BITTEN (PAUSED)

Coffee Shop

Song Recommendation: Ivy - Frank Ocean

Scarlett's POV:

I stopped running.

Sweat covered every inch of my body. My breath came out in hard gasps for air, before returning to my usual pattern a few moments later.

I looked around at the big, familiar city around me. I just ran from Harlem to Times Square, which is a huge accomplishment for me, considering thats almost 5 miles.

I took more slow, deep breaths, as I walked into a nearby coffee shop. I walked inside, immediately being brought alive due to the warm air of the café versus the cold outside air of New York.

There were booths filled with people, which isn't surprising seeing as it's almost 11 am. The smell of fresh coffee and warm pastries filled my nose, making me forget about why I even went on a running the first place.

I walked up to the order station, before a barista turned around to face me.

"Hi, what can I get for you today?" She asks me, sending me a sweet smile. She was wearing a black shirt, with a pair of black cargo pants on. Her outfit was topped with a black apron, which clearly displayed the companies logo on it. I cleared my throat, before looking up at the woman, who was still awaiting for me to talk.

"Can I please get a cappuccino" I say to the woman.

"Of course" She replies, giving me another soft smile, before walking away from me to make my drink.

I stood there awkwardly, watching all the people come and go, as I awaited for the woman to come back with my drink.

I would've love to bring Luna here. To hold her hand across the table as we talk about our plans for the day. Or when we grab a quick coffee before running around the city, not having a care in the world about who saw us.

"Excuse me?" I hear from behind me, causing me to furrow my brows before turning around.

"You're Scarlett Hart, right?" A woman asks. The woman looks like shes in her mid 20's. She was wearing a creme sweater with high waisted pants. She had a long brown coat on, which was almost the same color as the coffee that she held in her hand.

"Yes, that is me" I say to the woman, causing her to smile.

"Wow, it's so nice to meet you. Ive seen you all over this city, and I just wanted to say that I admire you." The woman says, giving me a soft smile, which I reincorporated back to her.

"Thank you. How are you today?" I ask the woman.

"Im doing good, how are you? I haven't seen any new shoots of you, so Im wondering if you are on a break?" She asks

I pause. I do miss modeling, but I haven't been able to do any shoots since Luna is my manager, and shes been quite busy.

"Yes, I have been on a break. But don't worry, I am returning to modeling soon." I say, causing her to smile.

"Here is your coffee, Mrs." The barista says, before handing me my coffee.

"Thank you, but Im not married" I say, taking the coffee out of her hands.

"Oh, then my apologies. I expected that someone would've snatched a girl as beautiful as you up, but I assumed wrong." She says, tossing a towel over her shoulder.

"Thats very sweet of you, have a good day." I say to the barista.

"Would you like to sit down with me?" I ask the woman next to me, who I am yet to know the name of.

"Of course" She says, before sliding down into a booth, where I slide into the side across from her.

"So tell me, whats your name?" I ask the woman.

"My name is Jess, Jess Ellis. It's nice to properly meet you." She replies.

"It's nice to meet you too. So, what brings you into the wonderful city of New York?" I ask Jess as I take a sip of my coffee, awaiting her answer.

"I came here to get closer with my family, plus there was so many more better job opportunities for me here." She says.

"That makes sense. What do you do for work?" I question her.

"Well, I work in marketing, usually for some big fashion businesses, like Hermès, Dior, Ralph Lauren, you know." She says, smiling as she takes a sip of her coffee.

"Wow, Im surprised we haven't met then. Ive worked with most of the big fashion businesses there is." I reply.

"Well, I don't really appear in shoots, which is mainly where you are. But, I do attend the red carpet events, so Ive seen you around." She says

"Now that makes sense" I say, letting out a loose smile. I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket, causing me to quickly slide it out of my pocket and open my messages.

Luna: Where did you go?

I sigh, typing back a quick message to her.

Me: I went on a run.

I send to her, watching as she reads the message.

Luna: Where are you at right now, Scarlett?

Me: A small coffee shop in Times Square.

Luna: Times Square? You ran 5 miles? You know theres plenty of cars here, right?

Me: Yes, I know. Just needed to get some stuff off of my mind.

Luna: Im coming to get you, stay there.

I read the message, scoffing before shoving my phone back into my pocket.

"Boyfriend?" Jess asks

"Girlfriend" I reply, looking out into the distance, as I observe the other people in the coffee shop.

"You're Gay?" She asks, her jaw dropped a bit.

The one thing people don't assume about me, which is surprising considering I have people all around the world watching me.

"I wouldn't have expected that. Not to assume anything, but we never really see you with anybody romantically, so I always thought you were straight." Jess comments, causing me to smile and hum to her.

Don't say too much. A very famous quote that I unfortunately live by

"Yes. Well, she is about to pull up, so I will see you around?" I ask

"Not in this city. Here, put your number in my phone." She says, sliding me her phone. I quickly put my number into her phone, before handing it back to her.

"I'll text you sometime then." She says, which I hum in reply, before leaving the cafè. I watch as a shiny black BMW pulls up infront of the building, causing me to open the passenger door and slide right in.

"Who was that woman?" Luna asks, watching me as I strap in my seatbelt.

"A new friend." I reply dryly, as Luna begins to pull out onto the busy streets.

"Whats her name?" Luna asks me, watching me as I open my mouth.

"Jess" I say back to her.

"Hm" She says

"Are you jealous?" I ask, a small smirk displaying on my lips as I watch her focus on the road. She gives me a small shrug, indicating that I'm right.

"Scarlett" Luna says, which I reply to her with a hum.

"Im sorry, about earlier. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you, so I apologize for that. I was only upset because I don't want to risk your safety. I love you, so much, I don't want anything to happen to you." She says, as she holds her hand out for me to take, which I gladly do.

"I know, and I understand that now. Thank you for protecting me" I say to her

"Always baby" She replies, as she continues driving in the now comfortable silence.