Desdemona Humphries leads a rather unspectacular life. She's a great daughter, grand-daughter, and aunt. She helps her brother coach little league and helps her sister bake for the school bake sales, in between running a bed and breakfast with her f...
"S'cuse me luv, do you mind if I sit 'ere? Everything is full."
Desi brought her head up from the notebook in front of her and almost choked on a surprised gasp. Idris Elba was standing in front of her table, looking bashfully at her from lowered eyes. He shrugged, waving a hand around at all the full tables. Desi stared at him a few seconds more before finally nodding quickly and motioning to the empty chair opposite herself.
"Yeah, sure, Mr. Elba! It's fine, really. I won't be much longer."
He grinned and shook his head as he set a cup down on the table before taking the offered seat. "Idris, please. I'm going out on a limb here, but I don't think you're from London or the UK for the matter. Visiting for the holidays?"
Desi chuckled as she laid her pen down atop her notebook. "No, I'm here studying. That and writing the most epic breakout novel of all time, don't you know."
He chuckled and nodded his head. "You're not the first, luv. What school are you attending? I don't mean to be rude, but you seem a little... mature, for uni."
Desi gave a mock shocked look and raised an eyebrow. "Flattery will get you nowhere. I'm studying at the University Of London, and yes, I know I'm a little long in the tooth for that."
Idris laughed a little harder at that. "Now, we're never too old to learn something new, not that I would call you old. I'm certainly older." She took a sip of the tea in front of her and grimaced, making him snicker. "If you don't like tea, why did you order it?"
She grinned ruefully. "Trying to blend in with the natives?" Desi shrugged. "I don't know... for some reason, I feel the need to learn to like it."
He nodded then took her cup and sipped from it thoughtfully. "Peppermint?" At her nod, he shook his head. "Nah, darling, Earl Gray is what you want to start with. Work your way up to the fancy stuff, yeah? Although, there's absolutely nothing wrong with being yourself."
Desi grinned at that. "Well, I suppose Wild Turkey is more my speed."
Idris grabbed his chest above his heart, making her giggle like a schoolgirl. "Now, that's a woman after my own heart."
Desi looked down at her phone and saw that if she didn't leave right then, with the way it was snowing, she'd be late for her afternoon class. She quickly grabbed her notebook off the table and stood up. "I need to get going or I'm going to be late. Thanks for the chat, Idris. It's been a pleasure."
He stood up beside her and gently took her arm to slow her progress. "Please, darling, it was my pleasure. I wonder if you'd give me your number? I could show you around town a bit if you like. Perhaps take you out to dinner one evening."
Desi grinned before reaching into her notebook to tear out a blank sheet of paper, quickly jotting down her name and number before she could talk herself out of it. She handed him the paper and he winked at her before letting her pass to the door. They said goodbye then she was out into the cold, the wind whipping the snow around her legs as she walked to the tube station. She had her head down, trying to fight against the cold as she thought how strange life had turned out to be.
Since being in London, she had met a few celebrities: a week after Desi arrived, she was asked by Benedict Cumberbatch to hand him two tomatoes at Tesco, then a month ago she had met Matt Smith on the tube, now Idris at the coffee shop. She snorted to herself as she thought that the only Londoner I hadn't seen was the one that she actually knew.
Tom waited for the woman to pass through the door before he darted into the coffee shop, sighing with heartfelt relief at the warmth of the room. He saw Idris waving from across the space and he waved back as he made his way to the counter to order. As he waited for his coffee, he thought how nice it was to be back home, and in time for the holidays. He could finally relax, let his guard down. It had been a rough year, and he would be glad when it was over. The past few weeks since his breakup with Leslie had been hard, what with the paps following his every step. He would never understand how a simple act like taking his new pup for a walk was newsworthy. Leslie. Tom shook his head as he thought about what a right cock-up that relationship had been.
Tom sighed as he remembered that the whole time he was being faithful to her, even thinking about marriage down the road, she had been cheating on him with several different partners. He even gave up his friends and family to make her feel more secure in their relationship, but even that didn't work. Tom supposed, in the end, it was never going to work between them, he just hadn't wanted to see it. Instead, he wanted to focus on the few good times they had and not think about the numerous fights and needless drama that always seemed to follow her.
By the time he made it to the table where Idris waited, he was happily typing something on his mobile, a big grin on his face. "What has you so happy on such a dreary day?"
Idris chuckled as they shook hands and Tom sat down. "I just met a lovely little bird... you just missed her. I bet you passed her on the way in as she was leaving. Anyway, I got her digits, and I've already texted her to see about dinner tomorrow night."
Tom's grin widened at how happy his friend was with his newfound conquest. "Well, that's aces, yeah? What's this bird's name, or haven't you gotten that far?"
Idris gave him a mock glare before laughing. "Of course, I have. She left it right here on this paper with her number." He looked down and his next words shook Tom to the core. "Her name is Desdemona or Desi for short, she wrote here."
