I only see daylight

Chapter 1

It was a good day. But Dani didn't feel like it was, just another day working a job she never thought she would ever have. She wanted to work with kids, not in some coffee shop, she wanted her life to mean something. She didn't want to exist just because she had to, she wanted to live her life, happy and fulfilled.

Dani's alarm clock started ringing its repetitive and annoying tune. She rolled over, groaning as she hit the button to finally shut it off. There she was, laying in her bed, not happy, not sad, just neutral. After staring at her phone for what only felt like 5 minutes, she looked over to her bedside table to look at the red numbers on her clock; 7:36 am. Dani jumped out of her bed, knowing damn well she couldn't really afford to be late again. She threw on a white blouse and her favorite black skirt, brushed her teeth and speedwalked out the door, almost forgetting her keys and phone.

Dani arrived at the coffee shop at 7:59 am, glad she could make it in time. Thankfully the coffee shop was only a 10-minute walk from her apartment. After setting everything up she was ready to live through another day of "Hello, what would you like?" and "Thank you, have a good day" all while smiling with her most perfect customer-service smile, she always knew how to act like she was enjoying whatever she was doing.

At 3 pm Dani already managed to almost lose her mind at two different customers; one of them was complaining about the drink Dani had made him, according to him it was "too icey". The other one asked for her phone number; Dani only managed a simple "That's nice of you to ask, but I have a boyfriend." before turning around, rolling her eyes, and starting to make his drink. She knew damn well she didn't have a boyfriend, because the last time she tried to date a guy, she ended up breaking up with him because she didn't have feelings for him, that was 6 months ago. All of Dani's friends were telling her to dive back into the dating scene "Try something new.", "Maybe your Prince Charming is still out there" they tried to tell her, but she didn't want that. She didn't want to have a boyfriend, because she didn't want one, she wanted to be alone with her cat and her boring life.

At 4:13 pm Dani was still working, she decided to put in some extra hours at the coffee shop so she could earn more money. Suddenly the door swung open, and Dani was ready to put on her perfect customer service smile once again. But when she looked up from the cash register, she was surprised to see a brunette smiling at her. Dani started smiling, confused on why she did; it didn't feel forced, it just felt natural.

"Hi, what can I get you?", Dani asked. She took a close look at the woman standing in front of her; she was tall, her locks fell perfectly onto her face with one strain of hair falling in front of the rest, her brown eyes looked incredibly kind, and her smile made her face seem flawless. "I'll just get a coffee.", the woman said in with a pretty sounding accent. "Well, we've got a few of those.", Dani said as she gestures towards the menu sitting in front of her on the table, all while smiling. "God, there are quite a few. Just make me the one you like the most.", she said, and Dani could see a slight smirk forming on the woman's face. "Sure, if you're happy with a black coffee.", Dani answered. "That sounds perfect", she said. "Can I get your name, please", Dani asked, intrigued to know the woman's name for some unknown reason. "Name's Jamie.", the woman said.

It was a beautiful name that fit her so perfectly. Why did it fit so well? Why is she thinking about it even after work? Dani was laying in her bed once again, the TV was running, but she wasn't listening to the new episode of Law & Order she put on just minutes earlier. Dani was confused, confused why the only thing on her mind was Jamie, why she couldn't bring herself to focus on anything other than that smile of hers.

On the next day, Dani was standing in the coffee shop cleaning tables when she heard the door swing open and looked up. She was confused to see Jamie standing in the door, somehow looking even prettier than the day before. Her white blouse and black jeans looked absolutely stunning, somehow Dani wished she would look like her. "Hi.", Jamie said, smiling. Dani didn't realize she had stopped cleaning altogether and was just standing there, probably looking clueless. "Hello there." Dani said, with what felt like an even wider smile than the day earlier. "What can I get you today?", she said. The coffee shop had regulars that came in everyday to get the same order again and again, so Dani wasn't surprised when she saw someone come in twice in the span of two days. Yet she felt happy to see Jamie again, more than she felt like she should. "A black coffee, please." Jamie answers. "You seem to really like those, huh?" Dani said as she walked over to the counter to prepare Jamie's coffee. "It's alright, if it works, I'll take it." Jamie said. Dani laughed, more because of the fact that those words are her response whenever someone asked why she takes her coffee black than the fact that it was necessarily funny.

"So, it might be weird of me to ask you for your name, but since you asked me yesterday, it only seems fair if I got to know yours." Jamie said, smiling. Dani felt a rush of heat going up her cheeks, a feeling she rarely got. "Oh well, my name is Dani." she said, unable to stop smiling at the woman in front of her. "That's a pretty name." Jamie said, making the heat in Dani's cheeks rise even more. "Thank you.", Dani said, handing the coffee to Jamie. There was a silence between the two women, not an awkward one, the kind of silence you want. Dani looked Jamie into her eyes and Jamie looked right into hers. "I ought to pay you for that, aren't I?" Jamie suddenly said, breaking the silence. "Yeah, that'll be 3.99", Dani answered. Jamie handed Dani a $5 bill and, before Dani could even put her hand on the cash registered, Jamie said, "It's fine, keep the rest." and walked out of the coffee shop. Dani was standing in the exact same position for about 2 minutes staring at the space Jamie just stood in, lost in her thoughts.

When Dani looked at the $5 bill, she was confused for a second. It wasn't just the money, there was also a piece of paper. Dani smiled to herself as she read what was written on it. "Text me sometime :)" and what she presumed to be Jamie's phone number.