Touched

2

The smell of fresh coffee wrapped itself around me as I finished off my third cup of the day. My dad often told me that I'd be a coffee bean by thirty. I continued with detailed strokes across my canvas, stepping back every few minutes to fully take in my work, something just wasn't right. I needed something that was really going to captivate viewers, something that evoked passion and wonder. And this...this wasn't it. 

My first day of class was still ages away, but we had a summer project to turn in for a showcase right at the start of the semester. I could already tell I was going to really have to focus. 

I'd spent the past two weeks huddled away in my studio, which was really just a glorified shed my dad had built for me in our backyard years ago. I'd since spruced up the place with a coat of paint, futon bed, and string lights with various decorations. The diffuser in the corner left the space smelling of lavender, while Jazz music played quietly in the background. Despite my normal methods to get my creativity flowing, nothing was working, I was stumped on what my piece was going to be.

My only option at this point, was to take a break and simply let the image come to me. I decided I'd take advantage of the sun still being out and go for a walk around the neighborhood. 

The houses in my culdesac were average in size like any other gated suburb in the area. Most of the families that lived here had been here since the development came to be twenty or so years ago. My brother, like myself, spent his entire life here.

My aimless wandering took me to a coffee shop not too far from my house. Despite it being after six in the evening, I didn't see a reason as to why an iced coffee wouldn't be acceptable.

Ben, the barista....yes, Ben the barista, knew my order the moment he saw me. "Iced or hot today?" He winked. 

"Iced, definitely, have you been outside today?" I laughed.

I was scrolling through Amanda's feed while I waited, she'd seemed to be having the summer of her life, exploring every inch Canada had to offer. Here I was stuck at home trying to figure out what to paint next. We were already two weeks into summer break and mine couldn't have gotten any dryer.

I spent the next half hour sipping coffee and reading a paperback. Call me cliche, but a good book and coffee shop was the perfect hideout for me. I took my time walking back home, hoping a creative idea would suddenly slap me in the face. 

"Watch out!"  I was completely lost in my music when a loud shout followed by a thud left me breathless, horns blaring in the background along with a string of colorful words.

"Oh...my God." My lungs were practically crushed from the weight of the stranger on top of me. "Did you just truck me?"

"More like saved your life." A guy with dark hair and a tall frame jumped to his feet while I struggled to get to my own, he made it seem so effortless. "You didn't see that car? You were about three seconds from being roadkill."

I looked around, had I really crossed the street without looking? Sometimes I got so lost in my own head I didn't even know what was going on around me. 

"No, wow...thanks. I guess I got wrapped up in my head again." It was at that moment that I finally looked at his face, blush instantly creeping it's way onto my cheeks. He seemed familiar, as if I'd seen him somewhere before, but that couldn't be...because I was sure I'd remember a face like that. 

"No problem, I'd pay more attention though if I were you, never know what you might miss." He offered me a kind smile before walking away.

Wow, he really just saved me from being hit by a car and walked away...just like that. No name, no number...nothing. Part of me wanted to go after him, but the othe part knew I wasn't that bold.