Bringing the straw to her lips, she sucked in a mouth full of lemonade before releasing the straw and swallowing. In her right hand was her phone, the brightness all the way up since she was outside.
She had just taken a picture of her latest work in progress to send to her good friend Leslie. On the table before her laid a sketchbook, a pencil, and eraser, and her muffin she had left untouched. Her dark eyes looked from the open book with a woman half drawn to the picture on her phone of the exact drawing.
Why did everything look better on camera than in her sketchbook she wondered. It was true, in the photo, her drawing looked beautiful and like someone else had done it. You can barely see a single flaw other than that it remained unfinished. The actual thing, however, looked like a two-year-old did it.
She flipped over the sketchbook as a group of new arrivals passed by, being directed to a large table just opposite her's. It wasn't that she was embarrassed by her work, she just didn't want strangers criticizing her unfinished work.
Ignoring a few of their curious glances, she returned her attention back to her phone. She sent the picture to Leslie, turned off her phone and decided to get back to work. If she wanted to finish this before she left, she'd need to stop procrastinating.
"Is the muffin alright, ma'am?"
She looked up from her drawing to see the exact same waitress that had led the group of people over to their table now standing at her's. Confused at first, she noticed the waitress was pointing toward something on her table. She looked over the sketchbook to see the muffin and mentally slapped herself.
"Yes, it's fine," she said with a nervous laugh. "I'm just trying to finish this, I'm so sorry."
"No, it's completely fine," assured the waitress with a small laugh. "I just wanted to make sure it was alright. Would you like something else then? Perhaps a refill?"
"Perhaps," and then she looked at the muffin. "And maybe something to put that in since I guess I won't be eating it anytime soon. If you don't mind."
"No of course not, I'll get you a box right away and that refill as well."
Slurping down the rest of the lemonade, she hands her the empty glass and then watched as the waitress walks back inside the little cafe. She's nice, she thinks to herself, her gaze lingering a little longer on the cafe's entrance before falling back to the lead smeared paper.
She lifted her right hand to look at it. "Nice," she says out loud as she realizes her hand is now black.
"Nice indeed," says a voice from behind her. She jumps slightly in her chair, nearly dropping both her pencil and sketchbook. Her right hand comes down on the table, her knuckles scraping the edge. "Ouch, that had to hurt. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you-"
"No, you're fine," she assures the gentleman. She placed down her book and pencil and the examines her now throbbing knuckle. No blood, so that was a good thing.
"Your hand alright?"
She finally looked up at the stranger and froze. Okay, how had she not recognized that voice? Was it cause he sounded different in person than he did in videos and movies? Of course, he sounded different than he did in movies, in most movies he spoke with an American accent.
His lips twisted into a beautiful smile, curling back to reveal his teeth. She noticed his blue eyes, with a patch of brown on the left, were sparkling when he smiled. He knew. He knew she was currently star-struck at the sight of him. He must have gotten it often.
Mentally shaking her head, she finally closed her mouth, which she had been unaware that it was open in the first place. "Sorry," she dropped her gaze but continued to smile sheepishly. "What did you say?"
He chuckled and turned around all the way in his chair. "It's alright, I was just asking about your hand."
"Right," she examined her right hand, suddenly remembering that it was throbbing still. "It'll be fine. Always is."
There was an awkward silence that fell over them as she looked back down at her hand and flexed it. Was he done talking to her? Probably. Why did he even speak to her in the first place? Was he speaking to her in the first place?
"I like your drawing," he then said. Realizing he was talking to her, she looked back up at him and then turned to her sketchbook. "You're really talented."
"Uhm, thank you," she giggled nervously, her brown eyes still on the drawing half finished. What more did she say? She didn't want to pester him, nor did she want to say she thought the drawing was horrible because then it'd seem like she was fishing for a compliment, which she wasn't.
To save her from the awkward silence, the waitress returned. "One lemonade and a box for your muffin," she placed down the cup and then went to work on putting the muffin in the box. "Are you sure there isn't anything else I can get you, sweetie?"
"No, I'm sure," she assured her with a large smile that mirrored the waitresses. "I'm fine and thank you so much."
"Of course, if you change your mind, feel free to holler. I will be around."
She nods her head, "Thanks again," she says as the waitress turned to return to her other tables.
"You're terrible at socializing."
She turned back in her chair, "What?" Was it that obvious? Wait, was he watching her?
Instead of replying he shook his head this time, his smile growing ten times its size. "I didn't catch your name."
That's because I didn't tell you, she thought with a quick nervous glance back toward her table. Should she tell him? It'd be stupid not to, after all, he did seem interested.
"(Y/N)," she says quietly, but still audible over the music playing faintly from the cafe speakers.
"Nice to meet you (Y/N)," he says when he stands up from his chair a few tables over and walks over to her, his hand extended. "Henry."
"Nice to meet you too, Henry," she stands up, feeling it was the proper thing to do. Her eyes only come to his chest, she has to tilt her head slightly back just to look up at him. He was much taller than she had ever imagined him.
"I'd offer to buy you something," his gaze drops to her table where her muffin lays boxed and the sweat trickles off her glass of lemonade. "But I see you are all set. Perhaps, maybe I can treat you to lunch some other time?"
Still in a state of shock from shaking his hand and being so close to him, she blinks once, slowly registering the fact he had just asked her out.
"You don't have to," could he feel the heat radiating from her body just now? She was pretty sure she was putting off more heat than the Florida sun. Goodness, what was happening to her? Why did she suddenly feel so light headed?
"Woah," she felt two large pairs of hands on her waist before she was lowered down into her chair. "Are you alright?" He knelt down in front of her, a look of concern etched on his beautiful face. She blinked a few more times, bringing him back into focus.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, realizing she nearly fainted. "I'm fine, no need to worry," she added when she noticed the look on his face.
"Are you sure?" He questioned, "I can always take you to the hospital."
She shook her head, a weak smile tugging the corners of her lips. "I normally get light headed when I get too hot. I'm fine now."
"Would you like to go inside?"
"No, I promise I'm fine," he said nothing, but the look on his face told her he was not convinced.
Henry then stood up, reached into his pocket to pull out a phone and then knelt back down. "Here," he unlocked the phone, messed with it a little and then handed it to her to reveal that he had opened up to his contacts. "Put your number in here and I'll give you a call sometime to see when you're free for lunch, sound good?"
"Are you sure?" She asks, her brows coming together to show her uncertainty.
"Of course, I am," he replies with a large beautiful smile, his right hand now resting on the back of her chair to keep him from tipping over. "And if you'd like, I can take you home to make sure you get there safely."
After entering her number and including her name, she hands him back his phone and then looks up at the table he was previously at. "What about your friend?"
Henry looked back too and then waves to the dark haired gentleman who was previously engaged with his phone. The man waves back, one brow arched, the look on his face asking Henry a question that was unknown to her. He then turned to look back at her and smiled.
"He'd understand," he told her, "besides we were just about finished with lunch anyway and he has somewhere else to be." As if on cue, the other gentleman rose from his seat and approached them.
"Hen, it's four, I gotta head out." He then looked at her and smiled, his hand extended out. "The names Gary."
"(Y/N)," she says quietly as she shakes his hand. She would have stood up like when she went to shake Henry's hand, but she was afraid she'd become light headed again and that would only encourage Henry further.
"I hope to see you around," Gary says with a charming smile, and then he turns to Henry. "Lunch is on me, don't worry about it. See you," he waves before heading into the cafe to pay.
"You see," Henry says when he turns back to her. "Did you walk or drive?"
"I actually was dropped off," she admitted quietly.
"Ah, no problem. Are you far from here?" He then asks, now taking up the seat beside her.
She shakes her head, "No, actually my hotel is around the corner."
"Hotel?" His brow arches, curiosity visible in his blue eyes. "Visiting? From where? Sorry, am I asking too many questions?"
She shakes her head, a smile curving her lips upward, "No," she tells him honestly. "I'm actually from the Tampa area, I'm in town for a family reunion."
"Family reunion? So you have family down here? And how far is Tampa from here? Sorry, I'm not entirely familiar with Florida."
The way he asked all these questions, it was making her feel at ease and comfortable around him. "Yes, a family reunion," she said softly. "My dad's side actually, he's the one with the big family. It's also my first time attending one. And about Tampa, it's a good three to four hours, depending on the traffic."
"Not far," he then says. "So, how long are you here for?"
"Well," she bit her bottom lip, hesitating before answering. "Till Sunday, my dad and stepmom arrive Friday. I decided to take a few days to myself because I just needed to get away from everything, family included." She wondered how he'd take it if he knew the reason she decided to spend an extra four days in South Florida was because she was hoping to catch a glimpse of him.
She had only really wanted a glimpse, though. She had no intention of actually meeting him and sitting face to face having a conversation with him in a cafe. Of course, she had fantasized many times about it, but she knew her anxiety would not permit her to say hello.
Yet, here she was, feeling completely at ease, chatting away with the man she had often fantasized about meeting.
"Everything alright at home?" She could hear the concern in his voice.
"Yeah," she replied and then smiled. He was a family kind of man, and since he was probably to busy to spend time with them to the point he needed to get away from them, he probably didn't understand. "I just really love being alone sometimes. Recharge the soul, you know?"
"I do," he replied. "I'd really love to hear more about you, perhaps over dinner? Tonight?"
She opened her mouth to speak, but only a squeak came out. Tonight? So soon? She felt her cheeks heat up. "S-sure," is what she managed to get out.
His lips, his beautiful lips, curled into a miraculous smile and he said, "Excellent."