Tag: The Aftertaste Remains
-
CHAPTER 12: BITTER MOUTHS AND BURNT OFFERINGS
Jo didn’t sleep that night. She couldn’t. Every time she closed her eyes she saw the woman in the lightning. The one who wasn’t…
-
CHAPTER 13: THE SILENCE BENEATH THE SPOON RACK
Jo didn’t speak for a full day. Not out of shock or fear, but because she couldn’t. After the mysterious woman placed the teapot…
-
CHAPTER 14: STEEPED IN SECRETS
Harmony Café had always been a little haunted, but tonight it felt watched. Not by ghosts, not by demons, and not by that one…
-
CHAPTER 15: THE FIRST MUG
Jo had always hated the floorboards behind the mop sink. They creaked when no one stepped on them. They slightly steamed during full moons…
-
CHAPTER 16: STEEPED IN SILENCE, SERVED WITH LIGHT
The dawn was quiet. Not the usual Cedar Grove kind of quiet which was full of pre-espresso grumbles, steam hisses, and Clorvex humming “Livin’…
-
CHAPTER 17: ORANGE YOU GLAD WE SURVIVED?
(THE BLOOD ORANGE BREW BASH) It was officially too early for glitter explosions. Jo knew this because a confetti cannon made entirely from espresso…
-
CHAPTER 01: BREWED AWAKENINGS
It all started with Mira’s attempt to be helpful. Which, in Cedar Grove, was usually a hex but with good intentions. She was testing…
-
CHAPTER 02: COLD BREW CLOSURE
The day after the Heartstring Hibiscus debacle, Harmony Café smelled like regrets and fresh rose petals. Jo stood behind the counter, holding a spray…
-
CHAPTER 03: THE FROTH FLIRTS FIRST
Harmony Café had finally, or at least tentatively recovered from the Heartstring Hibiscus debacle, also known as Oops! All Confessions to some. Mira’s Heartstring…
-
CHAPTER 04: CLORVEX, DATING COACH OF DESTINY
Clorvex had never considered himself an expert in love. He was an expert in mop duels, enchanted lint traps, and dramatic monologues delivered from…
-
CHAPTER 05: ESPRESSO YOURSELF
Harmony Café had seen many things. Ghost jazz bands, espresso fueled time loops, cursed muffins, and one very passionate mop, but nothing prepared it…
-
CHAPTER 06: LATTE LOVE LANGUAGES
It began with a chalkboard. Specifically, it was the specials chalkboard that started finishing people’s sentences. Jo was wiping down tables when she noticed…
-
CHAPTER 01: MATCHMAKING MANIFESTATIONS
Mira did not intend to hack Cedar Grove’s dating scene. She just wanted to fix the enchanted email system Baristopheles installed for romantic customer…
-
CHAPTER 02: MOONBREW AND MISSED SIGNALS
Matteo had never made a big deal about his identity. In his mind, it lived in the same category as espresso preference, deeply personal,…
-
CHAPTER 03: LOVE CONSULTATIONS
Clorvex had never considered himself a romantic. He liked his feelings bottled, carbonated, and preferably labeled “Do Not Open Without Gloves”, but lately, things…
-
CHAPTER 04: ALGORITHM OF AFFECTION
Clorvex wasn’t trying to build a sentient artificial assistant. He just wanted to organize his matchmaking notes but somewhere between the enchanted spreadsheet and…
-
CHAPTER 05: THE SONNET OF REGRET
Baristopheles was not in love again. He insisted on this several times a day. Loudly and in rhymed couplets. “Unburdened am I by Cupid’s…
-
CHAPTER 06: CHAOTIC NEUTRAL
The new guy ordered a long black. He was tall, nonchalant, and wore the kind of button-down shirt that said, I have a Roth…