Remus could not concentrate. No matter how hard he tried he could not keep his mind on the task at hand. It kept slipping into thoughts of black hair, mysterious grey eyes and touching hands.

Remus worked in a small bookshop café that was located about three blocks from where he and Lily lived. The bookshop was comfortable; Remus was almost as comfortable here as he was at home. The bookshop café was not small but not huge either with dark hardwood floors, exposed recycled redbrick walls and large french windows that allows fresh air and sunlight into the otherwise dark space. The shelves made from old metal pipes and dark stained wood. There is an old gas fireplace set into the wall and old mismatched couches, tables and chairs scattered around the place. Comfortable.

Remus was currently restocking books in the classics section of the shop but kept mucking up the order that he was supposed to be following, placing the A's with the L's and then having to redo them. Three times.

The door chimed "Oi Remus! I need coffee! Make it snappy!"

It was Lily, of course it was Lily. It was Friday and she always finished work at 3 on Friday. This was their Friday afternoon ritual.

"Jeez! Calm your farm Lils!" Remus dropped the books he was holding back into the box at his feet and walked over to the counter with the coffee machine. He set to work making Lily's coffee and a pot of tea for himself, placing them all on a tray and deciding to grab a cupcake for Lily and a piece of chocolate mudcake for himself. The advantages of being the only person working Remus thought to himself, not that Mrs Figg, the owner, would mind anyway.

"Stressful day?" Remus enquired as placed the tray on the coffee table in front of the couch that Lily had flopped onto.

"You know it! Always is" Lily said making grabby hands at Remus so that he would hand over the, in her opinion, lifesaving, coffee. "There was a flu outbreak on one of those big cruise ships, over a dozen people admitted at work, more have gone to other hospitals."

"sheesh" Remus said as he poured his tea.

Lily worked as a nurse at one of the local hospitals. Lily was bright, very bright. She had finished high school a year earlier than Remus and had studied hard for two years after finishing her nursing degree a year faster that everyone else. Lily had chosen to be a nurse because she felt it was her calling, to help people.

"Remus, you are the best" Lily said when she spotted the cupcake he had brought over for her, Red velvet with pink buttercream icing. Her favourite.

"Don't you forget it" Remus replied.

They sat in companionable silence for a while, while they continued drinking their coffee/tea and eating their cakes, beginning to relax after the long week. Lily placed her feet up on the coffee table but Remus could not be bothered to tell he off.

"Ready for tomorrow night?" Remus enquired

A smile slowly crept almost dreamily upon Lily's face "Yes, I'm gonna look smexy!"

"Smexy?"

"Smexy!" she exclaimed, half slapping and grabbing Remus on his leg, just to prove her point causing Remus to jump and almost spill his tea. Remus brushed it off, just one of lily's odd things she did, it was one of the reasons he loved her so much.

James had called Lily on the Sunday afternoon after the ball to organise their date. They had ended up in the phone for over an hour talking about god knows what. Remus didn't care what they talked about, only that Lily had been a lot happier and bubblier since.

"Heard anything from Sirius yet?"

Remus's gaze dropped into his mug of tea. It was almost a week since the ball and Remus hadn't heard a thing from Sirius, putting constant doubt in his mind. Not hearing from Sirius was the reason Remus had been so off during the week, mucking up orders, spilling drinks, stocking books wrong were amongst a number of other incidents caused by a lack of concentration. Had he been reading it wrong? Had Lily been reading what she saw wrong?

"Don't' worry, I'm sure you'll hear something soon, he's got to at least want to get his money's worth."

"Cow" Remus replied as a the corner of his mouth twitched up into the beginning of a smile.

"Mooo!" Lily said, leaning into Remus's shoulder falling into comfortable silence once again.

Remus could admit it to himself now. Yes, he liked Sirius but he was sure all this uncertainty was going to end up killing him somehow. A couple of minutes went by, both Lily and Remus lost in their own thoughts. All of a sudden Lily gasped and sat up straight, grabbing Remus by his shoulders.

"Remus! Did you even give him your number?" Lily asked over excitedly while shaking Remus. "Or did you get his?"

Remus's eyes widened as a realisation dawned on him. How was he so stupid overlooking something so simple, of course that's why he hadn't heard anything. He felt a blush creeping upon his face, looking down into his now empty mug he was still holding. "No" he mumbled

"Remus! You are utterly, utterly hopeless!" lily said to him exasperatedly while pulling out her mobile. "What am I going to do with you?" A smile crept onto her face "I'll get his number from James" her smile widening at the thought of talking to James again.

"Thank you" Remus said, smiling as he kissed her cheek. "I need to close up, it's four already" grabbing the tray of their dishes and taking them over to the counter.

Lily was on the phone for half an hour while Remus closed up, cleaned up and finished stocking the box of books thinking about how he could have been so stupid the whole time. Lily was hanging up the phone as Remus re-joined her on the couch with his bag and a new book to read.

"Go! Call him now, I'll wait here" Lily told him as she handed over a slip of paper with a broad grin on her face.

Remus got back up off the couch to go and sit on one of the bar stools near the front of the shop near the now closed french windows. He took his mobile out of his pocket as he walked.

Remus dialled in the number, hit the call button and took a deep breath hoping that he wouldn't make a fool of himself. Ringing… Ringing… Ringing…

"Hello!"