FALLING IN LOVE AT A COFFEE SHOP | D.H [✓]

Three

Thursday

(Aria's POV)

The rest of yesterday went by in a blur. After breakfast I went to the bookstore, The Nook, I work at. It was definitely in a tie with Takk for being my favourite place on earth. I worked here 5 days a week which meant I had the weekends off, one of the perks of having this job. It wasn't the busiest book store in Manchester, allowing me to read often while on the job. The hours were good as well as the pay so I never had anything to complain about. Dorothy, the owner and my boss, was very laid back and such a kind woman.

Today was yet another slow day and my mind was taken over by the boy I bumped into yesterday. I don't know why I was thinking about him, he was just another person that I happened to walk right into and yet I couldn't get him off my mind. I had seen him a few times at the coffee shop but not in the past month. He was never a regular customer but every time I saw him I felt strangely happy. Maybe it was just my feminine hormones doing their thing because he was attractive.

Despite me not knowing him I can't help picturing the moment. The way he held onto me to prevent himself from falling and then not letting go and just staring into my eyes. A slight blush creeps up on to my cheeks as I picture the smile he gave me before I left. God I'm being so stupid, it was an awkward encounter and I'm blushing picturing his smile. I need to distract myself before I go mad.

I get up from the counter and go find Doris to see if she needs anything to be done. The bookstore feels like another home to me. I love being surrounded by hundreds of books and inhaling the smell of the paper and the feel of the hardwood floor under my feet. It just seemed familiar to me and safe. I find Doris sitting in her office reading a form.

"Hey, is there anything you need me to do? I'm kind of going mad out there." I playfully say.

"I'm glad you asked! A new shipment came in this morning, you wouldn't mind stacking them on shelves for me would you?"

"Of course I don't mind."

"They are in the stock room, only unopened boxes in there, you can't miss them."

I'm grateful that I have something to keep my mind off things for a while. I still don't know why I'm thinking of the boy, maybe I'm just too embarrassed over the moment. No matter the reason, I had work to do and it would hopefully erase him from my mind, even for a little while.

Like Doris said, I find the boxes of new books easily and I get to work organizing them into piles to be shelved all while keeping an ear out for a customer to walk into the store. Soon, my mind is emptied of nothing but work for the first time all day.

(Dan's POV)

For the first time in a long time I felt good. I felt that I was able to get myself back into the world. Maybe the fresh air yesterday helped get my shit together or maybe it was simply the change of scenery. I would thank Phil for pushing me out of the house but I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction just yet.

I woke up at 10:00 and instead of lying in bed for another hour I actually decided to get up, I was hungry anyways. I get dressed, in all black of course, and head into the kitchen to see Phil making coffee.

"Woah! You're naturally getting out of bed? What's gotten into you?!" Phil jokes.

"I have decided to rejoin the world but if you keeping making comments like that I'm going to crawl back into my dismal hole of nothingness." I retort while grabbing a mug and filling it with coffee. The smell and taste of the liquid gives me a flashback of Takk and the girl. Lately everything has been and it's making me believe I've gone insane.