Haunted Savannah

Chapter Five: ...or Tea?

Savannah stared up at Cory, her eyes growing wide as she took in the question. She felt the urge to instantly turn him down, but… he did make sure that she got home safely the night before. She probably shouldn’t be spiteful toward him just because seeing him reminded her of his brother. He couldn’t help how he looked. Well, he could probably do something about his pallid complexion, but he could cure that pretty easily by just spending a little less time at his computer and a little more time outside.

“Uhm...I...er…” Savannah sputtered. She swallowed, took in a breath, then tried again. “Sure. But, only if you let me treat you to a cup of coffee. We’ve got some time before the next class anyway.”

“Tea.” Cory said softly, his lips turning up slightly at one end into a half smile. “I’m not really a coffee person.”

Savannah laughed, and shook her head at this. “Are you sure you and Shane are twins? He would have been horrified to hear that. Shane would have hooked up a coffee IV to his arm if he could have.”

Cory grimaced a bit at this, which Savannah picked up on. She blanched, and it was then her turn to apologize, “Oh god, I’m so sorry…”

“Don’t, please. Everyone has been so sorry for months.” Cory muttered quietly. “Honestly...it’s nice to be somewhere where everyone isn’t sorry all the time.”

Savannah could detect the bitterness in his words, which surprised her. But, she smiled, and said, “Tea, then. I know a place.”

Like Savannah the student, Savannah the city was a bit square. Well, Forsyth Park was a rectangle, but much of the city was built around square parks. Even the roads formed a grid pattern - making navigation in the city rather simple once you got used to the criss-crossing pattern of one way north or east, two way, and one way south or west.

She’d seen numerous tourists try to go the wrong way down a one way road, but now that she’d lived in the city she found it quite easy to get a hang of. Savannah actually appreciated the orderliness that the grid pattern provided, and wondered why other cities didn’t do the same - though, she’d really not visited many other cities - though she hoped to do so in the future.

This city, however, she’d spent the last two years poking around. Two years may not have given her encyclopedic knowledge of everything the city had to offer, but it did give her an idea of where to get a good caffeinated beverage - especially if there was some interesting historical or artistic aspect involved. Once on the back of Cory’s motorcycle, helmet secured tight to her head, Savannah directed him to Madison Square, on the corner of Bull and Charlton. 

It was a short ride, and Savannah was excited to lead Cory up to the Gryphon Tea Room. Walking through the double doors of the Gryphon, which was built into a former pharmacy located in a masonic temple built in the early 1900s, felt like stepping back in time. The host, a young blond man with slicked back hair, was dressed far more formally than the students were in black slacks, a white button down long sleeved shirt, and a black vest. 

“Welcome to the Gryphon. Is it just the two of you?” he asked, smiling warmly.

“Yep, it’s just us.” Savannah replied easily, though she could feel Cory’s mild anxiousness at being so obviously underdressed for the restaurant he’d just been pulled into. Thankfully, most establishments in the city were accustomed to casually dressed college students and tourists, and rarely felt the need to cause a commotion over the quality of a patron’s clothes.

Their host, at the very least, didn’t seem concerned about their grubbiness, and led them over to a small table in the elevated nook space. Their table was set by a large picture window that looked out onto the square, whose major feature was a bronze statue of revolutionary war hero William Jasper. 

Savannah had been distracted by the view, and was taken a bit by surprise when Cory coughed lightly to draw her attention. He had pulled a chair out for her, and motioned for her to sit. He pushed the chair in for her as she sat, and she fought back that blush that threatened to color her cheeks.

Cory sat down across from her a moment later, and looked around the lush surroundings. The richly patterned wallpapers on the ceiling, glittering chandelier, carved wood, and original tiffany glass all came together to create a beautiful background for patrons to enjoy the delicious tea and food on offer.

In the face of all this beauty, Cory looked back and forth, then at Savannah and said, “It’s ok, I guess.”

Savannah blinked at him, then her lips wobbled a bit as she struggled not to laugh. Cory’s lips turned briefly up on one corner, before returning to its normal placid expression, and that simple action broke her. She burst into a peal of giggles, just as the waitress came to take their drink order.

Cory looked up at the waitress, and gave her a surprisingly warm smile, and placed his order while Savannah collected herself. “I’d like a pot of earl grey, please.”

Savannah cleared her throat, and said, “Vanilla tea for me, and could we get scones with devonshire cream with jam as well?”

The waitress, who had introduced herself as Elizabeth, nodded as she scribbled down their order on a small notepad that she’d pulled from her waist apron. “Sure, sure. Back in a tick.”

Cory and Savannah sat for a minute in awkward silence before Savannah said, “So, er...I didn’t realize you were an artist.”

“Oh, yeah…mostly things like comics and character designs.” Cory replied, relaxing a bit into his chair. “I was going to major in sequential art, but I think I’ve landed on interactive design and game development instead. Comics and storyboards are great, but there’s probably more career opportunities in gaming. What about you? Are you going to declare as a painting major?”

Savannah laughed a little, “No, I’ve already decided on Art History as a major. I love painting, but I also really love history...and I think I could combine the two to make a career for myself in restoration.”

“Is that why you’re so serious about staying awake during Judy’s class?” Cory asked.

“Yeah, pretty much...I know it’s just some boring, pretentious crap to most of you. Honestly, it does feel like that a lot of the time.” Savannah said, puffing her cheeks up a bit before releasing a sigh. “Sometimes when I write a paper I feel like I’m just regurgitating the tired misinterpretations of old men who really have no idea what the artists were thinking, but are just narcissistic enough to believe that they do.”

The waitress arrived just as the chuckle that Cory had given in response died away. She carefully set the two small, white ceramic teapots onto the table, their lids jingling slightly as they settled onto the marble topped table between the two students. Savannah’s eyes lit up as the tea cups, followed by the plate of incredible smelling scones with little cups of jam and cream, were placed on the table.

“Thank you, Elizabeth,” Savannah said, smiling brightly at the waitress. 

“You’re welcome.” Elizabeth replied with a smile of her own. “Please enjoy.”

Savannah and Cory busied themselves with pouring cups of tea and using tiny silver tongs to drop cubes of sugar into her cup. Savannah was actually surprised at this; she didn’t think Cory would be the milk first with two cubes of sugar kind. He even put both cream and jam on a scone he’d halved before eating it. In contrast to his bad boy in black exterior it was kind of… cute.

Cory looked up at her and lifted an eyebrow as he blew across the top of his tea cup, which he’d lifted from its saucer carefully by the thin, curved handle. “Do I have something on my face?”

When he gave her his questioning look, Savannah tried to distract from her blush at having been caught staring by shoving a scone unceremoniously into her mouth. She swallowed her overly large bite of scone down, and coughed a little bit before licking the remaining crumbs from her lip.

“N-no, you don’t.” she finally said after clearing her throat. “I just didn’t expect you to like sweets. You should come back when you have more time, they do lovely sets with a variety of pastries and finger sandwiches…”

“We should check it out together. If you help me with memorizing the tour route and stories, it’ll be my treat.” Cory said, before leaning forward to wipe away a leftover dollop of cream from the corner of Savannah’s lips. “You missed some…”

Cory spoke quietly, just above a whisper, and his voice was so low that Savannah had to focus to hear him. She was so focused on his soft, pouty bottom lip that she didn’t notice his outstretched hand. They were soft looking, and slightly pinker on one side. She thought he must bite his lip there. When his mouth opened, she could see the flash of the round silver toned tongue ring he wore.

She blinked, realizing she was starting to feel a bit warm, and was about to ask him to repeat himself when he withdrew his hand and licked the dollop of cream from his thumb. 

Savannah sat back in her chair, the blush in her cheeks growing and trailing all the way down her neck. “W..What?!”

Cory gave her his lopsided smile again, “Sorry. Well, think about it.”

“Are you flirting with me?” Savannah squeaked.

“I think that depends.” Cory replied smoothly, lifting an eyebrow at her, his lips quirking into a smirk. It was very much like his usual lopsided smile, but with added snarky mischief in his eyes. 

“Do you want me to?”

Savannah’s mouth flapped open and closed a few times, like a fish, before she finally said, “We should finish up here or we’re going to be late to class.”

Cory’s smirk faded, and he turned his attention to his tea. Savannah tried to do the same, but found herself pondering his question instead. Did she want to flirt with Cory?

She barely knew him, though she supposed she knew him better than Mario and she was happy to flirt with him. But, he was Shane’s brother… his twin, even. Shane was like a brother to her. Wasn’t that weird? 

She’d spent the whole first half of the semester avoiding Cory, because looking at him hurt. Now that she’d actually talked to him, she found it hurt a lot less. His voice and even his presence were so familiar, and set her at ease in a way that she hadn’t felt in the two years since she left home; it was hard not to want more of that. Actually, it felt like she had a bit of Shane back.

That thought left a sour taste in her mouth that wasn’t the tang left behind by the tea. That was twisted; there was no getting Shane back. Cory was not Shane. She hated that she had to remind herself of this so often. Her head swam a bit as she tried to puzzle out her feelings. Cory said nothing, but when they got up to go she thought the expression on his face was just as pensieve as hers had been.