Meet Cute

Chapter 2

It's safe to say the night got away from us the second we left the bar. Casey had gotten so insanely drunk we had to drag her out of her car and into her apartment where she proceeded to vomit profusely on the floor of her bathroom. Jules agreed to stay with her for the rest of the night so Estelle and I could head back home and make it to work the next morning. 

I actually did manage to make it to work on time for the second day in a row, much to the surprise of all my coworkers. "You better keep this up, kid," Mark said after we got through our first rush. "We have expectations now."

"I told you, Mark," I joked as I went to wash my hands in the sink behind the counter, "I'm turning over a new leaf. This is the new Laurel you're seeing."

"I bet she won't keep it up for a week," Kathryn said to Mark while wiping down the pastry case.

I turned to glare at her but it only lasted a second before the two of us burst out into laughter. "Come on, I got this. You'll see." I said with a chuckle. She rolled her eyes at me and walked into the back of the cafe.

"Fat chance you pull this off, kid," Mark added and followed her into the back. Before I could make an obscene gesture towards them the bell to our front door rang signaling a new customer. I looked up from the counter to find Chris walking up to the register. You could say I was more than a little surprised. After the night before I assumed I'd never see him again. The abruptness of my departure from the bar left us without the chance to exchange phone numbers and the likelihood of him waltzing into this little coffee shop seemed slim to none.

"I was hoping I'd see you here." Chris smiled at me and I swear to god I could've melted right there on the spot. "I had to weasel the name of this place out of Josh but he finally gave in."

"Well, I'm glad you found it." I couldn't help but smile at him. "Can I get anything for you?" I asked him, not really knowing what else to say.

He paused for a while to look at the menu before responding. "I think I'll take a small black coffee, and maybe you could throw in your number?" He cocked his head to the side as he asked the question and a small smile spread across his lips. 

I chuckled at his question, the guy was pretty damn smooth. "I think I can make that work, actually." I joked and picked up a cup for him. We chatted for a while before we got our second rush and Chris decided it would be best to let me do my job. I still had the feeling that I had seen Chris somewhere before and I just couldn't shake it. 

*****

Driving home from work that day I still had a dopey smile on my face from seeing Chris. The complete surprise of it was possibly the best part and I really hoped we'd see each other again. Estelle immediately knew something was up when I stepped through the door of our apartment. She barely looked up from her laptop as I sat down on the couch next to her. "What's up with you today?" She asked and continued doing her work.

"Oh nothing too exciting," I said as I turned on the tv and flipped through a few channels. Estelle stayed focused on her computer. "Just the normal rush. Mark was surprised I was actually on time to work again. That Chris guy came by."

As soon as I said that she closed her laptop and turned to face me. "The cute as hell actor man came to your work?" The look on her face was completely surprised and I felt a little pride in finally being able to pull her focus away from the computer screen. I gave her a coy smile and shrugged without saying anything else. "Oh come on, Laurel. You can't set me up like that and not say anything else about it."

I chuckled a bit before actually responding. "I don't know. He just stopped by to say hello and got some coffee." I could feel my cheeks getting warm just thinking about him being there. "We talked for a little bit and I gave him my number so we shall see what happens next." Estelle squealed from excitement. "Estelle, I don't think I've ever heard you make that sound before." I laughed.

"I honestly don't think I have ever made that sound in my life but holy shit Laurel! He was so cute! I swear if he does not call you back I will set this building on fire."

"Okay calm down there John Orr." I stood up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. "Whatever is meant to happen will happen." She stared at me from the couch with a look that could see right through me. "Okay okay, I really hope he does something."

Estelle groaned and went back to her computer. "How on earth do you just randomly stumble upon the most attractive man on the planet. It's unfair."

I laughed at her while I continued to rifle through the cabinets. "Just lucky I guess."

*****

Later that night I sat in my room staring at a nearly empty page of writing on my computer screen, the cursor blinking at me as I tried to find the words that would turn me into some kind of a poetic genius. I quickly got frustrated with myself so I shut my laptop and walked into the bathroom to get ready for bed. As I brushed my teeth I heard my phone buzz as it sat on my bed. I furrowed my brow as I walked over to check it, wondering who it could be.

Unknown

Hey! It's Chris from the bar... and the coffee shop.

As much as I had been hoping he would contact me I was a little shocked he actually had. It seemed all too good to be true.

Laurel

Hey Chris! It's great to hear from you!

As soon as I hit send I felt the butterflies in my stomach go wild and immediately questioned whether I was coming on too strong with the exclamation marks.

Chris 

I'm really glad I was able to catch you at the coffee shop today too bad we got cut short :/

"Oh my god, he uses emoticons like a total dork." I thought to myself before replying.

Laurel

Ugh, I know I wish we could've talked more.

Chris

I hope this doesn't come off too strong but I would really like to take you out sometime. Maybe for some dinner?

I dropped my phone on the bed in shock and audibly gasped. Estelle knocked on the door and let herself inside. "What's going on in here? I could hear you talking to yourself like a psycho." I didn't say anything to her, being still in shock, and she looked at my phone sitting on the bed. "Oh my god, did he text you?" I nodded and she immediately picked up the phone. "Laurel! He wants to take you out on a date! Why haven't you responded yet, have you lost your mind?"

"Okay, I just need to take a deep breath." I said and took the phone from her. "And just say no because I would almost assuredly make a fool of myself."

Before I could type even a single letter Estelle snatched the phone from my hands and began typing. "Not a chance in hell I'm letting you screw this up you ding dong. Here." She handed me the phone with the message she had sent. 

Laurel

That sounds great! When are you thinking? 

"I hate you." I stared at her with fear in my eyes. I was normally never like this with guys but something about him made me both extremely nervous and excited. 

"Why are you being so weird about this? He wants to take you out, let's see where this goes." Just then my phone buzzed with Chris' response. "And now time to see."

Chris

How does this Tuesday at 7 work for you?

I looked up at her for a second before responding.

Laurel

That'd be perfect!

Estelle gave me a smug look before she walked out of the room. "Looks like someone's got a date coming up."