Juliette

four

ᴛᴡᴇʟғᴛʜ ᴏғ ᴀᴘʀɪʟ | sᴇᴠᴇɴ ғᴏʀᴛʏ-ᴛᴡᴏ ᴘᴍ

William was leaving.

Until the aroma of coffee wafted through his nose and made him stop.

He thought for a moment that he was hallucinating, but when he turned around his eyes alighted on the girl sitting just a booth away, talking to the man behind the counter she had called Clayton. Between them sat two mugs of steaming something, which William swore was coffee and was undoubtedly calling his name.

"Damn."

Before he could even register what was happening, his feet were moving across the room to where they sat, and both occupants turned their heads and looked up at him as he approached.

"Yes?" It was the girl who spoke, another dark eyebrow raised, her hands holding a mug of coffee aloft. The man across her drank heartily from his, his eyes darting to and fro from over the rim of his mug, covertly watching. (William couldn't pretend not to notice.)

He flushed. "Sorry to disturb you, again," he said. "But you're drinking coffee; unless I'm very much mistaken?"

The girl looked at the mug in her hands and then looked back at him, amusement evident in the sharp planes of her face. Just moments ago he had been looking for the Ferrari's owner, now he was hunting for coffee. It seemed, his interests were far more diverse than she'd anticipated. "It's coffee, indeed. Do you want one?"

William didn't even have to think. He was already nodding with so much vigour he thought he'd get whiplash. "Yes, please."

The girl smiled. "Have a seat," she said. "Clayton, here, will get you one." The man nodded at him, tipped his cap in her direction once more, and then stood up, disappearing inside the kitchen with his mug of coffee. "I'm Juliette, by the way, nice to meet you."

William turned towards her and planted himself on the seat Clayton had just vacated. "Alex," he said, holding out a hand which Juliette immediately shook, "Nice to meet you too."