Together Tomorrow

Chapter Three: Conversation and Coffee

Lea quickly entered apartment after the run, and finally let herself pant as hard as her body needed as she rushed around. It might take him five minutes to shower, but it took her longer, and she needed to get coffee going.

She started the pot brewing and jumped through the shower. She still had a towel wrapped around her head when a knock sounded on her door. She glanced at her watch; it flicked over to exactly twenty minutes as she looked at it. She jerked the light blue towel off her head and stuffed it into the laundry hamper before striding over to the door.

Lea peaked out the peephole, more out of habit than anything else, before she opened the door. When she did, Steve was standing there patiently, hands in the pockets of his kacky pants and a mostly relaxed look on his face.

"Come on in. Coffee just finished." Lea swung the door wide before she turned back to the kitchen, allowing Steve to let himself in.

"Wow, I never realized your apartment was so much smaller then mine." Steve commented as he took in the slightly cramped living area.

"Oh Yeah, I guess the last time you were in here it was barren. The furniture and pictures make it look a lot smaller." Lea shrugged as she took two mugs out of her darkly stained kitchen cabinets.

"It looks nice." He complimented as he gazed around, taking in her meager but tasteful décor and furnishing.

"Thanks. It's cozy, and its only me, so the space really isn't an issue...." She pause, contemplating on the truth of her statement. "Well, except for the kitchen. I had to put my kitchen aid, and a lot of extra cooking things in the hall closet. Which I converted into more of a small pantry." She squinted in thought.

"How much do you cook?" Steves eyebrows rose, he clearly couldn't think of a need for that much kitchen time.

"I'm from the south. I cook and bake all the time. It's almost a hobby." She laughed. "Cream or sugar?" Lea lifted the larger of the two mugs, now filled almost to the brim.

"A little sugar would be great."

Lea smirked a little as she turned her back to add the sweetener to his coffee, she hadn't thought Steve would have anything in his coffee. She was once again wrong in her speculation of this man. She dropped one sugar cube in his mug and gave it a stir.

"Make yourself comfortable. You can sit at the table or the couch, where ever you'd like." She invited as she handed the mug to him. It seemed a lot smaller in his hands then it had in hers.

"Thank you." He said politely as he lifted the brown and blue mug to his lips.

"You bet." She smiled and then proceeded to add both creamer and honey to her coffee.

She was about to join him at the table when her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten anything yet. Before she even thought about it, her southern roots came rolling out of her mouth. "Would you like somethin' to eat? It's kind of early still, and pancakes sound good right 'bout now."

"Oh, no, that's alright. I don't want to put you to any trouble." He said a little awkwardly.

"Psh, it's no trouble at all, like I said, I've got a southern side and cooking is a hobby. Besides, you can help me if you feel like it. Have you ever had a real style southern potato pancake?"  She waved carelessly, turning back to the kitchen shelves and pulling out ingredients.

Steve noticed the face that he clearly didn't have much of a choice in the matter and walked back into the kitchen. Obviously, he didn't like the thought of letting her cater to him, not that this surprised her at all though. Lea crossed her fingers, hoping she wasn't pushing him to be too uncomfortable. But when she had glanced over at him, he had been sitting at the edge of his seat, looking rather awkward and self-aware.