Beyond What Meets The Eye

Chapter Two

Mira jolted awake to the sound of her alarm going off, Pickles nearly suffocating her as he slept peacefully on her chest. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, carefully sliding Pickles onto the couch as she got up and threw on her work shirt and grabbed her keys.

She hummed to herself as she drove, taking in the lit up city. It was one of the few things that relaxed her, passing the crowded sidewalks, bright signs and billboards filling her field of vision. There was some sort of positive energy that radiated off the streets, lifting the weight off her chest whenever she passed by.

She parked behind the café and made her way inside, the smell of freshly ground coffee beans filling her lungs. It was a small, but cozy shop, the sitting area made up of sofa's and padded seats, the lighting soft.

"Hey Mira," Erik, one of the managers smiled at her as she slipped behind the counter and grabbed her apron.

"Hey Erik, how's your night been?" She responded, sliding her backpack under the counter.

"Surprisingly slow, which means the nights been great so far. I'll have you up at the register for the night, sound good?" He asked, shuffling about, making lattes.

"Sounds good to me," she responded, stepping up to the register. Surprisingly, Mira didn't really deal with any rude customers at the cafe, despite the large concentration of assholes that populated the city. She liked the brief encounters, making small talk with strangers while she rang them up. They didn't know her and she didn't know them.

Like Erik had said, the night was fairly slow, dying down especially as it got later in the night. They closed at ten, but the place emptied out around eight, giving Mira the chance to pull out her computer and work on homework while she sat at the register.

The door bell jingled as the time read 9:56, and while she would usually turn them away this close to close, the man who walked in was abnormally good looking, his face decorated by a sharp jawline, high cheekbones and a pair of cloudy grey eyes. She'd serve him, just so she could get a chance to look at his face a little longer. If only all the other customers were is gorgeous as him, she'd work doubles any chance she got.

"Are you still open?" He asked, his voice low and smooth.

"You made it just in time," Mira smiled. "What can I get for you?"

"Just a black coffee," he replied, pulling out his wallet. She wasn't surprised, he didn't exactly come across as the vanilla latte with cream and sugar type. Still, she would never understand people who chose to drink black coffee.

She rang him up, sparing a glance at the name on the card. Adrian Westbrook. She passed it back to him and grabbed his drink.

"Long night ahead?" She asked as she handed him the coffee.

"The real question is when is it not," he let out a long breath, his fingers grazing hers as he took the cup from her.

"Thank you, Mira." He said glancing down at her name tag and offering her a slight smile.

"Of course, have a good night." She replied.

"I'll try," he called over his shoulder as he made his way out the, making Mira laugh softly to herself. And like that, he was gone.

"That guy was hot," Erik stated as soon as the door fell closed. Mira snorted.

"Aren't you married?"

Erik smirked.

"Hey, I can still window shop." Mira scoffed.

"Yeah we'll sounds to me like you were about to break through that window."