hot chocolate//fionn whitehead

1

amber took a seat in front of her wooden desk. one month into her new job and a pile of old papers were already growing. she slid on her glasses and opened her sleek laptop. tapping her fingers on the smooth wood, she flipped through her notebook until she found the page she was looking for.

"hey amber! how're you doing?" a tall man with silver hair and a jolly smile stood in front of her desk.

"oh rob! i've been good, you know, busy."

he nodded. "me too. what've you been working on lately?"

"well, i'm just finishing up this report about the growing prices of london housing." she responded, taking notes on her laptop.

"wow, interesting stuff." he said with a warm chuckle.

"yep." she grimaced.

amber had moved to london to pursue her dream as a journalist. however, the job was not as exciting as she had made it out to be. through endless work hours and completely useless stories, amber was waiting for that story. the one that would make her go on an adventure and proof herself as a writer.

"well, I'll leave you to it! i'm sure you have a lot to do." he said, eyeing the stack of papers.

"bye rob!" she said and continued with her work.

-

many tiring hours later, amber finished her work day. it was still light outside and it was raining, again.

amber hated the weather in london. she had moved from sunny california and was not used to the constant rain here. people had warned her about the dull weather but she had always brushed it off. she liked rain, so why would it be a problem? she realized now that she was wrong. she'd never seen it rain more than a week constantly and now she was beginning to become bored with the never ending grey skies.

amber walked outside and pulled out her umbrella from her messenger bag. while doing so, her notebook fell out, onto the wet ground.

"shit!" she cursed, quickly bending over to pick it up. she whipped the dirt of the front and used the inside of her coat to dry it off as best as she could.

"well, fuck me." she grumbled and threw the bag back over her shoulder.

amber lived only 15 minutes away from work so she never bothered driving. also she hadn't learned how to drive on the other side of the road yet.

five minutes into her walk, amber was shivering. she had left her gloves at home and her jacket pockets weren't doing enough to keep her hands warm.

she looked around for any inviting stores she could stop in to warm up. across the street was a small store with yellow light streaming through the large glass windows. it was a coffee shop called la cup that amber had been meaning to look into. she shrugged. might as well grab a warm drink for the way home.

the glass door jingled as she walked into the cozy shop. inside it was mostly empty apart from a few people chatting and working on their computers. a chandelier hung from the wooden ceiling, casting a warm glow and there was a shaggy carpet in the middle of the floor.

"ehem" she heard a voice coming from the back of the shop.

"can I, uh, help you?"

she cast her glaze to a man standing behind the counter. he had dark brown, wavy hair and glasses. he had on a yellow apron with the logo of la cup pictured on it. amber had to admit that he was attractive, but she thought that of most strangers she saw.

"um, ya. i think I'll have..." amber searched the menu. "i'll take a hot chocolate please."

"i thought you'd say that. it matches your eyes." he stammered, rubbing his neck.

amber's face immediately turned all red. "thanks." she stammered, adding an awkward chuckle to the end.

"well, that'll be three dollars and eighty-five cents."

she handed him the money and sat down at one of the single tables in the corner. amber opened her notebook and pretended to read while watching the barista out the corner of her eye. she watched as he mixed the drink and added a dollop of whipped cream on top.

"here you go." he smiled, putting the cup on the counter. "have a nice night."

"thank you." she said. she grabbed the cup and headed out of the shop.

the whole walk home all she could think about was that brunette boy. how had he managed to make her heart flutter after only a few words exchanged?

amber had made up her mind, she would definitely return to the little coffee shop tomorrow.

well, I hope you liked the beginning of this story. i'm really excited for this story and I hope you like it!

nora