Lodi became boring for Leigh about a year ago. A Starbucks had moved in right next to her little Internet cafe and business was...well, it was crap. She knew of the small town named Charming next to Lodi, but had only ventured into it once- and really, she technically just drove through it's barren road.
Leigh made a huge leap, packing up all her belongings and moving to Charming, wedging her Internet cafe in between a barber shop and a grocery store; her house now a split-level ranch out in Charming's back roads.
She had never even heard about the Sons of Anarchy until she moved there- the loud, distracting noise of motorcycles had permeated her cozy cafe. Luck would have it, of course, she had chosen the empty store front that was almost directly in front of Teller-Morrow, the mechanic business that the motorcycle enthusiasts usually hung around.
Of course, after being in the neighborhood for a year, Leigh eventually learned about the Sons, the local MC and how the clubhouse was in the same lot as Teller-Morrow. Leigh probably could have figured that out for herself- some nights she stayed in the rooms above the cafe she usually used as an office, but sometimes they were helpful as a makeshift bedroom. Leigh was somewhat of a workaholic: her Internet cafe had a sign out front that boasted, 'WE FIX COMPUTERS!' and as luck would once again have it, Charming was barren of a technology-savvy populous, so Leigh would often work late into the night and early into the morning, rendering it useless to drive home.
It wasn't until early one blistering summer day that she saw one of the Sons up close.
The air outside was dry heat, suffocating even without humidity- Leigh had cranked up the a/c in the cafe until it was a comfortable temperature to lounge behind the counter with. She tapped away on her laptop looking for cheap computer parts and munched on chocolate chips.
There was a shrill 'ding' from the front door as the first customer entered the store front. Leigh lowered the screen of her laptop and eyed the man before he noticed her behind the counter.
The sweat that was beading across his forehead and scalp began to dry and his short, close clipped mohawk glistened next to the shorter buzz on the sides of his head. Tribal lightning bolt tattoos made the haircut more symmetrical and his eyes darted back and forth before finding hers.
"Do you have WiFi in here?" His voice was strained and he carried a dark laptop under his arm delicately.
"Oh, of course." She smiled and pointed to a sign behind the counter that informed customers of the network name and WEP protection.
The man nodded and said, "Thanks." before sitting down at a table near the counter but put his back to the wall so the screen of his laptop was unseen.
Leigh raised an eyebrow at him and raised her screen again, glancing back at the man only once before browsing online once again.
Many customers and two hours later the cafe emptied out except for him. Leigh sighed and walked over to the attractive man clacking away at his keyboard.
"Want something to drink?"
He didn't look up from his screen until Leigh crouched down and put her face next to it. "I said, want something to drink?"
His eyes flicked from something on the brightly-lit screen to her eyes.
"Uh, yeah, I guess. A soda?" He looked nervous and jumpy.
Leigh narrowed her eyes and wondered if he was a junkie. "Pepsi okay?"
"Preferred." He smiled. She finally noticed the leather vest he was wearing as she glanced at him from behind the counter where she poured him his Pepsi. So a Son was sitting in her cafe, no big deal. At least this confirmed he wasn't a meth head. Rumor was that SAMCRO kept meth out of Charming, at least, as well as they could.
She walked back over to his table and placed the glass on top of the table next to him, a safe distance away from the expensive laptop he was still typing on.
His eyes raised once again to hers and he smiled at the drink.
"Thank you, so much." He looked thirsty as he swallowed down most of the soda, setting the glass back on the table. As he wiped the condensation off on his dark jeans, he asked her, "How much?"
"Name's Leigh. It's on the house."
His look was quizzical and she added, "For being such peaceful company."
Leigh smiled and walked back behind the counter, leaning against it and opening her laptop back up.
His voice was loud in the stillness of the cafe, "People call me Juice."
"That's not your given name, is it?" Leigh looked over at him and once again mentally praised his good looks and sheepishness.
He chuckled and replied, "Legally, it's Juan Carlos, but no one calls me that anymore."
"Which is preferred?" Leigh kept the conversation alive for as long as he would permit to be away from whatever was so pressing on his computer.
"Juice."
"Well then, Juice, I'll let you get back to your business." She motioned to his forgotten laptop.
He smiled wide at her and looked back at his screen, sparing her one more glance.
Leigh was pleased with the short conversation she managed to wring from the man before he began working again.
She focused back on her computer and continued the monotonous task.
Hours later when she lifted her head from the countertop, the sun had set and Leigh began to panic. How long was she asleep? How many customers had seen her unkempt state?
Looking at her watch, she realized it was well past closing time. A few feet away, Juice's glass sat on the counter top near her, resting on a five dollar bill. She smiled and tossed it in the tip jar, then placed the glass in the sink. Walking towards the front of the cafe, Leigh went to flip the sign from 'OPEN' to 'CLOSED' but saw that someone else had already done so. She tilted her head in question and assumed it must have been Juice.
She sighed and shook her head while tilting it upwards. A man she had mildly flirted with and who she had never met before saw her asleep with her head on the counter top, most likely drooling as well.
"I am my own cock block." She said to the quiet cafe.