Lucy Martin<br/>Location: GPC Split Bean<br/>Tagged: Dylan Murphy<br/><br/>Her hand was clenching the terry cloth tinged with coffee, wiping the counter. Business had slowed a bit, and the influx of customers had given her a moment to catch her breath. Her mother and Faith were still on her mind, as were other things as well, when the, “Good morning,” took her attention. Instantly she smiled upon seeing his face. A chuckle rose up as he mentioned his min not being in gear yet. That was the case with a lot of the people who came those doors. “It’s okay,” she assured him. “I see it a lot.”  She took care of his order, fishing out a chocolate croissant. As she made his coffee she said, “Blonde roast? Perish the thought.” Her voice was laced with teasing and a hint of a laugh. “Dark roast is always better. It awakens the senses and the pallet. Course some people would say caffeine in general does that.”<br/><br/>She handed him his order, wanting to keep her gaze on him, but Lucy didn’t want to stare. Tearing her gaze away from him, she picked up the cloth once more and resumed a half hearted attempt at continuing to clean the counter. Attractive customers come and go all the time. Stealing a glance or two is easy. Wait for the right moment, look over casually, see their face, their back, the backside, whatever was visible to the eyes, and keep going. She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to look away a second time, and yet still she couldn’t resist looking back to him one more time.  Just as she did, he was there again, speaking. The smile was instant once more as she left the cloth in place, reaching for the folded tip. “Thanks,” she told him, looking over at Faith’s flower still sitting in the jar. “It needed a home, and I can’t bear to throw away a perfectly good flower.” He left, leaving her to stare at the flower for just a bit. Unfolding the money, she looked down to see it wasn’t a one or even a five. Her eyes widened. “Wait,” she called out, looking up at him. Quickly Lucy left the counter, leaning around the corner as her feet carried her towards him. “Wait! I can’t accept this,” she told him, shaking her head. “It’s too much. All I did was give you your coffee and croissant.” She didn’t want to offend him. After all, he had seen fit to give her that amount in the first place. “Tell you what. You sit with me while I’m on my break, and I’ll keep this. Deal,” she asked extending her hand. “Come on. You’ve gotta give me a chance to earn a tip this big.”