When his shifts align on weekdays so he’s present at 11:27 AM, Victor’s day
immediately changes from mundane to beautiful, bright, and perfect.
11:27 AM is the time without fail that [Redacted] analyst in his navy suits and Four-in-Hand knotted ties arrives at the register while fellow [Redacted] analyst who usually wears black and some touch of red excitedly chatters to him.
[Redacted the First] has the most stunningly open, beautiful brown eyes on record since humans evolved sight. His smile is something out of a period romance, like Colin Firth coming out of the mist with an open shirt aka Victor’s Giant Gay Awakening.
Victor waits for this Every. Single. Shift.
He transferred to the hidden Starbucks at the CIA’s storied Langley headquarters four months ago. It took a ridiculous amount of time thanks to needing to pass clearances and polygraphs. His angry, elderly neighbor Yakov was interviewed by the government to ensure he’s not in collusion with Putin or whatever since his last name is Nikiforov!
[“My familyʼs from Montauk,” Victor complained in a dark room with blatant
one-way spying mirrors for spying and such.
“Sure,” the dude from Homeland Security said. “Howʼs your debt to income ratio, son?”]
His is better than most, since he’s been using the Free Tuition program available through his job, but still he may need to find better coping skills than the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale and speakeasy outings with Chris and Georgi.
It’s 11:23 and Victor is practically vibrating. He checks his face in a pocket mirror, having taken excruciating pains to put his hair up in an elaborate braid crown through his kicky black visor covered with 18 enamel pins. The Tour of Coffee one is a source of pride thanks to how long it took to acquire.
11:26 and Victor rings in a strawberry yogurt scone with a light roast pour over.
11:27 and Victor hears an angelic voice sing of true, abiding love, thanks to an unnerving degree of coincidence when the Supremes’ version of “A Lover’s Concerto” blares from the Starbucks Official Spotify Playlist.
Some magic from above—
Made this day for us just to fall in love!
[The Most Beautiful Redacted in the World] gives him a small smile. “I’ll have—“
“Matcha tea latte, grande, with soy milk and two pumps of raspberry,” Victor recites. The name he types onto the order is The Agent Who Launched A Thousand Ships.
Did you know…the Central Intelligence Agency really does have its own Starbucks? Did you know “A Lover’s Concerto” has been stuck in my head for two months?
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