Hello all! Thank you very much to those of you who have added this to favorites or alerts or have left reviews. I so appreciate the feedback. Also, anybody notice that I changed the background of the story's cover image to Burberry plaid? Just a lil easter egg. Heehee.
Thanks for your patience with the pacing on this one. Much like its predecessor/sequel, "Songs I'd Never Learned," it takes a few chapters for the action to get started. For whatever it's worth, I'm thinking this is probably going to be a twelve chapter story, and this chapter and the next one are the last "set-up" chapters. After that, it's all action. (I thought Songs I'd Never Learned was going to be twenty chapters, though, so what do I know?) :P
Thanks again for reading; don't be afraid to leave a review!
The following week, Serenity actually did manage to beat Kaiba to the coffee shop for their meeting.
It wasn't that she left her house much earlier than she had the week before. If anything, it was a difference of twelve minutes versus ten minutes. It ended up being sufficient, though, and she felt a sense of victory as she walked up to the counter to order.
"Hey, Wheeler," Marianne greeted her. "What are you doing here on your day off? When I'm not stuck behind this counter, you better believe I'm as far away as I can get."
"I'm just meeting someone," Serenity replied.
"It's Kaiba, isn't it?"
Serenity paused, and her co-worker's jaw dropped.
"Two weeks in a row?" she demanded. "Now I know there's something going on between the two of you. Don't try to deny it."
Serenity had hoped she would be able to get through her order without lots of questions, but she had also known that was probably too much to hope for. After all, when she had come in for her Monday morning shift following the first meeting with Kaiba, she had gotten the equivalent of a military interrogation. What were they doing? What did they talk about? What did he want?
She didn't have any answers then, and after another week of no-nonsense texts with coffee orders - and very little communication otherwise - she really still didn't.
"There isn't anything going on," Serenity insisted. "I mean, I don't know. He's just sort of an interesting guy to talk to, and - "
"Is he the one asking you to meet up?"
Serenity thought about trying to make something up, but finally decided that it wasn't worth the trouble. She had never been a particularly good liar.
"Yes."
"Then there's something going on," Marianne replied confidently. "Trust me. He may be as weird about dating as he is about ordering coffee, but if he's asked you out two weeks in a row, he's up to something. Let's just say he must like you for something other than the way you brew a house roast."
"Can you just take my order?" Serenity demanded. "Keep this up and I won't leave you any tip at all."
Marianne laughed out loud.
"Sorry, sorry. As much as I hate to admit it, your date is probably the most interesting part of my day. But back to business: one medium black coffee and one large cinnamon bun latté?"
"Actually, I'm going to change things up," Serenity replied. "Two medium rooibos lattes, one with one pump of vanilla and the other with two."
"That's an interesting choice," Marianne replied. "Have you had one before?"
"Yeah, I tried it as my shift drink on Friday after I saw Ben make himself one. Kaiba liked the earl grey he tried a couple of weeks ago, so I think he might like it."
"Alright, fair enough. That'll be three sixty-seven."
Serenity paused.
"I thought they were two seventy-five each."
"Employee discount, hello," Marianne replied. "Now, what to label the cups? Seto Kaiba and Mrs. Serenity Kaiba?"
"I will jump over this counter and kill you."
"Okay, okay. You know, if you didn't blush like that, picking on you wouldn't be nearly so much fun."
By the time Serenity walked out to the patio with the two drinks in hand, she wasn't surprised to see that Kaiba had already arrived.
This time, she decided, he must have come straight from work, because he was dressed in an elegant navy suit and cream-colored shirt. Even after a full day of wear, it was still all starched lines and well-ironed creases. Sometime after leaving the office, though, it looked like he had loosened the tie and unbuttoned the collar.
Hearing the door close, Kaiba looked up.
"You know, you didn't have to buy my coffee."
Serenity just shrugged as she took the seat across from him.
"Employee discount. Besides, you bought last week."
"I guess so. What did you get?"
"Try it first," Serenity suggested, holding out one of the cups. "Tell me what you think."
Giving her a hesitant look, Kaiba picked it up and took a small sip. He made a face.
"It's so sweet."
"It's not that sweet," Serenity replied, laughing. "She only put one pump of syrup in yours. What do you think of the flavor?"
"It's... different. Sort of spicy."
Serenity sighed loudly.
"So do you like it or not?"
"It's fine," Kaiba replied, smirking a little. "Now do I get to know what it is?"
"It's rooibos tea, steamed milk, and vanilla," Serenity replied. "Rooibos is African red tea. No relation to black or green tea, actually. It's high in antioxidants because of the way the leaves are fermented, and it's good for your blood pressure."
"Fascinating."
About half the time, Serenity wasn't entirely sure whether Kaiba was being sarcastic or sincere. She decided that it wasn't worth the trouble of getting offended regardless. He either really cared about the health benefits of African red tea or he thought she was a huge nerd, but either way, he was the one who had suggested they meet up again. There wasn't much reason for her to be self-conscious.
"What do you think of my scarf?" Serenity asked, changing the subject.
"It suits you," Kaiba replied. "I bet it's warmer than that awful one from last week, too. The only way that thin scarf could have kept you warm is if you burned it - which, actually, I do recommend."
Serenity rolled her eyes.
"This one is much warmer," she admitted. "Thanks again… by the way."
Kaiba merely shrugged and took another sip of his tea.
"Speaking of the cold… are you not freezing out here?" Serenity asked. "It's December now, after all. We don't get too many requests for patio seating anymore."
"I'm fine, but am I to guess from what you've said that you're uncomfortable?"
"Just a little chilly."
Kaiba paused, looking thoughtful.
"Would you prefer that we sit in my car instead?" he finally asked.
Serenity felt her heart skip a beat. She wasn't sure what it was, but something about the idea of getting in Kaiba's car with him felt much more intimate than just sitting around the patio drinking tea. Perhaps, on some level, her brain had decided that the only place in the universe where Kaiba actually existed was at the coffee shop, but by getting into his car, she was going to have to admit that he was real and she was really occupying some space in his world.
"Yeah," she heard herself say. "If you don't mind, that would be kind of nice."
Kaiba got up and headed toward the parking lot, and Serenity assumed she was to follow. There weren't too many cars to choose from, so she wasn't too surprised when the one beside which he stopped was the shiny four-door black Mercedes.
She paused, assuming Kaiba still needed to unlock the doors, but he merely opened his own door and gestured for her to do likewise. Quickly, she fumbled for the handle on the passenger side.
Once Serenity was seated in the car beside him, she took a moment to look around.
Every surface, from the smooth faux-black-marble detail on the dashboard to the leather-covered console that separated them, came together to create an air of undeniable luxury. However, as her eyes traveled across all the shiny buttons and panels, she was surprised to find that what really captured her attention was the way the car smelled. It was sort of a new-car, leathery kind of scent, but there was also a hint of something minty, like mouthwash or shaving cream. It was underscored by the spicy smell of their tea.
The car was so quiet - and Serenity was so overwhelmed - that she didn't even notice Kaiba had turned it on at all until he reached for a button on the suddenly well-lit dashboard.
"Heated seats?" he asked.
"I - uh - sure," Serenity replied.
"They take a few minutes to heat up; this car's not exactly new," Kaiba said. "I'm partial to the S Class, but I don't like the suspension on the newer models, so I haven't bothered to upgrade in awhile."
"It's beautiful either way."
Serenity had become accustomed to playing coy and not showing too much emotion where Kaiba was concerned. It was the way he operated, and when she played along, she felt like their interactions were easier and more natural. However, whether it was the love of fancy cars she had picked up from her brother - or just the comfort of the memory-foam seat beneath her - she couldn't hold herself back from voicing her admiration for the Mercedes.
Kaiba didn't reply, but when Serenity looked up, she saw that he was looking at her with something that almost looked appreciative. It passed quickly, though, and when he spoke, it was as though he were uncomfortable and just wanted the moment to pass.
"It gets the job done. The parts have to be shipped in from Europe and they're stupidly expensive, but fortunately it doesn't require much maintenance."
"Ah. So, uh, what does Mokuba drive?" she asked, realizing cars seemed to be a good topic.
Kaiba rolled his eyes.
"An impractical convertible with horrible gas mileage and a transmission that won't last five years, at least not the way he drives it. But to answer your question, it's a Porsche."
"It sounds like you don't approve," Serenity observed.
"I gave him the choice, so I don't have any room to complain," Kaiba sighed. "And for all that's wrong with it, the safety ratings that have been published check out."
"Joey's truck is probably a death trap, but at least he only drives it here in town," Serenity said, laughing a little. "He takes mine when he goes on longer trips. I get to feed the fish, and he gets to drive the nicer car. Not exactly a fair trade."
"The two of you live together?" Kaiba asked, looking momentarily surprised.
"Yeah," Serenity replied. "What, do you think a barista's income is going to pay for rent uptown?"
He didn't respond, and it was at that moment that Serenity realized Kaiba probably had no idea what baristas made or what apartments cost.
"Joey works construction, and with our powers combined, we get by pretty well," she explained. "We alternate weeks getting groceries and we each cover half of the water bill. Which is pretty charitable of him, because I take much longer showers."
"It is strange, living with your brother?"
"You tell me," Serenity replied. "You've been doing it much longer than I have!"
"Well that's different," Kaiba said quickly.
"How?"
"First of all, like you said, we've been doing it forever," he explained. "It's the only life we know. And besides, isn't it strange - doesn't he get upset - when you… "
"When I bring someone home?" Serenity asked, laughing as she finished the question Kaiba seemed to already regret asking. "I wouldn't know. That's not really something I've ever tried."
The look on Kaiba's face was difficult to decipher, and Serenity wasn't sure if she would have figured it out - even if the alarm on her phone hadn't suddenly gone off and made her jump out of her seat.
"It's two in the afternoon, why do you have an alarm set?" Kaiba demanded over the beeping, clearly happy for the chance to change the subject.
"It, uh, lets me know my break's over on days that I work," Serenity replied quickly, scrambling for the phone to shut it off.
"What, you don't have a shift manager to tell you that?"
The phone stopped its beeping, and Serenity sighed deeply.
She was such a bad liar.
"It's my birth control alarm," she finally relented. "So I don't forget to take it."
Kaiba smirked.
"So… shouldn't you go ahead and do that?"
"An hour or so either way doesn't matter," Serenity snapped, knowing that she had started to blush.
"Well, just make sure you don't forget later. You may want to set another alarm."
Serenity rolled her eyes again and busied herself by taking another sip of her tea as Kaiba chuckled at her obvious discomfort.
"Clever, to set that in the middle of the afternoon so it doesn't go off when you and your brother are both home," he commented. "You must have gotten good at working around him when you need to."
Serenity bit her lip. At this rate, her face was never going to get back to its normal color.
"I guess," she said.
"To be honest, I'm glad. I would hate to be the subject of one of his tantrums if he found out you and I were having coffee together. But it looks like you've got the situation all figured out."
"Can't we just go back to talking about cars?" Serenity demanded.
Kaiba laughed again, but Serenity decided she didn't find the sound nearly as charming as she had the previous week when they were just talking about mall kiosk scarves.
"You know," Kaiba said, finally taking a breath, "you're cute when you're upset."
