Chance Collisions [DISCONTINUED]

1 // You Had Me At Hello

Chapter 1

Love blooms from so many sources: a person, a passion, nutella waffles on a Sunday morning. For me, it was the coffee shop within walking distance from my apartment.

Espresso My Heart stole my heart in more ways than one. It had a warm, welcoming atmosphere that could easily be mistaken for the feeling of home, and open spaces to spend staring aimlessly out into the world beyond the four walls or catching up with friends you haven't seen in lifetimes, possibly an essay with a deadline quickly approaching. The service was top notch. The music choice was on point. But the one reason I found myself returning on a weekly basis were the lists upon lists of different caffeine concoctions that I have since tried nearly a quarter of them.

Yes I, Charlotte Summers, may or may not have an addiction to coffee. Okay, addiction was a strong word and maybe it did accurately portray my highly caffeinated lifestyle, but it still was a strong word nonetheless. I'd like to think of myself more of an enthusiast who happened to need a daily dose or two. Yeah, not really helping my "I'm not an addict" case was I?

But there I was, on the patio of the quaint coffee shop occupying a table facing the streets in the middle of a November breeze and trying to write a novel that someone in this world would read (excluding personal recitals to my cat Bushels.)

The wind picked up speed an hour in and I groaned, scrambling to find anymore makeshift weights in my bag to hold down the papers threatening to take off but not quick enough as I watched a lone napkin flutter free. I sighed, slumping back in my seat after I had secured the rest of my belongings. Great. Not only was I struggling to figure out how to fluidly progress the development of my lead characters, but I was now going to have to deal with it alongside Mother Nature's distractions.

I resumed construction of the rough outline as I sipped on my second (guilty as charged) of the day. I slashed the idea that I was midway typing, realizing it sounded a lot better in my mind than what I was seeing on the computer screen.

"Hi." Looking up from scratching out yet another subplot line, I was met with a pair of striking hazel eyes and a wide smile to match.

"Hello." I grinned back at the stranger, his smile too contagious not to reciprocate. "Can I help you?"

"I was just wondering if this spot was empty?" He pointed at the empty chair across the table from me. "And if so, may I sit with you?"

"Sure, of course."

"Looks like you're well caffeinated today." He chuckled, gesturing to the disposed cups beside my laptop as he sat down.

"Couldn't help myself." I replied shyly, my cheeks flaming a faint pink. "The seasonal holiday drinks here are weaknesses." I embarrassedly admitted, earning a light laugh from the boy.

"Peppermint mocha or caramel brûlée?" He inquired about my choice in lattes.

"Carmel no question."

"I knew, coming over here, that I would like you." He said with a toothy smile as my blush deepened another fifty shades of red. "I'm Wesley." He leaned over, placing his hand between us.

"Charlotte." I took his hand in mine and shook it. His touch was warm, sending an almost unnoticeable shock through my body that I quickly dismissed as nothing.

Before either of us could further converse, the wind decided to interrupt with a short gust strong enough for a stray paper barely held by my phone to fly free and in the direction of the boy I just met. It narrowly missed him and he was able to snatch it in the air before it could disappear out of sight behind him.