Whispers of the Wolf

Her Smile

So, what had happened last night?

Was I ever going to find out?

Reaching the coffee shop, I pushed open the door and was immediately hit with the heavenly aroma of coffee beans and cinnamon. I stopped and breathed it in, revelling in the warmth blasting out of the heaters above the door and the soft scent of coffee as it surrounded me.

I peered around the shop, took in the comfy chairs and small tables, the wooden creaky floor and well worn mat at the door. It looked ... homely. Inviting. Almost as if I was welcome here.

The counter was piled high with cakes and pastries, chocolates and sandwiches. All of them were made here, in the shop, by the lady who owned it.

She was usually found behind the counter, sleeves rolled up, dark hair in a bun, baking and rolling, buttering and heating. The rest of the staff would serve the coffee, and make it while you waited.

And I didn't mind waiting for the coffee they served here. I would wait a whole week for a coffee from this place. It was that good.

Mmmm.

Taking another deep breath, I walked over to the counter.

"Hi, Radley." Tala smiled as I approached, her long red hair tied away from her face in a ponytail. She cocked her head to the side. "What can I get ya?"

"Hi, Tala." I gripped the strap of my bag and smiled nervously back at her. "Two lattes, please."

"Got ya." She winked as she shouted my order over to the barista, who's name I couldn't remember ... some guy around my age. I moved along the counter, avoiding her eyes as memories of last night assaulted my mind again.

Was Tala at the party last night, too? Had she seen what had happened?

Honestly, I had no doubt that Tala had been at Alaric's party. She was popular and very well liked. Tall, pretty, gorgeous curves - she caught everyone's eye, mine included and I wasn't even into women. I mean, I just didn't know how to act around her. She always looked at me like ... she was trying to study me. Work me out. Kind of like Conri did. In fact ... almost exactly like Conri did.

What was all that about?

I could feel her gaze on me as I glanced around the coffee shop, so I turned my attention to the cakes lined up on the counter.

They looked so good. Should I grab one of those, too?

"So, how have you been, Radley?" Tala's voice was soft, inquisitive.

Oh god. Now she wanted to make conversation. Why? I couldn't seem to talk to her properly. I kind of struggled to speak to her.

For a guy who admitted to being gay, I was always surprised she had that effect on me.

Taking a deep breath, I raised my eyes to find that she had moved down and around the counter, almost standing next to me, her head cocked to one side, her hands in the pockets of her trousers, and her button nose scrunched up. She looked like a cute rabbit. I swallowed and took a step back, aware that my heart had picked up its pace. Her smile widened.

"I ... uh ..." I swallowed again, feeling like my throat was drying by the second. "It's going well, thanks." What else was I supposed to say?

She nodded. "That's good." She leaned her back against the counter. "How's Claudia?"

"She's okay," I managed to croak out, cringing when I heard how raspy my voice sounded.

Tala opened her mouth, probably to ask another question, but a customer came into the shop and stopped at the counter, pulling her attention away from me. She simply nodded her head at me, the bright smile still on her face, and then walked back behind the counter.