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The streets of Atlanta were filled with people racing around, cars driving by, traffic lights blinking, horns honking, music playing. The sun shined through the cracks of buildings and street signs, the air was warm, but not humid. It was a perfect day.
Tom's eyes lit up as he saw a sign hidden among tourist shops and tacky souvenir gift shops. He stretched his arm out to entwine his fingers around the girl accompanying beside him. She looked up at the feeling of someone's hand wrapping in her's, and with a smile, she stared up at the boy next to her.
A laugh left his throat and without any words exchanged, he was tugging Blair in between people and down a crosswalk onto the other side of a busy street. Blair laughed wholeheartedly as she nearly ran into people but Tom saved her by taking the hit instead. He shouted many apologies to people who seemed to be having such horrible days, but his journey didn't stop.
Minutes passed and the two were still jogging along the sidewalk before Tom finally slowed to a stop in front of a store hidden between heavy traffic of tacky tourists. A small sign was buried next to a flashing gift shop sign, and it's small letters were washing off from thunderstorms. Blair nodded as Tom looked down at her with a questionable face, and with a small smile, the two were heading down the four steps of the store and into the quaint little shop.
The first thing they noticed was the cool air that refreshed them from the hot sun outside. And the second thing was the strong scent of fresh coffee beans that were at that very minute being ground down into a thick powder.
Blair grinned as her eyes took in her surroundings, and her hand slipped out of Tom's as she approached a small bookstand near the counter where orders were taken. He hands reached for a very worn paperback and she smiled, flipping through the pages that were obviously shown a lot of love throughout the years. Tom approached her from behind and reached over her shoulder to grab another book, one that he remembered reading as a child. His thoughts were consumed as he read the first paragraph, then the next, and the next.
He and Blair stood reading for several moments before her quiet voice interrupted the busy silence. "This is my favorite book," she whispered, her fingers brushing over the black mockingbird on the cover. Tom chuckled and took the book from her, "I don't think I've ever read it," he admitted while flipping it over to read the summary. "You have to, it will change the way you look at things forever. My mom couldn't pry it out of my hands if she tried," Blair giggled, then plucking the book that Tom had in his hands out so she could observe it. "I read this whole series," she said, placing it back on the shelf.
"Me, too. Harry always thought they were boring, but Sam took my entire collection."
Blair scoffed, "I think Dylan lost my copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. But I could never prove it," she shrugged. She looked up at the menu of coffee that was displayed in front of them and Tom watched her eyes travel across the board.
Slowly, his eyes focused back on the book in his hands and he smiled only slightly, an idea coming to his mind. "Do you know what you would like?" a girl's voice asked, drawing Tom's attention back up to the counter where a girl no more than sixteen was leaning on the pine wood with her gray apron hanging loosely by her sides. Blair glanced at Tom, "I can order if you want to keep looking," she told him, earning a shake of the head from the man. "No, I'm ready. But I'm paying," he smirked, already tugging his wallet from his back pocket.
Blair's jaw dropped and she immediately shook her head, "No way! You got the pizza," she scolded, reaching into the deep depths of her purse to tug her wallet out. Tom placed a soft hand on her shoulder and looked at her with his deep brown puppy dog eyes, and Blair looked up to fall for them. "Please?" he begged, his lips forming a pout. Blair narrowed her eyes, not letting herself lose so easily.
However, once he tilted his head slightly to the left, she gave in with a sigh. "Fine, but only this time!" she reprimanded, her finger coming in contact with his chest. Tom raised his hands in surrender and nodded, "Okay, deal. Now, what did you want?"
"Caramel iced coffee, please," she smiled, her eyes sparkling as the sun bounced off her green flecks in her pupils. Tom laughed, "Caramel iced coffee," he repeated with a nod. Blair pursed her lips to hide her neverending smile and she pushed onto her tippy toes to press a kiss onto Tom's cheek, "Thank you," she whispered before taking a step backwards. "I'm going to use the restroom, I'll get a table when I get back," she told him before turning on her heel and walking towards the back of the small shop to find the bathroom.
Tom watched her walk away before stepping up to the counter where the teenager was smiling at him, "You guys are cute," she grinned. Tom chuckled, "Thank you," he said calmly before placing the book he had in his hands onto the counter. "Uh, one caramel iced coffee... one hazelnut iced coffee, and this," he said while sliding the book over to her. "Large!" he added in at the last moment, the barista bitting her lip as she put the order into her system, then picking up the book to type in the barcode on the back.
She smiled as she slid it back to him and Tom took it graciously, then giving her the amount of money due. The girl worked quickly to fix the two drinks, and once completed, she put gave them to Tom who took them carefully and wandered over to an empty table to place them. He walked back to the register to fetch the book that he left and finally sat down just as Blair was returning.
She smiled at him and shook her hands out to the side to dry them, then taking a seat across from the actor. "There's hardly anyone here," she softly said while looking around the shop, only seeing perhaps three other couples and groups. Tom shrugged, "It's a hidden treasure, that's for sure."
Blair hummed in agreement before lifting her coffee to her lips and taking a long awaited sip. After she placed it back on the table she glanced back at the barista who was now tapping her fingers to the soft classical music playing in the background and reading the summary of a book on the bookshelf nearby. "She makes an amazing iced coffee," Blair admitted, a smile forming on her lips as Tom said "She really does."
"Hey, what's that?" Blair asked, gesturing to the book that she saw peeking out from the top of the table as it stood vertically on Tom's legs. He lifted it up and handed it to her, confusion already resting on her face, "You said Dylan lost yours," he spoke, watching as Blair took the book with great delicacy. She smiled as it rested in her hands and she sighed, "You didn't have to do that."
"I wanted to," Tom replied quickly, knowing that it wasn't expensive and that he wanted to do something nice for Blair even if she didn't want him pampering her. "Thank you," she said after, a beam forming on her face as she placed it in front of her. "My pleasure," Tom responded with a wide smile, a goofy smile that showed all of his teeth and forced him to close his eyes as he jutted out his jaw.
Blair laughed and Tom's eyes opened, admiring the girl before him.
He admired her golden hair. He admired her eyes that sparkled in the sun. He admired her simplicity. He admired her love for iced - not hot - coffee. He admired her willingness to adventure into unknown bookstore coffee shops without questioning why he was tugging her across the street through traffic.
