His Captured Curiosity

Chapter 1 - Intros or Outros

"Come on Esme, we're paying the fare and we haven't even started driving yet!" My best friend since eighteen screams out from the window of the tacky cab we called half an hour prior and I hold up two fingers, signaling only two more minutes as I fiddle with the store lock.

I've been working at 'Caffeine Can Solve' for the last year and in all that time of countless drinks and countless muffins my boss Shane refuses to fix the lock that has been rusted and barely holding on since long before I started. I've warned him that it will result in a break-in but I half suspect that he's secretly wishing for one just to con out some extra money from insurance.

"Stupid thing..." I mutter as I twist the key backwards and forwards, knowing the shimmy is vital to make the lock catch. Some days life is kind and it's only one sharp twist but other days like today I find myself tested. A sudden angry rumble causes me to lift my head and squint at the sky, my hair catches the wind, the pitch-black wavy strands making my nose twitch and I swear under my breath.

"Oh hell no! If it rains then I'm winding up this window and waving your ass goodbye!" Izzy manages to make her voice compete with the skies above as the ever-darkening clouds start sagging lower and lower, nearly touching the tops of the worn buildings around us.

"I'm almost done, stop harassing the driver." I finally call over my shoulder and I hear Izzy quickly apologize to the Cabby for her volume before my phone starts ringing in my back pocket. Knowing immediately who it is I lift the phone to my ear while fiddling with the lock more aggressively and sigh into the phone.

"It's not my fault the lock is being dumb!" I immediately grumble and Izzy sighs back into the phone equally as dramatic.

"No need to rush you but are you aware that every minute you waste at that door is a minute you've wasted of my life? My life which I treasure dearly and plan to spend a large portion of it being very drunk, a plan you're ruining right at this very moment!"

Izzy never fails to make a situation about her lately and usually, I'm the only one to fight her self-obsessed ways but as a lone raindrop falls on top of my head I find her words very compelling, and the lock loses all my focus.

With one raindrop there are two and with two there are three. By the fourth, I've hung up and by the fifth, I've spun my ass around and started jogging to the taxi.

The lock still hangs limp and I feel guilt begin to chew on my insides, but Izzy's excited screams distract me as I slam the door behind me and sag in the plastic seat.

Robberies are common, we are in the middle of New York after all. But with an incredible range of stores that earn thousands a day, I'm sure that a quaint coffee shop will survive the night.

Because at the end of the day I have the same goals as Izzy tonight and that is to get absolutely wasted.

**********
Three Hours Later...

"Come on Esme, dance with me!" Izzy whines from the dance floor and due to her high pitch, it carries impressively well as I down my fourth shot at the bar. I grab my handbag and throw a twenty-dollar bill at the bartender despite the handful of men eagerly offering to pay for me before turning in my tight outfit and facing the direction of my wasted friend.  

Even without her volume of voice, Izzy is pretty hard to miss as her hair shines above all the bobbing heads on the floor. Woven into her strawberry-blonde afro are Christmas lights we got on sale due to it being April and she literally lights up the dark space as she head bangs to a classic throwback song.

A smile easily stretches my cheeks as I feel the alcohol numbing my brain and I relish in the loud music and find myself eager to join Izzy's fun.

I tug down the bottom of my bralette for the thousandth time before testing my stilettos on the tile, releasing the bar behind me, and pushing myself forward, however before I can take a step I feel a slick grip attach to my arm.