Coffee Buds

4. Cappuccino

☕☕☕

Amanda tried to focus on her school work but her mind kept taking her back to a certain coffee shop. More precisely, said coffee shop's owner. It had been four days since her last visit and she was looking forward to see what type of coffee he had planned for her next.

She had no idea she would be feeling like this. It had been a while since she had something to look forward to. For a few weeks, she had looked forward to hanging out with her boyfriend after she had done everything she needed that week. And much more, she was sure she would extend her stay until Saturday morning. He had no idea what that meant for her. She was the most out of character she had ever been in her life.

But he didn't see her. She was just uptight to him.

And now that feeling was back. Having something to look forward to. Through her research on coffee, she found that there were so many types out there. Which meant she would be visiting the coffee shop for quite a while. She just had to add it to her schedule and not tamper with any of her other life activities, then she'd be all set.

After working through her schedule, she looked at her watch and saw that it was close to five. She wondered if the coffee shop was still open. She never really checked the hours the shop was in activity during the week. She wondered if she could find if on google. But what would she search? She never bothered to know it's name. It was always the coffee shop to her. She should ask him. I mean he did ask for her name and told her his. She was sure he wouldn't mind telling her the coffee shop's name.

Maybe it was simply the coffee shop.

She stopped her thought process, put on her shoes, and picked up her purse. She was acting on a whim again. And she wondered if it'd bring her a good fortune like almost two weeks ago. She walked out of her room and found the housemaid that came three times a week to fix the apartment she shared with her father.

She said her goodbyes and whereabouts to tell her father if he even showed up tonight and left. Down in the streets, she looked up at the Smith Tower that her father owned with a bunch of other properties throughout the sit.

She wasn't a big fan that her lived above the place where her father worked and ran into his employees every once in her a while. But she had to live with it.

She now followed the familiar road to the coffee shop bypassing busy pedestrians who seem to be in a hurry to get home. She didn't know why the street was so full on a Saturday. But then she wouldn't know much, she was usually in her dad's study working through her next lessons to go out and see the busy Saturday lives.

From a distance she saw the shop in it's cuteness and her pace quickened. She reached the door just as Clark was stepping out. He looked at her, surprised to see her.

"Amanda?"

"Hey," Amanda said, trying to ignore the flatters in her stomach at the sound of her name from his mouth, and saw the keys in his hands. "Are you closing?"

He nodded and checked the time on his phone. "Yeah, I usually close this time on the weekends."

"Oh," Amanda said the disappointment evident in her voice. "I didn't know."

"I can tell," he said then looked to his phone again as if deciding on something. "I can make you something if you want."

Amanda began to shake her head. "It's okay. I don't want to bother you. You probably have plans. It is Saturday night after all."

Clark opened his door and smiled down at her. "It's fine, Amanda. I don't have to be at the bar for another hour. Come on."

Clark walked inside the dark shop and switched the lights on. Amanda tentatively followed behind him and settled down on the stool near the counter and he went behind it to prepare her something new.

"How was your week?" Clark asked as he turned on the espresso machine, as she has come to learn.

Amanda thought about her week and realized that the most exciting thing that happened to her was in this very coffee shop. When he had wanted to know her name and made her feel special.

"Not much. Just going to class and studying," she said.

He looked at her over his shoulder. "Oh yeah? What are you studying?"

"Business," she said and she could tell she didn't sound as enthused as some would be at their career choices.

"You don't sound excited about it," Clark pointed out.

She wasn't. The only reason she had taken the major was because of her father. She knew he expected so much from her and that he wanted her to follow his footsteps. He had no one else to hand his throne to. She was his only choice, no matter how much both didn't like that fact.

"It was my dad's choice," she said.

Clark stopped whatever he was doing and looked at her. "what was yours?"

Amanda thought about it for a second and she came to the realization that she had no idea what her choice would have been like if given the chance. Her career choices were as much difficult as her trying to read at the age of ten when everyone else around her seemed to have mastered it.

"I didn't have any," Amanda admitted. "I guess it was why it was easy to just go with what the old man decided I needed to do."

Clark moved to the counter and placed a tiny looking glass mug in front of her. She admired the four leaf clover he had decorated on top of the cup.

She smiled. "Didn't realize you were an artist."

Clark didn't return the smile. "Every one has a dream, Amy."

Both their eyes widened at the nickname but for different reasons.

No one had called her Amy since her mom passed. The nickname reminded her of her childhood dreams and wanting to fly away like the letters used to do when she tried to read. She thought flying might have been easier than trying to read.

"Pilot," Amanda said, a wistful smile forming on her lips.

Clark seemed to have swallowed his embarrassment at the slip of the tongue. He smiled back this time. "It's never too late to spread your wings and take the leap. Try the cappuccino."

☕☕☕

CheekySally

Author's Note

I had no idea I had posted the previous chapter twice😬 Sorry guys. I hope it's fixed now.