The Coffee Date

Chapter 1 - Meet Hazel

Something wet. That's what it was. That's the only way she could describe what was on her face that morning. Bright hazel eyes gradually peeled open only to be meet with bright green along with whiskers, and that irritating, pink, damp nose.

"Lily..." The female grumbled. How long has she had this cat now? A full year? And still the way Lily always seemed to wake her up was by sticking her nose into her cheeks.

The female stretched her arms, sliding her legs out of bed and startling the black feline, causing her to jump with excitement and soar back down onto the hardwood floor. Instinctively when her bare feet hit the cool floor she shivered, making her way towards the bathrobe she kept on the back of her bedroom door. Except, as usual, the door was ajar from Lily attacking it and breezing through like a spy. Same old, same old. The usual routine.

Glancing down to her feet the brunette also snagged her puffy pink slippers and slid them onto her freezing toes. "Gosh, does it always need to be so cold in here in the mornings? Ugh." Really a silly question considering she lived alone. She had complete control over the temperature and yet she always made sure it was cool before she went to bed. A money saver but none-the-less a money saver she didn't need.

Breezing through her small apartment with ease, the brunette stumbled around sleepily before snagging a green ponytail from the dish of them she kept beside her key rack. Gracefully she gathered the tangled mess that she called her hair and threw it on top of her head in a bun; rather the best bun she could in her sluggish state.

Her apartment was rather small, some would even say cozy based on the furniture she had chosen to grace it with. There was her living room; a large red rug with a tiny glass coffee table resting on top with only enough room to hold a coffee mug and plate. The tiny surface was surrounded by a three-person white couch with a matching recliner just off to the left, all facing the slim TV she had owned since high school when her parents gave it to her as her eighteenth birthday present. The set-up was silly really seeing as she never had people over. She never wanted to, even if she had friends to call. Just off to the side were three large windows, all blinds shut and sealed except for one single flap flipped to allow a sliver of light into the room. She could tell her feline companion didn't appreciate the darkness but at least for now that's how she liked it. Dark. Dull. Relaxing. No need to face the outside world. She can stay concealed in her little paradise with only her cat and her computer.

Her kitchen was almost the complete opposite; bright and full of life. The wooden cabinets and counters with white marble tops all fitted little kitchen knick-knacks. Cute oven gloves hung against the walls along the ladles, wooden spoons, pictures of her and her family baking together and brightly coloured and patterned mugs tucked away in the corners where there was not enough room in cupboards to fit them. Her fridge was a mess of magnets, pictures, quotes and poems that she had printed off to display. The little bits of inspiration displaying happy faces and funny sayings always gave her the small boost she needed during the day, although they didn't seem to be working recently. She had debated removing them from time to time as the cheeriness of them only seemed to glum her more, yet she always found a reason to leave them displayed to the world.

Everything in her kitchen, rather in her house in general, was clean and spotless. It was cluttered with little things that she had purchased at flea markets and corner stores but she liked it that way. It may seem messy to anyone who wasn't used to her tactics but to her the home was flawless and as clean as could be. It's how she liked it; busy. Everything was still well dusted and washed, but there was just a lot of things to keep that way. It kept her mind occupied to study all the little things in the room rather than focusing on whatever else her mind wanted to process.

Continuing her daily routine the female started towards the kitchen to grab her cup of coffee. She had made sure to set her coffee maker to automatic, she always filled it with grinds the night before, making the tired and sluggish mornings that much easier.