by E. L. Todd
“I have too much caffeine as it is.” I positioned myself at the register. “What can I get you today?”
“For starters, I want another one of those muffins.”
The ones I made? “You liked it?”
His lips stretched into a true smile. “I ate it in ten seconds. Does that answer your question?”
I tried not to blush. I tended to do that when someone flattered me. “I’m glad you liked it. Baking is a hobby of mine.”
“Maybe you should make it into a career and put this place out of business.”
Opening my own bakery was my dream. The only reason I was in college was to prepare myself for opening a shop…and also for the event that I didn’t succeed and needed to find another job. “I’ll think about it.”
He stared at me without speaking. His look wasn’t invasive or uncomfortable. Only someone like him could pull that off. If someone else did it, it would just be creepy.
“Another espresso?”
“Black coffee, please. I’m not that tired today.”
“Got a good night’s sleep?”
“Something like that.” The corners of his lips stretched into a smile.
I wasn’t sure what his comment meant. Was he implying he got laid last night? Or were my own thoughts running wild? The idea of seeing him naked and being the girl in his bed made my hair stand on end. I shook the thought away because it was too perverse. “Anything else?”
“Have any of those muffins back there?”
“No, unfortunately.”
He shrugged. “Maybe next time.”
“Yeah…” His confident vibe made me feel warm and cold at the same time. Sometimes, when he was close enough, I smelled his cologne. It was light and not overbearing. I thought I could detect his natural smell, like body soap. “Your total is $2.15.”
He opened his wallet and handed me a five.
I took it and grazed his fingers, feeling the electricity again. My attraction was obvious. I just hoped it wasn’t as obvious to him. “Here’s your change.” I handed the cash back along with the receipt. Then I stared at him as I felt my heart hammer in my chest. He was making me nervous, which was unusual. No one ever made me nervous.
He shoved the cash into his wallet. “What’s your name?”
My heart moved into my throat with anticipation. In the back of my mind, I hoped he was going to ask me out. The thought of sitting across from him at a restaurant and talking about music made my stomach do a few somersaults. I didn’t know anything about him but I wanted to. And I wouldn’t mind a goodnight kiss either. “Francesca. But everyone calls me Frankie.”
“Frankie.” He grinned wide this time. “I like that.”
“What’s yours?”
“Hawke.”
Hawke? I’d never heard of a name like that before. But it seemed to suit him…in an unusual way.
He caught on to my confusion. “It’s my middle name, but that’s what everyone calls me.”
“Oh…it’s nice.” I wanted to ask what his first name was, but he would have told me if he wanted me to know.
He grabbed his coffee then stepped away. “I’ll see you around, Frankie.”
“Yeah, until next time.”
He didn’t look at me again as he sat down and got to work.
I released a deep sigh as disappointment washed through me. I wasn’t sure what I expected to happen. But I wished I had a napkin with his phone number written on it.
***
Marie was painting her nails on the couch when I walked inside. “How was work?”
“Good.” I tossed my bag on the counter then pulled my hair loose from the tie. “Mr. Handsome has a name.”
“Ooh…” She blew on her big toe then closed the bottle of nail polish. “What is it? I bet it’s something really sexy. Like…Dublin. No, Carter. Wait…” She kept brainstorming names.
“Are you done?” I asked sarcastically.
“Fine. What is it?”
“Hawke.”
Her eyes widened in obvious surprise. Then she nodded her head slowly. “What did I tell you? I knew it would be hot.”
“Apparently, it’s his middle name but that’s what he goes by.”
“What’s his first name?”
“I didn’t ask.”
“Did you ask for something else?” She leaned forward in anticipation. “Perhaps a date?” She grinned like an idiot.
“No. And he didn’t ask me out either.”
She smiled victoriously. “Not so easy, is it?”
“I’m just unsure if that’s what he’s interested in. A good-looking guy like that probably has a girlfriend—or a long list of admirers. I doubt he’s available.”
“You’ll never know until you ask, right?” She started painting her nails again.
“I suppose.” I had to eat my own words. Hawke and I kept flirting back and forth, at least it seemed like flirting. If it was going to go somewhere, I wanted to know. I wasn’t in a hurry, but I didn’t like waiting around either.
***
A week later, Hawke appeared again. Like always, he wore his slacks and collared shirt. His satchel was over his shoulder, and his hair was slightly messy from a long day of running his fingers through it. His aura emitted confidence and power. He didn’t even need to speak to achieve it.
“Hey, Frankie.” He walked up to the counter with his eyes glued on my face. His wide shoulders were formidable but sexy at the same time. I wanted to hold on to them as I rode him up and down.
Stay focused.
“Hey, Hawke.”
“How are you today?”
“Great.” Now that you walked through the door. I’d been waiting for that bell to ring all week. Every time I looked, it wasn’t him. But now he was finally there. “How are you?”
“Parched.” He opened his wallet and set the cash on the counter. “I’ll take the usual, please.”
“Black coffee?”
He nodded.
“You never mix it up?”
He shrugged. “I’m predictable.”
I poured his coffee then set it on the counter. This time, I didn’t tell him the total. I just got his change and handed it back to him. “Do you work nearby?”
“A few miles away. I like coming here because it’s usually dead—and quiet.”
“With the exception of the blender.”
He smiled slightly as he put the cash in his wallet.
Was he ever going to ask me out? Was he interested in me? Or did he flirt with everybody?
He shoved his wallet back into his pocket then grabbed his coffee.
He wasn’t going to. I’d never been nervous to ask out a guy before but now I was. “You want to go out for a drink sometime?” After I said it, I realized it wasn’t so hard. He would either accept my offer and I would be thrilled, or he would say no and I would move on.
A slight reaction happened in his eyes, like he was surprised by what I just asked. He set his cup on the counter again like he intended to stay. “I would love to.”
My heart did a backflip.
“I assumed you had a boyfriend. Pretty girls like you aren’t usually available.”
I tried to stop my cheeks from tinting but I knew I was failing. “You’re in luck.”
“I am.” He pulled out his phone and asked for my number. “Are you busy on Friday?”
“With you.”
His eyes lightened slightly. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“Sounds good.”
“I look forward to it, Frankie.” He gave me one final look before he grabbed his coffee and walked to the table.
I grabbed a towel and started wiping down the counters and appliances. My hands were shaking because I was so excited. My heart was pounding and my feet wouldn’t stay still.
I had a date with Mr. Handsome.
First Date
Francesca
“Let me check your hair one more time.” Marie grabbed the curling iron and made a few mo
re spirals in the back of my hair. Then she sprayed it with hairspray. “Okay. Now it’s perfect.”
She was making this into a much bigger deal than she needed to. “It’s just a date.”
“But this guy is hot.”
“All my dates are hot.”
“But Hawke is a whole new category.” She turned me around and looked me up and down. “You look great. He’s going to be drooling all over you.”
“He is hot and he seems really nice. But he’s a regular person like you and me.”
It didn’t seem like Marie heard a word I said. “I’ll be out until past midnight so you guys can have some privacy.” She gave me a dramatic wink.
“I’m not going to sleep with him.”
“Why the hell not?”
“I don’t know him.”
“What do you need to know?” she asked. “He’s hot. End of story.”
Marie and I operated our love lives in very different ways. Sometimes her approach was better and sometimes mine was. “We’ll see how it goes.”
“I put some condoms in your nightstand just in case.”
“Marie!”
“What?” she asked innocently. “You never know. Maybe he’ll forget to bring some.”
“You’re so—”
There was a knock on the door.
Marie clapped her hands excitedly. “He’s here!”
“Oh my god, you sound like a mom.”
“I’m your best friend so I am kind of like a mom.”
“No, your best friend is supposed to be cool,” I argued. “And a mom is supposed to be annoying.”
“Whatever.” She waved my comment away. “Answer the door. I want to see the look on his face when he sees you.”
It took all my strength not to roll my eyes. I wore denim jeans with a black tube top. I figured we would go somewhere low key so there was no reason to dress up. I liked this top because it made me look skinnier than I really was. Plus, I had nice shoulders. I wasn’t a fan of my legs so that’s why I wore jeans.
I opened the door and saw Hawke on the doorstep. It was the first time I’d seen him in jeans. They hung low on his hips, and he wore Vans on his feet. His gray t-shirt fit him nicely. It showed the strength of his chest and the tightness of his stomach. And naturally, his face was beautiful. “Hi.” I tried not to make it obvious I was checking him out so thoroughly.
Hawke wasn’t discreet about it. He looked me up and down with obvious approval in his eyes. He stared at my shoulders then moved down my waist. His eyes moved to my face last, and once they were there, they didn’t leave. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks. You look good in regular clothes.”
Hawke gave me that partial smile. “I look good in pretty much anything.” He had a playful look in his eyes that told me he wasn’t as arrogant as he sounded. “Are you ready?”
“Let me grab my clutch.” I stepped inside and grabbed it from the table.
Marie was standing there like a nosey schoolgirl.
Hawke spotted her from the doorway. “I recognize you. From the coffee shop, right?”
“Yep.” She walked to the door and shook his hand. “Frankie and I are roommates.”
“Very cool.” Hawke dropped his hand. “Seems like a fun place to work.”
“If you like people who get grouchy over coffee,” Marie said with a laugh.
“And getting fat from all the pastries,” I added.
Hawke smiled. “It doesn’t look like either of you girls struggle with that.”
Marie leaned toward me and whispered, “I like him more.”
I needed to get out of there before Marie embarrassed me. “Good night.” I grabbed Hawke’s arm and pulled him with me.
“Night.” Marie waved from the front door like an annoying parent.
Hawke chuckled as he walked beside me. “You guys are close, huh?”
“Unfortunately.”
We reached his truck and he opened the passenger door for me. “Good friends are hard to find. It’s a good thing you two have each other.” He shut the door once I was inside then got behind the wheel.
“Yeah, she’s great. I do love her…even right now.” I looked at the house and saw her peeking through the window like a creeper.
He started the engine. “Hungry?”
“Always.”
“Good. You like Italian?”
“Always.”
He gave me a smile full of amusement. “You’re an easy date.”
I just hoped I wouldn’t be too easy.
***
Hawke stared at his menu across the table. His shoulders looked nice in his t-shirt. But I had a feeling they would look nice in anything he wore—and if he wore nothing at all. “I hate to ask this…” He looked up from his menu and his eyes met mine.
I tensed slightly as I waited for whatever he was going to say.
“Are you twenty-one? I was going to order a bottle of wine.”
The air left my lungs as I relaxed. “Yes. I’m twenty-two.”
Relief moved across his face. “Just wanted to make sure.”
How old was he?
When the waiter came, Hawke ordered the wine as well as his dinner. I did the same and handed my menu over.
Once we had nothing to look at, we stared at each other. I could make eye contact with anyone without feeling uncomfortable, but prolonged contact was awkward. However, Hawke didn’t struggle with it. He stared at me openly, but not intrusively.
I liked it.
He possessed obvious confidence without being obscenely arrogant. He knew he was good-looking and didn’t hide that fact. But he wasn’t obnoxious either. “So, tell me about yourself.”
“I hate that question.”
That usual pleasing look was in his eyes. “Why?”
“It’s too open-ended. Ask what you want to know and I’ll tell you.”
He kept his back perfectly straight in the chair. “Then that feels like an interrogation.”
I couldn’t deny that. “True. Let’s play a game instead.”
“What kind of game?” He raised his eyebrow like he was intrigued.
“I’ll ask you a series of questions and you answer them.”
“And that’s different how?” He tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.
“I’ll show you.” I cleared my throat. “Coffee or tea?”
“Coffee,” he blurted.
“Waffles or pancakes?”
“Waffles.”
“The beach or the snow?”
“The beach.” He narrowed his eyes. “Now you know so much about me.” Instead of being annoyed, he seemed entertained.
“Hey, this is important stuff.”
He chuckled. “Yes, waffles or pancakes is important to know.”
“What if I want to make you breakfast in the morning?”
His eyes darkened in obvious interest. I hadn’t realized how that could be interpreted until it was too late. His mind clearly went to a place I hadn’t anticipated. “Now you can make me waffles and coffee while sitting on the beach.” The slight smile from his lips never faded away.
“Exactly.”
“My turn,” he said. “Dinosaurs or sharks?”
“That’s a really weird question,” I said while laughing.
He shrugged. “I think it’s important.”
“Dinosaurs.”
“Leather or cloth?”
“Leather.”
“Rocks or sand?”
“Sand,” I answered.
He grinned. “Now I know your soul.”
“I guess you do.” I kept my hands in my lap and fidgeted with my fingers so he wouldn’t see them. I was a little nervous and I couldn’t fight the feeling.
“Are you in school?” He glanced out the window before he turned back to me.
“Webster University.”
He nodded. “That’s a great school. What are you studying?”
“Business.”
He didn’t bothe
r hiding his cringe. “Really?” He seemed to realize how rude he sounded because he said, “Sorry. There’s nothing wrong with that degree. I just didn’t expect it from you.”
“What did you expect me to major in?”
He shrugged. “Something interesting. Like art or music.”
“Well, I’m terrible at both of those things. You should see the finger paintings I made as a child.”
“I would love to.” He said it with complete seriousness.
I continued on. “I want to open my own bakery someday. It’s been my dream since I was young. But I wanted to get an education in business before I pursued it. I don’t know anything about running a shop or getting it started. And if things don’t work out, I’ll have something to fall back on.”
Hawke nodded in interest. “You have a good head on your shoulders. And if all your pastries are as good as the one I tried, it’ll definitely work out.”
“Thanks.” Some people thought my dream was stupid. It was nice to hear some encouragement once in a while. “What do you do?”
“I’m an intern.” He released a sigh like he didn’t like admitting it out loud. “I work for an investment company. Basically, we manage all of our clients investments but we don’t actually make any decisions. We’re advisors more than anything else.”
“That’s cool.”
“The internship doesn’t pay much so I’m excited to do my time and move on.”
“They’ll probably offer you a full-time position when you’re finished.”
“Maybe.” He didn’t sound enthused about that idea. Maybe he didn’t like the company he worked for.
“My brother wants to be a stock broker. You guys would have a lot in common.”
“I’m sure we would.” When the waiter returned with the wine, Hawke sipped it and returned it to the table.
“How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I just turned twenty-six.”
“Oh. Happy belated birthday.”
“Thank you,” he said with a nod.
“Where did you go to school?”
“South Carolina,” he answered. “I just finished my master’s last spring so now I’m finally in the real world.”
I did the math in my head and realized we were four years apart. That sounded like a lot, but I didn’t see what the big deal was. It wasn’t like I was eighteen and he was twenty-two. “Congratulations. It sounds like you have a lot to be proud of.”
