“I really wish Sam would hire you already. I would love to stare at your face every day in the creepiest way I can. We could give you an office next to mine.” She smirks. “Or put you right over here next to Lexi.” Her wink looks more like she’s got something in her eyes, but I laugh anyhow.
“Eh.” I look around the room, and reality sets in hard. “I don’t think I can do this, Dani. A few gigs are one thing, but a full-time corporate job? I’m better off finding some kind of maintenance work. If nothing else, I can paint houses.”
“You’re not that kind of painter, Jamie. Why don’t you show your pieces again? Give it another try?”
“I’ll think about it, Dani.” I won’t think about it. She knows that.
“Well, I hope you got that deal with the landlord dude in writing. I don’t trust that guy.” She digs around in her pockets and pulls out a crumpled wad of cash. “I heard your stomach growling. You have got to stop doing nice shit for other people when it means you’re not taking care of yourself. Sam wants to meet with you before you go, but he’ll be in this meeting for a bit longer, so swing by next door and get yourself some coffee and something to eat.”
“I’m not taking your money. But yeah, I guess the morning slipped away from me.”
“Whatever. Use it to get me another coffee. Now go before you start making me cry. I don’t want you to leave.”
“Thanks, Dani. Be back in a few.”
I walk out of the office and into the blinding afternoon sun. It doesn’t matter the time of year or how cold the nights get, Southern California can’t decide whether it wants the day to be early summer or late summer. I roll my sleeves to my elbows and look up and down the street to spot this coffee shop. Barely three steps out of Sam’s office, and my phone buzzes.
Sam
Did Dani ask you to stick around? Need to talk to you about another project.
James
Yeah, I’m grabbing a coffee. Want anything.
Sam
How the hell do you people sleep when you drink that stuff this late in the day?
James
You assume we sleep.
Not surprisingly, it’s a boba shop. There might be more bubble tea places in LA than Starbucks. My friend Steve likes spreading the rumor that they’re all fronts for some crazy mafia operation. I think he’s nuts. I flip through my phone to make sure I have enough money in my bank for this. Dani was right; I’ll spend $5 on a pastry for her while I have empty cupboards back home and an even emptier bank account.
I barely glance up as I walk in, trying to squeeze past some stuck-up blonde blocking the door while texting. I read my pathetic bank balance, and I find the end of the short line. I should leave; it’s not like I want to be around people right now, anyhow. I glance up to check the menu to find out what I can afford, but before I can, my breath gets knocked right out of me. In front of me stands what might be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I’ve lived in the Los Angeles area my whole life, a land of plastic and high beauty standards, and this woman was outshining every one of them.
She’s a few inches shorter than me, probably around five nine, and she’s wearing skinny jeans that, for once, look really damn good on someone as they hug and accentuate her soft curves. Her grey sweater hangs off one shoulder, leaving the thin strap of her tank top showing. When she turns, I spot a tiny piece of a tattoo on her pale skin peeking out from under the sweater. She wears her bubble gum pink hair in cute little space buns with some loose strands that I want to tuck behind her ears. I can’t see all of her face, but it’s enough.
The guy between us steps out of line to take a call, so I hurry to close the distance between myself and the angel in front of me. As I do, the sweet scent of strawberries and cherry blossoms smacks me in the face. It has to be her body spray or her shampoo. Either way, it’s making my mouth water.
I’m trying hard not to stare like an absolute creeper, but I want to talk to her. I can say hello and hope that goes somewhere. Maybe I’ll ask her out for coffee and to marry me. Except I remember we’re already in a coffee shop, and I’d come across as an idiot. I’m not even sure she’d hear me with the air pods in.
She’s playing with her phone as she bops to the music in her ears. Fuck, I have to close my eyes to stop staring at her ass as it sways. My brain is in overdrive, trying to figure out what to do. I have to say something. I can’t simply let her order her tea and walk out of my life forever. You can’t do that when an angel stands so close you can almost feel her. I can picture her with wings.
I glance down at my phone, but I can still see her. She has hips I want to squeeze and thighs that—Shit. I don’t even remember when I last noticed a woman with thighs like hers in this town. Not those thin little things that might break if she sneezed, but natural, beautiful, thick thighs that I wanted to sink my fingers into while she…
Jesus, man. What the fuck are you doing? You need to get out of your own head right now before you become the perv your brain is turning you into. Don’t be Steve!
My eyes are closed, and I almost don’t realize when she steps away from me and approaches the counter. I can’t tell what she orders; I only hear the music of her soft, sweet voice. My heart is thumping so loud I’m sure everyone in the shop can hear it. Worse than that, though, is how that thumping pushes all that blood south the longer I stare.
I’ve turned into one ofthoseguys. Fuck.
Then it happens—my opportunity.
The guy behind the counter hands her a big drink and two small bags, and I can see it coming from a mile away. She’s trying to hold too much and is about to drop her drink or phone. My hand shoots out on instinct, giving me only a split second to hope that if it ends up being the drink, she ordered something cold.
I’m a little relieved when I stare at the phone in my hand, black with a hot pink skull and crossbones stickers along the back. She’s still cringing. At first, I’m worried she’s freaked out about me having her phone, but I realize she’s still waiting for the phone to hit the floor and smash to pieces. The scrunch of her face is adorable, and my heart is skipping.
