The Candace Clique

Chapter Five

Anastasia leaned back on the chair, wiggling her aching fingers in the air. She looked at the chapters she had done on her laptop, a bit impressed with herself.  Her eyes ached from the long hours of tapping the keys on the laptop, her fingers were tired, and she felt like her brain had been squeezed from all the thinking she had done. Anastasia took her glasses off, digging the heels of her hands on her eyelids, trying to take away the sting the light from her laptop had made. She glanced down at her watch, blinking 7:05 at her; she had been sitting on the exact same spot in the cafe, occasionally ordering latte, waiting for Jake to finish his shift. What the hell Ana, you hardly know the guy, a voice in her head said. She tried to shake the thought away, letting the more stubborn part of herself win, give it a chance.

“You seem to be at war with yourself.”

Anastasia’s head shot up, her eyes instantly meeting the greenest forest eyes she had ever seen. He took a sit in front of her, his cafe uniform discarded; he had a white V-neck t-shirt on that clung to his body like a second skin, his dark jeans matched the dark mass of his hair and his incredibly long girly lashes. “Jake,” Ana squeaked.

He smiled, liking the way his name rolled out of her tongue, “I didn’t quite catch your name.”

“Anastasia,” she grinned, extending her hand out for him, “Anastasia Cortez.”

“Jacob Balthemore,” he sited cooly, shaking Ana’s hands slowly.

Ana raised an eyebrow, his last name seeming familiar to her, “Balthemore...” then, as if a ball hit her, she said, “Like, Drew Balthemore?”

Jake smiled, making his smile go aloof, “His one and only son.”

“You?” Ana shrieked, “Drew Balthemore’s son? Like that Hollywood movie star, right?”

His nodded, a laugh escaping his full lips.

Her smile dropped, “But why do you work in a face when you’re filthy rich?”

Jake shrugged, “I just don’t want to depend on my dad for the money.”

Anastasia nodded.  She closed her laptop, feeling like it’s in the way, sliding it inside her bag. His eyes were trained on the laptop then flickered up to Anastasia’s eyes, “You’ve been on your laptop the entire time you were here.”

She shrugged, cupping the mug in her dainty hands, “I was writing; trying to finish my book.”

He looked impressed, his white teeth a contrast to his tan skin, “You’re a writer?”

“I’m a student,” she laughed, “writing’s more of a past time.”

“Do you mind if I asked you to let me see your work?” he urged on, leaning his elbows on the table.

Ana shook her light brown clad head, her charcoal eyes glittering. She dug inside her bag for the ring bound book she always had with her. When her hands closed around the material, she pulled it out and pushed it across the table to Jake. He eyed the material, looking back at the girl, “You ring bind your books on your own?”

She nodded, biting the insides of her cheek, “It’s the closest thing I get to making my books published.”

He nodded, flipping the book open.

Julia looked at the pile of books in front of her, not sure if the kid who placed it there was kidding. She raised an eyebrow at the pig tailed girl who was sucking contentedly on a lollipop, “You’re going to buy all these?”