Whispers of My Sweetheart

Chapter 8 ~ Of Coffee & Clubs

The warm brown liquid lingered and flowed while each taste bud savoured the flavour before it slid smoothly down her throat. Every molecule within the body felt like they were vibrating before resettling in their proper place. With that one sip, the askew feeling world had seemed to become right again and a pleasurable sigh escaped Aster. 

"Better?" a mirth filled voice remarked. 
Aster looked across the table at Lucy, who looked like she was holding back giggles. 
"You have no idea" Aster replied, cracking a half-smile. Lucy just shook her head in amusement before taking a sip of her iced tea. It hadn't taken long Lucy to realise that Aster viewed coffee as liquid gold and a daily necessity but the current reaction was so expressive, it was almost sensual. 

Since her retreat into self-isolation, Aster hadn't had a decent coffee that wasn't made from instant powder. After the earlier late-night call with Andy, she felt much better and when the morning rolled round she was itching to get out, but being the weekend in a city she barely knew, she had nowhere to go. As if summoned, Lucy had messaged and invited her out on a shopping trip, that Aster had earlier suggested. Their first stop was the café where they were now sitting.

Noticing that she had drunk nearly half of her coffee, Aster put the mug down and examined the personally private girl opposite her. Lucy looked gentle, almost delicate as she sipped her drink, occasionally looking around with that shy demure of hers. Aster couldn't help but be reminded of Fluttershy from My Little Ponies: Friendship is Magic.
'No, a cross of Fluttershy and Rarity,' Aster thought to herself, remembering the gorgeous green dress that she had worn earlier in the week.

Once again Aster wondered what more was there to this girl, who was five years her junior. When needed she could network and communicate with others like a pro but seemed like she never wanted to be in the direct spotlight herself. Was she really shy or did she just appeared shy because she was personally closed off to others?

"So," Aster started. Lucy jumped slightly at the sudden word, visibly tense as though unsure of what to expect from Aster questioning tone.

"Chao Wei-ting is your uncle?" Aster continued to inquire.

Lucy relaxed, at the innocent safe question. "Yes, Mama's older brother"

"You guys seem close, it's nice" Aster stated with a small smile. She found her own family connections a strain currently, so seeing an easy relationship really warmed her.

"Mm, he has always been there for us," Lucy agreed with the same fond expression on her face that she had on the first day when Aster met her. But she said nothing further. Silence reigned as Lucy sipped her ice tea, avoiding eye contact. Realising she wasn't going to get any more information, Aster decided to try a different topic.

"Where did you study Fashion Design?" she asked.

Lucy looked at her sharply. Something dark flashed over her eyes.

"Europe." She replied in a short tone, before finishing off her drink quickly. "We should carry on and look around the mall, see if we can find something you would like." 

Aster sadly took the hint. She wanted to get to know this kind sweet girl but it was obvious that Lucy wasn't ready yet to share about herself or her past. It wasn't like Aster couldn't empathise with her desire to keep things to herself, so she finished her coffee and gathered her things.

They made their way around the different retailers, commenting on things and giggling whenever one of them said something funny. When they were amongst the clothes Lucy — feeling comfortable with Aster — would talk about them from a design perspective, the negative remarks always at a whisper that only Aster would hear. Now and then, they would suggest an outfit for each other but tried very few on. Eventually, as time moved into the late afternoon, Aster finally decided on the purple microfibre sheets that they had found for her bed.