Penny held herself back from immediately returning to the coffee shop the next day.
No getting creepy.
She couldn't even afford that much coffee even if she wanted it. But the next time she did return someone must have been smiling down at her, because cute coffee shop guy was there, and they shared a head nod TM.
Playing it cool, she didn't walk up to him that day, but for the rest of the day she did walk around with a smile so big that she got weird looks from people that she passed in the streets.
That becomes her habit over the next few weeks. When she has the spare money she goes to the coffee shop. Sometimes cute coffee shop guy is there, and sometimes he's there with his friend (Mia). And then sometimes neither of them is there at all.
On the third time of them running into each other, they get into a conversation. And sure it's only about the weather – the most cliché 'how do we talk to each other' conversation there ever was – but Penny manages to wrangle a laugh out of him, and she couldn't have been happier.
The next time, he's the one who says hi first.
The time after that Mia is there too – but even her glare seems less harsh than it usually is.
The fourth time Penny manages to casually say Cute coffee shop guy's name (Liam) out loud – and better yet her throat doesn't catch on the one word. It comes out completely normally. And then he said her name right back.
Penny. Her name is boring in all retrospect, but the way he'd said it (followed with a small laugh) had made her heart completely skip a beat.
On the fifth encounter Mia is there, but he still waves her over to sit with them.
On their sixth encounter, she found out his favourite colour is yellow. She hadn't asked him, but it had slipped out casually in their conversation.
After that Penny stops counting their encounters and starts counting how many facts she can find out about him.
He drinks his coffee with so much milk and sugar that it's barely coffee at all anymore.
He reads YA novels. He'd blushed when Penny had found that out, but Penny hadn't made fun of him. Maybe if she read more she'd be able to strike up more conversations with him.
His favourite movie was literally anything Disney.
He gardens. When Penny had found this out she'd all but swooned on the spot.
Along the way Penny becomes comfortable thinking of them as friends. They are friends. And the thought brings warmth to every pore in her being.
Sure, she'd love to be more, but she couldn't find it in herself to be sad in anyway in the development of their relationship.
It hit Penny on a Thursday in the middle of September how far gone she really was, when she sees a bunch of pretty yellow flowers, and she instantly went to take a picture of them to send to Cute coffee shop guy.
It then hit her that she didn't actually have cute coffee shop guy's number.
Her stomach twisted at the realisation, because she couldn't just ask him for it. She didn't want to inadvertently remind him of the fact she'd stolen his phone – and plus what if this was all in her head? She didn't want to make him uncomfortable by suddenly asking for his number.
She became uncomfortably aware of her heartbeat, which had begun to pick up to an unsteady pace.
What if he started keeping his distance again? It had crushed her before, maybe it would kill her now. Now that she knew what it was like to have his smile and laughter directed at her.
YOU ARE READING
Meet me in the Cute
Romance"Theft. You thought theft would be a good meet cute?" _ _ _ In which Penny is a disaster (surprising exactly no one). _ _ _ *this story has the target audience of one. it's me. I am 'one'. All this is to say please don't leave hate if this isn't you...
