Coffee Stains (Discovery of Love)

Chapter Three-French Vanilla

{Chapter Three}

It's not even summer but the sun is extremely hot.  Having sun all year long has it's pros but definitely has it's cons.  Such as sweating like a pot cover every minute of the day. 

Cars drive past and exhaust fills the air as I make my way to Coffee Beans.  I pull my hair higher up my head, off of my neck and fan myself with my hands.  The fact that town is always crowded doesn't help the heat at all.  People brush past me, some apologizing and others being rude or glaring at me.  I remove my backpack from on my back to in front of me and open it to get my water bottle.  While keeping my head down, someone pushes past me with so much force that they knock me over.  

Time seems to slow down as the ground seems to be knocked from under my feet and my water bottle goes flying as I grab for something to stop my fall.  My mouth opens like a fish and my eyes widen as my body gets closer to the ground.  I hold onto my bag so that none of my books fall out and shut my eyes, bracing myself for the impact.  However, an arm wrapping around my waist stops my descent.  Time seems to go back to it's normal pace as I slowly open my eyes.  I audibly gasp when I realize who just caught me.  Max McKnight. 

He smiles down at me, his shoulder length hair in a short ponytail and dimples teasing me."You know, usually in movies when the man catches the woman, she immediately falls in love with him."

A smirk pulls at my lips. "I would rather live with a hundred cats before I fall in love with you and I don't even like cats."

Max's jaw slackens in shock and I take the opportunity to straighten myself out of his grasp.  I look at him, saying thank you for the save before taking up my water bottle, and placing it back in my backpack, walking away.

"You'll like me eventually, you'll see!" Max exclaims from behind me.

"Whatever rows your boat, Bug Boy," I say, holding in a laugh as I remember the incident from earlier.  I look over my shoulder to see Max's red cheeks before turning away with a big smile on my face.

~~~~~~~~~~

I push open the door of Coffee Beans before laughing loudly.  Customers look at me strangely but I don't care as I grip onto a nearby chair to stop myself from falling down in laughter.  I laugh until my stomach hurts and tears come to my eyes.  Finally sobering up, I wipe the stray tears from my face before apologizing to the customers for disturbing them.  Walking up to the counter, Pat shakes her head at me in amusement.

"Your head is seriously not put on properly," she says.

"You'll never believe what happened at school today." I try to hold in another laugh.

"Try me." Pat subtly leans forward anxiously.

I lean in as well and put my mouth right next to her ear," You are so nosy."

"Eh, tell me something I don't know, like what happened at school today."

"Okay, fine." I smile broadly as I tell Pat everything.

~A few hours ago

My head snaps back as a loud scream cuts through the awkward silence of the classroom. The scene before me causes my eyes to widen like saucers and jaw to slacken. Max McKnight is on his chair, screaming," COCKROACH! KILL IT!" as a cockroach crawls under his desk. Suddenly, every girl in the class stands on their chairs or desks screaming at the top of their lungs except me. The boys just laugh and prop their feet on the desk, enjoying the scene instead of killing the cockroach as it passes their desks. Seriously, where did all the gentlemen go?

I continue to stare at Max's frantic and fearful figure as I try to wrap my head around the fact that he is screaming like a girl over a rodent instead of just killing it. I try to hold in the laughter that threatens to escape, knowing that it's not nice to laugh.  However, bubbles of laughter start to leave my lips as I finally soak in what is going on. My sides ache as my eyes water from laughing so hard. It's only when I sober up that I realize it's quiet. I look up to see everyone looking at me like I'm crazy. What? A girl can't not fear cockroaches? I inwardly shrug and stomp on the cockroach when it passes by my feet. Everyone gapes at me, some scrunching up their faces in disgust and others audibly saying 'ew'.

Max's cheeks flush red with embarrassment as he hesitantly gets down from his chair and sits down, his head hung low.

Pat howls in laughter by the time I am finished telling the story. I join in, gripping the counter to prevent falling down because of my weak knees. Customers look at us strangely again causing us to apologize once more.

"I wish I was there to see." Pat wipes tears from her eyes.

"I just saw him again. Someone pushed me and made me fall over. When I was about to hit the ground he caught me," I say.

"What happened next?" Pat's eyes widen with curiosity. You would never believe Pat is over twenty years older than me.

"Cue spotlight!" I snap my fingers, lifting my chin before dramatically speaking. "You know, in movies when the man catches the woman, she immediately falls in love with him."

"Wow, he's a keeper." Pat rolls her eyes,chuckling.

"Telling me," I say with mirth.

"Alright, no more wasting time. Get to work," Pat hollers before taking care of a customer who just came in.

~~~~~~~~~~

I stifle a yawn as I open my locker. I hear giggles, loud footsteps and a few shouts causing me to turn around in confusion. The crowded corridor parts like the Red Sea allowing Max in all his glory to walk through. I resist the urge to roll my eyes at the girls swooning as Max winks at them. Conceited much. I start to turn away with a scowl on my face but freeze when someone calls out my name. I look over my shoulder realizing that Max was the one who called me. How in the world does he know my name? I mean sure I'm pretty well known but he never acknowledged me or acted like I exist.

I raise an eyebrow in confusion."Can I help you?"

"Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" he asks,smiling. He could do a Colgate ad with that smile.

"Really?" I give him a flat look. "That's the best you got?"

"That works every time though," he mumbles to himself softly.

I roll my eyes."My heart didn't flutter one bit, Bug Boy."

"Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow with a swoon worthy one, Cat woman." He winks before walking away. I blink. Cat woman?