A Conflict of Duty and Heart

First Contact

Constance skimmed through her phone as she waited for her order. Every so often she would attempt to subtly glance around the outdoor patio in search of her mark. She'd been keeping an eye on the building from afar for a few hours without seeing so much as a whisker of the guy. She'd figured she could continue to keep an eye out for the guy while she got lunch.

The cafe itself was a fairly quaint little place. The building was built from bricks of varying shades of light brown and cream. The wall nearest to Constance was lightly covered in ivy that wove it's way through gaps in the brick. Various flowering plants decorated the surrounding area filled the air with a pleasant aroma. At the center of each table sat a vase of lavender colored primroses.

Constance made a mental note to come revisit the cafe when she was off duty. She could think of two certain younger brothers of her's who would love this place. As she flicked through her social media feed a flicker of movement caught her eye. She glanced up from her phone briefly only to do a double take as she realized the guy she'd been looking for had just been seated three tables away from her. She smiled slightly as she marveled at her good fortune.

Constance had to admit, the pictures she had seen of the man did not do him justice. She definitely found him more attractive in person. He appeared to carry himself with an air of charm and confidence that she found intriguing. Sensing Constance's stare the orange tom turned his gaze towards her. His vibrant green eyes briefly locked with her's and Constance felt her heart skip a beat.

"Excuse me miss? I have the avocado turkey sandwich and the coffee you ordered." A waiter piped up, startling Constance back to reality.

"Oh, thank you." She responded with a twinge of embarrassment.

As the waiter placed her order in front of her Constance mentally chastised herself. It didn't matter how attractive she happened to find this individual, she had a job to do. For all she knew this man could be a prominent member of the rebellion. She couldn't allow herself to actually grow attached to him. It would do her well to nip any sort of attraction in the bud.

Constance took a sip of her coffee as she pondered her next move while allowing her gaze to drift back to her target. He had apparently finished looking over the menu and now sat with his chin resting on his palm staring off into the distance. Noticing he had acquired her attention once more the tom turned his head and met her gaze with his own. With an amused smirk he winked playfully at her causing Constance to nearly spit out her coffee.

Constance looked away quickly as she felt her face heat up with what she insisted was embarrassment. She could hear her target chuckle lightly to himself accompanied by the sound of what she assumed was his chair shifting slightly on the concrete patio. She looked up to see him approaching her table.

"So much for subtlety." Constance muttered under her breath.

Constance took a moment to regain her composure before faking a smile to mask her frustration. This was already going worse than she had anticipated.

"As much fun as it's been making eyes back and forth at each other I figured it would be a bit more productive for me to introduce myself." The tom remarked, his voice smooth with a suave air to it. "My name is Capper, and who might you be?" Capper asked, his introduction accompanied by a courteous bow.

"My name is Constance, Constance Lorraine."

"Constance...." Capper purred, seeming to like the way her name rolled off his tongue.

Constance swallowed nervously, not wanting to admit how much she enjoyed the sound of her name in his mouth. It was beginning to become more and more apparent that interacting with this individual was going to be more difficult than she had anticipated.