Falling at a Coffee Shop
First story that just kind of randomly came to me.
It's a pretty short one, just thought I'd try and make it cute at least.
Please let me know what you think of it if you read it.
Thanks!
His nails clacked dully against the wooden table. This annoying habit had followed him for as long as he could remember, and it never failed to betray his nervousness. The canine repeatedly tried to tell himself to calm down, but to no avail. He wished that it had only been the caffeine that was making him so nervous, but he knew that wasn't true. As long as he was in his new favorite coffee shop, he would never be able to calm down.
The canine, a lithe but sturdy-looking, grey husky, had been coming to this particular shop every day for the past two weeks; a pattern that had only started out of innocent convenience. The small shop had only one location that he knew of, and it was perfectly on the way to his classes. It wasn't the coffee that kept bringing him back, as it was no better than any of the mega-chain shops and even a bit more expensive. The newly twenty-year-old canine found himself unable to forget about one of the baristas. He could feel his ice-blue eyes twinkle every time he saw the handsome and hunky panther. Normally, the husky would come in, order, steal a few glances at the cat as he worked, grab his coffee, and be on his way. This was his weekday ritual. Today, however, was a Saturday, and the husky took this chance to linger for a while.
The husky took an occasional sip from his straw, gulping down the drink whose name he knew he was mispronouncing. Regardless of the drink's strange name, he ordered it every time. The canine caught a quick glance of his name "Wes" scrawled hurriedly on the side of the cup. He grinned and chuckled lightly as he thought, "I guess that's a pretty strange name too." Wes liked his name however. He found that it was memorable, and that those he met were not quick to forget him. "I wonder if he remembers it," he glanced quickly at the panther who was moving about the shop, cleaning tables quickly. He blushed deeply thinking that after the numerous times the cat has had to write his strange name down, that maybe, just maybe, he remembered it. Wes shook his head quickly, "Don't be weird," he thought to himself. He took one last glance at the panther, who was leaning over a table wiping furiously. Wes could see the cat's muscles ripple beneath his button-down shirt. Moving to the next table, the cat looked forward, and briefly locked eyes with Wes. The feline smiled sweetly, but Wes frantically looked away and tried his best to look busy. Wes grabbed his cup and drank heavily from the straw. Soon, hearing the familiar sound of an empty cup, he placed it back down on the table. Wes could feel his eyes strain as he locked them tightly on his computer screen, hoping the panther didn't notice his nervous movements.
"Mind if I take that from ya?" Wes looked up from his computer and locked eyes with the cat once more. The same sweet smile was spread across the panther's face. Wes stared into his beautiful dark brown eyes, and scanned over his lean and angular face. "U-Um..." Wes could feel a lump in his chest as his words emerged flustered. The familiar tapping sounds of his nails could be heard in the pauses between words. "U-uh sure." He did his best not to sound like a nervous wreck, but the shakiness of his voice and omnipresent tapping could always give him away. Reaching over the table, the cat delicately grabbed the cup. "Wes, right?" The lump in Wes' chest jumped at the cat's words as he felt his cheeks warm, a light blush filling his face. He remembered! "Yea," he replied as his tail began to lightly sway. "You seem to come here pretty often," the panther continued, "You might wanna think about buying one of our mugs, we could knock off about a quarter from the price each time you use it." Wes' tail stopped swaying immediately as he thought, "Oh, it's just a sales pitch." Regardless, the canine forced a smile, "Yea, that doesn't sound like a bad idea. I guess I might get one." The panther smiled, "Alright, let me know if you do and I'll ring it up for ya." With that, the cat moved to the next table and continued to clean up the shop.
A few minutes passed as Wes tried to collect himself. Downtrodden, he swallowed hard as the lump in his chest steadily disappeared, and his tapping came to a halt. The thought that the panther probably just read his name off of the cup instead of remembering it crossed his mind. A look of disappointment covered his face, as he collected his things and packed them into his backpack. Slinging the pack over his shoulder, Wes moved towards the door and paused for a moment. "Why not," he thought to himself as he instead moved to the counter. The panther noticed his approach, went down behind the counter, and grabbed a mug. "That all," the panther asked, the same sweet smile spread across his face. "Yea," Wes murmured. The panther quickly tapped in the price, and Wes payed. Heading for the door, the canine could hear a slight jiggling emanating from inside the mug. He popped the lid. Inside was a folded slip of paper, which he grabbed, unfolded, and read. "Jay" and a phone number were all that were scribbled on it.
Wes looked up and turned around quickly locking eyes with the panther once more. A genuine and sweet smile was on the cat's face, as he gave a slight playful and questioning shrug. Wes' defeated look instantly melted into a shocked smile. He held up the paper slightly for the cat to see and slid it into his pocket. The cat's smile grew into an excited grin as he placed a hand on his chest and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Wes gave the cat one final smile and nod before walking out of the shop. "I guess it's all on me now," he thought to himself. With a pep in his step greater than one given by caffeine alone, Wes headed down the sidewalk towards home.