NOTES: Lizzy's POV, sorta short chapter. Introducing a new character :) Also, the next is prbly gonna have Darcy's email response; maybe from his POV too. Anyway, I'll post soon. Stay safe y'all! 💖 ~Vinny

Lizzy woke up to the sound of an alarm, the smell of smoke, and the feeling of a headache. She tried to roll out of bed, but ended up just rolling over on the carpet where she had fallen asleep. She grimaced, putting a hand to her lower back. Fuck. That was a bad idea.

Getting up slowly, she glanced at her open laptop on the floor in front of her. There was the email she had sent to the mystery best man, the one her sister had almost set her up with.

In the light of the day, the email was.. less fun and witty than she had thought.

'Dear Whoever You Are,

Hello. I heard from my sister (Jane, the one who's getting married to your friend Charlie) that you were the best man and that she didn't know your name. That's okay— mystery can be fun. But beyond that, we need to plan the bachelor/bachelorette parties for Jane and Charlie's wedding. I have some ideas about combining them because both the bride and groom seem uncomfortable with the idea of separate strippers and booze (nerds, lol) but I thought I should check with you first. We should plan it together.

Anyway, email me back soon, and have a nice day, Best Man.

Sincerely,

Maid of Honor'

Her cheeks went pink, rereading her impudence on the screen. It felt wrong to be informal in an email. But, she supposed, it didn't matter much. She would see this guy probably once in her life— he didn't matter all that much.

Plus, he hadn't responded yet. She shouldn't worry about it.

What she should worry about was being late to work.

"Shit!" Lizzy swore, clambering to her feet and grabbing her phone.

She brushed her teeth at lightning speed, threw on a nice blouse and a jean jacket, gave up trying to brush her hair, tied it in a messy bun, and leapt out the door. She was in the office in less that 10 minutes, slumped against her desk, breathing hard. Samantha passed her on the way in, an amused smile on her face.

"Sleep in a little, did you?"

"What? Y- no. Uhm." Lizzy faltered, and pulled herself into an upright position. "Uh… How.. did you know?"

"Easy," Samantha snorted affably, "You got eye bags the size of parachutes, girl."

Lizzy felt herself blush, and she ducked her head. Samantha laughed kindly, and fished out a ring of keys from her purse. "Here," she said, "this goes to the break room— there's a coffee machine in there."

"Oh, thank you," Lizzy sighed.

"No problem! Allah knows I have rough mornings too— I won't judge. Just bring me up a latte with cream, yeh?"

"Sure thing!" She chirped, feeling better already.

She took the keys, and found the break room; only two doors down from her desk at the entrance. She unlocked the door and stepped into a bland room with food-up tables and a water jug in the corner. On one wall, there was a small counter with a coffee maker and some creamers and sugar.

Lizzy made a beeline for the coffee.

Opening a bag of coffee beans, Lizzy breathed in the smell with a smile. She hadn't realized how much she missed this. It calmed her down almost as much as herbs.

After grinding the coffee beans and waiting a while, she got the coffee all ready. Grabbing two paper cups, Lizzy started carefully pouring from the oversized pot.

"Ahm.. Ahem."

She started. She bumped the first cup, spilling a little less than half the coffee onto the counter. "AH! Fuck!"

"Oh, my bad!" The man who had just walked in exclaimed, "Here, let me help."

As he grabbed some napkins and began mopping up the coffee spill, Lizzy got a better look at him. Was it just her imagination, or…?

It was the man from her first day of work, the one who had stopped her on the street. This time, his backpack was gone, and he wore a crisp polo shirt and slacks. As he stood up, Lizzy got a better look at him.

He was good-looking, with neat dark brown hair, slight stubble, and light hazel eyes visible through rounded clear glasses. His skin was pale, his collar tight against his Adam's apple. Strangely, the smell of strawberries surrounded him— shampoo, maybe?

He smiled hesitantly at her. "Hi, uh, Lizzy."

She halfway smiled. "Uhm… hello. I- I'm sorry if this is rude, but… do I know you?"

The man looked embarrassed, and shuffled his feet. "Well, I— it's no wonder you don't recognize me I've grown a lot." She blinked at him, and he pointed the wad of stained napkins to his chest. "Joseph? Joseph Phillips?"

"Ohhh," Lizzy said, recognition dawning. "Joey Phillips! I- I used to babysit you, didn't I?"

"Yeah," Joey Phillips said, laughing. "Your house was right across the street from ours. We would always have tree-climbing contests in the summer."

Lizzy smiled, put her hands on her hips and considered the young man standing in front of her. She had all but forgotten about Joey Phillips— her mother's friend's son, the scrawny kid with glasses who always had trouble with his English homework. But… wait…

"Wait…," she said, "Weren't you.. eight… when I was… in high school.. so…" Lizzy squinted at him. "Aren't you 16?!"

"NO!" He blurted, quickly. "I'm.. well, I'm 17. I just—"

Joey rubbed the back of his head, breathing out slowly. Even his breath smelled like strawberries.

"Just... Lizzy, if I want to go to college, I'm gonna have to get some cash. Ms. Samantha agreed I could work here, as long as I stay in school and make up whatever I miss."

"Don't worry, Joey," Lizzy smiled, tilting her chin at him. "I won't tell."

"And… could I have some coffee too?"

She laughed. "Course ya can. Sugar or cream?"

"Yes."

Lizzy chuckled, winking at him. "My kinda guy."

She didn't notice that his hazel eyes went wide behind his glasses, and his blushing cheeks were pushed aside with a smile. Another thing she didn't notice was her phone lighting up with an email.

All she thought about was how nice it was to have another friend at work, and how.. somehow… she didn't feel as lonely as she had, when she had been thinking of Fitzwilliam.

Maybe this new life of hers was better after all, she thought to herself as she chatted with Joey, sipping coffee in the break room.

But, as many lovers throughout the ages have found out, you can't fool your heart. You can only fool your mind.