Colour Me In (A Love Story In ASL)

Colour Me In

Eliza laughed as her Maltipoo, Oliver, spun in a circle on his hind legs begging for a treat. They were seated at a small table at Marian's Cafe and Bakery. She set the treat on his nose and happened to look up to see a handsome dark haired boy come up to the counter. Eliza and Oliver came here everyday but she'd never seen him before. Eliza quickly noticed his biceps, bulging and tattooed, before her eyes trailed up to see broad shoulders and a ridiculously sculpted jawline. He smiled at the cashier and Eliza felt her own cheeks get warm even though he wasn't looking at her. She realized he'd caught sight of Oliver and she quickly shifted her attention back to her dog before she was caught staring.

Calum noticed the little grey and white curly dog doing tricks and he couldn't help but smile. If he was honest he preferred dogs to people most of the time. It was his turn to order and he stepped up to the counter. He didn't come here often, but this place had the best cinnamon rolls he'd ever had. They were the size of a saucer and topped straight out of the oven with butter, cinnamon and sugar and then icing. Cal always had to buy two because he ate the first one so quickly. They made these dog treats that Duke went nuts over, so Calum got a bag of those too.  He stepped back to wait for his order to come up, his eyes wandering back to the cute little dog.

This time he noticed the tan high heeled leather boots the dog was standing against, and he finally took a good look at the dog's owner. She had skin the colour of caramel, with hair as dark and curly as his own, pulled into a messy bun on top of her head.  She was dressed in a white knee length belted cardigan with leggings. She wasn't showing off her figure but Calum could tell she was carrying a few pounds. He didn't mind that at all, he'd always been a sucker for curvy girls.

Everything about this girl looked soft and appealing and Calum had the urge to run his finger down one of her round cheeks just to touch her. Until her pink tongue darted across her full lips her teeth grazing her bottom lip as she concentrated on her dog. The obscene thoughts that rushed into Calum's brain were quickly interrupted by one of the cafe workers bringing her breakfast. The mystery girl looked up and appeared to blow a kiss at the server which Calum thought was different but cute. When the server responded with a hand gesture it dawned on Calum what he was seeing. His mystery girl was deaf, he didn't have a chance.

Later that week, Ashton was sitting at the piano when he could smell cinnamon before Calum walked into the rehearsal space with a huge cardboard box. Cal had seemed agitated the past couple days, but today he was beaming as he entered the room.

“You're in a good mood today Cal,” Luke teased him as the cinnamon rolls were being handed out. “You get laid last night?”

Calum blushed but shook his head. “Nah nothing like that.”

“Something's up with you,” Mikey bit into his breakfast. “These really are the fucking best. I was starving, thanks dude.”

“I heard Natasha has been in your DMs lately. I bet that's why your smiling” Ashton laughed, knowing Calum's conquests were legend in their group.

Calum didn't have relationships, he had bedmates. He was always up front and honest with them that he didn't want and wouldn't have a girlfriend. The girls who got clingy were quickly dismissed, but a few had been tough enough to stick around for a few weeks. He wasn't malicious or callous about it. He liked women, but just never caught feelings the way they did. Cal found it cruel to continue seeing someone once that happened so eventually he let them go. He'd met Natasha at a friend's party, she was an Instagram model and he hadn't hooked up in a while.

However Natasha wasn't the girl he'd had on his mind. He'd specifically gone to the cafe this morning hoping to see his mystery girl. When he'd seen her sitting at the same little table he'd gotten butterflies. Calum wasn't used to that and he tripped over his own feet knocking over a stack of metal serving trays next to the register trying to catch himself. Embarrassed, he glanced up to find everyone looking at him except her. Of course she hadn't heard the commotion, but her dog had.