Chapter 1 -- Vic's Coffee Lounge
The first time I saw her was from across the street downtown. Even from afar and wrapped in a black wool coat, she captured my full attention. Long, dark brown hair- sunglasses on so you couldn't make out much of her face. The coat hugged her figure in a way that made the onlooker's imagination run wild to conceive of what hid beneath. She walked in the confident, deliberate, graceful stride of a self-assured woman well accustomed to strutting in heels.
I was walking on the sidewalk on the edge of downtown. Prior to my encounter with the intriguing beauty across the street, I had been wandering rather aimlessly. I left my house a few minutes before with a vague notion of getting out and being near people; to find a way to be slightly less alone. I was walking toward the coffee shop, even though I didn't want coffee. Even so, it was the only place you could go and sit somewhere with quasi-strangers without being made to feel awkward about it.
The woman had turned up the street I was on, sauntering toward the coffee shop with the gracefully intriguing gait of a girl well-practiced with precarious footwear. I forcefully summoned the sense to check both directions of traffic before darting across the street after her.
It was fall, but if you had just emerged from a bunker last week, some seasonal disorientation would be inevitable. At this moment in time, the weather was cool and soothing, as fall was meant to be. At various points over the last 7 days, however, it had swung from the searing heat of summer to the deathly chill of winter, even going so far as to dump a load of doomed snow on the ground and freezing the life out of most of the vegetation.
The trees had simply given up. After the snowstorm, the leaves froze and began to fall a mottled green onto the streets. If I were witnessing this fall through the eyes of a child, the color of the leaves crunching beneath my feet would have seemed like a normal cycle of nature. Unfortunately, my memories of spectacular displays of yellow and orange and red had betrayed me. The child in me felt a deep disquiet at the grey-green leaves blowing lifelessly across the sidewalk.
Alas, it was best not to dwell on the rebellion of nature. Today was beautiful, all things considered, and the girl I was striding to catch up with was the type of beautiful that could make you forget a great many problems.
I found my initial impression of her confirmed as I slowly dew closer to her. Thankfully, she wasn't in much of a hurry, so I was able to close the gap without looking too stalkerish. I didn't exactly have an idea of what to do once I caught up to her, but something deep inside drove me to be closer to her.
She turned right again, the last turn toward the coffee shop. There were only 3 shops on that block, and I didn't see her going into 'Tobacco, Tobacco, Tobacco!' or 'Sherman's Watch Shop'. I began harboring a reluctant hope that she might be walking to the coffee shop as well. At this point I was only a few paces behind her, trying not to stare openly. She was petite and very well dressed, and a designer bag was slung over her slender shoulder. It occurred to me that girls didn't dress like that to grab a coffee. My heart sank with an irrational tinge of dashed hope as I realized she was probably meeting someone here.
She opened the door and walked into Vic's Coffee Lounge, looking back at me as I strode in the door behind her. She smiled in that 'oh god a stranger's been walking behind me for who knows how long' kind of way. I did my best to return a pleasant smile. I didn't have the kind of face that made it easy for women to be comfortable with me.
We paced toward the counter, and I did my best to keep a respectful distance. I heard her order a cappuccino and move toward the bar to wait for her drink. I ordered an americana with a biscotti. Not a lot of incentive for a guy like me to watch his figure, although I'd like to think that the lack of sugar or dairy in the coffee compensated for the carbs.
And so, I found myself standing next to a gorgeous woman in a coffee shop, my spirits lifted by the observation that she did not appear to recognize anyone as she walked in. She took off her sunglasses and coat and I found myself hopelessly staring at her. The coat was hiding an elegant black dress with a lace-hemmed neckline which did more to reveal the pale skin of her chest than to conceal anything at all. Her face was overwhelmingly pretty. Her piercing amber eyes were the most striking feature, which were set back against a soft brow and a cute, rounded nose. Her cheeks and lips were full in a way that compelled me to wonder about kissing her.
"You come here often?" She asked, looking at me. Shit. I was definitely staring. Her face wore a combination of seriousness and amusement.
"Uh, yeah actually..." I managed to eek out, scratching my head in awkwardness. "A couple times a week. Sometimes I don't really want coffee, I just want to be around people." Why did I say that? This woman had stolen my wits.
She pondered my response for a moment, looking right at me and subtly narrowing her eyes. The seriousness slowly melted into a smirk, signaling amusement had won the battle on her face.
"I haven't seen you here before." I figured I knew most of the people that came here often, at least by sight. I would absolutely remember this girl.
"Yeah, I was a few blocks down for work. I don't find myself down here often."
"Oh ok, cool. What kind of work do you do?" Wow, was I having a conversation with her?
She selected her words very carefully and offered a loaded, "Hospitality."
Her coffee was ready, so she turned to grab it. Talking to this girl was the most interesting that that's happened to me in months. As awkward as I felt, I mustered all my courage as she was walking past me and asked, "Hey, do you want to uh... have our coffee together?"
The amused smile bloomed again on her lips. She quickly surveyed the area and picked out a table. "Sure." She looked at me and nodded her head toward the table, "Come sit down when you get your coffee."
She walked away slowly, giving me the first chance to check her out without her coat on. Damn, it was hard to not be in love with this girl. Her ass was clearly spectacular. Her hips curved into her waste dramatically, and back up to her chest with similar intensity. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in an elegant barrette, falling past her shoulders.
I was definitely staring this time, but had the sense to look back to the bar before she turned around. I found my coffee and biscotti waiting for me on the counter. The girl behind the bar smiled at me knowingly. She must have called my name while I was lost in staring.
I chuckled at the barista's smile and picked up my coffee, walking over to take the seat across from her.
She had her coffee cup grasped in both hands, sensually sipping on it, clearly enjoying it immensely. "Mmm, for a place called Vic's Coffee Lounge, this is unusually good."
I wasn't quite sure if she was talking to me or just musing to herself. "Yeah," I smiled at her playfully, "I think they might have cage fights in the back after hours, but they make a mean cup of joe."
She actually laughed out loud, almost spilling her coffee. Her laugh was adorable, and the smile in her eyes made her face almost too much to take.
"No, Vic's actually a great guy. One of those 'I'm going to travel the world to drink coffee' types" I air quoted him playfully. "I used to work for him back in the day, before all this. He was always good to me."
"So, you're telling me that you used to work for the Vic, of Vic's Coffee Lounge?" She asked, with an eyebrow raised in mock interest, and the edges of a smile resting on her lips.
"Oh yeah, me and Vic go way back!" I chuckled at myself, and she laughed along.
"You must have lived here a while then?" She went back to sipping slowly.
