A cup of coffee with that? Yes please! [COMPLETE]

An Invitation?

Hmm, should I get this, or should I get that?

Nora eyed the cans of soup situated on the shelves at her regular supermarket - she was deciding between having pumpkin soup for dinner or cream of mushroom. She grabbed the two cans, one in each hand, and weighed her choices. 

Do I want to have pumpkin tonight? Or mushroom? She pondered. Nora was relatively picky with her soups and only ever liked a few types, including pumpkin and mushroom.

After a few minutes of debating in her head, she placed the weighty can of mushroom soup back on the shelf and deposited the pumpkin soup in her black shopping basket.

I'll have it next time, she thought. 

She navigated herself along the aisle, thinking of what she needed to buy next. As she stopped at the spices section, she recognised the back of a male figure – and no, it wasn't Mark Ashington – it was someone else.

"Alex?" She spoke out. Her voice was soft and uncertain – she wasn't 100% sure that it was him, but by the look and size of his frame, she was pretty sure it was him, as she had frequented the café long enough to recognise him outside of his uniform.

The person whisked around. A breath hitched in his throat, as he was startled by the girl before him, "H-Hi."

Nora chuckled softly and she introduced herself, "Hi, I'm Nora." It was the first proper introduction she gave to him. Alex's cheeks tinted a light pink. He unconsciously fidget on the end of his grey hoodie.

She could sense his nervousness and it made her feel the same too, "Um...did Briana pass on the message to you?" She had given the note to Briana a few days ago.

"Yeah, she told me after my break." Alex scratched the back of his neck, as he diverted his eyes to the floor – his shyness was taking over him, "I hoped it cheered you up." He said in a humble voice.

"It did," she gave him a glowing smile, "It was really sweet of you. I really appreciate your concern about me." This made his cheeks redden further.

He's so cute, she thought. It was true – his actions and his shyness made her heart tickle. It made her feel something she hadn't felt in a long while – warmth - even during the time with her ex-boyfriend, Mark, and the feeling of it coming back sparked her joy.

Alex's hazel coloured eyes travelled down to Nora's shopping basket, "Are you making soup tonight?" He asked, triggering a confused expression on her face, until realisation hit her.

"Yeah, pumpkin soup for dinner," She replied. There was also a French baguette and a range of colourful vegetables in her basket. She looked at his black basket and scanned the contents. There were a couple of capsicums, carrots, mushrooms and some containers of spices, "Oh, what are you making tonight?"

"Stuffed capsicums," He grinned brightly – cooking was his speciality and he loved it.

"Yum," Nora licked her pink plump lips - the thought of deliciously looking stuffed capsicums was making her mouth water. An idea popped in her mind, I should invite Alex to dinner sometime, she thought. "Hey, why don't we go have dinner sometime?"

The question made his eye go wide as a saucepan. He was stunned by the invitation, "I, uh..."

"It's my treat. What do you say?" Nora prayed to god that he didn't decline, as she had developed a special liking towards him. She didn't know she had such ability to get over her heartbreak so fast, but maybe Alex's presence was enough to soothe her pain. However, having him say 'no' to the invitation would almost break her spirit.

"Please, I want to thank you for what you did for me," She pleaded. Nora really didn't want him to say no.

Alex furrowed his brows, "I-I guess so." He said in a nervous voice, but on the inside, he was beaming with joy – he was finally able to take a step further in his process.

"Great!" Nora displayed a radiant smile - she was also bursting in joy on the inside. She handed him one of her business cards that had her contact info on it, "Here, my numbers on the card. Call me when you have time and we'll discuss the details. Thanks for saying yes," She gave him one last smile and waved a 'goodbye'.

He stood there with his lips in a smile. He tightly clutched the small card in his hands,

I finally did it!