Chapter 3
521 Words
CHAPTER 3
Lucas grabbed his favourite mug and picked up one for Shannon that looked like a prescription bottle, grinning as he tried to imagine her reaction to it. She wasn’t the friendliest person in the morning on a good day. And she’d be in pretty rough shape this morning. He’d never seen her do shots, even in their wild, younger days. Hopefully the coffee would take the edge off.
While he waited for the coffee to perk, he looked around the mostly empty space, imagining how it would look when he was done. He could picture the shiny espresso machine on the counter, the grinder, the rows of different mugs so people could pick their favourite one. A bakery case with amazing treats in it. Friends and neighbours sitting at tables or dashing in to grab something to go on their way to work. Himself behind the counter, wiping tables, visiting with people. He wanted to create a real community feeling. A place where people felt comfortable hanging out and where someone was always there to give you a smile and something tasty.
He had a long way to go, but he was going to get there. He’d had the vision for years, ever since he’d got his first job in a funky little coffee shop after leaving Rivers End. He’d made notes as he hopped from job to job and city to city, developing ideas for his own place. Now he had the location and a place to live. This year, things were finally going to go his way. This year, his dream of opening his own business was going to come true. And if things went well, he’d be able to restore his relationship with Isaac to what it had been before his sister took off.
And maybe, just maybe, if he played his cards right, he’d get to spend a bit more time kissing the firecracker currently sleeping it off in his bed.
Lucas pushed the plunger on the French press and filled both mugs, black for him, dash of milk and two brown sugars for Shannon. Knowing how she took her coffee didn’t make him a stalker. He just paid attention. He’d seen her fix her coffee enough times at Isaac’s over the holidays to know how she liked it. It’s not like he was trying to impress her or anything.
Who was he kidding? He paid way more attention to her than was smart.
He could still feel her lips on his, their bodies melded from head to toe. With one quick grab, she had knocked him off balance and rocked his world. Again.
Lucas made sure the door swung closed behind him, locked up while balancing both mugs in one hand, and headed towards the stairs.
He just about spilled the coffee when someone slammed past him.
“Watch it, buddy.”
With his phone to his ear, the man stopped, stared at the two mugs of coffee in Lucas’s hands, and shook his head. “Figures. She’s all yours, man.”
Lucas watched Jackson the phone-talking frog get into his black SUV and drive away.
He couldn’t help the grin that lit up his face. Not yet. But maybe soon.
- Writer
