Marina

Chapter 1:Marina

Shelbys POV

I was at the coffee shop that I was always at, right between my house and school. It was my favorite place, and I worked on my homework here as well as my online job, basically every second I wasn't obligated to be somewhere else, I could be found here... And it for the sole purpose of seeing Marina, no matter how much I try to deny it. She was my favorite barista, and I had a massive crush on her, which was very bad, because I was not single. Marina had moved here about a year ago, from France. Why she was in the states bewildered me; it was so... Bland here.

Her eyes were light brown, her hair as straight as a pin, and as black as coal. She was very tall and thin, but definitely not enough to look like she couldn't handle anything you threw at her. She moved with such certainty while she worked, with such ease, each move arranged to be perfect. When she was caught off guard by something, interrupting her flow, she would make this disgruntled little scream and it made me laugh.

I sometimes watched her make drinks, her moves and rhythm set me into a trance. Even when she was on her break, she would sip her coffee, reading a book that for some reason had the cover taken off, leaving a red hardback, no lettering. Her tongue would stick out in concentration, smiling at some parts of the book.

"Hey babe?" I heard, pulling me out of my thoughts regarding Marina. Oh, my incessant boyfriend. He didn't like coming to this cafe, but if he didn't come here, he would never see me. As much as I loved him, lately all I could think about was Marina. It was so new to me, I've never thought about another girl like this. There was just something about Marina that intrigued me, making me want to explore more.

"Yes?" I asked, looking away from Marina. Drake was tall, and pretty handsome, with dirty blonde hair and a bulky figure, not my usual type.

"You want another coffee?" He asked, pointing to our empty glasses. I nodded, "I'll get us a refill." I stood up and he went to kiss me, but I felt so weird kissing him in front of her, even though it was preposterous, there was no reason for it to be awkward, she doesn't like me like that. Drake was my boyfriend. We were together.

I walked up and placed the empty mugs on the counter. Marina popped up out of nowhere, making my heart race; from excitement or surprise, I couldn't tell. "Refill of both?" She asked and I nodded, "Y-Yes please." God, why was I stuttering? She made me so nervous for no reason. There was an unknown glimmer in her eye at seeing me struggle to get the words out, which for some reason just made me blush more. She intrigued me so very much. I wish I could speak to her for hours, but I get too embarrassed.

"Is he paying, or you?" She asked, her accent so strong, but she had adapted quite well from when I first met her. Her voice is what I dream about. Well, her in general actually. The amount of times I had waken up from dream about her and had to help myself was way too high..

"Umm, he bought last time, so it's my turn now." She smiled and took the mugs, "Then, it's on me." She didn't give me any time to argue, as she had already started making the drinks. The sound of the milk aerating, the paper tearing sound as she made my flat white, like music to my ears. She always did it perfectly, and I know that because when anyone else was making drinks, and the sound was very loud she would appear and fix it. It always made me laugh.

"So, it seems like you're always here whenever I'm working. Except Fridays, I work during the day. School?" I nodded, she must have figured that out because Saturdays and Sundays she works during the day but I'm here. "The place feels... Bare without you here." I blushed and hid my face behind the espresso bars. I've been unable to make a complete sentence to this beautiful woman in the 7 months I've been coming here. Only the last month I've been sitting in the lobby religiously. I used to go through the drive thru, but since Marina got promoted I never get to see her, she's too busy running around the store, which is why I like to sit inside, I rarely don't see her.