p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Chapter 1: Arabic Coffee/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Strong, Careful, Small./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;" /p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Blue eyes passively observed the world pass by. Central street is one of the liveliest parts of Tokyo. Every square inch is lit up – lights imploring you to spend more, eat more, stay more, do more, embe /emmore. It should be so easy to simply embe /emon a street like this. Be a student, excitedly twittering with her friends about a new release outside of a book shop. Be the successful businessman, wrapping up a call before he steps into Ogiikubo for lunch. Be the noisy children splashing in the rain – ignorance of the disdain everyone around them held. You don't even have to be yourself. Those eyes saw hordes of serious athletes leave the gym – only to immediately buy sweets or got to the arcade after. Those same eyes cringed at the happy smiles of the underpaid Wild Duck Burger vanish the instance the thought no customer or manager was looking./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Ann Takamaki was capable of a great many things. Allowed to simply be herself, however, is a privilege she unfortunately lacked. Being of mixed race – and having a striking appearance that blatantly advertises such an origin – meant that her identity was already established, or at least it was to most. A depressing amount of people noticed that two things and simple assumed the rest of her character. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAnn loved to try different cakes. Adored caring for stray cats. Was a naturally gifted model. A poor student, an even worse flirt. Ann has passions, opinions, and interests just like everyone else./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"But no matter how little she does, no matter how hard she tries, there exist no action she can take where she can shed the label she's immediately thrust with whenever someone looks at her. On top of being a mixed foreigner, she's a gorgeous woman. The latter thought could imply vanity, but for Ann it's simply a fact. Her blonde hair sticks out both for its color and luster. People are every bit as likely to gawk at the color of her eyes as they are the face around it. Worse still, she receives equal comments about her unique clothes and the shape of the body under them. Ann is naturally beautiful –there is no pride or shame about it. It simply is./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Right now, that beauty is inconvenient./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"The first half of the label – a mixed foreigner – is easy enough to deal with. Sure, being gawked at by others like some circus performance is uncomfortable but you get used to it. And there enough people like her, Shiho for instance, that she's never completely alone. Isolation and ambivalence are by no means easy, but Ann would drastically prefer it over peopleem desiring /emsomething from her. And to be clear – they never wanted anything from Ann the cake lover, or Ann the poor student. They only wanted Ann the beautiful woman. And they would emstare. /emSome tried miserably to hide it – others wouldn't even bother. She wished her own teacher, Kamoshida, would at least pretend to be a part of the former./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Ann let out a large signed into the drizzling rain – immediately swallowed by the bustling street. Weirdly enough it was here where she found peace. The occasional eye would, of course, wander towards her, but people usually disregarded her here – too busy with their own agendas. Lost in their own sense of being whoever they were, people were too busy to remind Ann what she was supposed to be someone too. Here she was nothing and being nothing was better than being.../span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"A circus act?/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"An object of Lust?/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Kamoshida's?/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"A chill ran up her spine as she thought the last one. Any of those. That's what she was at school. Being nothing was so much better./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"The line of thinking was wont to repeat in between bouts of sheer mindlessness as she gazed at blurs where faces should be. Feeling a little pent up from school today, Ann opted to walk around the area – brain and body united in their wandering. Turning here and there she actually got lost for a bit, chancing upon a small café that looked very warm, even from outside. The wind blew ice cold drizzling water around her, prompting a chill to race down her spine and through the rest of her body. Ann figured she would stop in and rest for a second before getting directions and heading home./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"emspan style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"LeBlanc/span/em/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"The name appeared on a small sign she could only see when close. An inoffensive, if plain, logo of a coffee cup accompanying the text. Shrugging Ann opened the door./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"True to its looks, Ann's was hit with an immediate wave of warmth. Her eyes may have actually fluttered. She took a second to bask in the heat, not realizing just how cold she was./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Welcome in."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Opening her eyes, the rest of her senses were immediately flooded, snapping her brain out of the doldrums it'd been marinating in. It was the scent that hit her first. The rich aroma of freshly ground coffee made sense. The faint sweetness of steamed milk was a pleasant surprise. The peculiar smell of a man's cologne was as weird as it was strangely appropriate. What didn't make sense was the overwhelming smell of spice that made all those others scents barely present./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"'Is that curry?' Ann puzzled herself as she tried to look for its source, to no avail. She saw 4 booths and just as many chairs lining a counter that reminded Ann of bars. The place clearly didn't expect a lot of business, even now – she was the only one here./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Well not the emonly/em one. She found the owner of the baritone voice that greeted her. His back was currently turned to her – appearing to do something fancy with coffee beans. His shoulders were taut, his neck toned, and his back wiry. The oh-so slight curvature of hips made the apron he wore hug just right. The strings of said apron sat on top his belt – which was wrapped around a pair of jeans Ann thought fit emvery /emwell. Blushing at herself for likely staring a second longer than appropriate she lightly chastised herself before going to the 'bar' and sitting down./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"He continued whatever he was doing for a minute – comfortable working in silence despite her being there, which just made her uncomfortable. Especially as she tried to look at anything else but him. There wasn't a lot to see though. A lot of coffee machinery and beans she knew nothing about decorated the wall behind him./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Right as she was about to speak up, he turned around. Inky black eyes hid behind glasses that took up so much of his soft face. Said face was framed by the wild curls she imagined her hand would get lose in. His voice gave away no emotion as he finally addressed her./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Sorry about that, how can I help you?" His deep voice was equal parts soothing as it was…frustrating? Hearing him talk was like listening to a deep saxophone solo, only it always stopped right before the last note. Ann actually took a second after he stopped talking because she expected him to keep talking./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I'll… take a coffee!" That was… not part of the plan. She had planned to just sit and ask for directions. She didn't even like coffee!/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Sure thing." He continued, ignorant to the shock at her on words. "Do you have a certain roast you like?"/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Uhhh… Coffee Roast?" It wasn't supposed to be a question, but it sure came out as one. Ann didn't know the first thing about coffee, and she knew he knew that now. Ann felt her cheeks burn, reddening as the cute barista stared with a blank expression, letting silence stretch for far too long./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Sure thing." And then he was gone. Busying himself to prepare her a drink she was surely going to hate./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Ann let out a shaky breath she didn't know she was holding – wondering why he made her feel so awkward. She heard something behind her consciousness laugh but promptly ignored it as she tried to bring some sort of normalcy back to her situation./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Soo… you work here?" Ann made a face at her horrible ice breaker./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I do." His response was very much like his movement: precise, intentional, with no waste./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""How do you like it?" She tried again./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Good so far. It's nice." Chatterbox this one. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""So far?" Ann's question made him stop for a second and Ann applauded herself for asking something that couldn't be answered with the equivalence of 'yes' or 'no'./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Yeah. I recently moved here – I've only worked here for about a week." His answer surprised Ann, noting that he was working a new job with no one else here. Suddenly some of precise movements looked a little more unsure. She noted a couple of times he would go back and forward without grabbing anything. "But it's pretty slow. And boss usually prepares everything, I just have to serve it." His eyes never left the coffee preparation./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Oh yeah! Speaking of – is that curry I smell? That's a little weird to pair with coffee, isn't it?"/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""It is." She could almost hear a smile in response. He apparently didn't have anything else to add – and the two settled into a much more comfortable silence for a while, allowing Ann to enjoy the ambient sounds of the Café. Low hum of the dim lights, the gentle drip of the coffee, and the low timber of some brass instruments on the radio created such a soothing environment. The place was almost too comfortable./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Ann's appreciation would be interrupted by the pitch-black liquid contrasting with the sparkling white mug he handed her. Ann thought it looked like a black hole – and while her grades in science were low, she's pretty certain you aren't supposed to drink those./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Here you are. Coffee Roast Coffee." Is he teasing her?/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Oh… Thanks!" Ann hopes she sounded enthusiastic. The barista nods but doesn't look away. After a few seconds she realizes he's waiting for her to try it. Hands trembling, she slowly brings the coffee up to her face. Lips inches away from the dark sludge she looks back at him only to see his eyes have not left her. His face is blank, but his eyes can't hide their laughter./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"He is teasing her./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Take a deep breath (at least it smells nice) she pretends to take a sip./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Mmm so yummy." Ann never claimed to be a good actor. She was honestly banking on him not calling her out./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Good." He turned around again, and Ann had to hide her sigh of relief./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Because I had another one for you to try I'd you liked that." And the relief turned to terror in an instant./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""No! No! I'm fine, promise! This is MORE than enough for me, honestly."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Nonsense. I already started it. On the house." He's not even hiding his amusement anymore./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""But…But I…. Hate to impose you know!"/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""No imposition. No one is here."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Exactly. Don't want to cut into your profits if you're already so slow. Gotta support small businesses and stuff."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I'd just throw it away, like I said its already started." A timer went off. "Scratch that, already done, I'll be right back."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Her new acquaintance retreated for a moment and Ann glanced longingly at the door before forgetting she hadn't paid yet. Her mind danced with ideas of how to get out of this. Maybe she could suddenly remember she's allergic to coffee./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"emspan style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Then why come in a coffee shop./span/em/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Ok suddenly remember that you can't have caffeine./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"emspan style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"The pretty barista will just make you another one, decaf this time./span/em/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Well, what about…/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Thoughts ping ponged back and forward, getting more ridiculous by the second. She was thinking about staging a fake burglary when the boy set a new drink in front of her that looked… like the opposite of coffee. The black pit was now a warm brown – the undeniable scent of cocoa was quickly wafting towards her. Perfectly placed whip cream with…was that… caramel on top? That annoying sweet tooth Ann's always had made itself known very quickly as she looked up at him./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Hot Chocolate roast, it's a favorite." He offered the smallest of smiles and a wink that made Ann's throat dry. Of course, she blamed that on wanting the hot chocolate and wasted no time before drinking it./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Ann contentedly gulped down the beverage as the Barista looked to be cleaning up the dishes, although Ann admits she lost sight of anything that wasn't the beverage. Around the last gulp she noticed he had somehow taken away the coffee she didn't drink without her noticing. She could kiss him./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""So, what brings a gal like you around here?" The barista approached her and leaned on the counter opposite of her, the position showing off the gentle swell of his biceps and the tightness of his chest. The towel he was using to dry the dishes laid gently on his should as she was suddenly hit with the full force of his attention. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Ann's brain took a while to process the new sight in front of her before it finally registered it was supposed to be insulted. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""And what exactly do you mean by a 'girl like me'?" Ann's early thoughts flashed in her mind. Was she suddenly too good for this space because she was pretty? Was she so out of place because of her race? Ann's thoughts were close to a spiral before he answered. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Under 30."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Ann Blinked. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Huh?"/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Most people that stop by twice my age. You're not." /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Oh…" Ann trailed off before pausing. Was she so out of practice that she didn't know how to introduce herself? span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanShe struggled with what to say before the boy chimed in./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Probably for the world-famous coffee of course." He was smiling again. Just a hint of white peaked out from his smooth lips. Ann found herself lightly giggling as some of the nerves fell off./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Was it that obvious?" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""You looked at the cup like it was going to attack you."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""It might've." His turn to let out a slight laugh. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I don't know," Ann finally answered after a brief pause, "I like to just wander Central Street sometimes. People watch, I guess. I got a little lost and was just gonna ask for directions."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"And you asked for coffee instead." She barely saw the eyebrow raised over his glasses. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I was getting there." Ann's cheeks-tinged pink with embarrassment./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Do you do that often?"/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""What?"/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""People watch."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Ann paused for a second. She wasn't really sure if there was a way to answer that question without revealing more than she probably should to a stranger. The conversation was light and comfortable – she'd even left most of her earlier moodiness behind. She wasn't exactly jumping at the idea to bring it back./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanPerhaps sensing her anxiety, the barista spoke up: /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Anything you say here is confidential. Barista's honor." He held up some mock three finger solute, earning another giggle from Ann before she sighed./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Yeah. I have… a lot going on in my life. Sometimes its nice to just… get away from it all, you know?" She hopes he takes this to mean she doesn't want to talk about it./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"He stared for a while before nodding. "Yeah. It's a lot easier to forget about your own life when you watch everyone else." His soft words shocked Ann. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Yeah… exactly! You do it to?"/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""What do you think I'm doing now?" His eyes met hers as he said this. Black met blue as Ann desperately tried to see if they actually understood like emshe /emunderstood. They, sadly, didn't give anything away. Those dark pupils might as well have had a mask on. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I promise I'm not very interesting." Ann finally spoke after what felt like ages. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I highly doubt that." His tone was even. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Maybe." Ann conceded. "Keep watching if that's what you want to do." She slid him a sly wink that likely surprised her more than it did him. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I work every day."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis voice was… expecting? span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Guess I'll come back then." And she meant it. Weirdly enough she felt… comfortable? Happy? Like herself? She wasn't really sure who she was or how she felt if Ann was being honest. She just felt good being here. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I'd…." The barista paused before turning around – and Ann noticed he is cleaning a dish that wasn't dirty as he talked without facing her./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I would like that." He finally got out. Ann giggled before beaming a full smile at his back. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Cool, how much do I owe you?"/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I'm not sure." Faint pinkness still resides in his cheeks as her turns around to face her. Ann's confusion is obvious but he speaks before she can ask./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;" A/N/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"Hit a block and stopped writing my own stories for a while. Hoping getting back here will bring back that spark. /p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Strong, Careful, Small./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;" /p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Blue eyes passively observed the world pass by. Central street is one of the liveliest parts of Tokyo. Every square inch is lit up – lights imploring you to spend more, eat more, stay more, do more, embe /emmore. It should be so easy to simply embe /emon a street like this. Be a student, excitedly twittering with her friends about a new release outside of a book shop. Be the successful businessman, wrapping up a call before he steps into Ogiikubo for lunch. Be the noisy children splashing in the rain – ignorance of the disdain everyone around them held. You don't even have to be yourself. Those eyes saw hordes of serious athletes leave the gym – only to immediately buy sweets or got to the arcade after. Those same eyes cringed at the happy smiles of the underpaid Wild Duck Burger vanish the instance the thought no customer or manager was looking./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Ann Takamaki was capable of a great many things. Allowed to simply be herself, however, is a privilege she unfortunately lacked. Being of mixed race – and having a striking appearance that blatantly advertises such an origin – meant that her identity was already established, or at least it was to most. A depressing amount of people noticed that two things and simple assumed the rest of her character. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAnn loved to try different cakes. Adored caring for stray cats. Was a naturally gifted model. A poor student, an even worse flirt. Ann has passions, opinions, and interests just like everyone else./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"But no matter how little she does, no matter how hard she tries, there exist no action she can take where she can shed the label she's immediately thrust with whenever someone looks at her. On top of being a mixed foreigner, she's a gorgeous woman. The latter thought could imply vanity, but for Ann it's simply a fact. Her blonde hair sticks out both for its color and luster. People are every bit as likely to gawk at the color of her eyes as they are the face around it. Worse still, she receives equal comments about her unique clothes and the shape of the body under them. Ann is naturally beautiful –there is no pride or shame about it. It simply is./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Right now, that beauty is inconvenient./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"The first half of the label – a mixed foreigner – is easy enough to deal with. Sure, being gawked at by others like some circus performance is uncomfortable but you get used to it. And there enough people like her, Shiho for instance, that she's never completely alone. Isolation and ambivalence are by no means easy, but Ann would drastically prefer it over peopleem desiring /emsomething from her. And to be clear – they never wanted anything from Ann the cake lover, or Ann the poor student. They only wanted Ann the beautiful woman. And they would emstare. /emSome tried miserably to hide it – others wouldn't even bother. She wished her own teacher, Kamoshida, would at least pretend to be a part of the former./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Ann let out a large signed into the drizzling rain – immediately swallowed by the bustling street. Weirdly enough it was here where she found peace. The occasional eye would, of course, wander towards her, but people usually disregarded her here – too busy with their own agendas. Lost in their own sense of being whoever they were, people were too busy to remind Ann what she was supposed to be someone too. Here she was nothing and being nothing was better than being.../span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"A circus act?/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"An object of Lust?/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Kamoshida's?/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"A chill ran up her spine as she thought the last one. Any of those. That's what she was at school. Being nothing was so much better./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"The line of thinking was wont to repeat in between bouts of sheer mindlessness as she gazed at blurs where faces should be. Feeling a little pent up from school today, Ann opted to walk around the area – brain and body united in their wandering. Turning here and there she actually got lost for a bit, chancing upon a small café that looked very warm, even from outside. The wind blew ice cold drizzling water around her, prompting a chill to race down her spine and through the rest of her body. Ann figured she would stop in and rest for a second before getting directions and heading home./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"emspan style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"LeBlanc/span/em/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"The name appeared on a small sign she could only see when close. An inoffensive, if plain, logo of a coffee cup accompanying the text. Shrugging Ann opened the door./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"True to its looks, Ann's was hit with an immediate wave of warmth. Her eyes may have actually fluttered. She took a second to bask in the heat, not realizing just how cold she was./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Welcome in."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Opening her eyes, the rest of her senses were immediately flooded, snapping her brain out of the doldrums it'd been marinating in. It was the scent that hit her first. The rich aroma of freshly ground coffee made sense. The faint sweetness of steamed milk was a pleasant surprise. The peculiar smell of a man's cologne was as weird as it was strangely appropriate. What didn't make sense was the overwhelming smell of spice that made all those others scents barely present./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"'Is that curry?' Ann puzzled herself as she tried to look for its source, to no avail. She saw 4 booths and just as many chairs lining a counter that reminded Ann of bars. The place clearly didn't expect a lot of business, even now – she was the only one here./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Well not the emonly/em one. She found the owner of the baritone voice that greeted her. His back was currently turned to her – appearing to do something fancy with coffee beans. His shoulders were taut, his neck toned, and his back wiry. The oh-so slight curvature of hips made the apron he wore hug just right. The strings of said apron sat on top his belt – which was wrapped around a pair of jeans Ann thought fit emvery /emwell. Blushing at herself for likely staring a second longer than appropriate she lightly chastised herself before going to the 'bar' and sitting down./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"He continued whatever he was doing for a minute – comfortable working in silence despite her being there, which just made her uncomfortable. Especially as she tried to look at anything else but him. There wasn't a lot to see though. A lot of coffee machinery and beans she knew nothing about decorated the wall behind him./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Right as she was about to speak up, he turned around. Inky black eyes hid behind glasses that took up so much of his soft face. Said face was framed by the wild curls she imagined her hand would get lose in. His voice gave away no emotion as he finally addressed her./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Sorry about that, how can I help you?" His deep voice was equal parts soothing as it was…frustrating? Hearing him talk was like listening to a deep saxophone solo, only it always stopped right before the last note. Ann actually took a second after he stopped talking because she expected him to keep talking./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I'll… take a coffee!" That was… not part of the plan. She had planned to just sit and ask for directions. She didn't even like coffee!/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Sure thing." He continued, ignorant to the shock at her on words. "Do you have a certain roast you like?"/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Uhhh… Coffee Roast?" It wasn't supposed to be a question, but it sure came out as one. Ann didn't know the first thing about coffee, and she knew he knew that now. Ann felt her cheeks burn, reddening as the cute barista stared with a blank expression, letting silence stretch for far too long./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Sure thing." And then he was gone. Busying himself to prepare her a drink she was surely going to hate./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Ann let out a shaky breath she didn't know she was holding – wondering why he made her feel so awkward. She heard something behind her consciousness laugh but promptly ignored it as she tried to bring some sort of normalcy back to her situation./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Soo… you work here?" Ann made a face at her horrible ice breaker./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I do." His response was very much like his movement: precise, intentional, with no waste./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""How do you like it?" She tried again./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Good so far. It's nice." Chatterbox this one. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""So far?" Ann's question made him stop for a second and Ann applauded herself for asking something that couldn't be answered with the equivalence of 'yes' or 'no'./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Yeah. I recently moved here – I've only worked here for about a week." His answer surprised Ann, noting that he was working a new job with no one else here. Suddenly some of precise movements looked a little more unsure. She noted a couple of times he would go back and forward without grabbing anything. "But it's pretty slow. And boss usually prepares everything, I just have to serve it." His eyes never left the coffee preparation./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Oh yeah! Speaking of – is that curry I smell? That's a little weird to pair with coffee, isn't it?"/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""It is." She could almost hear a smile in response. He apparently didn't have anything else to add – and the two settled into a much more comfortable silence for a while, allowing Ann to enjoy the ambient sounds of the Café. Low hum of the dim lights, the gentle drip of the coffee, and the low timber of some brass instruments on the radio created such a soothing environment. The place was almost too comfortable./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Ann's appreciation would be interrupted by the pitch-black liquid contrasting with the sparkling white mug he handed her. Ann thought it looked like a black hole – and while her grades in science were low, she's pretty certain you aren't supposed to drink those./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Here you are. Coffee Roast Coffee." Is he teasing her?/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Oh… Thanks!" Ann hopes she sounded enthusiastic. The barista nods but doesn't look away. After a few seconds she realizes he's waiting for her to try it. Hands trembling, she slowly brings the coffee up to her face. Lips inches away from the dark sludge she looks back at him only to see his eyes have not left her. His face is blank, but his eyes can't hide their laughter./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"He is teasing her./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Take a deep breath (at least it smells nice) she pretends to take a sip./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Mmm so yummy." Ann never claimed to be a good actor. She was honestly banking on him not calling her out./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Good." He turned around again, and Ann had to hide her sigh of relief./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Because I had another one for you to try I'd you liked that." And the relief turned to terror in an instant./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""No! No! I'm fine, promise! This is MORE than enough for me, honestly."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Nonsense. I already started it. On the house." He's not even hiding his amusement anymore./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""But…But I…. Hate to impose you know!"/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""No imposition. No one is here."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Exactly. Don't want to cut into your profits if you're already so slow. Gotta support small businesses and stuff."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I'd just throw it away, like I said its already started." A timer went off. "Scratch that, already done, I'll be right back."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Her new acquaintance retreated for a moment and Ann glanced longingly at the door before forgetting she hadn't paid yet. Her mind danced with ideas of how to get out of this. Maybe she could suddenly remember she's allergic to coffee./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"emspan style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Then why come in a coffee shop./span/em/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Ok suddenly remember that you can't have caffeine./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"emspan style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"The pretty barista will just make you another one, decaf this time./span/em/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Well, what about…/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Thoughts ping ponged back and forward, getting more ridiculous by the second. She was thinking about staging a fake burglary when the boy set a new drink in front of her that looked… like the opposite of coffee. The black pit was now a warm brown – the undeniable scent of cocoa was quickly wafting towards her. Perfectly placed whip cream with…was that… caramel on top? That annoying sweet tooth Ann's always had made itself known very quickly as she looked up at him./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Hot Chocolate roast, it's a favorite." He offered the smallest of smiles and a wink that made Ann's throat dry. Of course, she blamed that on wanting the hot chocolate and wasted no time before drinking it./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Ann contentedly gulped down the beverage as the Barista looked to be cleaning up the dishes, although Ann admits she lost sight of anything that wasn't the beverage. Around the last gulp she noticed he had somehow taken away the coffee she didn't drink without her noticing. She could kiss him./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""So, what brings a gal like you around here?" The barista approached her and leaned on the counter opposite of her, the position showing off the gentle swell of his biceps and the tightness of his chest. The towel he was using to dry the dishes laid gently on his should as she was suddenly hit with the full force of his attention. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Ann's brain took a while to process the new sight in front of her before it finally registered it was supposed to be insulted. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""And what exactly do you mean by a 'girl like me'?" Ann's early thoughts flashed in her mind. Was she suddenly too good for this space because she was pretty? Was she so out of place because of her race? Ann's thoughts were close to a spiral before he answered. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Under 30."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Ann Blinked. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Huh?"/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Most people that stop by twice my age. You're not." /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Oh…" Ann trailed off before pausing. Was she so out of practice that she didn't know how to introduce herself? span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanShe struggled with what to say before the boy chimed in./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Probably for the world-famous coffee of course." He was smiling again. Just a hint of white peaked out from his smooth lips. Ann found herself lightly giggling as some of the nerves fell off./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Was it that obvious?" /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""You looked at the cup like it was going to attack you."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""It might've." His turn to let out a slight laugh. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I don't know," Ann finally answered after a brief pause, "I like to just wander Central Street sometimes. People watch, I guess. I got a little lost and was just gonna ask for directions."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"And you asked for coffee instead." She barely saw the eyebrow raised over his glasses. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I was getting there." Ann's cheeks-tinged pink with embarrassment./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Do you do that often?"/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""What?"/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""People watch."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"Ann paused for a second. She wasn't really sure if there was a way to answer that question without revealing more than she probably should to a stranger. The conversation was light and comfortable – she'd even left most of her earlier moodiness behind. She wasn't exactly jumping at the idea to bring it back./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanPerhaps sensing her anxiety, the barista spoke up: /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Anything you say here is confidential. Barista's honor." He held up some mock three finger solute, earning another giggle from Ann before she sighed./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Yeah. I have… a lot going on in my life. Sometimes its nice to just… get away from it all, you know?" She hopes he takes this to mean she doesn't want to talk about it./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;"He stared for a while before nodding. "Yeah. It's a lot easier to forget about your own life when you watch everyone else." His soft words shocked Ann. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Yeah… exactly! You do it to?"/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""What do you think I'm doing now?" His eyes met hers as he said this. Black met blue as Ann desperately tried to see if they actually understood like emshe /emunderstood. They, sadly, didn't give anything away. Those dark pupils might as well have had a mask on. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I promise I'm not very interesting." Ann finally spoke after what felt like ages. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I highly doubt that." His tone was even. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Maybe." Ann conceded. "Keep watching if that's what you want to do." She slid him a sly wink that likely surprised her more than it did him. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I work every day."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis voice was… expecting? span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Guess I'll come back then." And she meant it. Weirdly enough she felt… comfortable? Happy? Like herself? She wasn't really sure who she was or how she felt if Ann was being honest. She just felt good being here. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I'd…." The barista paused before turning around – and Ann noticed he is cleaning a dish that wasn't dirty as he talked without facing her./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I would like that." He finally got out. Ann giggled before beaming a full smile at his back. /span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Cool, how much do I owe you?"/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""I'm not sure." Faint pinkness still resides in his cheeks as her turns around to face her. Ann's confusion is obvious but he speaks before she can ask./span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;""Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you."/span/p
p class="xmsonormal" style="margin: 0in; line-height: 200%; background: white;"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; color: #242424;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;" A/N/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"Hit a block and stopped writing my own stories for a while. Hoping getting back here will bring back that spark. /p