A.N - Ok, so I realised as I was writing this chapter, just how quickly Jesse and Suze were moving and how quickly Suze's feelings changed. I did go back and address it briefly but I like how it is. This is just where I want them to be. I hope you guys all agree.

And, I can't believe how well that first chapter did. I love the responses you guys have. It really makes writing worthwile. I love you all. xD

Two

"I am not a stalker. I just like you, okay?"

Jesse – formerly known as creepy stalker guy – didn't return to the café, I noticed. Not for the rest of the day, at least. It was a bit strange. I kept expecting to look up and see him at his booth, cup of coffee in hand, chewing the tip of his pen as he pondered over his crossword conundrum.

To see the booth empty – or even worse – someone else sitting there, was slightly weird, to say the least.

There was a stain on the floor from where his coffee had been dumped. My boss, thankfully, hadn't seen it yet. I'd scrubbed and scoured at that floor, piling every type of detergent that we had in the cupboard on it – so much so that I was surprised we hadn't closed down due to all of the poisonous fumes floating around.

The note he'd left in his newspaper had been ripped out, folded and was now kept safely in my pocket. I found myself re-reading it every hour or so before I realised what I was doing and mentally kicked myself. But it didn't stop me.

There was just something about him that intrigued me. His accent, for one, whilst being totally heart stopping, wasn't from New York, that was for sure. So, that begged the question, just what was he doing here? And what did it have to do with me?

"And I am out of here." My hands fell forward onto the cashier desk, before I untied my apron and threw it over the divide from the eating space to the kitchen and hoped it landed in the box I was aiming for. It didn't.

"Go hang it up, change out of your uniform," my boss scolded, lightly tapping the side of my head. "Clean down the tables. Then you can leave."

"Yeah, yeah," I rolled my eyes before mumbling under my breath. "Slave driver woman."

"I heard that!"

I poked my head out behind the door and looked at her, smiling. "You weren't meant to." I justified. "I would have said it louder if I didn't need this job so badly for college."

"You're lucky I like you, Suze Simon." My boss smiled at me, the lines at the corner of her eyes crinkling as the smile spread shakily across her face. I beamed back and went to follow her commands, more then ready to leave this place as fast as I could.

I changed quickly, my finger finding the note from Jesse that had been burning in my pocket all day. I pulled it out, reading the words once again. Each time I read it, it sent a thrill through me. I couldn't decide if that was good or not. And I didn't really want to ponder upon that thought for very long, afraid of what the answer might be. Shaking my head, I shoved the note deep down in my jeans pocket, hoping to forget about him, and went back out to wipe down the tables.

Only, when I got out there, a single red rose lay on a table. The table. Jesse's table.

Cautiously, I approached it, as if the thorns were lethal to me. A card lay next to the flower, my name written in calligraphic handwriting – handwriting that matched that of one Jesse 'I'm too cool to have a last name'.

"Ooh," another waitress, two years older than me, waltzed over dreamily. "Looks like you've got an admirer. Who do you think it is?"

"Umm," I hesitated, humouring her. "I'm not sure."

"Well," she sighed. "I guess it can't be that totally hot guy you threw coffee over earlier. No one can like you after you soak them in cold coffee. It's, like, a fact of life or something."

Rolling my eyes, I quickly wiped down the table and called out my goodbyes before leaving the café. I hadn't walked more than five steps, my gaze focused on the rose I held between my fingers, before I ran into someone – a very male someone, judging by the muscles in his arms and the firmness of his chest.

"Watch it!" I shouted at the guy, stumbling before his hands came up to rest on my bare arms – the heated New York evening had made me think it would be better not to wear a jacket. His hands were warm and big - they almost curled around my whole upper arm.

"You're the one whose gaze wasn't on where you were going." Wait a second; I knew that voice. I glanced up at the familiar smiling features of the man in front of me, his eyes boring down into mine as he spoke his next words. "You were too busy looking at the rose I left you."

I pulled out of his grasp, lightly so as not to offend him. "Geez," I slapped his arm lightly. "You really are a stalker."

Jesse's cheeks were pink as he dug his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Not really. After you very kindly gave me a cup of coffee," I winced. "I went home, got changed and hung around until I noticed that people were leaving. That's when I left the rose on the table."

"'Hung around.'" I quoted. "Hah! That makes you a stalker. Hanging around in the shadows."

He fell into step beside me. "Susannah," he sighed. "I am not a stalker. I just like you, okay?"

I held up the rose. "That's obvious." Stopping my movement, I turned to look up at him, taking his hand and holding it lightly, my fingers winding with his own. "Thank you, by the way."

He smiled, genuinely, his mouth stretching handsomely across his chiselled chin before he leaned down and pressed a kiss to my cheek. "You, querida," he whispered. "Are more then welcome."

I turned my head away, smiling and fighting off a blush. I was Suze Simon, New York Girl born and bred. I do not blush. I have red streaks in my hair, my eyeliner was heaped on by the pencil-load and I cannot live without my black biker jacket. Boys do not make me smile. "So," I untangled our fingers and crossed my arms over my chest, beginning an effort to change the conversation as I began walking away again, quickly. "You live here?"

"Well," agitated, he ran his hand through his curly hair, still wet from the shower he must have had to get rid of that pesky coffee. "Not really. I'm … visiting."

Noticing his hesitation, I raised my eyebrow. "So, you're staying in a hotel?"

"Not exactly," he let out a whoosh of breath. "I'm renting an apartment."

"Long visit."

He quickly stepped in front of me, halting my progress once again as his arms came to loop around my waist and pull me towards him. And, can I just take the time to say, he smelled good. Like, really, really good. "I'm hoping so." He replied.

I remained silent, staring up at his gorgeous face, eyes dark enough to blend in with the night, had we not been standing under the streetlight.

I'm not sure how long we stood there, wrapped in each other's arms. His hands rested lightly on my waist, never dipping any lower than could be deemed indecent. Mine had risen to lock behind his neck. As a result, we were frozen in a lover's embrace, neither of us wanting to make the first move and just force our lips together for the first time.

"Go out with me tomorrow night?" He muttered into my hair, his cheek burning next to my own as his fingers softly drew circles on the area of skin my top had ridden up to expose. The touch had my skin tingling in excitement. I couldn't believe that I had only met this man today. Things were moving so quickly, but I wouldn't change it at all. Not even the tiniest bit.

"On one condition," I promised, lips brushing against his ear.

"Anything."

My eyes were sparkling with delight as I pulled back and pressed my lips lightly and quickly against his own. "I choose the place."

He smiled and nodded, before swooping down to capture my lips in his own once again.