Cities that Never Sleep

viii

One night, amidst the now comfortable cafe sittings with Finn in which they would sometimes talk and sometimes let the silence linger between them, Finn proposed they do something else.

"Come on, Katherine," he wined, another page of incomplete homework sitting in front of him. Tonight, she was trying to finish a lab results paper from the other day, but Finn made it clear that he was utterly bored.

Katherine decided that it was safe to call them friends. After all, they were more than just acquaintances; she liked Finn's company, and Finn liked hers. It was nice to Katherine, having someone that was a small part of her life but not her priority. She didn't have to try to impress Finn in the way she felt she had to towards everyone else she encountered. And maybe that's because she always knew who she was meeting next. He was odd, she'd give him that, but also strangely refreshing.

As Katherine was finishing her conclusion, she considered it. Then reluctantly, she replied with, "What do you have in mind?"

Eagerly, Finn sat up straighter in his chair, a smile illuminating his face. Katherine rolled her eyes at his childishness, but found the dimples that appeared on his cheeks rather cute.

"Why do you order your coffee plain?"
he asked instead.

Katherine raised her eyebrows, expecting him not to answer with a question.

Nonetheless, Katherine shrugged. "I don't know. It's simple. Easy. Keeps me awake."

Finn didn't seem satisfied with her response, and instead got up from the table and proceeded to the front of the coffee shop.

Katherine watched as he hopped over the counter and scourged through the cabinets. He started to organize a bunch of supplies in front of him, beckoning Katherine to come over.

Sighing but a little curious, Katherine obliged and took a seat on a stool in front of the counter, propping her elbows up. Finn tossed her a rag.

"Tie that over your eyes." he told her.

"Why?" she questioned, incredulous.

"I'm gonna make you different coffees, and you're gonna taste them. Blind." he smiled, rather mischievously.

"Why?" she asked again.

"Because that way we will find out how you really like your coffee." Finn tried to explain, already starting to brew something up. "Think of it as a science experiment."

"I still don't get why I need to be blindfolded." Katherine complained, but Finn just ignored her. So sighing once more, she fixed the rag over her eyes.

When Finn was done with the first coffee, he handed it to Katherine, who held the cup in front of her as if it were poison. "You better not be trying to drug me." she said, before taking a sip.

This went on for thirty more minutes, as she had gone through several different combinations of coffee, until her lips hovered above one that didn't make her scrunch her nose in disgust.

Finn was already worn out but had a feeling of pride as he wiped his hands on his apron and watched Katherine enjoy her new combination of coffee (two pinches of cinnamon, one sugar, three creams, and a dash of nutmeg).

"You're one picky coffee drinker." he said whilst leaning over the counter with his own cup of Katherine signature-made coffee.

"Hey, this was your idea." Katherine responded as she removed the old rag from her face. "But I have to admit, this is pretty good."

"What can I say," Finn said in a mockingly-nonchalant tone, "I have a gift."

"You know this is dumb, right? Drinking coffee when it's ten at night?" she pointed out, but he merely chuckled.

And so Katherine and Finn stayed a little longer that night, talking and drowning down their coffees, with only one thing in mind; that neither would be able to get any sleep.