This is Chapter 3 of Janie’s experience during the summer of 2000 in Wisconsin.
It had been a rather ordinary day so far: my alarm clock failed to rouse me, the boss was in a bad mood, there were way too many customers needing caffeine ASAP. I work at a high-end café in the city, and I really do like my job. I mean, it pays decent for a Joe-job, and the hours are flexible around my college courses. The only irksome aspect about it? Dealing with customers needing their morning brew.
By lunchtime, the crowd changed from successful business 30-somethings to a younger and mellower group. These were the early 20-somethings hitting the record store across the street on their lunch break, who almost forgot to eat because they were too busy listening to the new Radiohead or Phantom Planet album. They were much more my type. If I was lucky, I could score such a girl’s phone number between serving iced chai and bagel sandwiches.
That’s when I saw her; I nearly dropped a whole bag of organic coffee beans. She was tall and had long golden locks that reminded me of taffy. Her eyes were slanted slightly, giving her an exotic look, but the way she dressed convinced me of her Californian residency. She was approaching the counter, so I made sure to puff out my chest a bit and to smile at her.
“Hey can I get an iced mocha and a Caesar?” she asked with eyes twinkling. My heart skipped a beat. She WAS from California. Her Valley-girl accent was a dead give-away. She was looking me up and down slyly.
I finished taking her order and gave her a number and receipt. She walked out to the patio and lit a cigarette while she waited for her meal. I was transfixed by her long tan legs and amazing proportions. My thoughts flowed to naughty places while I finished brewing the espresso for her drink.
I checked my reflection in the shiny microwave door before carrying her tray over to where she sat. I couldn’t help but grin at her. God, I must have looked goofy; I am already aware of what large white teeth I have.
“Here you go miss. One Caesar, one iced mocha. And if you should need anything else, my name is Travis,” I winked at her.
“Thanks, Travis; I’m Mariah.”
“Well, Mariah it’s a pleasure to meet you. It’s just hard to believe a gorgeous woman like yourself is having lunch all alone.”
She shrugged slightly and stared down at her food. “If you get a cigarette break anytime soon, come out here and bum one off me.”
I took that as a definite “yes, I like you too.” Too bad I had quit smoking last year. I walked back inside the café slowly, resisting the urge to turn around and steal another glance.
As soon as I crossed the threshold I announced that I was going on break. My apron was flung into the corner of the break room, my hands ran through my bleached blonde curls, gum was popped into my mouth; Okay, I was ready to make my move.
Luckily, she was still perched on her stool under the green patio umbrella. Briskly, I walked through the café, and then slowed my gait to a casual lumber as I approached her from the side. Without thinking, my hands found the large pockets on my baggy jeans which sagged off my hips slightly. I crouched next to her on a bench seat and waited for her to notice me.
“Oh my Gawd! I didn’t see you sit down! Dude, you freaked me out!” she laughed.
I smiled at her, “Yeah, I tend to scare the women I meet.” Mariah grinned at me and continued to eat her salad daintily. I found my palms were sweating a bit. “So, what are you up to this afternoon?”
“Oh just taking a long break from work; it’s actually my last day.”
“Onto bigger and better things, huh?”
“You could say that,” she said with a bright smile.
“I’m still in college but I can’t wait to get out in the real world. Just one more semester! But I was thinking about getting an MBA next. Ah, baby steps I guess.”
She nodded at me. “Hell, I went back for a second Bachelor’s. I’m almost done though…in physics.”
“Wow, beauty and brains! So, do you think you might give me your number so I can take you out? We can celebrate your moving on to a better career?” I noticed I was holding my breath.
She was applying a pink lips gloss, and I could tell she was thinking over my proposition. “Well, I am going out tonight, if you want to meet me at the Dakota.”
Not exactly the dinner and a movie I was hoping for. Then I remembered that the Dakota is a gay club. “Wait a minute, isn’t that a…”
“Yup.”
“And you want me to meet you there?”
“Yeah, I’ll be on the dance floor by 11-o’clock,” she said and stood up. I glanced at my watch; my break was over. Before I could think of something to say, Mariah was swinging her beautiful ass as she walked down the path to the parking lot. I called out a “see you then” and turned toward the café.
As I resumed my duties behind the counter, I couldn’t help but fantasize about Mariah. I kept imagining my dick sliding between her gorgeous tits, and her lowering her pink lips over my dickhead as it butted against her chin. She was sexy and confident; her body was amazing. I concluded that no gay club was about to keep me from seeing her again. Besides, maybe this was some kind of test, or game she was playing. She certainly didn’t come off as a dyke. Furthermore, if she was in fact a lesbian, she wouldn’t have flirted with me. These thoughts running through my head made it very difficult to finish out my work shift.