Arizona Sunsets - Sam Hubbard

II

Sam loved it in Scottsdale. The city in Arizona had simply done it to him with its charm, the beautiful nature and its people and for him it was still the best decision he could have made when he bought a house here for the off season.

After losing the Super Bowl and spending a few weeks with his family, for whom he had finally been able to spend some real time together after the season, he had packed his bags and come to Arizona.

He was enjoying the relaxing time in the hot environment, had developed a routine after only a week and a half, and was feeling better than ever.

Despite being in the off season, he was at the gym at least twice a day almost every day, and used the recovery days he took every now and then to explore more of Scottsdale, go hiking, or meet up with a few people to play golf.

It was Wednesday afternoon. He had been at the gym for over an hour, pushing his weights and sweating himself completely wet in the heat, air conditioning notwithstanding, when he spotted her on the treadmill.

It wasn't the first time Sam had seen the cute coffee store girl he visited every weekday morning at 8 a.m., before his first work out, here at the gym.

His eyes wandered over her body. She wore shorts and a gray oversize shirt, under which one could only guess her curves. Her brown curly hair was tied in a tight braid that bobbed slightly with her movements.

She was definitely at least a head shorter than him, had to look up every time he ordered his coffee, while she beamed at him with her big, beautiful green-brown eyes.

Now, as she stepped off the treadmill and took a sip from her water bottle, she let her gaze drift around the room and lingered on Sam.

The sweet, warm smile that she also gave him every morning spread across her lips as she recognized him. She briefly raised her hand before grabbing the towel hanging over the treadmill and heading to the next machine.

Sam caught himself scanning the room for her again and again during his entire work out. As soon as his gaze caught her, he eyed the exercise she was performing. You could clearly see that she went to the gym often and had an idea of what she was doing.

She went to the locker rooms just a few minutes before him, and after Sam changed, he briefly considered waiting for her outside the gym to just exchange a few words, but decided against it so as not to seem like a creep and settled for the thought of seeing her again in the coffee shop tomorrow morning.

He got into his car and drove through the streets of Scottsdale. Although it was already after 8 o'clock, it was still very warm and Sam had to roll down the window in order not to completely melt in the heat of his car.

Arriving at the small house he had bought just before last season started, he parked his car in the driveway. He greeted his neighbor, who was barbecuing in the garden next door, before unlocking his front door and entering.

He immediately got in the shower, cooling his body before putting on shorts, grabbing a cold beer from the fridge and making himself comfortable on the patio. After the smell coming from his neighbor's garden made him quite hungry, he ordered himself something to eat and retreated back inside.

He spent the rest of the evening on the couch, eating his food and watching Peaky Blinders while texting with his mom, sister, and a few friends on the side. When it was already dark, he got ready for bed, set his alarm for tomorrow morning, and snuggled up against his cool pillow.

When his alarm went off the next morning, the sun was already beaming brightly into his bedroom. Sam got dressed and ate breakfast before getting in the car to get his morning coffee at his favorite coffee shop.

There were already a few people at beans & bites, as there were every morning, and Sam had to smile when he caught sight of the cute woman behind the counter, exchanging a few words with her colleague before turning to Sam, beaming.

"Good morning, you really can set the clock after you" she grinned while looking at the watch on her wrist. As always, it was exactly 8 a.m. sharp when Sam entered the shop. "What can I get you today?"

"A White Flat, please" he ordered politely. "As usual, then. Coming right up" the woman laughed as she turned around. Sam eyed her. Unlike in the gym, she was wearing light jeans and a shirt with the shop's logo on it, as well as a black apron tied around her hips with a pen and pad tucked inside.

"Will that be all?" she asked as she turned back to Sam and smiled at him. "Actually..." he grinned. "...I decided to buy one of your reusable cups from the store window" he explained.

"Good choice" the woman grinned as she pulled a few things out from under the counter and placed the different models of the cups on the counters. "What design are you going for?" she asked, proudly presenting the designs, all of which showed Scottsdale or surrounding areas.

Sam decided on a simple design that showed the coffee shop's logo on one half and part of the city with the big mountain in the background on the other.

"I'll rinse out the cup and pour your coffee right in there, okay? In the meantime, you can pick out your loyalty card" the woman suggested after she had checked Sam out and turned away from him again while she finished fixing the coffee for him.

"Look" grinning she presented him his new cup with his coffee before laughing and taking the loyalty card and stamping over the number 9. "Uh tomorrow left and the card is full" she handed it back to him smiling.

"Have a great day, pretty sure I'll see you tomorrow and I hope you have fun with your new cup" she said goodbye to him with a grin. "Thank you so much. Have a great day too. See you" he smiled at her, raised his hand briefly and walked to the exit.

He would definitely be back tomorrow. Seeing her was kind of like a highlight of the day and before he didn't see her for two days over the weekend, of course he had to come back tomorrow. Having his loyalty card full then and getting a free coffee was just a little bonus here.

He got back in his car, secured the coffee cup in the cup holder, and drove off. As always, he would enjoy his coffee relaxing on a bench in a nearby park, walking around a bit and looking at the stores.

Since today was one of his rehab days, he wouldn't head to the gym afterward as he usually did, but would head back home, change, and go for a run before the hot midday sun.

He would spend the rest of the day at the house. After he had spent his last free days always with explore the city and surroundings, it was long time again to do a little household chores and maybe go shopping.