier in the week asking about her.

"I love it here. My co-workers are so good to me. Do you want some coffee?" Violet asked.

"If you insist, then I will have some," he said.

Violet turned back to the guy she was taking the order from when she saw Gabriel. She just remembered he was saying something to her before they got interrupted.

"I forgot your order. Did you make up your mind?" asking the man with the flowers. He opened his mouth, but Gabriel glared at him.

"I...I'll tell you later," the man stammered.

"Later, my ass," Gabriel scoffed in his mind. He was not going to give that man the opportunity to ask her out, that's for sure.

"How about you? Did you make up your mind," she turned to Gabriel.

"I want your strongest coffee with one sugar and no cream," he said as he followed her to the counter.

She made his coffee herself and handed him the cup, "Here, try this and tell me if something is missing."

Gabriel took a sip and replied, "Hmm… that's good coffee. Don't forget my preference, okay."

"Of course I will. So I can have it ready for you next time," she wanted to treat him well, he got her this job after all.

The thought of Violet making him coffee every day seemed to excite him. It was something nice he could look forward to.

Gabriel waited for her until she was ready to leave. And so did the man with the flowers. He was still hopeful even though Violet seemed to look more animated when she interacted with Gabriel than with other customers. He thought, "Perhaps they are lovers? No, Violet just told me she was single, so they're not in a relationship," he was sure about that. Violet did not seem the type of person that would not lie about something as important as a boyfriend. So once again, he gathered up his courage and decided to stake his claim.

Violet was clearing up one of the tables when he intercepted her. He gave her the flowers he brought earlier, "Uhm Violet. These are for you. The thing I wanted to ask earlier. Uhm..would you be my girlfriend?" he asked.

Gabriel was sitting at one of the tables, waiting for Violet, when he heard what the man said. Nothing changed in his expression, but if you looked closely, he was tightly clenching his jaw, and his eyes took on a dangerous glint to them.

"Oh!," Violet was surprised. She was about to reply when Gabriel interrupted, "She's not available," he said as he placed his hand on the small of her back.

The man was a little surprised when Gabriel appeared, but the intent in his eyes meant to keep him away, so pursuing Violet further would not bode well for him. He knew a man claiming his territory when he saw one.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know," the man said as he scrambled away with the flowers still in his hand.

Violet was flabbergasted. It happened too fast, she couldn't even get a word in.

"Why did you tell him that?" she asked, a little annoyed.

"What? I didn't know you wanted a boyfriend that bad," Gabriel mocked.

"Ugh!" He was so frustrating. One minute he was nice to her, then it took just a second for him to go back to his sarcastic self. "That's not what I mean. I was going to tell him I was not interested," she said.

"Well, there you go, I just made it easier for you," he replied like he just did her a huge favor.

"I could have let him off more gently. You didn't need to be so rude," she retorted.

"Rude? Was I rude? I just did you a favor. I can call him back if you feel that bad for him," he said with a raised eyebrow, challenging her to make the right choice.

"You don't need to do that, and you know what I meant. There is no use talking to you," she said, frustrated as she walked to another table to get away from him.

She could feel his eyes following her the whole time she tried to clean up and help with closing the cafe, but she just ignored him, she had no time to deal with him right now.

When it was time to go, she tried to evade him by coming out of the back entrance, but Gabriel was already there, waiting for her.

"Good night Gabriel, I'm heading home. I will see you next time," she said dismissively.

"I waited for you so I can drop you off," he casually volunteered, like nothing happened earlier.

"No, you don't need to do that, I still need to go to the supermarket, and it'll take time," she declined.

"There's a nearby supermarket. I can take you there and then take you home," he said like it was normal for them to spend time together like this.

Her face fell as she realized she had nowhere to turn, there was no saying no to Gabriel.

At the supermarket, women ogled and stared at Gabriel like he was a superstar, but he paid them no mind. He was used to this attention, and the more he ignored them, the faster they went away.

Violet pushed the trolley around while Gabriel kept placing items in her cart, muttering the whole time, "Oooh, I like this… and this… this is my favorite, we'll buy that too…," she could not stop him. This was way over her budget, and she was going to have to put her foot down later when they got to the register.

But knowing Gabriel, she should not have been surprised when he paid for all the groceries. It was a lot of food, and she was mortified that nobody was going to eat all of it, which should not have been a mystery because Gabriel always operated with a plan.