Smitten Over Coffee

Chapter Eight: Butterscotch Coffee

"Julian?"

Julian looked up to find the painting girl standing in front of his table. "Oh, hey."

"It is Julian, right? I mean, that was the name on the card."

Giving a soft laugh, Julian rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Ah, so you got that?"

"I did. It was so sweet. Thank you."

The smile on her face was warm and contagious. After a short silence, Julian realized he was staring and grinning like an idiot. He cleared his throat and motioned to the empty seat across from him.

"Would you like to—"

"Oh, sure." The girl sat down, placing her coffee cup on the table and putting her hand out to him. "Flora Britton, by the way. I realize we haven't actually had a proper introduction."

He took her hand. "Julian Spurling."

"Nice to meet you, Julian."

"A pleasure, Flora."

That warm smile appeared again, and Julian found himself staring once more. Realizing he could be coming off as creepy, he quickly thought of something to say. "So how is Fox?"

Flora's face brightened. "Great. It turns out he ate packing tape."

"Packing tape?"

"Yeah, he must have gotten it off of one of the boxes he plays in. He's got a weird obsession with chewing on things that shouldn't be eaten. Chip bags, plastic wrappers, tin foil."

"But it's out of his system now?"

"Oh yes. I came home the other day and found this gross, long thing on the ground. At first, I thought it was a tapeworm, but then I looked closer—actually, here, look."

Flora pulled out her phone. Before Julian realized what was happening, he was looking at a picture of a long piece of tape covered in something he could only guess was cat poop.

"Ah, yeah, that definitely looks like...like something," he said as he took a sip of his butterscotch coffee, trying to politely avert his eyes.

Flora gave a slight gasp and pulled the phone away. Julian worried that he had offended her. Quickly lowering his cup, he was ready to apologize, but she covered her face and groaned.

"I am so sorry," she said, her voice muffled behind her hands.

"Sorry?"

"For showing you that. I wasn't thinking. I'm just so excited that he's better." She peeked over her fingers. "And I seriously cannot believe that this is the second time I've brought up poop while talking to you. I swear I'm not that crazy."

Julian smiled nervously. "No, no, it's—"

"It just slips out sometimes."

"Oh, no, I completely—"

"It doesn't help that Jayda and I find poop hilarious for some stupid reason. We're always making poop jokes. I know, we're five."

"No, no, I get it. It's a funny subject."

"No, you're just being nice. Unfortunately, when I start to feel comfortable around people, my filter disappears."

A warm feeling of satisfaction came over Julian at hearing this.

"I swear, I don't normally talk about poop to strangers. I'm not a complete dork," Flora insisted.

"We're not exactly strangers anymore, though."

"True." She held up her cup. "We're coffee friends."

"The best kind of friends."

Her cheery expression suddenly crumbled into distress. "Please tell me you're not going to start calling me Poop Girl now."

Laughing, Julian shook his head. "No, I think I'll stick with Flora. Flora Britton."

A smile slowly spread over her face. "And Julian Spurling."

Another silence fell over them. The sounds of the cafe were louder than usual. Customers ordering, the espresso machine hissing, the cash register ringing. It was all rather intrusive and overwhelming, especially as Julian searched for something to say to keep the conversation going.

"So how's Stewart?" Flora asked.

The instant she spoke, the sounds of the busy cafe faded into the background. "A little prickly," Julian said.

Flora laughed, and he let out a relieved breath at the sound. Her laugh wasn't dainty by any means. Rather, it was loud and deep. But it was also genuine and unbridled. It made him feel like he had actually said something clever.

"Did Fox enjoy the catnip?" he asked.

"Oh, yes. It was gone in less than an hour. He was in a drugged stupor for the rest of the night."

"Nice. Stewart doesn't really react to catnip. Or petting. Or toys. Although I think he enjoys music."

"Are you one of those crazy people who think talking to plants helps them grow?"

"I'm a crazy single guy who lives alone and sometimes resorts to talking to his cactus."

"Aww, that's kind of sad. Is that why you hang out here so often? In desperate need of human contact?"

"Actually, I suck at making coffee and can't function without caffeine in my system. However, the company is certainly an added benefit."

He smiled at her and was happy to see the gesture returned.

"What about you? What brings you here?" he asked.

"Jayda—my roommate—doesn't drink coffee because it makes her sick. She says just the smell of coffee gives her a migraine."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, she's a little weird. But she's really a great friend, so I'm willing to come here for my fix. Besides, Doki makes way better drinks than I ever could. At this point, I'm kind of addicted."

"The baked goods are amazing, too. Although, you don't like sugar, right?"

"Just not in my coffee. Desserts, on the other hand."

"Especially this time of the year. Pumpkins, apples, cinnamon."

"Oh, yes, I live for autumn. The food, the colors, the weather, the clothes."

"Are you a fashionista?"

"No, I just appreciate sweaters and boots and scarves. I love to be bundled up."

"I can see that," Julian said as he took in her long, baggy sweater and the red scarf dangling over her shoulders.

She wrapped her hands—hidden in the long sleeves of her sweater—around her cup and gave a dreamy sigh. "Autumn is just so magical. It's filled with all sorts of possibilities. Anything could happen."

Something about the spark in her eyes made Julian's pulse rush. Her enthusiasm for the season was seen clearly on her face, and it captivated him. Anything could happen. In a life of mundane routine, the idea of a change was quite appealing.

Julian was pulled from his thoughts when Flora's phone began to vibrate. She picked it up and rolled her eyes.

"Jayda needs help escaping from another bad date," she said as she tucked her phone into her sweater pocket and rose from her chair. "Thank you again for the other day. And it was a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Yes, it was. Until next time, Flora Britton."

She smiled once last time. "I look forward to it, Julian Spurling."