Smitten Over Coffee

Chapter Five: Cafe Au Lait

Flora ran her hand over her face as she waited in line to order a pick-me-up. Someone had set her building's fire alarm off at three in the morning, and it had taken the fire department a good half-hour to set things right. Whatever genius had decided to barbecue in the hallway at such an ungodly hour was going to feel Jayda's sleep-deprived wrath, which was a tad more unhinged than her well-rested wrath.

"Fancy meeting you here."

Flora turned around to find the tall fellow standing behind her. "Oh, hey, you. How are you?"

"Not too bad. Nice flower."

"Flower?"

He pointed at her hair, and she ran her fingers through it to find a pink, miniature rose stuck there. She laughed a bit as she it between her thumb and forefinger.

"Ah, yes, occupational hazard, I suppose. Although, it could be worse. I could work somewhere where I could potentially cut off my finger or end up covered in animal poop."

The tall fellow burst out laughing but quickly regained his composure. "Animal poop?"

Eyes wide, Flora realized what she had just said. "Oh gosh, that was so weird. I'm sorry. I just have pet stores on my mind because I need to go find a new flavor of food for my cat because he's suddenly not eating the stuff I've got, and the employees there sometimes have like bird poop or something like that on their shirts. Not always, though. Actually, not all that often, really. I don't know why I even said it."

The tall fellow could not hold back his laughter now, and she let out a sigh.

"Did I mention I didn't get much sleep last night?" she said as his laughter began to die down.

"It's fine, I understand," the tall fellow said.

"I swear I'm not a complete psycho."

"Trust me, I don't think you're a psycho. I little weird, but not a psycho."

"What can I get you?" asked the barista.

"Hi, yeah, can I get a medium cafe au lait and an apple walnut muffin?" Flora said.

"Ah, a little something to supplement the caffeine," the tall fellow said as Flora stepped aside to wait for her order.

"More to placate my sleep-deprived roommate."

"What can I get you, sir?" the barista asked the tall fellow.

Flora drummed her fingers against the pick-up counter as the tall fellow ordered his sugar-filled coffee. When he was through, he came to stand by her, a smile playing on his lips.

"Is this the same girl who likes The Scream?" he asked.

"Yes, Jayda. She's on a rampage right now since one of our stupid neighbors set the fire alarms off early this morning."

"How early?"

"Three-ish."

"Yikes. Not a pleasant way to be woken up."

"No, it is not. Jayda is not a morning person and is somewhat of a maniac, so if she finds out who the idiot was who did it—well, let's just say I pity his pathetic existence."

"Well, Doki's muffins are enough to soothe even the most agitated of spirits."

The barista called out her order, and Flora went to scoop up the coffee and pastry bag, not realizing that she still had the little rose between her fingers. She stared at it for a moment before holding it out to the tall fellow.

"Ah, here. An apology for bringing up poop earlier."

The tall fellow cocked his head slightly and took the flower. "Thank you?"

"I'd better get this to Jayda before she causes any serious trouble."

She grabbed her order and headed towards the door. "Good luck," the tall fellow called after her with a grin, still holding the tiny rose.