one & the same (N.H.)

1

Sadie Wilkinson had only ever had one great love in her life: her work. Sure, she'd had her share of romantic moments; stolen kisses in the rain, dancing under the moonlight, but when it came down it to it, no man (or boy) had ever grown quite as important to her as her job.

She went on dates, she got to know potential suitors, but the second things started to turn serious, the second that there were mentions of a future that wasn't precisely what Sadie imagined, she brought things to a halt.

The men were often devastated, asking what happened, everything had been going so well, they really thought this could be something. Sadie tried to let them down gently, thinking of any excuse except for the real one: that she was absolutely terrified that falling in love would come between her and the goals she had for herself. The goals that included her becoming a business executive before age 30 and eventually opening her own marketing firm.

And this is exactly what happened with Matthew, the tall brunette businessman who now stood a few feet in front of her in the line to pick up her daily cup of Joe. The man whose heart Sadie broke a few weeks earlier, and a man that was clearly not over her based on the way he kept turning his head around to catch a glimpse of her from his place in line two heads ahead, as if if he looked over just enough times their eyes would meet and Sadie would realize that he was the one that got away after all.

That of course, was not going to happen because Sadie was never going to make eye contact with Matthew. She'd seen him the moment she'd walked through the doors to the coffee shop, and no broken-hearted boy was going to catch her gaze long enough for him to beg her to take him back. She had an important date to get to after all- with her wooden desk, office chair and newest client anyway.

Sadie pushed a strand of her wavy blonde hair behind her ear as she checked the time on her phone. While she was used to waiting for her morning coffee, this was taking longer than usual- and of all the days. She tried to take a deep inhale of the aroma of ground coffee beans. That's what Beanz coffee shop was known for: their freshly ground coffee beans. In Sadie's opinion, it's what made their coffee the best in downtown Chicago.

After a few minutes, Sadie found herself ordering her usual, a grande americano with an extra shot of espresso. She then stood at the corner of the long wooden counter, browsing her inbox for the already numerous influx of emails while she waited.

When her name was called, Sadie cautiously brought her cup to the side of the counter and added a sprinkle of sugar, before carefully securing the lid to avoid any disastrous spillage onto her white blouse. Then she made her way towards the door.

"Sadie!" she heard Matthew shout as she attempted to make a quick and quiet exit. She turned her head around slightly, stopping to offer him a polite wave. That's when another body collided into her, a steaming hot cup of Java dousing the front of her freshly steamed white blouse.

"Ahhh," Sadie gasped in shock, turning to face the offender, her blue eyes meeting another pair. "Watch where you're going will you?"

The brunette man in a navy tailored suit simply gave her a huff. "Sorry, but you really shouldn't just stop walking," he said, his thick accent adding even more harshness to his words. "Next time you try to reconnect with one of your one-night stands, do it outside of the path of people who have places to be."

Sadie felt her jaw drop. "Next time you run into someone and spill coffee on them maybe don't be an asshole about it and apologize," she bit back. The man gave her an amused smile as Sadie reached for napkins from the counter.

"Maybe a good idea," he gestured in response to her now vigorous dabbing of the napkins on her blouse, grabbing one for himself and wiping the remnants of coffee spillage from the outside of his cup.