2. Coffee Dreams

-Petal Pointe Apartments-

The night air tickled the tip of Sora's nose. She sighed, counting the days down to when she could pick her car up from the shop. Maybe she should have accepted his offer for a ride, would've been better than walking home in her black heels. He seemed genuine in his offer… She shook her head, ridding herself of the thought of him ever being genuine, No. Everything he does is a calculated move.

Sora unlocked the red front door of her apartment, letting out a small woo as she threw her purse and work tote to her couch. Her purse bounced from the cushion, landing on the dark wood floor. Her mouth turned down into a small pout, "Fine if that's where you want to be, you're staying there." She couldn't believe she was talking to a purse.

Sora's one bedroom one bath apartment was the perfect size for her. Her grey couch fit perfectly in the right side, her kitchen on the left. A TV pressed against the wall the couch was facing, flowers she replaced weekly decorated her coffee table. Her bedroom was a soft blue theme, filled with houseplants that gave the room a garden feel. Her mother stressed the important of floral arrangements in the home. Sora assumed one arrangement with a large collection of houseplants would suffice.

"Shit," Sora pinched the bridge of her nose, "I was so worried about my car I forgot to grab food on the way home." She drummed her fingers on the small island in her kitchen, "Freezer food again." Her mind flashed to Taichi's prepared lunches. He was what she would call a health nut, his gym schedule more put together than she had decided her life would ever. Sora turned the knob on her stove to preheat the oven, grabbing a bag of chicken nuggets from her freezer.

*ding ding*

Sora jumped as her phone chimed from her purse that had been left to keep the floor warm for the rest of the night. She dug her phone out, deciding to hang the purse on it's correct hook. Her eyes rolled as she saw who had texted her.

Taichi Kamiya:

Did you make it home safe? I will never understand why you chose to walk in those heels over a quick 5-minute drive.

Sora's thumbs hovered over the screen. The last time the two of them had texted was the very first week they had to work together upstairs… And it was over Taichi teasing Sora for the coffee stain on her shirt. She gritted her teeth.

Yep. Walk was fine I can handle myself.

She pressed send, running to grab her 'dinner' before it burned. "Hot hot hot," she hissed as she dumped the nuggets into a bowl, her phone chiming again. "Now what you're not going to do, Sora, is turn this into a text conversation," she scolded herself, settling down on her couch with her food. She took a bite, almost choking as she read his reply, her brain slowly trying to decipher it.

Taichi Kamiya:

I'm sure you could handle more than just yourself…

"I-I…. Huh?" Her maroon-colored eyes scanned the text a few more times, "The three dots at the end… Is he…" She felt heat rise to her cheeks, her instincts kicking in as she threw her phone across the room before she replied with something stupid. "He's just trying to get a rise out of you," she angrily took another bite, "This is how it always is with him. His games. Well, I win this time…"

She took another bite, shrugging, "Sure, Sora, have another conversation with yourself about your coworker from hell… Your hot coworker from hell…" She blinked slowly, "Who is seemingly flirting with you… No. No." She slapped her cheeks, "Stop."

When Sora and Taichi first started working together, rumors circulated in the office about how long it would take for them to start dating. Little did everyone know, the two of them would hardly get along. Sora finished her dinner and headed to bed, fixing a flower that had fallen out of place in the arrangement on her coffee table.

-The next day-

Sora rushed into work, leaving her apartment earlier than usual to prepare for her walk. "Oh," she said, barely missing John, one of her coworkers who worked in the publishing unit, "Sorry, John. Always in a hurry you know?" She gave him a quick smile, stopping as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

John cleared his throat, giving her a nervous smile, "H-Hey, Sora. I… I was wondering if you were free tomorrow night?" Sora blinked as realization hit her. John was asking her on a date. Sora couldn't remember the last time she had accepted a date.

She took a deep breath, hoping she wasn't taking too long to reply. John and Sora had very little interaction, but they had worked together before Sora's promotion. "Tomorrow? I should be. Why what's up?" She chuckled softly.

John's nervous smile turned to one of excitement, "Oh I just was wondering if you wanted to grab a few drinks with me. I hardly talk to you anymore and I really miss our morning chats…"

Sora nodded, catching Taichi's silhouette move into the elevator out of the corner of her eye. "I'd love to! Text me details, okay?" She gave him on last quick smile before she turned towards the elevator, glaring as Taichi held it open for her.

"I was wondering when you were going to turn around," Tachi said as Sora joined him, "It was weird not waiting for it with you. Habits and schedules you know?'

"Hm," Sora said, hoping he got the signal that she didn't want to talk to him. He was wearing a grey shirt, his usual Tuesday shirt. Her eyes slid up to his face, connecting with his. He smirked, winking at her.

"Every morning you get your look in the elevator, huh?" He said, poking fun at her.

Sora rolled her eyes, "Taichi no. I'm just surprised with how consistent you are with your shirts. Grey is always on Tuesday. Don't you like change."

Tai chuckled, "So you do notice things about me. I thought you couldn't stand me, Sor."

"Sora," she corrected him, he nodded, waving his hand to dismiss her, "And I can't stand you. I feel like you wear the same shirts every day just to get under my skin or something…" Her eyes slide to his dark pants, "And that grey does not match that dark blue."

"I know," Tai said, "I do this," he motioned to his outfit, "To get you to actually talk to me. The only things you have are insults, but wow what an honor."

Sora could've sworn his tone was sarcastic. The elevator dinged, Sora hurrying out to sit at her desk. Taichi followed after her, "Do we have that office meeting today?" He asked, settling in across from her.

"I thought you were beyond organized," Sora said, opening her emails as she glanced down at her planner. Penciled in was a meeting she had forgotten about.

Tai smirked, "I was just testing you is all. Are you going to sit by me this time? We have to convince people we get along at least, right?"

Sora chuckled, "I think I'll stick to my corner of the room, thank you." She glanced up, just in time to catch Tai adding a tally to his sticky note. He caught her looking and raised an eyebrow, shrugging as he returned to his screen.

-Office Meeting-

Sora sat in her usual corner of the table in the office meeting room. She looked to her left and smiled, John settling into the chair next to her. Against her hopes, Taichi settled into the chair right across from her. He flashed John a smile, John smiling back as he congratulated Tai on some outside of work accomplishment. Sora couldn't care less.

"Hello everyone," a woman cleared her throat at the front of the room, "Long time no see!" The room quieted down, turning their attention to Mimi, the second CEO of the journal. "I am so happy to finally be back in office after my honeymoon," she squealed excitedly, holding up her finger to show off her ring, "Yes yes please hold your applause. Please." She giggled, "Anyway, upon my return I noticed the lack of teamwork we have in the office."

Sora could've sworn the woman's brown eyes darted between her and Tai. Sora stole a glance, Tai's lazy demeanor and way of sitting aggravating her further. He was leaning back in his chair, eating a bagel with cream cheese. A bit of cream cheese covered his thumb, Sora wondering if she should offer him a napkin before he made even more of a mess.

Mimi droned on about the importance teamwork, Sora's mind wandering to Tai licking the cream cheese from his thumb. Her eyes widened as she caught herself, blushing as she quickly returned her attention back to Mimi, noting that no one seemed to notice. Maybe I am too observant of Taichi…

"And that's why we need Kamiya and Takenouchi to come up with a team building exercise for the office," Mimi said, gesturing to the two of them. Tai smiled, giving her a thumbs up. Sora nodded, forcing her professional smile to shine through.

I have… To actually work on something with him? She took a deep breath, annoyed that he would be taking up more of her time, He's impossible. There's no way we are going to come to an agreement…

The meeting ended, Sora saying her goodbyes. She headed to the coffee station in the first floor of the building to collect her thoughts. "I just need some coffee is all… I must've slept terribly," she muttered, pouring herself a cup. "Thank you," she said as she grabbed the oat milk as it was passed to her. She blinked, noticing that Taichi had handed it to her.

"Are you following me? We don't have to grab coffee together… And how do you know that I take oat milk in my coffee?" Sora said, pouring some into her drink.

Tai pushed closer to her, his shoulder brushing hers, "First, people in the office need to believe we at least kind of like each other and that you don't have some unspoken issue with me," he sighed, reaching above her. His chest pressed against her back, Sora suddenly aware of his closeness. His cologne tickled her nose, Sora deciding it wasn't terrible today. She felt the firmness of his bicep graze her shoulder, Sore blushing as his weight pressed more against her, "Sorry," he said, grabbing the creamer, "I didn't think you'd be able to reach. Shelf is high and you're… Small." He smirked, picking at her height was one of his favorite arguments, "Anyway, second, of course I know how you take your coffee we've been working together for like… Two years? A year?" He shrugged, fixing himself a cup, "See you upstairs."

Sora stared into her cup, noticing how her heart pounded loudly in her chest and her body begged for her to take deeper breaths. "What was…" She swallowed nervously, finding herself wishing he pressed against her longer. "Not this again," she scolded herself, pressing a lid firmly over her coffee before heading back upstairs.

-Petal Pointe Apartments-

Sora sighed in her sleep, the stress of her car being in the shop and her new work assignment had made her exhausted. Her dreams wandered to a forbidden place, a pair of hands gripping the skin on her thighs as a body pressed her down harder into her white sheets.

Sora's fingers gripped the sheets, her cheek pressing into the soft fabric as a body pressed against her back. She bit her bottom lip, gasping as she felt warm breath tickle her neck, a pair of lips slowly kissing up to her ear.

She moaned softly as the fingers dug deeper into her thighs, pulling her back against firm hips. Sora closed her eyes, willing her dream to continue. The pair of hands moved up her body, lovingly caressing the curves she was insecure of.

"Are you okay?" The voice said, Sora's mind screaming as the dots connected. "I can stop if you're uncomfortable." His voice felt safe, his hands holding him up as they pressed down on the sheets just above her head.

Sora didn't dare glance over her shoulder, she was already more than aware that she was dreaming of Taichi Kamiya in her bed.

*Author's Note*

Hello everyone and happy Sunday! I have randomly had bursts of inspiration for this story. I've pretty much had it outlined for a few months and planned on posting after completing Long Shot. I promise Long Shot is on the to-do list, I just needed to get this story out of my brain first.

Thank you for the kind words in reviews I really appreciate it!

- Moon