"Sorry. I have to go. I get off work at 5 if... if you wanna come by and... Actually... You're probably busy... I... I'll just see you later."

[i]No![/i]

[i]Hey hey, at least it's just because she had to get back to her shift.[/i]

[i]What? You're not supposed to agree with me.[/i]

[i]Oh right. Shut up.[/i]

[i]That's better. But...what do I do???[/i]

[i]Come back at 5. Really dude? It's not that hard.[/i]

[i]Yeah but...but...what if she was just saying that to be nice?[/i]

[i]You really second guess everything, don't you? The signals are all there.[/i]

[i]Yeah, like a coworker who would really rather us not be a thing.[/i]

[i]Exactly.[/i]

This entire inner dialogue seemed to an observer like Lucas was just sitting there with a distressed look on his face, not knowing what to do. He snapped out of it, and called after Claire.

[b]"O-ok, I guess I'll see you later! Thanks for spending your break with me!"[/b]

Lucas walked out of the store, flustered. He could tell that she liked him because she was fumbling over herself just as much as he was (if not more), but he wondered if coming back at 5 was the right thing to do. For the rest of the day he mulled it over with himself. At the very least, it gave him something to occupy his mind with as the hours rolled by.

[hr]
Time Skip

[hr]

Lucas looked down at his watch. [b]4:50[/b]. It was now or never. Or, you know, tomorrow.

[i]Just go, man. She obviously likes you.[/i]

[i]But what if-[/i]

[i]No buts. You've gotten this far, just keep at it. I'll be worth it.[/i]

[i]How do you know?[/i]

[i]I don't.[/i]

Lucas eventually got over himself and walked back to the coffee shop. He walked in and noticed that Claire wasn't there. Trying to remain cool, he sat down at a table by the window. [i]I'm not late, am I?[/i] he wondered. He looked at his watch, which said 4:56. [i]Good. She must just be in the back then.[/i] He decided to wait for 5 to come, and see if she showed up. Fortunately he had picked a good spot to look out to the ocean, as if he hadn't been doing that all day anyway.