The aroma of roasted coffee beans usually brought a sense of calm to Jax, but today, even the familiar scent of Manchae Cafe couldn't settle her racing thoughts. Her fingers, usually so agile on guitar strings or sketching tablets, fumbled with the espresso machine. Across the counter, Nina, with her bright blonde hair and a mischievous glint in her pretty eyes, was wiping down tables, humming an off-key tune.
"You're making a mess, Jaxy," Nina chirped, a faint smirk playing on her lips. "Thinking about your virtual girlfriend again?"
Jax shot her a glare, a familiar warmth bubbling beneath her usual stoic exterior. "Shut up, shorty. And she's not my girlfriend."
"Not yet, anyway," Nina teased, leaning against the counter. Her tattooed legs were casually crossed, a testament to her free spirit. "But you can't deny the way Astraea looks at you, you know? Like you're the last slice of cake at a party."
Jax rolled her eyes, but a blush crept up her neck. Astraea. The name alone sent a jolt through her. Astraea, with her confident demeanor and sharp wit, her long black hair always perfectly in place, and those eyes that seemed to see right through Jax's carefully constructed walls. Jax was just… Jax. A graphic artist by day, a barista by night, a shy, awkward mess who somehow managed to string together a coherent sentence only when talking about dogs or obscure indie bands. Astraea was a goddess, a professional, someone far out of her league. The idea that Astraea might actually like her was ludicrous. She just had a kind heart, that's all.
"You're delusional, Nina," Jax muttered, pushing a stray strand of black wolf-cut hair from her face. "She's just nice."
Nina scoffed, then pretended to gag. "Nice? Jaxy, if she was any nicer, she'd be adopting you. Everyone at VirtualTask knows she's got it bad for you. Even Jin mentioned it the other day, and he only notices things if they involve protein shakes or your existence, for some reason."
The mention of Jin made Jax frown. The perpetually optimistic, annoyingly fit gym owner had a persistent crush on Nina, a fact that Nina found both endearing and exasperating. Jax felt a pang of protectiveness for Nina whenever Jin was around, a feeling she attributed to their sibling-like bond. She'd known Nina since the younger girl was a gangly art student, and now, at 21, Nina was still the same sweet, funny, sometimes grumpy, little sister she loved to tease.
Later that evening, slumped in her desk chair at home, Jax stared at her half-finished graphic design project for VirtualTask. Her laptop screen glowed, illuminating a photo of Astraea, taken from the company's "meet the team" page. She admired Astraea's strong, intelligent gaze, the subtle curve of her lips. Jax often found herself admiring Nina in a similar, almost unconscious way – the way the light caught her blonde hair, the expressiveness of her hands when she talked. But that was different, she told herself. Nina was family. Astraea… Astraea was a dream.
Meanwhile, in a miles and miles away, Astraea sat at her own desk, a half-finished design project mirroring Jax's. She scrolled through her social media, pausing on a photo of Jax with a goofy grin, cradling a stray dog. A small smile touched Astraea's lips. Jax was endearing, undeniably so. Her quiet intensity, her hidden humor, the way her eyes crinkled when she genuinely laughed.
But Astraea also had her reservations. She was 26, focused on her career, building a stable future. Jax, at 31, seemed… unmoored. A graphic artist and a barista? It wasn't exactly the picture of stability Astraea envisioned for a partner. And her shyness, while cute, sometimes made Astraea wonder if Jax had the emotional maturity for a serious relationship. Astraea valued a strong, confident partner, someone who knew what they wanted.
"You really like her, don't you?" Astraea's roommate, Freen, asked, peering over her shoulder.
Astraea sighed, closing the laptop. "She's… intriguing."
"Intriguing, my ass," Freen said, taking a bite of an apple. "You light up like a Christmas tree whenever she's online. Just go for it. What's holding you back?"
"I have a lot on my plate, Freen," Astraea replied, running a hand through her long black hair. "And I'm not sure if Jax is… ready for something serious. Or if she even sees me that way."
"The girl practically lives in denial when it comes to you," Freen chuckled. "Give her a push."
The next week was a blur of virtual meetings and coffee orders. Jax and Astraea exchanged polite emails for work, their conversations brief and professional. Nina, however, was in rare form.
"Jaxy, you're so boring today," Nina complained one afternoon at Manchae Cafe, nudging Jax with her elbow. "Did Astraea reject your advances or something?"
"I don't have advances to reject," Jax grumbled, wiping down the counter. "And I'm just tired."
"Oh, poor little Jaxy," Nina cooed, though there was a genuine note of concern in her voice. "Want me to sing you a lullaby?"
"Don't you dare," Jax warned, but a small smile tugged at her lips. Nina always knew how to make her crack. They bickered constantly, a comfortable rhythm they'd established over years. Nina was like a constant, bright spark in Jax's often-monochromatic world.
One evening, after closing Manchae Cafe, Jax and Nina were walking home. The streetlights cast long shadows, and the air was crisp. Nina was recounting a ridiculous incident with a customer, her voice animated, her hands gesturing wildly. Jax found herself laughing, a genuine, uninhibited laugh that she rarely shared with anyone but Nina.
As they approached Nina's apartment building, Nina suddenly stopped, a somber expression replacing her usual cheerfulness.
"Jaxy," she began, her voice unusually soft. "Are you… okay about Astraea?"
Jax blinked, caught off guard. "What about her?"
Nina looked down at her feet, kicking at a loose pebble. "She's… she's been seen with someone else. From VirtualTask. Another designer. They looked pretty cozy at the corporate party last night."
[Jax and Astraea are colleagues in the same graphic design department, but they work remotely from different company locations—Jax from the provincial office and Astraea from the city office.]
A cold knot tightened in Jax's stomach. She knew Astraea was popular, but to hear it so bluntly… it hurt more than she cared to admit. The distance between them was always an unspoken wall, a logical reason why they'd never be more than virtual colleagues, but hearing about a life she couldn't be a part of made that wall feel impossibly high. She tried to shrug it off, to pretend it didn't matter, but her usual quick retort died on her tongue.
Nina, sensing Jax's uncharacteristic silence, looked up, her pretty eyes filled with genuine sadness. She reached out, her small hand gently touching Jax's arm. "Hey," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "It's okay to feel upset, you know."
Jax felt a sudden surge of emotion – embarrassment, disappointment, and a strange, unexpected comfort from Nina's touch. She didn't realize how much she had been clinging to a sliver of hope until it was abruptly snatched away. Her eyes welled up, and she quickly turned her head, unwilling to let Nina see her vulnerability.
"It's nothing," Jax mumbled, pulling her arm away, but Nina didn't let her. Instead, Nina stepped closer, her hand finding Jax's and giving it a gentle squeeze.
"It's not nothing, Jaxy," Nina insisted, her gaze unwavering. "You deserve someone who sees how amazing you are."
Jax looked at Nina, truly looked at her. The concern in her eyes, the gentle strength in her touch, the way Nina was always there, always ready to pick her up. In that moment, something shifted within Jax, a subtle tremor that rippled through her carefully constructed defenses. It wasn't just sisterly care she felt for Nina. It was something deeper, something she had buried so far down she hadn't dared to acknowledge it.
But before Jax could even process this new, confusing realization, Nina, emboldened by their closeness and the raw emotion hanging in the air, leaned in. Her blonde hair brushed against Jax's cheek, and for a fleeting second, Jax thought Nina was going to…
"Jax!" A voice, sharp and clear, cut through the quiet night. Both Jax and Nina jumped apart, startled.
Standing a few feet away, her eyes wide and a mixture of surprise and something unreadable on her face, was Astraea.
To be continued...