Love Again

2. Training

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Lane grumbled as she darted her hand from under the covers to find her phone. As she wrapped her fingers around the device, her cat jumped onto the bed and came to sit right in front of her face. He looked at his owner expectantly, meowing almost angrily because she had not gotten up earlier to feed him. "Good morning, Mooch," she sighed as she finally got her alarm turned off. She rolled onto her back, petting her beloved pet before deciding to get up for the day. She had to meet Brandy at the bar in 3 hours, which meant she had plenty of time to get ready and start her day with some much needed food. She decided to treat herself to brunch at a cafe she had passed on her way to The Abbey yesterday.

Lane pulled back the covers before all but rolling out of bed. She made her way into the kitchen where she fed Mooch, who had been on her heels from the moment she got out of bed, before going into her bathroom to freshen herself up. Once she had finished showering and brushing her teeth, she moved into her closet where she pulled out a simple black t shirt and cut-off shorts. She was not too worried about the dress code at the bar, but she had decided to go with something similar to what Brandy and Allie were wearing when she had met them. Once she had made herself presentable enough to leave her home, she pulled on her sneakers and grabbed her phone, keys, and wallet, throwing them into her purse before petting Mooch one last time and heading out the door.

Once she arrived at the cafe, Lane ordered a muffin and an iced coffee at the register before making her way over to the pick up area. She began pulling out her phone as she walked, losing focus of what was in front of her as she did so. Suddenly, her body made contact with a wall. The wall, however, smelled of pine and leather and was wearing a very soft shirt. Lane stumbled back, beginning to apologize to the person she had run into as she looked up. When the victim of her unawareness turned around, though, her words caught in her throat.

"New girl," Theo acknowledged the woman who was now inexplicably more nervous, "might want to be more careful next time. You might run into someone not so forgiving." The slight smirk on his face made her feel a little better, but only enough to be able to speak.

"Sorry, Theo. I was trying to get my phone out of my bag and it got stuck in one of the pockets. Stupid thing didn't want to come out. But yeah, I'm so sorry I ran into you. I really didn't see you there," Lane found herself rambling, almost too caught up in his feature that only seemed more defined in the sunlight.

"Like I said, you're forgiven," he simply nodded before turning back to wait for his own drink. As his name was called, he acknowledged the barista whose cheeks had reddened at his gaze before picking up his coffee. He then turned around to walk out the door, "See you at work, new girl."

"I have a name you know," she found herself becoming braver out of slight irritation at his new nickname for her.

He turned back to the redhead he would find himself working next to in the coming days before saying, "See you at work, Lane." With that, he turned around once more and walked out the door, leaving a slightly flustered Lane behind.

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of how his presence made her feel. Lane knew better than to have a crush, no matter how small, on a coworker, especially one that had seemingly no interest in dating. She still found herself wanting to know him and befriend him more, though. She understood why he would be weary of letting people in, she herself had had a few bad endings to relationships in her past. Nonetheless, the last thing she needed right now was the drama of starting something with someone who was clearly emotionally unavailable. She did wonder, though, if he didn't talk much according to Brandy, why was he talking to her?

Her name being called by the same barista Theo had encountered shook her from her thoughts, bringing her back to reality. After grabbing her food and coffee from the girl behind the counter, she made her way over to a seat by the window. She sat there for an hour, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the little cafe and the deliciousness of the food and drink she had ordered. By the time she had finished her coffee, she had about 30 minutes before she had to meet Brandy. Deciding that being early would look better to her new boss, she threw away her trash before making her way down the block to her new workplace. As she made her way inside the establishment, she tried her best to ignore the man standing behind the bar, even as his gaze seemed to follow her as she walked up to Brandy. Finally breaking under his stare, she glanced over at him quickly as she sat in front of Brandy, as if on cue, he turned away, clearing his throat as he continued wiping down the bar.