Rosephanie, a barista from New Jersey, had seen many odd men in her young life, but none were quite as strange as a young man named Colin Albernon. Once he starts attempting to talk to her and seemingly get closer, she begins to wonder what his reas...
I scowled as yet another one of my co-workers slipped away for their lunch break.
"Whitney!" I called out to my best friend. "Where are you going? Your break is in two hours!"
"Chill out, Rose, I'm just headed next door. I have...some business to attend to..?"
I rolled my eyes. "Chad isn't 'business', Whit."
"He is if you pull the right strings." She winked at me before she scampered off.
I sighed as I watched her blonde hair sway in the brisk November wind.
Chad Lewis was Whitney's new boyfriend, whom didn't deserve any girl at all, if I'm honest. He was poorly educated, under-exercised, and was only with Whitney for her looks, not for her brains. She made him look good, and he was the only available man left that had interest in her.
I shook my head as I turned back to the resister.
I worked at the Board and Brew House in town, which was the only job left within walking distance of my apartment.
No, it wasn't glamorous, but it was warm and it always smelled amazing. Working as a barista was only half of the job. I also had to help maintain the boarding rooms on the hotel portion of the building.
My boss, Jeremy Shane, and his wife Abigail were bent on keeping the building squeaky clean and presentable at every hour it was allowed to be open, which was what kept customers coming back to stay and drink their coffee.
Currently, I was standing at the register taking orders when I hear a disturbance outside.
Glancing at the window, I see Whitney wrestling with a man in a black hoodie, who has his hand wrapped around her wrist attempting to drag her alongside him.
"Excuse me everyone, I'll be back," I called to the line of customers,"Sandy, take my spot!"
My co-worker obeyed my request as I dashed outside.
"Whit!" I shouted, flinging open the door and coming face to face with her near-kidnapper. His face wasn't visible under his hood, but his head tilted to the side as he studied my face.
"You'll do." He hissed at me, as he grabbed my arm and began to yank me away from the coffee shop. "It's so hard to find pretty girls around here."
My fist pounded against his shoulder as he pulled me farther from my petrified friend.
"You let me go you son of a...!"
"Hush your tongue before you lose it!" He spat, gripping my wrist even tighter.
I remained silent, but still attempted to resist his grip once again.
What happened next was completely out of pure luck.
"Pardon me, Sir," said an unfamiliar voice, "but that poor woman seems resistant to accompany you."
The man in the black hood and I turned around to see yet another stranger.
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"And who are you to stand in my way, young man?" Commented my kidnapper, "A scrawny little..."
He couldn't get another word out. His face was already retracting from the closed fist that swung at a surprising speed.
The man in the black hood dropped my hand as he fell to the ground. My rescuers grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him.
"Are you alright?" He asked me in a concerned voice, "He didn't hurt you, did he?"
"No...no...I'm fine, really." I said, forcing my gaze to go elsewhere than the man crumpled on the ground.
The stranger gave me a worried look.
"Are you sure..? It's not safe for a woman to approach a hazard for someone else. Be more careful next time."
He was about to walk away when I responded.
"Wait, please." I called after him. He turned and waited for me to finish. "Would you like to come in?" I asked, motioning to the door. "Anything you want, on me."
The young man smirked. "Your thanks is appreciated, but I do not require any charity for doing what was right." He thought for a moment before finishing. "However, I believe I will come in for a moment or two. I've heard that mint lattes are a specialty here."
I smiled. "Indeed."
Even though I was holding the door open for him, he took hold of the door and waiting for me to enter first. I could feel a slight blush creep up onto my cheeks as I walked back to my register.
