My Starry Eyed Wolf

Coffee Shop Static

**Arianna's POV**

"What did you say to Ian?" My father came back to stand beside me. He must have noticed that Ian didn't say anything as he left.

"I didn't say anything. How do you know him dad?" I kept staring at the door that Ian had just walked through.

"He has started coming in recently looking for different books. I guess he lives in that big old house off Oak Street. Ian McCarthy." The third main road in town that I never use. The main roads were named after types of trees. Oak, Maple and Willow.

My father went back to setting up his crime novels. I just started at the door, confused about the encounter we had. I subconsciously rubbed my fingers where they had touched his.

The rest of the day went by the same as always. As I had known, most of the customers that came in today were the nearby housewives that walked down Maple Street, where the shop sat, for the new crime novel.

After my father and I closed up the shop, I gave him a quick hug goodnight and headed towards my car. I was ready for that glass of wine that Casey offered and to tell her about what happened to Ian today.

"Whoa, you met the guy from the big house on Oak and didn't text me right after?!?" We were sitting on Casey's couch in the center of her living room. Casey prided herself on having taken an interior design course at the college. It helped her set up her small 1 bedroom apartment on the edge of town. I did have to give her. It looked a whole lot better than my apartment, which was just right down the road. It was nice being able to be within walking distance if Casey talked me into one too many glasses of wine. Which I am ashamed to admit happened often.

"Sorry, we ended up getting busy after that with the new crime book that just came out." I said, taking another sip from my glass.

"Man, housewives are psychos." Casey's body made a shiver to emphasize her words. I just laughed at my best friend.

"Do you think the shock meant anything?" Casey followed up her question by pouring a little more wine into my glass.

"After this, I am done. I need to walk home tonight." I told Casey after she put the bottle back on the coffee table. "And probably not. My dad has some old carpet in the shop, so Ian must have just rubbed his feet on the ground." What could a shock actually mean? You get zapped just from touching a balloon and that doesn't have any hidden meaning behind it.

"Yeah probably." Casey and I finished our last glass of wine and then I started to make my way back home. It was a nice spring evening. The days were staying warm consistently, so the evenings weren't too cold. I couldn't wait for summer to finally be here. The winter lasted too long this year. Where we are located we are lucky enough to experience all 4 seasons. I just wish summer lasted a tad longer.

As I made my way home, I looked up at the sky. You could see the stars in the sky and I guess tonight was a full moon too. That must be why I can see where I am going so clearly. As I was walking, I thought I heard the strangest thing. It sounded like a wolf howling. I had never heard one before. Coyotes sure, but not a wolf. The sound set me on edge a bit. I picked up my speed slightly to get to my apartment building. Once inside, I made a mental note to ask my dad about how common wolves were in our area. I needed to know if I had to start quickening my pace when walking home.

The next morning, when I woke up, I had a slight headache. I did not need that last glass of wine. I swung my legs over the side of my bed and put my head in my hands for a moment. Once I felt steady enough to get up, I made my way to my bathroom, which was connected to my room. I found some Tylenol that was in the cabinet over my toilet and started the shower.

I didn't need my father giving me that knowing look. He almost always knew when I stopped at Casey's the night before. I took a little colder than normal shower to help wake me up. Once done, I got out, wrapped myself in a towel and headed to the kitchen to make some coffee.

While the coffee was brewing, I recalled the wolf's howl from the night before. I reminded myself to ask my father about it today. Once my coffee was done, I took a quick sip and finished getting ready for the day. I looked in my full-length mirror once I was ready and approved of my appearance. Today I opted for comfort. A set of black leggings, a white v-neck shirt, tied off to the side, a pair of black ankle boots with a slight heel and a jean jacket for something in case it was a little chilly outside.

"Hey dad, are there wolves in the area?" I asked my dad half way through our work day as we were both restocking the shelves.

"I don't believe so. I think they are mainly found in the northern part of the state. Why?" My dad didn't look up from the books. He was still moving them from one hand to the other.

"I was walking home last night and I swear that I heard a wolf howling." Shoot.

"Walking home? Did you stop at Casey's?" And there was the look. The slightly disapproving look.

"I stopped there for a moment." My father went back to the books in his hands.

We spent a few hours restocking and dusting the shelves, when I heard the front door bell ring, alerting us that someone was in the store. I walked to the front to see if there was something I could help with, since my father was surrounded by books.

To my shock, as I rounded the bookshelf, Ian was standing by the front counter. I hid my shock quickly and walked to stand behind the counter. "How can I help you?" I asked. Those emerald eyes caught me in their grasp again for the second day in a row.

I waited for Ian to say something. He opened his mouth once, then closed it. He then brought his hand up and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I am sorry I am not used to doing this." His voice was deep and a little on the raspy side.

"What can I help you with?" I tried asking again. This time a little softer.

"Can you grab some coffee with me? Would you like to grab some coffee? Sorry not that you cant. You are an adult and all. Sorry I'll stop talking." For a minute I just stared at him. No way was he not used to getting coffee or dinner or lunch. He must date often with the way that he looks.

I finally was able to find my voice. "Now?" I asked.

"Or tomorrow, or next week. Whenever you are free." He was looking at me now. Not taking his eyes from me. He was probably trying to read my face.

"I am free now. I need a bit of caffeine anyway. Let me just go tell my dad real quick and then I will meet you out front." I was going to have to tell Casey about this once I was back at the store. She would be very upset if I didn't call her right away.

I popped my head around the book shelf after grabbing my purse from under the front counter. "Hey dad, I am going to go grab some coffee. Do you want anything?"

"No thank you honey. See you in a little bit." My father was still stuck behind his stack of books.

I walked outside to the main street and Ian was standing on the pavement, leaning on the small black wrought iron fence that separated the sidewalk from the street. If he did not look like a picture from a men's cologne add. I stopped just for a moment. He must have taken that as I wanted him to come closer. He pushed himself off the fence and came to stand directly in front of me.

"Where would you like to go?" He asked.

"There is a coffee shop a couple of blocks down if you don't mind walking."

"Not at all." We started walking in the direction of the coffee shop. Ian didn't say anything as we passed the first few shops.

"So you might be wondering why I asked you to have coffee with me." He finally broke the silence as we got to the first intersection.

"The question did pop into my head at one point." I glanced over at him as we waited for the green walk sign.

"I am new to the area. My uncle owns the big house on one of the main roads and I came up here to be his apprentice. He's a business man, you see." When I nodded for him to continue, the light turned green for us to walk and continue our journey to the coffee shop.

"So you asked me to have coffee to ask me about the town?" I asked to see what his intentions were.

"Something like that. Your father has helped me quite a bit with getting me started on books that I need, and I don't know anyone else in this town." We were almost to the coffee shop when he stopped suddenly.

"Also, not to sound like a crazy person, but when our fingers touched yesterday, I felt a spark. Please tell me I am not crazy and you felt it too." He was looking into my eyes again, waiting for me to answer.

"I felt it too. I figured it was from the carpet in the shop." I turned to make our way to the coffee shop finally. We walked in and placed our orders. Once our order was ready, we went and sat outside on some patio furniture that was on the side walk.

Once seated, I asked, "Did the zap make you uncomfortable?"

"Not at all. It actually felt like it woke me up. If that makes any sense." I nodded slowly in agreement. I wasn't sure how much to really put on a shock.

"Can we try it again?" Ian asked me after taking a sip of his iced coffee. I thought about it for a moment. What would it mean if it happened again?

"Sure." I put my hand on the table in front of me. Close enough, so Ian didn't have to stretch. He looked at my hand and then extended his out as well. He placed his hand on top of mine. Palm side down. As soon as the weight of his hand played on top of mine, the shocking feeling ran up my entire arm. Ian quickly removed his hand from my mine. We both clearly felt it.

"Wow." Was all that left his lips.