Chapter 1

Leon Salter woke up in his own bed as he did every morning. He headed to the bathroom, finished his business, and stood before the mirror. After washing his hands, he stared at himself momentarily, amber-brown eyes staring back. His dark brown hair was messy, and he quickly combed it before messing it up again, but in just the right way. He was probably due for a haircut, but it wasn't too bad for now. His closely trimmed beard was still tidy and professional enough. He cleaned up and returned to his bedroom to get changed and prepare for the day. On his way out, he put his finger on the electronic lock, waiting for it to beep to signal it had locked successfully. It didn't take long for him to be on his way to work, and he hopped on the train, which took about 10 minutes. As usual, he stopped by a coffee shop for his caffeine fix. He was a regular and made his order before moving to the other side of the counter to wait for it to be ready.

Between staring at his phone, flicking through emails, and social media, he saw a woman walk up to the counter and order her coffee. Like everyone else, she moved to the side and looked at her phone. As best he could without staring like a weirdo, he checked her out for a moment as he waited. She had waist-length hair dyed a deep red, pulled up in a ponytail with a few loose strands on either side of her face. Her face was oval-shaped, and her eyes stood out. They were large, framed by long black lashes, but he couldn't see what colour they were from this angle. After a moment, she must have felt eyes on her, looked up from the screen, and made eye contact with him.

She gave him a bright smile, which made his heart race, and he stopped breathing for a second. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her and felt himself smile back at her out of sheer reflex. Embarrassed, he dropped his eyes to his phone but stared at the screen while internally panicking. The image of her smile was burned into his mind, and he felt his heart was still racing, too.

The barista called his name, signalling his order was ready, and he thanked them as he collected his coffee.

As he turned to leave, she was right next to him and smiled at him again, and he couldn't help the boyish grin that spread across his face. He was reasonably sure he was blushing as he left the coffee shop and headed to work. Thankfully, he was a close walk from the coffee shop, and he went straight into the recording studio that he owned and worked as the sound engineer, producer and songwriter, setting up for the day's recording session with a solo artist. Even as he worked through the session, he couldn't get the woman's face out of his mind. His coworker and closest friend, Aaron, noticed something was distracting him and eventually questioned him about it.

"Dude, what's going on with you today? You've been spacing out." Aaron looked at Leon with his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Ah, I just saw this really gorgeous woman at the coffee shop this morning… Shit, I should have asked for her number," He confessed to Aaron, his voice tinged with regret. He shook his head at himself, only realising that now, several hours later.

As he groaned loudly and Aaron laughed, they got back to work. Leon didn't think he would ever see her again, so it was too late. The disappointment was heavy in his heart, and Leon couldn't shake the feeling. As disappointed as he was, there wasn't much he could do about it now. Maybe if he ever saw her again, he'd have the sense to ask her for her number. He wasn't overly anxious or awkward around women but didn't see himself as confident or suave.

The day finished early, with no other sessions booked, but he stayed back to do some admin work and tidy up. Leon usually took some time to record his own stuff, but he was too scatterbrained to focus, and instead, he left after sending Aaron home. He locked up and strolled back towards the station slowly. The train ride felt surprisingly short, and Leon had been going through an email but ended up reading it about seven times over as he couldn't concentrate. Instead of going straight home from the station, he stopped by the supermarket and grabbed some groceries for the next few days. Realising he hadn't even had lunch today because he was too busy spacing out, hunger hit him hard, and Leon began cooking an early dinner as soon as he arrived back at his apartment.

It was just a simple meal with meat and veggies, but it did the trick. Leon could cook well but never did anything too fancy since he only fed himself. If Leon had someone else around, he might put in more effort. His mind wandered towards a warm smile and long red hair before sighing audibly to the empty apartment and sat down to eat. He replied to the email he attempted to read on the train and put the booking details in his phone so he wouldn't forget.

The rest of his night was the same as always: washing up, watching TV and showering before bed. Once he lay down, he rolled his eyes but smiled as he wondered if the girl would be at the coffee shop the next day. His luck wasn't typically great, but maybe it might go his way.

He would have to wait and find out...

Leon repeated his usual routine as he awoke to the sound of his alarm the following day. After hopping off the train, he headed to the coffee shop and made his usual order. Before moving to the other side of the counter to wait, he saw a swish of red in his peripheral vision and was reminded of the beautiful girl from yesterday. His heart sped up as he stepped back and tried his best to look casual as he tried to see if it was her.

It wasn't. It was just a different girl with a large red stripe down the sleeve of her jacket.

Although it felt weird, his heart sank a little. It sank again after he waited, collected his order and left the shop. He glanced around vaguely as he walked down the small alleyway and came onto the next street in case he could see her. Once Leon arrived at work, he tore his mind off the stunning stranger and worked hard to make up for yesterday. He was switched on the whole day, and it went by quickly.

So did the rest of the week, and it was now Friday afternoon. He almost finished recording for the solo artist. Only a few finishing touches, which they had booked in to fix on Monday next week, and said goodbye before he tidied up, locked up, and he and Aaron headed home.

Most of his weekend was full of catching up on housework since he'd been slack all this week. Sunday was a bit lazier, and after a sleep-in, he vacuumed and mopped his floors before heading off to the supermarket. This allowed the floor time to dry and kept him on task. Once he sat down, Leon knew he wouldn't want to move, so he didn't allow himself to stop. He splurged and got a nice steak cut for dinner and regular groceries.

The remainder of the day was spent doing the last of the cleaning, cooking a nice dinner for himself and watching TV once he'd finished washing up. Then it was into a hot shower and then off to bed.

Although it was earlier than usual, he was okay with it since it would end the monotony of the day.

Unfortunately, sleep didn't come so quickly…

Monday arrived, and Leon went through the same routine as always. Flicking through his emails while waiting for his coffee, he looked up as his name was called to see the red-haired girl standing just across from him. Leon's breath caught in his throat, and the barista called his name again with a slightly confused tone and looked at him strangely. He went to the counter, and the barista subtly gestured for him to come close as he handed over his coffee.

"Dude, ask her for her number already. I saw you looking for her every day last week." The barista, Drake, spoke matter-of-factly and chuckled as Leon smiled in embarrassment before taking a deep breath to steel his nerves.

"Wish me luck," Leon replied before he turned around, but as he did, her phone rang, and she answered it.

Panicking, Leon was too nervous to wait since it would definitely look weird. Instead, he didn't stop walking and almost went into the glass pane next to the front door while trying to get out of the cafe in a fluster.

Little did he know, the barista rolled his eyes and chuckled, seeing the entire scene from an external perspective. Drake decided to help him out. He put a little note on a napkin with her coffee, telling her about Leon, and hoped it would all work out. The red-headed woman blinked slowly at the note, smiled, and looked over her shoulder, but Leon was long gone.

Once Leon arrived at the studio, he spent the first 10 minutes pacing up and down the office, beating himself up for being too shy. Since she was there last Monday, he hoped he would only have to wait another week for his next chance. Aaron arrived during Leon's pacing and stood at the threshold, unsure if he should enter. He raised an eyebrow in confusion and watched his boss and best friend's strange antics until he finally piped up.

"Uh, Leon. You okay, man?" Aaron asked hesitantly, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Yeah, I just… I still didn't ask for her number." He scratched the back of his neck as he answered, then groaned in frustration, his regret palpable in the air.

"Oh my God. Again?" Aaron's tone was full of disbelief.

"I know, I know. She got a phone call and answered it, so I freaked out and walked straight past her." Leon gestured with an arm animatedly, straightening it out in front of him.

Leon groaned again before sitting heavily in his chair and turning on the recording equipment, leaning his chin on his hand and pouting. Aaron shook his head and began working, and nothing more was said about it for the rest of the day.

Maybe next Monday, he would have more luck…