Liam
I’ve run to The Ugly Mug every day for the past week and it’s starting to feel like Groundhog Day, minus the hot coffee being spilled on me, thankfully. It’s the same old routine: I walk in and find Quinn, give her a random mind-fuck quote of the day, and ask for a date. Of course I get rejected, so I wait at the table to receive my coffee and donut. I’ll sit and drink my coffee after stuffing my face with the donut. The feeling of being a failure fuels my run home.
Once I’m home, I work on Cameron’s truck and then go to bed exhausted every day. Something has to fucking change before I rip out all my hair. I sit on the edge of the bed and pull at the strands attached to my scalp to ease the stress I’m currently feeling. “Think, THINK,” I yell at myself. I stand up to pace, my arms crossed over my chest. “What the fuck would she want…” I say out loud. “Perfect!” I exclaim. The idea that just popped into my head is unmatched.
Two hours later, I have twenty tabs open with different vintage resellers pulled up. Do you know how hard it is to find fucking old crazy-looking cat pictures? I pull out my card and purchase each one I’ve found.
She has to go on a date with me now. How can a girl say no to this handsome face and a buttload of cat pictures to stare creepily at her customers?
Three weeks, forty-two coffees, donuts, and rejections later, I have a fuck ton of creepy-looking cat pictures sitting in my little room. This woman is so worth every strange dream I’ve had since they started arriving.
I figured they’d take longer to arrive, but it didn’t. Although, I’m convinced at least one of them is haunted.
The dreams are WEIRD. Whatever to make her happy, as long as they don’t end up in our house when she gives in and decides she’s desperately in love with me.
I gather all the paintings and haul ass down my stairs. I get in the car to visit her for once, opting out of trying to run miles with all this shit. I skirt out of the driveway and down the street to go see my girl. She obviously hasn’t agreed to be my girl, but she’s mine. No one else is allowed to get close to her or I may go a little crazy.
“Oh, Smoochie Poo,” I holler when I swing open the coffee shop door. I make a big show about it: throw a leg out, and open the door as wide as possible to get her attention, but I also gather the attention of every other patron enjoying their coffee. I can see Quinn turning red from across the room, and I snap to attention.
“Uh, hi,” I say to everyone who is now making weird faces at me.
I fast-walk over to Quinn before I can make a bigger fool of myself and lean against the counter.
“Well, hello, good lookin’,” I say, trying to play it cool.
“Totally. Not. Smooth.” She flushes.
“Well, I have something for you.”
She perks up and I realize I might be getting somewhere with her,
“First, can we go on a date?” I give her a wide grin in hopes this will up my odds, but she just rolls her eyes at me. “No, ,” she says with a huff.
“Mmmm, you might change your mind, but here’s your random mind-fuck fact of the day.”
She deflates and rolls her eyes at me, but I always enjoy watching her reactions to everything.
“Have you ever thought about how cranberry tastes like it doesn’t wanna be wet?” I sit and watch her eyes turn into saucers. She coughs out a laugh.
“You’re so fucking right!” she exclaims. She smacks her mouth and smiles at me. “I’ve never thought about it, but I can’t ever forget it now.”
She rubs her hands and bounces on the balls of her feet, fluttering her eyes playfully. “So, what do you have for me?”
“Come with me.” I hold out my hand and she takes it to follow me. The feeling of her skin on me has my cock twitching with anticipation. The dude is acting like we have no game and we’re back to being thirteen-year-olds. Fuck off, man, not right now .
When we reach the door leading outside, I have her close her eyes to make the surprise even more substantial. I’m so nervous, probably because my entire future rides on this moment, but you know, no big deal.
When we get to my car, I open the back door and position her so the first thing she’ll see is the artwork. I step beside her and position myself so I can see every reaction.
“Okay, ready?”
She nods.
“One…two…three.”
She opens her eyes and it takes her a moment to process what she’s looking at. After a few seconds, her hands fly to her mouth and she turns to me. “Where did you find all of them?!” she exclaims. She turns back to the car and walks over to start shuffling through them.
“For me to know and you to never find out. I need this information in my back pocket so I can use it against you.” I add a wink at the end to make sure she knows I’m kind of joking. “I was kinda hoping you’d go out with me? Ya know, once I hang all these fucking cats all over the coffee shop.”
“I guess it’s the very least I could do.” She smirks.
“So… is that a yes?” I hold my breath.
She closes her eyes briefly and bobs her head as she speaks. “Yes, . I’ll let you take me out on a date.”