Chapter 4 #2
I had to go back to Common Grounds. This was the Universe’s way of telling me that. Not only had it been an ideal place to work the day before, I needed to actually face Diccon and apologize for running out on him. Once fate decided these things, you couldn’t really argue with it.
So that’s what I did. After taking a deep, bracing breath, I marched back up Easton Road, then around the corner onto Glenside Ave.
I spared a quick look for the empty lot beside the café, consoling myself with the idea that at least something beautiful would stand there soon that might help out business at Common Grounds, and pushed through the café’s front door.
The morning rush was still underway as I slipped in, avoided the line, and went straight to the table where I’d set up shop the day before. Diccon was busy, but he definitely noticed my arrival. I did my best not to look his way so I didn’t distract him, but it happened anyhow.
Our eyes met. I couldn’t tell whether Diccon was happy to see me again or if he was smiling for the woman who had just stepped up to order her coffee. I couldn’t dwell on it at any rate. Technically, I was at work, and I needed to focus on that.
I actually did manage to set up my laptop, log in to the system, and start checking my emails without pausing everything to just stare at Diccon from across the room.
I’d even zeroed in on responding to an email from a client that had been sent the night before.
I could do this, be in this space, and concentrate after all without losing my mind.
That lasted until the morning rush died down and Diccon came out from behind the counter, heading straight for me.
“Forget something?” he asked, leaning against the edge of the booth with his arms crossed and a cheeky grin on his gorgeous face, just like he’d done the day before.
“I…um…the office is still a mess,” I managed to say, forcing myself to look at him instead of folding my arms on the table and hiding my face in them.
Diccon’s smile grew. “Yeah, I figured it would take more than just one day to repair that kind of damage.”
Whether that was an invitation to repair the damage I’d done last night or not, I leapt at the opportunity.
“I’m sorry I ran out on you,” I said in a low voice, peeking around to make sure half of Glenside wasn’t listening to our conversation. “That was a crappy thing to do.”
“It was a bit of a surprise,” Diccon said, his smile still there. He didn’t seem to be taking my stupidity too hard, which was a small miracle. Even more of a miracle was the way he slid into the seat opposite me and leaned forward on the table to ask, “Are you okay?”
My eyes popped wide. That was not the question I expected from him. I was waiting for something more along the lines of “What gives you the nerve to run out on me?”
I didn’t know how to answer him. I wasn’t sure that I was okay, but that was a lot of baggage to dump on the shoulders of a guy I liked.
I finally repeated, “I’m sorry. I…I kind of panicked.”
“Because kissing cute baristas isn’t part of your usual routine?” Diccon asked, humor sparkling in his hazel eyes.
I dropped my head forward, wincing, but filled with hope that things might not be as bad as I thought. “You took me by surprise,” I said honestly. “I’m not used to being so open about things when I like a guy. Past disasters, you know.”
“Oh, I know,” Diccon said, sitting straighter. He relaxed into his seat like he was preparing to have a longer conversation. “But I do like you, you know.”
“I find that hard to believe,” I said with a breathy laugh.
“Why?” Diccon shrugged. “You’re nice, you’re fun, and you’ve got a great singing voice. You fit right in around here.”
I huffed a quick laugh, and my shoulders started to relax. “I’m really not great with people,” I told him. “I understand numbers and architecture much better.”
“You just have to remember that most people want to be liked, and in my experience, almost everybody has something about them that’s likable.”
I sighed and sat more comfortably, my tension starting to melt away. “What is it like to be such a people person?” I asked, teasing just a bit. “How do you manage to be so charming with everyone?”
“I take everyone as they come,” Diccon said with a shrug. “I also think anyone can be good with people if they trust themselves enough.”
“Trust themselves?” There was something about Diccon that made me want to talk to him more and more with every new conversation we had.
“You have to accept who you are first before you can accept everyone else,” he said sagely. “That’s the trick. I know who I am, I know what I love and what I want from life.”
“Most people don’t,” I pointed out.
“Maybe not on a macro scale,” Diccon argued. “But you know that you want blueberry coffee, though who knows why.”
I laughed, feeling better. “I guess that makes sense,” I said.
“So what do you want?” Diccon asked, spreading his hands in a gesture like he had plans to draw me out of my shell.
“In life or in coffee?” I asked.
“In life,” he replied with a laugh.
I tilted my head and thought about it. “I don’t really know. I love architecture and designing beautiful buildings. I like creating spaces that people find useful.”
“That’s good,” Diccon said, like I hadn’t quite grasped what he meant. “But what do you want? What do you want to do with what you love?”
For some reason, his question hit me in an entirely different way than he probably intended. I looked at him, at the sunshine and encouragement in his expression, and all I could think was that I wanted to kiss him again.
I couldn’t come right out and say that, and I also couldn’t back down after he was taking time out of his work day to talk to me when he had every reason not to want to speak to me ever again, so I threw caution to the wind and said what I was thinking.
“I want to go out on a date with you.”
My stomach dropped as soon as the words were out. There I was, courting disaster again.
“I’d like that, too,” Diccon said, immediately blasting away all my expectations of horror with his beautiful smile. “I was going to ask you at some point, if I’m honest.”
“You were?” Hope and joy danced all over my insides, which was probably not a good idea when I had an entire day’s-worth of work sitting right in front of me.
“Yeah,” Diccon went on, leaning toward me with a flirty grin. “I mean, after that kiss, how could I not want to go back for more?”
My jaw dropped a little. How was it humanly possible that this amazing, adorable man and I were on the same page?
“Are you free tomorrow night?” Diccon asked. “I know it’s kind of short notice, but I’m free if you are.”
“I’m free, I’m free,” I said, heart beating so fast it made me dizzy. “I’d love to go out with you.”
“Great.” Diccon’s smile was luminous. And of course someone came into the café at just that moment to interrupt everything. Diccon glanced to the door, waved at the newcomer, and said, “I’ll be there in two seconds.”
“No problem,” the middle-aged woman said, walking up to the counter to study the menu.
Diccon stood, but his attention was still on me. “Give me your phone number and we’ll coordinate something for tomorrow night.”
I gave him my phone number and put his into my phone. I couldn’t believe I had his number at last. “I’m not too fancy, so whatever you want to do is fine with me,” I told him.
“We’ll come up with the best first date ever,” Diccon said as he backed away from the booth. “Although, you could consider last night to be our first date, really. Or maybe the first time you came in for coffee.”
I was more than fine with that.
As Diccon and I both returned to our work, I actually smiled. Maybe I wasn’t such a disaster after all. Maybe changing my usual plans had finally led to something good instead of trouble.