Latte Surprises

Author's Note: An idea that came to me as I was waiting at my local coffee shop for my London Fog. Happy Valentine's Day for Febressuary 2022.

Let me know what you think with a review.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Shit," Liz said as she pulled on Ressler's arm and they ducked behind a wall where the washrooms were.

"What?" Ressler asked as he looked at her surprised.

"I swear that man drinks 7 cups a day," Liz huffed as she and Ressler peaked around the corner and saw a tall handsome man walk into the coffee shop and start to look around. They both ducked back.

"You mind telling me what this is all about and who he is?" Ressler asked.

"We had coffee, once," Liz said.

"A date?" Ressler asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I think he thought it was that," Liz sighed.

"You didn't?" Ressler asked, confused.

"It was packed and there was a free chair at my table, and he asked to sit down," Liz said with a roll of her eyes.

He chuckled. He knew where this was going.

"And he started to chat you up?" Ressler snickered.

Liz turned red and nodded.

He chuckled.

"It's not funny," Liz swatted at him.

A man came into the hallway and Liz pressed herself against Ressler so the man could get by.

"And he asked you out?" Ressler asked her as they stood pressed close. He noted that she didn't step back right away.

"And I said no," Liz said. "But he keeps coming back and…trying."

"What reason did you give?" Ressler asked her with a raised eyebrow.

She stepped back from him and shook her head. "I just said no thanks, that's all."

"Liz!" The barista Holly called.

"Shit," Liz hissed.

Ressler looked around the corner and saw the man looking around for the woman he was there to continue to harass.

"He hasn't got the point that you aren't interested?" Ressler asked her.

"Liz!" Holly called again. "Chai Latte for Liz!"

"I'm not good with men…" Liz shook her head. "Letting them know I'm interested or not interested…I have been told my entire life I send mixed signals. I think I'm clear but I'm probably…"

"Liz!" Holly called again.

Liz pressed herself against Ressler as the man walked back past them to his table.

"How about you tell him clearly you aren't interested in anything, at all," Ressler said as he looked down at her, their faces inches apart. "And, as for letting a man know you're interested, just kiss him. That's pretty clear."

Liz chuckled and stepped back from him.

"Liz!" Holly called again. "Liz?"

Ressler stepped out from behind the wall and walked toward the counter and picked up the cup labelled Liz.

"Oh," the guy next to him said as he looked at Ressler and the cup. "Not the Liz I was thinking."

Ressler smiled at him and said nothing; this was Liz's conversation to have with the guy, not his. The man was a lot like Tom; scruffy, glasses, wiry. Truthfully, if Tom was Liz's type, he wasn't sure why this guy wasn't.

"Don!" Holly called. "Black drip for Don?"

"Thanks," Ressler smiled at her as he took the cup from Holly. He was just about to walk toward the exit, thinking that Liz would either confront the guy or sneak out the back when he felt her hand on his back between his shoulder blades.

"Hey, thanks," Liz said as she craned her neck and quickly kissed him on the lips as she took her chai latte from him.

He smiled and blushed slightly and handed her the stupid complicated drink she ordered.

"Hey Marcus," Liz smiled at him.

"Hey Liz," Marcus smiled. "Nice to see you again."

"I see you here all the time," Liz smiled at him and stepped toward him, so it was just the two of them. Don started to walk toward the exit so Liz could talk with the guy. "I just want to be clear, and I'm not sure I have been, but I'm not interested in going out or being friends or anything. I'm sure you're lovely, but not for me, okay?"

Marcus nodded. "Sure."

Liz gave him a smile and walked outside to meet Ressler who was standing beside his SUV on a crisp spring day waiting for her.

"You decided to go another route I see?" He smirked at her, thinking she decided to fake a relationship to get out of anything with good old Marcus. That obviously was what the kiss was for.

She looked at him confused and walked toward him. "What do you mean? I took your advice. Was I still not clear?"

Ressler furrowed his brow; he didn't know what she was…

And then, she leaned in and kissed him deeply, her intent clear.

When they pulled apart, they were both smiling.

"You said just kiss him if I'm interested, right?" Liz asked, teasing.

"No mixed signals there," Ressler chuckled as he leaned forward, placed his coffee on the roof of his SUV and kissed her back. She felt herself being pressed back against his truck and dropped her chai latte on the ground next to them as the kiss intensified.

When they pulled back, he chuckled. "I think you need a new fancy drink."

She looked down at the spilled cup on the ground and then back up at him with his slightly pink skin and his intense gaze.

"I'll just share your coffee," she smiled up at him, proud she had a voice in that moment as her knees felt weak.

He quirked an eyebrow, reached for his coffee on the roof of his truck behind her and handed it to her.

"What's mine is yours," he said in a low growl with a smile before he stepped away from her and around the vehicle to get inside it.

She took a sip of his black coffee trying to calm her racing heart and leaned down picking up her cup and lid and tossing it into a nearby garbage before she got in the SUV as well.

"Good," she said as she put the coffee down in the cup holder between them. "I like sharing with you."

The end.