Uncommon Love (Asexual Romance )

Chapter 3: Friends

Dory, capable as always, managed to stop laughing first. "I'd like a mocha frappe without whipped cream. And a cinnamon bun. Thanks!"

The waiter took down her order, and moved on to Ara. "And what will be your order?" 

Ara wasn't paying attention again- mostly because the coffee machines were deafening. They hadn't managed to reach the coffeeshop in the middle of the day, so it was more crowded than she was used to. She hadn't really noticed how noisy and full of people it was while she was joking around with Dory and London, but now that she was more relaxed, everything had come back in full force. 

She finally noticed the waiter waiting patiently. "Ah, I'm not quite ready to order. Could you come back to me? Thanks. I'm having issues on deciding..."

"That's quite all right, I understand." The server moved on to London. "What would you like, sir?"

He straightened up. "I'd like the iced caramel cappuccino, please." 

Ara brightened up. "That's MY favorite drink! Can I order one as well please?"

"Of course you may. I'll be right back with your orders!" The waiter bustled off to the kitchen.

Dory leaned in. "Ara, you don't look ok. After the drinks come should we go somewhere else? It is rather loud and bright in here, even for me. I can't imagine how you're feeling at the moment."

Ara nodded, relieved. Dory could always tell when she was having issues. "Yeah, I'd like that. Yesterday was exciting enough."

London hung his head in shame. "Sorry about that- I swear I didn't mean to..."

Dory airily waved a hand. "Hah, don't sweat over it- I'm not in the hospital, am I? No harm done."

He wiped his brow. "Thank goodness- I had hoped that you were alright, but only after you were taking those pictures was I sure of your excellent health." He turned to Ara. "Why did you order the same drink as I did?"

She blinked. Apparently he hadn't heard what she'd said about it being her favorite drink. 

"Uhm, it's my favor-" 

He interrupted her. "No, not that- I heard that. I mean, why didn't you order it as soon as the waiter asked you about your drink? I mean, if you like it that much, surely you'd order it whenever you get coffee, right?"

Ara tilted her head at him. He was being remarkably perceptive for having chosen a seat farther away from her. Had he been watching her that closely? "I have sensory issues, so this place" she waved her arms to indicate the area "is not helping. Because of that, Dory and I were thinking of getting the order to go rather than dining in."

London looked confused. "Which senses? All of them? Or only some of them?" 

Ara sighed. She always got this question. "I am hypersensitive in sight, hearing, touch, and mildly in smell. I have normal taste sensitivity, thank god. The most intensely sensitive senses I have are sight and hearing, so this place, which has a lot of both, is overwhelming..." 

She trailed off, thinking that perhaps London had lost interest. Instead, she saw that he was looking concernedly at her. "Are you alright here? Would you rather wait outside with Dory and then I'll get our drinks and we can go to your house? I hear that your house is empty today from a certain friend of yours." He winked at Dory, who looked away, slightly ashamed. 

Ara thought about it. Normally, she would have been offended that he had invited himself and Dory over to her house, but since she was thinking of inviting them over anyways, it was a non-issue. Plus, he had offered her an escape from the coffeehouse. 

"Sure, let's do it- sounds like a plan!"

As soon as both of them were outside without London, Dory asked, "So.... saw you blushing at him in there. Think you'll ask him out yet? Or do you want to wait for a bit and be friends with him first?" She grined knowingly.

Ara groaned. "I knew you'd say that! I just want to be friends with him. He's probably not asexual anyways, so I see no point in pursuing him until I know."

Dory made a face. "Fine, if you insist," she grumbled. Her ship wasn't sailing in the right direction, so she was a little pissed. Although, she reminded herself, Ara wasn't the same as herself in how she approaches relationships, so maybe I should let her do this on her own... but I'll still give he advice if needed. I'm not going to stop teasing her about it though!

"Have you thought about asking-"

London burst through the door in his usual speedy manner, carrying the drinks. "Here is milady's iced caramel cappuccino, and here is Dory's mocha frappe!" He finally noticed Dory's expression. "What's wrong? Did I interrupt something? Gah, I do that a lot... want me to go back inside until you're done chit-chatting about me?"

Dory bristled. "Why did you think that we were talking about you in particular? That rather arrogant of you, you know."

London grinned. "When the guy is left inside whilst the girls talk, it's usually gossiping. Since I'm new to both of you, I figured it'd be me that you were talking about. Sorry about assuming that! What were you talking about, then?"

Dory pretended to not notice his comment and turned away. Ara spoke up in her place. "She was talking about you, which she's ashamed to admit. She hates being labelled a gossiper, so this is rather humbling on her part.."

London nodded. "I understand now," he remarked as he watched Dory's evasive behavior. "It's fine, everyone I know talks about me, whether negatively or positively. I know I'm not exactly the definition of normal, and even normal people are talked about. Everyone talks about everyone else at some point in their lives. It's a part of how humans interact with one another."

He bowed in her direction somewhat jokingly. "I forgive you for your grievous sin."

"Hahaha! Man, you're hilarious! And thanks for not thinking I'm awful. I'm not sure I understood everything you just said, but I was talking positively about you, so don't worry about it." 

London grinned. "I figured that it wasn't too bad, given your easy manner with the janitor incident. Now Ara, are we going to lean against this wall all day or is your house more comfy?"

Hey, everyone! This is Kyrin, your dear author, and I'd feel really motivated if you could give comment and vote to let me know how you're feeling about the story!

Question Of The Week: Do you think London has a crush on Ara, and if so, why?