coffee and canvases | a jemily story

one - meeting her

jj's pov -
It had been such a tiring shift. I'd experienced so many rude customers, that quite honestly, I was ready to quit.

I started my shift at three in the morning because another girl had cancelled. Since it was my dad's cafe, and he thought it would be a good idea to be open 24/7, he would make me work whenever anyone decided to cancel, it didn't matter who it was or what time it was. Luckily, my sons' dad was able to pick them up for school.

I felt bad for Will. He was a decent guy, we just kind of fell out. I lost love for him, but I don't think he ever lost love for me. Which makes me feel a bit sad for him, but it's better than staying with him when I don't truly love him.

I didn't realize I had zoned out until the bell on the door rang. I repeated the same saying I had to say anytime someone walked in.

"Hi, thank you for coming to Come & Go Café, let me know if there's anything i can help you with." I was supposed to say it with "cheer", but I didn't have any of that left.

"Uh hi, actually could I get a cold brew with a cinnamon bun, please?"

I looked up, and locked eyes with this girl who looked more awake than I had ever been. "Uh yeah. Sure," I typed the numbers into the cash register. "Your total is $6.25."

She inserted her card, "Long night?" she smiled.

"Yes, and no sleep," I laughed for whatever reason.

"Ohh, that must suck," she removed her card and gave me a sympathetic frown.

"Tell me about it," I smiled at her. "Would you like your receipt?"

"Uh, no thanks."

"Alright, and then what's the name for this order?"

"Emily," she smiled.

"Okay, thank you Emily, we'll have that right out for you."

As she left, I couldn't help but stare. Not particularly at her. I sort of just zoned out. There was something about her that almost drew me in. It didn't make sense.

I snapped out of it and started to make her order. One of the main things I liked about this cafe was the fact that it was so small. I could make every order without having another one to worry about.

Normally, we would put the orders on the counter and make the customers come get them, but something told me to give Emily hers.

I wrote her name on the cup in purple, which just happened to be my favorite color. Then, I added a smiley face at the end.

I walked over to her table, which was near a window, to see she was working on some type of art project. She had a canvas and painting supplies out. All she had drew so far was a sketch, but it already looked amazing.

"Am I going to get my coffee, or are you just going to stand there all day?" she smirked.

"Right sorry," I felt my cheeks flush slightly. I handed her the order, and then smiled, "I like your sketch, I can tell it's going to look amazing," I felt like that sounded stupid. I instantly regretted it.

She just smiled, and sort of laughed at me, "Thank you, I'll make sure to show it to you when it's done."

I wasn't sure what to say, so I just smiled and went back to the counter, waiting for another customer to come in.

emily's pov -
I watched as the girl walked away. It made me kind of upset to see her go. One of the first things I noticed about her was her beauty. I mean, she was absolutely gorgeous. 

I took a sip of my coffee as I completed the finishing touches of my sketch. I was debating on submitting this for an art show. If I tried, I could definitely make it, I just didn't know how much effort I felt like putting towards it.

I started to eat the cinnamon bun, and it was absolutely delicious. Even though I didn't eat it right away, it was still warm. I then knew I was ready to put forth a lot of effort into this painting. It felt like it gave me energy, which I know sounds stupid, but I don't care.

My sketch was of a female torso and the top bit of the thighs. Then I was going to paint shadows of hands grabbing at the torso. It was supposed to represent women being held back by different obstacles. I was just hoping I was able to fulfill my vision onto the canvas.

I started to paint the torso, I was coloring it with loads of different colors. I couldn't decide at first so I just decided every color would work. I thought it would also really contrast with the shadowy arms.

I lost track of time, and when I looked at my watch, I saw it was already 1:00 pm. Shit. I was supposed to have a meeting with this fancy art guy to talk about my art in like thirty minutes. I supposed I could just go in the clothes I was wearing.

I looked up to see if the cute barista was still there so I could say goodbye, but she sadly wasn't. Maybe next time. I never even caught her name.

a/n: hey guys!! sorry this one was so short, i'll do my best to write more in the future. im sort of hoping to do a slow burn type thing, but i don't know if it will work right 💀. anyhow, i hope you guys really enjoyed this, let me know any constructive criticism you have! have a great day/night. much love!
- d <3