Coming Back Home

Chapter 2

"Alright, we'll see about that," I said.

We turned the corner and I saw that Trevor was definitely right about it being a hole in the wall bar. My first night back in Chicago and I was going to a sketchy bar with a guy I had met just a few hours ago. Super safe of me.

Trevor opened the door for me, and the inside of the bar was pretty much spot on with how I thought it would look.

"Hey Trev!" One of the bartenders shouted in our direction.

Trevor waved back at him as we sat down at a table.

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said this was your favorite place, you must come here a lot," I said to him.

"Yeah, probably too much honestly, but it's a good place to hang out," he said with a shrug.

"So besides this place, what other recommendations do you have for me around here?" I asked, "I grew up here but it wasn't really anywhere close to downtown like this."

"Let's see," Trevor pondered his answer, "the coffee shop that's basically right next to the apartment complex for sure, I go there almost every day."

"Good call, I'm sure I'll need coffee tomorrow morning," I said, "what do you do for work?"

"I work for an IT company, yes I'm a nerd," he said with a grin.

"Ahh I see, so that's where you get your physique," I responded.

"Oh, of course," Trevor said sarcastically.

We went on getting to know each other for a few minutes before the waitress came over to take our orders.

"I'll do one of the special burgers with fries," Trevor said.

"Umm," I debated, "I'll do the same."

"Good choice," Trevor said.

By the time our food came I was starving, and I had to admit, it was definitely one of the best burgers I'd ever had.

"Okay, you were definitely right about this place," I said in between bites, "I might be here as often as you are."

"Told you!" He replied.

Trevor and I sat there for a while and talked while we finished our food. I think I got pretty lucky that he was a nice guy and wasn't hitting on me, this night definitely could've turned out much worse.

"I should probably head back home," I said after we finished up, "have to be ready for my first day at work tomorrow."

"Oh yeah, you definitely don't want to be tired and hungover for that," Trevor said.

"Uh nope, definitely not," I responded as we got up to leave.

We walked back to the apartment complex and made our way up to our floor.

"Hey thanks again for your help today," I said to Trevor as I reached my door, "I really appreciate it."

"Oh of course, good luck tomorrow," he said with a grin.

I gave him a small wave as I unlocked my door and stepped inside. I set my things down and looked around at the number of boxes still in front of me. I definitely had a lot of work to do.

***

I woke up the next morning before my alarm went off and felt the nerves building up in my stomach. This was only the second job I'd had since finishing grad school, and I definitely wasn't looking forward to starting fresh again.

I got ready and tried to calm myself down as I looked in the mirror.

"Okay, you got this," I said to myself.

I took a deep breath and grabbed my bag as I walked out the door.

I left myself plenty of time so I could stop at the coffee shop that Trevor had told me about last night. I was definitely going to need caffeine today.

I stepped outside and realized that the cafe was truly right next door to the apartment complex, this could be dangerous. I was a sucker for some good coffee.

I walked inside and it looked like I had luckily beat the morning rush. Either that or this place wasn't as good as Trevor hyped it up to be.

"Morning," I heard a voice say from behind the counter.

I looked up and met the eyes of yet another very handsome man. It seemed like this neighborhood was swimming with them.

"Good morning," I said back.

He flashed a gorgeous grin in my direction and I felt my cheeks start to turn red.

"What can I get started for you?" He asked.

"Well..." I said hesitantly as I examined the menu, "I've never been here before, so what's your best drink?"

The man looked up at the menu with me and tapped his finger on his chin.

"Hmm, I think I'd say the classic caramel latte is our best. We make the caramel syrup for that from scratch," he said.

"Oh wow, really?" I asked.

"Yup," he said with a nod, "only way we do it here since I started this place."

"Started this place?" I asked him, "is this your shop?"

"Sure is," he said with a proud grin, "I just opened here a few years ago, but it's been going well."

"Well my friend recommended it so you've at least got a fan in him," I said.

"Who is your friend? If you don't mind me asking," he said, "I know most of the regulars, so I'm just curious."

"His name is Trevor," I said, "I actually just met him last night, but his first recommendation was spot on so I'm hoping he doesn't steer me wrong with this one."

"Oh he didn't," the man said as he smiled at me, "I know Trevor, he's in here all the time."

"Good," I said with a slight nod.

He began to make my drink as I stood there and looked around at the shop. It was actually a very cute place, as long as the coffee lived up to the hype, I was sure I'd be back.

"Here you go ma'am," I heard him say from behind the counter.

"Madison, it's Madison," I said with a small smile, "I hate being called ma'am."

"Oh, sorry about that," he said as he handed me my coffee.

"It's fine, really," I said, "how much for the coffee?"

"It's on me today...Madison," he said with a slight smirk.

"Thank you - " I started, almost calling him sir but stopping myself.

"Theo," he said quickly, "hopefully you'll come back again soon."

His smile made my cheeks heat up again as I gave him a small wave and walked out to make my way to work.

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