Coffee shop romance (Josh Balz/OC)

Dammit, just call already!

It had only been three hours since i had gotten home and discovered the number that 'Josh' had subtly scrawled on my coffee cup. I didn't quite know what to do with it, I wanted to call but calling now would make me look desperate, right? Yes, yep, yeah, I had to play it cool, I certainly didn't want him thinking I was weird. Or creepy. Or both. Nothing is worse than seeming like a creepy weirdo before he even knows your name! 

I made a quick dash to the kitchen, where I copied his number out onto the whiteboard, which hung on the wall. Before i could even consider throwing the cup away, i crosschecked the number eleven times and photographed it, just in case. When it came to me, paranoid wasn't the word. I like to check, double check and triple check everything! Finally finding the courage to do so, I tossed the cup into the bin, my eyes lingering on it for a moment longer before i finally capped the pen and walked to my Bedroom.

Being a one bedroom apartment, the room was quite small, or as I say, cozy. Everything fit just perfectly and I got to sleep in a nest of cushions and stuffed animals that I had collected over the years and didn't have the heart to throw out, I dove ungracefully onto the bed and snuggled into the quilts and covers, cocooning myself in, ready to sleep for the night. It may only be 8pm but I have to be at work at 4am to give a newbie an induction before the shop opened. I didn't really fancy being tired and having to show someone the ropes, not that there were many, or that they were important like ropes, they were more like string really.

And with dumb thoughts like that, you can imagine that it wouldn't take me long to settle down into a slumber, the last words I said before doing so being: "He's gorgeous, Mr Snuggles".

--------------Time lapse til morning--------------

"SHUT UP!" I yelled loudly to my alarm clock, it was ringing loudly from somewhere in my room, probably tucked away somewhere underneath some of the blankets. After a minute or so, the alarm stopped and i sluggishly dragged myself from my bed, the first step towards being ready for the day. 

It only ended up taking me half hour to be fully ready to leave, hair pulled up in a rough pony with a skull patterned bandana. My clothes were simple, my black hiking boots (that I don't actually use for hiking), black skinny jeans, a skull patterned tee that matched my bandana and my leather jacket on over the top to stop me from freezing to death. Almost ready, I applied just a thin line of eyeliner before grabbing my bag and heading out of the door.

Anyone out walking at this time of morning was crazy if they didn't walk at a pace almost double their normal speed. And I wasn't even tired anymore, but who would be when their brain was screaming the same two words at them, over and over again. "COLD! DARK! COLD! DARK!" Both of which were all too true for my liking, the dark made me nervous and the cold, well, the cold just sucks all round! I'm not complaining though because fifteen minutes later, I was on the doorstep of the bookstore, fumbling at the handle.

Inside, waiting for me was Dave, my boss, and a young girl, probably just a few inches smaller than me but a good few years younger then me, late teens maybe. Either way, I held out a hand and introduced myself as Toni and she told me that her name was Danni and that she was the new employee that was due to start today.

I left her and Dave to continue talking whilst I found a place for my jacket and bag. When I returned, Dave was in his coat and ready to leave. "Hey Toni, i'm out for the day, I have a lot to do, you can handle the shop and show Danni around, right?" Dave said to me. It wasn't unusual for me to watch the store alone, it was actually quite nice as it was peaceful, and I always had the radio for company! "Yeah, yeah, that's fine!" I said quickly, and he quickly left after bidding Danni a farewell and a warm welcome to the store.

Taking a moment to observe Danni's uncomfortable fidgeting, I noticed that she was playing with a keyring, it had a cute little AFI logo on it, a band that i jujst happened to love! "Hey, erm, do you have toilets here? I er, yeah" she said quietly, interrupting my thoughts. "Yeah of course, this way" I replied and led her upstairs. "I noticed your keyring, AFI, right?" 

She took a few quicker steps to catch up to me before replying. "Yeah, they are literally my favourite band, I used to be quite close with them, but since they got big, they don't have a lot of time for a social life" she joked with a small giggle. It was obvious that she was upset about it, but she hid it pretty well. I stopped in the corridor for a second and smiled at her "they are only guys, you can't expect anything more from them, give it time, they'll realise what they are losing" and I pulled her in for a hug. Cheesy I know, but everyone needs someone to be cheesy and overly caring every once in a while! "Thanks" she said, before walking into the toilets. 

I took this chance to run downstairs and grab my phone from my bag, silently hoping he wouldn't be at work, I selected Josh from the contacts and pressed call. I knew if I thought about it too much I would pussy out, I still might. The dialing tone stopped and for a moment I thought it had gone to voicemail, but then I heard his voice!!

"Hello? Balz speaking" 

"Hey, erm, it's Toni, erm, not that you would know that, I never got the chance to tell you" I was mumbling so much, I felt like an idiot!

"Oh, right, you're the girl from the coffee shop, right?" I could hear him smiling, I was sure of it!

"Yeah, that's me!"

"I was wondering when you were gonna call, I was hoping to ask if we could grab a coffee sometime?"

"Yes, yeah, definitely! Erm, when is best for you?"

"Whenever, I am actually here for about three weeks with no plans"

"I can probably close up shop for about three today, you free then?" I could feel the butterflies building up again!

"Coffee shop at three? Sounds good to me, hey, look, I gotta go, I have practice so I will see you then, if you need me beforehand, text me?"

"yes, yeah, that's cool, I mean good, yeah, see you then!"

"See you later, Toni" he said simply. Four words yet, I swear, they made my day

I squealed loudly and was grinning from ear to ear! I did it! I called him! And he answered! And we spoke! And he is so cute! This afternoon, I was sure, would not come fast enough!