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Tempting Blueberries and Obnoxious Melons
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He strolls inside the cafe.
There's a figure in a blue hood in the corner.
He lets out just the tiniest exhale. He was right. He grins.
He slips into the seat across from her. "Ordered yet?"
She doesn't look happy, but she doesn't look mad. She's got an eyebrow raised, but she's not glaring. That's a good sign. "No."
"Great."
The same waitress from three weeks ago comes by the table. "Lemme guess. Herbal tea, fruit cup, and a latte?" She winks.
She was good. Extra tip for her. But he does want just one more thing. "And add a chocolate chip muffin to that, too." He's splurging today.
"Will do. I'll be back shortly." She walks off.
So let's work on that small talk. "Nice day to get out of that tower," X begins as he leans back in his chair.
"Nice day to rob a bank." She never does what you expect, does she?
"No, that was yesterday." But that doesn't mean he can't play along.
"Touché."
Did he figure out that today was her day off? Yes, he did.
Well, mostly. Is he a creep?
No, he most certainly is not.
Not usually.
And yet he goes through all of this trouble why? Not for a job. Not for rent.
He goes through this for a girl.
Why? Why not the redhead? Why not any other girl? Why not a villain? Why a superhero?
Why her?
She is a mystery. He doesn't quite understand her. And he used to love reading Sherlock Holmes when he was a kid.
She is incredibly intriguing and so fun to tease. He wants to figure her out.
And he will.
Why does she glare at him when he offers to buy her food, and yet hesitate when she can arrest him? Why doesn't she arrest him now?
If she could have slit his throat yesterday without saying a word, what else can she do? And why hasn't she done it?
His thoughts are interrupted by the arrival of their order. That fruit cup is looking really tempting.
Let's just start with number one. He takes a sip of his latte. "You held back yesterday."
She doesn't show any emotion. She doesn't give any of the normal facial expressions, making her nearly impossible to read. "If I recall correctly, so did you," is all she says as she pops a blueberry in her mouth.
He gives in to temptation.
When she takes a sip of her tea, he snitches a luscious looking strawberry from her cup. But just as quickly as it was stolen, it is rescued. His fingers are tingling from where her powers have just removed the fruit. Her eyebrow is raised, but her eyes are sparkling with something. Amusement? "That's the only one. Have a melon. They're obnoxiously plentiful."
He obliges. "I never considered melon to be obnoxious," he says thoughtfully. "But perhaps you're correct. About both obnoxious melons and my withholding. I really wanted to be able to steal from your fruit cup today." He smiles at her. He really is enjoying himself.
"You're obnoxious."
Oh, but you like it. "Have some muffin," he says instead.
And to his delight, she does.