Strings in Seattle -

Daniel

I let out a sigh of relief as I stepped into the elevator at my work, ready to enjoy my hour long lunch break without any of the pretentious pricks I was stuck working with bothering me.

I had only been at the company for two weeks and had yet to find a single person I found somewhat likable, it wasn't the place for me and I knew it.

I headed out of my work building and went right, having spent the entire last week going left to check out some of the restaurants and cafes in the area, but had yet to check out the other part of the area.

I'm a creature of habit, I like having my daily routines, and one main thing that had been missing these last few weeks was a good place to enjoy my break.

There were some people coming out of a small alleyway that led to a court yard when I made it about a block from my work, each holding coffee cups to go in their hand as they chatted. I peered down the alleyway where they had just come from and noticed a small cafe nestled in the back, making use of the courtyard with some chairs and tables and a small herb garden along one of the walls.

The place looked promising so I headed in, instantly liking the ambience of the place as I stepped inside. It wasn't a large cafe, with 6 tables inside and another 5 outside, there were bookshelves lining one of the walls, with signs telling guests to enjoy a book while they sip, and nice mellow rock music playing softly.

There were only two other people in the place, sitting together in the corner as they chatted, and one worker, currently distracted with refilling some jars of coffee beans.

She was absolutely gorgeous, the type of woman that would have been exactly my type had she been a few years older, or me a few younger. With tattoos covering her arms and collarbone, probably hiding more under her clothing, all of it a more alternative style, and dark hair that she had tossed up into a messy bun.

I felt self conscious in my suit suddenly, loosening my tie slightly as I stepped up to the counter, waiting patiently for her to finish. She glanced over her shoulder once she noticed somebody standing behind her and set the bag of beans down, flashing me a wide smile then. "What can I get y-." She tilted her head at me suddenly, leaning over the counter slightly. "Daniel?"

I blinked at her in surprise as she said my name, wondering where she could possibly know me from, and looked down to her name tag then.

She had Lexi written on it, in a nice cursive handwriting, but it wasn't ringing any bells.

I nodded my head at her slowly. "Yeah? I'm sorry I-."

She let out a light laugh, shaking her head at me. "You really don't recognize me?" She gave me a crooked grin then, lifting one end of her lips lightly as she tilted her head again, and it hit me then, I had seen that smile before, many years ago. "Alexis?"

She laughed again, nodding at me then. "It's been years since anyone called me that but yes."

I didn't know what to say, I still couldn't believe it was the same girl that had been my daughters best friend all through elementary and middle school, having been inseparable practically until something had happened between them.

She looked completely different now, but in a good way, as if she had found to herself since I had seen her last. She also looked like the last kind of person my daughter would be friends with, in her last year of being a cheerleader at UCLA before she graduated.

I really don't know why I was surprised at her change in appearance, she had often asked me about the tattoos I had on my arms when she was over at our place, always saying she was going to get some when she grew up even then.

I rattled my head at her, still feeling confused. "What are you doing here?" She had lived in my neighborhood so I knew she had moved after high school to attend school out of state, leaving her mom alone in their house.

Alexis, or Lexi now I guess, waved a finger around, pointing out to the room then. "My mom owns this place but she's out of town for the summer and asked me to take over." She nodded her head at me once, giving me a curious look. "What brings you to the area?" She eyed my suit for a moment, her crooked grin twitching at her lips then. "I don't think I've ever seen you dressed up like this."

I started to feel self conscious again as I looked down at my clothes, hating cooperate life more than ever right then as I looked back up to Lexi. "I traded my soul for a good paycheck I guess."

She took in a sharp breath, shaking her head at me then. "Oh no Daniel, I always thought you were one of the cool ones."

I could see why she had thought that, I had been 16 when Cara had been born, getting a girl pregnant after a one night stand at some party and not finding out until three years later when she showed up at my doorstep with Cara, telling me to take her because she couldn't do it anymore.

We never saw her again after that and it took me a few years to get my act together, being too interested in having fun before finally getting my head straight and going to college once Cara got the 6th grade.

I shook my head at her, shrugging as I smiled back. "Sorry to disappoint you. I absolutely hate it if that helps my image somewhat."

"A bit." Lexi smiled again, standing up straighter then. "Now, what can I get you?"

"Just a coffee and one of those sandwiches right there." I replied, pointing to their display case next to the register.

She got busy with my order then, ringing it all up on the register as I reached for my wallet, already mentally preparing myself for the Seattle prices. "That'll be $4.98."

I glanced up at Lexi before looking over to the register, not sure I had heard her right, that wasn't even half of what I was used to paying. I pulled a ten out, holding it out to her then as I picked up my drink and sandwich with the other hand. "Keep the change."

She flashed me another wide smile as I stepped away from the counter. "Nice seeing you Daniel."

"Same. Uh, Lexi."

I headed out, glancing down to my receipt and stopped walking once I realized she had only charged me for a hot chocolate rather than my actual order and glanced over my shoulder into the window.

Lexi was leaning down on the counter and watching me, bringing a finger up to her lips then as she winked at me before smiling again as she turned away.

I started walking away, quickening my pace as my thoughts began to race and sat down on bus stop bench near my work, reaching for my lunch then.

Normally I would have stayed in the cafe, sitting by myself as I ate and browsed online or read, but there was no way I could have stayed there another minute.

I had fully been checking her out before she had turned around, and had had to refrain from doing it again after she had.

She was my daughters age for Christ's sake, had even played with dolls in my living room at one point, I shouldn't have been having those kind of thoughts about her.

Yet I found myself heading there again the next day, sitting down with her this time as the place was empty, Lexi telling me a little about college in Arizona and her grandpa's dementia then, the reason for her mom's departure for the summer.

I returned again the next day, and by the end of the week it was the only part of the day I was looking forward to when I would be getting ready for work in the mornings.

Lexi was fun to talk to, witty and easy going and had some good stories herself. Admittedly, it was hard for me to keep things friendly and not let things steer into flirting territory, never once feeling like I was talking to someone 16 years younger than me.

She had a way of giving me just enough to make me want more, finding myself heading her way on the daily as I craved for more.

By that Friday night when I was lying in bed, trying to fall asleep as my pit bull, Rufus, snored loudly next to me on the bed, and I was thinking about her once again I knew I couldn't go back to the cafe anymore.

This wasn't like me, I preferred to date women my own age, had even ended friendships with guys that preyed on younger women over the years, and had warned Cara to stay away from guys like that.

~~~

I felt lost that next Monday when I left my work for lunch, once again not sure where I should spend my break, finally settling on a sad looking burger at a nearby Burger King.

The rest of the week looked much the same as I tried several other places in the area, not only missing the company available at the cafe but the food as well, usually getting a delicious Focaccia sandwich topped with a nice mozzarella and tomato basil combination when I was there.

By the time that Friday came around I was relieved to have the weekend ahead of me, not only because work was becoming more dreary everyday, but also because at least then I wouldn't be spending the next two days debating on whether I should just go there for lunch again.

I wondered if this was what the rest of my life was going to look like as I sat on my couch, to exhausted to do anything else as I slowly dozed off, not waking up until hours later as Rufus whined, wondering when the hell he gets to go out finally.

I stood up quickly once I noticed I had fallen asleep, shutting my TV off as I headed out of the living room with Rufus. "Sorry boy."

I slipped into my shoes and held the door open for him, following him out of the house then as he rushed down my porch steps and relieved himself on the first tree he saw.

I started walking ahead, letting him catch up with me as I slowly strolled, I usually let him decide where he wanted to go, leaving his leash hanging off of my neck for just in case but never really needing it since he had the perfect balance of independence and being recalled when he needed to.

That night he seemed to be on a mission, barely even stopping to sniff things as he trotted ahead of me, making it a block within a couple minutes already.

I slowed down once we got to the street Lexi's house was on, spotting her as she sat out in front of her house with her phone to her ear.

Rufus of course saw it as a perfect opportunity to introduce himself to her, inviting himself into their yard then and going right up to her.

Lexi set her phone down and held her hand out to greet him as I was mid whistle to call him back, looking up to me then as Rufus ran back to me. "Oh, hey." She flashed me one of her smiles and looked back down to Rufus who was now looking at me, wondering why the hell I had called him back if I was just gonna stop to talk to her as well.

"Hey." I felt nervous again, her somehow having that effect on me, and stayed standing on the sidewalk in front of her house as she looked back down to Rufus.

"Since when do you have a dog?"

"Three years just about."

She held her hand out for him again so I gave him a signal that it was fine, Rufus not hesitating then to rush back over to her, excitedly wagging with his whole body as he greeted her. "I thought he would be good company after Cara moved out."

She let out a light laugh, bending down to scratch his belly. "He seems like he is."

I was once again having trouble with not checking her out as she was distracted by Rufus, she was a little more dressed up than usual, looking like she was about to go out, and just as enticingly good as she always did.

I swallowed, trying to get the thoughts to go away as Lexi stood back up and gave me her crooked grin. "You two usually go out for midnight walks?"

I shook my head at her. "Not usually, I passed out after work." I gave her a curious look. "What about you? Heading out or coming in?"

She gave me a sheepish look and glanced over her shoulder at her house for a second. "No, I got home over an hour ago already, but I'm a dumb ass and forgot to grab my keys this morning."

"You're locked out?"

She still had a sheepish look as she nodded at me. "Looks like it." She let out a small sigh as she sat back down, glancing at her phone for a second. "And my mom of course isn't answering her phone to tell me where the spare is hidden, probably sleeping with it on silent once again."

She looked stressed suddenly, looking back up to me. "You have any idea how much a locksmith costs?"

I let out a dry laugh. "Usually way too much."

She pressed her lips together, nodding in defeat then as she brought a hand up to her temple. "Yeah that's what I thought."

I looked to her house, eyeing the windows for a moment. "Maybe there's another way in, have you checked the windows?"

She waved a hand at me dismissively. "Yeah, there's no point, my mom got security windows and doors installed a few years ago when there were a bunch of break-ins in the area."

I kept my gaze on her for a moment, trying to swallow the words that were already on the tip of my tongue back, not wanting to make any dumb decisions, and not succeeding then. "Well you can crash in Cara's room if you need a place to sleep for the night."

She let out another sigh and nodded, checking her phone one last time. "That would be great actually, I got to get back up for work in 3 hours."

She got up and started walking back to my house with Rufus and I, letting out a small yawn as we strolled along. "It's going to be weird being back in Cara's room."

I let out a small chuckle. "It hasn't changed one bit either." I gave her a curious side eye then. "Whatever happened between you two anyways?"

Lexi raised an eyebrow at me, looking away quickly then. "She never told you?"

I shook my head, sticking my hands in my pockets then. "Nope, never wanted to."

She raised her eyebrows again, still keeping her gaze on sidewalk. "It was just a stupid disagreement really." She shrugged at me then, giving me a nervous smile. "And then we just grew apart pretty quickly after that."

My interest was piqued now. "It's fine if you don't want to answer, but I'm curious if Cara did something?"

She shook her head quickly. "No, not at all." She gave me a reassuring grin. "You don't have to worry, you're parenting skills don't need any questioning." She took a deep breath, looking away from me again and focusing on Rufus then, fully immersed in sniffing out a bush. "I'll tell you if you promise not to judge."

Now I really wanted to know. "I usually try hard not to judge people."

She took another deep breath, hesitating before she continued then. "So I started dating a guy that worked at our school when we got to high school."

I stopped walking and gave her a look. "Wait what? He worked at your school? Like he was a teacher?"

She shook her head and looked away from me again. "Not a teacher, just a sub."

"What the fuck Lexi?" I rattled my head at her, trying really hard not to sound judgmental then. "You were just a kid."

She let out another sigh and shrugged at me. "He was only six years older than us, I didn't see the big deal." She let out a dry laugh. "Cara sure did though, she kept threatening to call the cops even."

I felt proud of my daughter in that moment, a six year difference may not seem like a big deal at my age but it is when one is 15 and the other 21, I was tempted to ask for his name myself right then.

Lexi continued then. "I didn't see her point back then, it took me a few years but by then we were already two completely different people."

"Well I'm glad you're smarter about those things now."

Lexi let out a light laugh again. "Not really." She gave me her crooked grin again. "I still have a thing for older guys, just not the creepy ones."

I looked away from her and swallowed, focusing hard on not putting too much meaning behind her words as we walked the last stretch back to my house.

I led her up to Cara's room once we were inside, telling her to help herself to some of Cara's clothes to sleep in and quickly retreated, locking myself in my room then.

Rufus got comfortable on my bed, watching me then as I paced back and forth in front of my bed wondering what the hell was wrong with me, getting ready for bed as I muttered to myself.

It was like the more I told myself to stay away from her the more I wanted to be near her, the temptation only growing more and more with each my internal refusals.

I dropped down on my bed and held my pillow over my face, part of me hoping I would just suffocate right then and there and not have to deal with whatever was going on in my head.

The pillow was still on my face when I woke back up a few hours later, needing to use the bathroom. I was disoriented as I sat up, trying to figure out when exactly I had fallen asleep again, stumbling out of my room and down the hall then.

I had forgotten Lexi was at my house in my half awake state, walking right into her then as she came out of the bathroom, her hair wet and dripping down onto her shoulders as she held a towel up around her torso.

I froze for a moment, looking down at her as she gave me an embarrassed look. "Sorry, I didn't think you would be up."

I noticed my hand was gripping her waist then as she looked down to it and quickly dropped it and rushed past her into the bathroom. "Sorry. No. It's okay." I started closing the door behind me, speaking quickly. "Help yourself to some food downstairs if you're hungry." I slammed the door shut and leaned against it, dropping my face in my hands then as I let out a silent scream.

I didn't even need to look down to know I had a growing erection, like I often did after just waking up, only having grown after seeing her freshly showered and barely covered, and there's no way she hadn't either with the sweatpants I was wearing.

I stayed hiding in the bathroom after I was done using it, listening for the sounds of her heading downstairs before making the break back to my room, avoiding her once again after that.

~~~

By the time that next Monday came around I felt like I was losing my sanity, no longer able to think straight.

My work wasn't making things easier either, already starting the week off badly with a meeting where the leaders of our projects once again made announcements that each sounded like they would only be beneficial to the company itself rather than developmental aid like we were meant to be doing.

By the time lunch came around my body was on autopilot, finding it's own way to Lexi's work where she greeted me with the same wide smile as always.

"It's on the house today." She said as she held my coffee and sandwich out to me. "As a thank you for Friday night."

"I didn't really do much but thanks." I said to her, trying to force a smile as I was reminded of Friday night, not wanting to think about that on top of everything else.

There were a a couple of people waiting in line behind me so I went and sat down at one of the tables, answering some texts on my phone then until Lexi came and sat down across from me with a cup of tea, having served everyone at that point.

"What's up with you? You look like you just got some bad news or something."

I let out a short dry laugh, feeling frustrated again as I thought about my my job. "That obvious huh?"

I waved a hand at her dismissively. "Not a big deal, just work shit again."

She set her tea mug down and leaned forward, giving me a curious look as she squinted her eyes at me. "What is that you do exactly? I don't think I ever actually asked."

I took a deep breath, not sure exactly how to explain my job, I wasn't even sure anymore if I actually knew what my job was, it just seemed like a lot of big talk and paper pushing. "I'm supposed to be doing urban planning and developmental aid."

"But?" Lexi raised an eyebrow at me, already anticipating that there was a catch.

"But we don't actually ever seem to be helping anyone. Any money the company makes goes right back into their pockets so I don't know what the fuck we're actually doing." I shook my head, feeling like an idiot that I had fallen for their scheme. "I really should have known when I saw the salary I would be making working there."