Smitten Over Coffee

Chapter Thirteen: Cafe Cortado and Hot Chocolate Coffee

Drumming her fingers against the table, Flora waited anxiously. Her eyes darted to the door every time the bell sounded, but each time she was disappointed to see a stranger's face rather than Julian's friendly smile.

She took a sip of her cafe cortado. Her sketchbook was open in front of her, but she found it impossible to distract herself with costume designs while she was waiting. The table shook as she bounced her leg up and down beneath it, causing her pencil to roll towards the edge of the table. She caught it just before it fell off.

She couldn't stand it. She had to tell him. If he didn't come today, she just might burst from excitement.

The bell jingled. She looked to the door and broke into a smile. There he was, tall, smiling, and adorable as always. Not even giving him a moment to step inside, Flora leapt to her feet and bounded over to him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

Nearly toppling over from her unexpected attack, Julian tried to steady himself against the door. "Uh, yeah, uh, I'm welcome, I mean, you're welcome. Um, wait, what am I welcoming you about? I mean—"

Pulling away, Flora grinned at Julian's bewildered expression. Was it from the ambiguous "thank you"? Or could it possibly be that he was flustered by her sudden embrace?

"I got a commission. And it's all thanks to you," she said.

Still looking slightly confused, Julian gave a smile. "Ah, because of me? I mean, congratulations, but what did I do? And what exactly is a commission?"

Laughing, Flora took hold of his wrist and led him towards the counter. "I'm buying you whatever you'd like today. I'll buy you whatever you'd like for the rest of the year, in fact."

"Ha, I think that might be a little overboard, especially considering I have no idea what I did."

"Okay, something sugary, right?" She looked up at the chalkboard menu. "Ooh, how about hot chocolate coffee? Have you had that before?"

"Um, yeah, it's really good."

"Great." Flora turned to the barista who was clearly trying to hide her smile as she watched the two of them. "One large hot chocolate coffee please."

"Coming right up," the barista said.

Still holding Julian captive by his wrist, Flora brought him over to her table and sat him down. "All right, so let me explain," she said as she took her own seat.

"Yes, please do."

"So remember how you gave me your friend's card for Jayda? So she could get some good photos of her cosplays?"

"Right, yeah. She went to him?"

"Yes, she did. He took some great shots and used them as part of his online portfolio. Someone saw them and asked who made the costume Jayda was wearing. So your friend gave them my information, and they got in touch with me to request that I make them a costume."

"Wow, that's awesome!"

Flora grinned like a maniac and nodded her head. "It is beyond awesome. All this time I've only ever done costumes for Jayda. This is the first business request I've ever gotten. I feel so professional!"

The barista approached their table. "One hot chocolate coffee."

"Thank you," Julian said as he took the cup from her.

The barista gave them a smile and returned to her post behind the counter.

Julian turned his attention back to Flora. "That's so exciting, Flora. Really, I'm so happy for you. Although, I don't feel like I can take any credit for it."

"No, you deserve plenty of credit," Flora said as she leaned forward and placed her hand on his. "If you hadn't thought to give me his card, none of this would have happened."

Julian swallowed the sip of coffee he had taken and glanced down at her hand atop his own. Was he nervous? Uncomfortable? Was she being too forward? But she remembered the rose and allowed herself to hope that her touch was not unwanted.

"Seriously, ever since I met you, it feels like my life has just exploded with color, if that makes any sense," she said. "It's like all of a sudden I feel the way pretty acoustic songs make me feel. Soft and thoughtful and filled with anticipation for what might come next. I don't know, I probably sound crazy."

Taking a sharp breath, Julian leaned in closer. Just as he was about to speak, though, Flora's phone went off. She pulled it out and saw that it was Tamia. Frowning at the screen, she hit the ignore button and turned back to Julian with a smile.

"Sorry about that, it was just my friend. Anyhow, I wanted to thank—"

Again, Tamia's name popped up on her phone. She ignored it, but almost immediately the phone started buzzing again. Biting her lip, she looked up at Julian.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to be rude, but it's really weird that she's calling me like this," she said.

"No, no, go ahead, I understand."

As soon as she accepted the call, she could hear sobbing on the other end. "Tamia? Tamia are you okay?"

"It's happening again...Michael...he's...it's going...Andrew...again..."

Flora could barely make out the words between the hysterical sobs. "Tamia, wait, what? Tamia?"

Tamia only responded with more tears.

"Where are you? Are you at home? Tamia?"

"Yes...home...please..."

"Stay there, try to calm down, I'll be there soon."

Hanging up the phone, Flora turned back to Julian. "I'm so, so sorry, but I need to go help my friend, she's a mess right now, and I need to figure out what's going on."

"It's fine, really, I understand."

Throwing on her jacket and packing up her sketchbook, she gave Julian an apologetic smile. "Really, I feel terrible just running out like this, it's just—"

Julian got to his feet and handed her her coffee. "No need to explain. I completely understand. Go help your friend."

Flora stared up at him for a moment. Seeing that sweet smile made her want to do something rash. Something that involved her lips on his. But her hands were full and Tamia needed her. So instead of acting impulsively, she bumped her coffee cup into his and smiled.

"Thank you again, Julian."

Did his face just turn pink? Her phone buzzed again, and Flora knew she had no time to contemplate Julian's blushing face. With one last smile, she hurried out the door.