"So.. did you even think to ask what he looks like?"
"Whaaa.. shit." The coffee meant for Hawke's mouth was now pooling in a spot over her chest. She pushed her chair out from the table and lifted her hands in the air.
"Oh shit, Mare, I'm sorry!" Bethany reached across the counter to grab a stack of napkins. She handed the stack to Hawke and took the hovering cup with the remaining coffee in return.
"No, it's fine." Hawke split the stack and smooshed the wad of paper to her boobs. "At least I didn't throw on a v-neck today, I'm sure coffee-burnt cleavage would be a huge turn-off." Satisfied that most of the liquid was gone, she handed the coffee-heavy mass of paper back to Bethany who carefully sat down the cup of coffee next to the laptop on the table. "And to your question, no, but thankfully I thought to bring him here instead of some random place that he could kidnap me. I have my priorities."
"Riiight." Bethany chuckled as more customers walked through the door, an elderly couple that regularly frequented the shop. Bethany hurried back behind the counter. "Well, when he gets here, you give me the signal and I'll queue some scalding coffee if he's a creep."
Hawke grinned at Bethany while she busied with the customer's orders. There were definitely perks to have a family that owned a coffee shop. Amell's was a cornerstone of the community. It was Hawke's first after-school job, and now that she was in college and they were old enough, Carver and Bethany's first as well. Thankfully, when she set this up it was a Bethany day; she didn't need Carver hulking over the counter giving anyone the stink-eye.
She checked the time on her laptop. He was late. She took another large gulp of her third cup of coffee and checked her phone. A cursory glance revealed there were no missed messages. Figures, first internet date and I get stood up. Got up early for that 6am class to actually make myself decent for nothing . She tapped the code on the lock screen and found Anders' number.
Marian: Hey! Just running late off campus, wanted to make sure I didn't miss you!
There, now it doesn't seem like I've been here watching the door for an hour. The phone buzzed almost immediately
Anders: OMW Had a long appointment. Be there soon!
Marian: Cool. I'm at the table next to the counter.
Anders: Great, I'll be the guy with the fresh scratches on my face!
Scratches?
"He's late, Mare! Want me to mess up his order?"
"No, it's fine. Be on the lookout for a guy with scratches on his face."
"What? Nope, you know what, not even going to ask."
Hawke resumed scrolling through her social media accounts, paying far more attention to the door than what she was actually reading. She was almost to the bottom of her cup when the door opened again.
"Welcome to Amell's! OH, I think you're looking for Marian, right?"
Hawke's head snapped up to find an attractive blond man at the counter with Bethany. A tall, handsome, slightly-scratched blond in a t-shirt and loose sweatpants, who looked incredibly confused.
"Marian?" Anders tried to put together exactly what was going on here. Who is Marian? Why does this girl know who I am? Am I being catfished? To be fair, he never thought to ask Hawke what they looked like; or even their gender for that matter.
"Oh, she just gave you Hawke didn't she. Figures. That's what everyone calls her. You're Anders right?"
This barista is awfully chatty. He nodded, trying his best to convey his confusion.
"Good. I'm her sister Bethany, she's not just telling random coffee shop employees her date's names. She's sitting right over there."
She pointed to a woman staring at him over the screen of a laptop, coffee cup to her lips. Her face turned as red as the shirt she wore when he caught her pale blue eyes. Her long dark hair was braided over her shoulder. He was suddenly very aware of how much of a slob vibe he was giving off. She's pretty, I should have brought a change of clothes with me.
He walked over to the table and flashed her a grin. "Um, Marian? I was supposed to be meeting someone named Hawke, but I think I'd enjoy having a coffee with you more."
Bethany: Mare, I didn't see you online and Aveline said you're not in your room.
Bethany: Mare... if you do not answer me in the next five minutes I'm calling the cops.
Bethany: No, I'll tell Mom, and THEN call the cops.
Marian: do NOT tell Mom. I'm fine. I'm busy
Bethany: Oh… Oh no… you didn't
Marian: Shush. Cute vet. Round 3. Maintain radio silence until notified.
Bethany: Ugh. Tell me everything later.
Hawke opened the door to her floor while attempting to text Bethany an all clear. These actions, coupled with two, three, maybe ten drinks she had over the course of the evening, nearly put her ass over teakettle onto the floor. Shit. She slowly recovered from the awkward stance she caught herself with and carefully looked around the corner at the resident assistant office. Empty, nice. She kicked off her shoes, tucked them under her arms and briskly walked to her door.
After she dropped her keys twice, she successfully yanked open the door to her small sanctuary and was given her second wave of embarrassment of the day.
"Well, I was here to keep you from bringing a bad decision home, but it looks like you went ahead and made it already. A few times."
Aveline, Hawke's best friend since freshman year, now former roommate and current RA, sat on Hawke's desk chair with a look of exasperation.
"That's right, Beth asked you where I was? I don't know whether to kiss her or hit her next time I'm home." Falling into her evening routine, she stripped off her black leggings and tossed her shoes across the room.
"I'm shocked you remembered your underwear. HEY!" Hawke's bra pelted the side of her face.
"Hey, even when drinking, I remember how much these damn things cost me." She flopped onto her bed, propping her face up on her arm so she could still see Aveline. "He may have also reminded me as I was leaving, and had to get dressed all over again." Hawke watched as the frustrated redhead pulled on her short hair.
"You think after three years I wouldn't be surprised anymore."
"Oh c'mon, Aveline, give me a break. It's been five months, he was hot, and he works with animals. You'd have been surprised if I didn't mount him in the coffee shop." She watched as Aveline tried to keep from laughing, clearly a losing battle.
"I was just concerned because it was some random person on the internet. You don't think things out sometimes." Aveline stood up from the chair and grabbed for Hawke's fridge.
"There's only junk in there Aveline, I need to go shopping."
The door to the fridge closed and in her hands was not a beer, but a bottle of water. She sat down next to Hawke on the bed and offered the bottle. "I brought this for you, drink it now or you will not make it to your morning class."
Hawke took the bottle and rolled onto her back. She sat up and took the water bottle down in one drink and tossed it on the floor. "You're my favorite Aveline," she proclaimed as she fell back onto her pillow.
"I'm your only Aveline, Hawke. Scooch over." Aveline stretched out onto the bed beside Hawke, pulling her in for a loose embrace in a tradition that started their freshman year after her ex, Wesley, left her. "I'm staying tonight, I don't trust that you'll even hear your alarm in the morning. And don't worry, I already let Beth know you're back, I heard you fall all the way back here."
Hawke snorted and dug her head into the larger woman's chest. "You know me so well."