Vicious Romance

Chapter 15

I sit in my car, suddenly overwhelmed by what I discovered at Anita's apartment. I still can't wrap my head around it.

Anita- could she have gotten taken?

Ugh.

I can't think right now. I can't comprehend anything right now. It's all too overwhelming.

I need coffee. I just need some coffee. Really good coffee.

Hopefully, that helps calm me down.

Where can I get some good coffee from though? Calvin's? Last time-

Oh. Oh. Right.

Last time, he sent me to Whole Foods. Where I met Noah, and he spilled coffee on me.

I never did get to try that coffee, to see if it was good. Maybe, I should go to Whole Foods? To get coffee... and work on Noah's case.

Yep.

I start the car and drive towards Whole Foods. I can't tell if I'm looking forward to the encounter with Noah, or if I'm dreading it.

***

I stash the car in the construction area behind The Chelsea and proceed walking towards Whole Foods.

It's while I'm crossing the street that I realize that Noah might not be in.

It's noon on Monday- he could be off. He could be anywhere else but here. I curse at myself for acting so impulsively and showing up here.

My self-pity party is ruined when I realize that I have a copy of his shift on my phone.

Gosh, I'm dumb.

I take out my phone to pull up the picture, but it rings before I even unlock it.

It's Ben. Why is he calling?

Oh, right. The date. Crap... I couldn't talk about this, not now. How am I supposed to tell him that his friend stood me up and that instead, my target took me out to dinner? It's not exactly something you can summarize in thirty seconds.

Well, you can, but you can't talk about it without expecting questions.

I ignore the call for now and continue with pulling up the picture.

Okay, good, he's in today. I don't know where exactly he is in the store, but he's here today.

I step through the glass doors as the cool air from the air conditioning hits me, and automatically my eyes begin scanning the aisles for Noah.

My heart takes this as an opportunity to begin pumping blood profusely, beating faster than the words going through my head.

I walk towards the coffee cart, hoping that he's hanging around there, like last time.

My heart only beats faster.

Suddenly, this feels like a bad idea. My head is telling me to turn around, and to coffee elsewhere. But my feet don't listen, and they continue walking to the cart.

Once I do get there, I see that Phil is still managing the cart.

I walk up to him.

"One coffee: two pumps of hazelnut with some milk," I call out with a monotone voice. I don't even pay attention to what he's saying to me, or if he's acknowledged my order. My eyes are busy searching for Noah.

Before I know it, Phil hands me my coffee and asks me for my card.

Without thinking twice, I hand my card to him, and he gets it back to me before I can take a sip of my coffee.