Five
“That’s incredible.” Penny said as soon as the words left my mouth.
Sadly, I had to speed through getting my coffee, barely able to offer Sean more than a “Hey, how are you?” as the coffee shop was running just as fast as I was.
After I got through my first client—unfortunately, she was waiting for me by the time I got to the salon—I sent an email back to the studio with a list of times I was available during the week. They emailed me back within a few hours, blocking out some time late Thursday morning.
Knowing that the interview was only a matter of days away spurred me on through my clients with ease through my last late appointment on Wednesday. I thought my nerves would be destroying me by the time of the interview. But somehow, they weren’t. Somehow, I was calm. I was excited.
And I was confident.
Damn, was I confident.
I had to admit, part of that came from Sean.
The moment I walked in the door Thursday morning, he started clapping, gathering the attention of everyone else.
Thankfully, there were only a handful of people spread throughout the café.
It was after the morning rush and Sean was the only one behind the counter.
“There she is!” He called out, holding his arms out wide.
I knew there was color filling my cheeks, but I was also smiling. It felt good to have someone else in my corner. Even if it was one of the last people I ever expected. I told my dad and Brie about the interview and they both had already texted me.
Part of me had expected Brie to be sad to hear that I wanted to change careers, but she surprised me with a “about time”.
Apparently, my misery had made company with everyone else too.
“So, what’ll it be today?” Sean asked, leaning his forearms on top of the coffee bean grinder and resting his chin on the tops of his hands.
“That’s a good question.” I narrowed my eyes at the menu despite not even needing to look at it. We both knew I was going to just get Sean to make me whatever he wanted to.
“Surprise?” Sean asked, already moving to make my drink.
“You know it.” I pulled out my wallet.
“No. Nope.” Sean adamantly shook his head.
“Sean.” I countered. He’d tried to give me a free drink every day since I got the interview. And I argued with him enough to get him to take my money. Probably just to shut me up.
“No, your interview is today. You have to let me give you this one.”
I gave in immediately, letting him win for once. “Thank you.”
“It’s the least I can do.” Sean grabbed the whipped cream dispenser, adding extra until it was nearly flooding coffee from the top.
Then, he grabbed the caramel and drizzled on just a touch before passing it over to me.
“Here, dark chocolate mocha with the caramel swirl.” He danced his finger above the cup, indicating the caramel. “Oh, and an extra shot of caffeine.”
For some reason, this elicited a light laugh from me. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.” I picked it up, taking a ginger sip from the top. The cream and the coffee melted together, coating my mouth in the heavenly caffeine. I snapped a lid on and started to turn to leave.
“Will you call me when it over and tell me about it?” Sean’s voice was different suddenly and I looked up to see him holding out a small piece of paper. When I looked at his face, I saw that his eyebrows were pulled together, as if nervous.
“The interview?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
“Yeah.” Sean shrugged. “I’m invested now.” He smiled, letting me see the Sean smile I’d grown too accustomed to.
“Yeah, I’ll do that.” I smiled, taking the paper from him. “Who knows, maybe I’ll even stop by for a refill.”
I turned again, giving him a small wave as I started to leave. When my hand hit the door handle, I heard him clear his throat. I looked over my shoulder and saw him standing with his hands clasped on the top of his head.
“By the way, you look great, Zette. You’re going to kill it. I know you are.” He was smiling ear to ear, and I swear, I saw him wink.
“Thank you.” Again, I felt the color rise to my cheeks and pushed out into the Seattle sun.
I had made sure to give myself enough time to walk to the studio.
I didn’t need to be sweating through my summer dress.
Or risking spilling my coffee all over myself.
When I got to the studio, I pulled out my little compact mirror, double checking that my hair hadn’t frizzed too much and that my mascara didn’t create racoon eyes.
After confirming that, I did the standard dress-smoothing motions and making sure my cleavage wasn’t too intense.
And that the back of my dress didn’t rise up too far—thank you family genes for the oversized-caboose.
And when I finally took my third deep breath, I grabbed the door handle and walked through as the faint sound of a chime came from the back, letting them know someone had walked in.
I started to take a look around, having more time this go around to take it all in. Last time, I’d been so nervous, I couldn’t even remember what color the walls were after I left.
They’re a nice dark blue.
And there are black leather benches creating a small waiting area. The walls are adorned with various family photos and portraits from the years.
As I was walking down, pausing to look at each one, I heard a voice come up behind me.
“Lizette?”
I spun around and came face to face—well, more like my face to her chest—with one of the main studio managers, Sarah. She was holding the camera in one hand, and I could see a trail of the camera cord weaving its way back into the room she emerged from.
She was much taller than me and far skinnier. She was in all black and her hair was jet black as well. From what I could see, she had a dainty tattoo of a flower wrapping around her wrist, but I hadn’t seen any others.
“Hi! Sarah, right?” I checked, praying to any god that I was right.
“Yes! Thanks for coming in. I’m finishing up shooting some test shots with some new backgrounds. Want to come join me? We can start the interview there if you’re alright with that.”
“Of course.” I smiled, following her into the studio room.
The moment I stepped in, it felt like I finally found home for the first time ever. I know knew what people meant when they said they breathed fresh air into their soul. I felt alive.
And I felt at peace.
“This place already suits you, Lizette.”
“Uh, Zette.” I blurted. “I mean, you can call me Zette, but Lizette works too.” I smiled, hoping I would make up for coming across as high maintenance.
“I love that. It fits you.” Sarah scrunched her nose, and waved her free hand around, indicating all of me.
“Thank you.” I fought the urge to curtsey—really, why was that my instinct?
From there, Sarah worked her way around the room. She ran through everything and where it belonged, what it was for, how often it was used. As we went through, she would interject some questions here and there. It didn’t feel like an interview so much as just a conversation between semi-strangers.
Then, she handed the camera to me.
“Try it.” Sarah nodded towards the backdrop and set she’d just finished setting up.
Nervously, I wrapped my hands around the camera. But the moment my index finger found the shutter button, I felt the elation spread through me.
I pulled the camera up, letting the viewfinder become my eyes.
I centered my camera, getting the precise object I wanted in perfect focus.
Then I just began clicking, each time shifting slightly.
After I took a few, I started to hit the review button on the camera but then remembered it was set up to auto-feed into the computer.
I turned my head, catching sight of Sarah as I looked at the screen.
She was standing there, arms crossed and mouth slightly open. When she turned to look at me, she uttered one question:
“When can you start?”
“I got the job!” I belted out the moment my right foot made clearance into the coffee shop. I threw my hands up, looking for Sean, who was already bounding around the counter and nearly running at me.
“I knew you would!” When he made it to me, I thought he was going to hug me, but he didn’t stop there. He somehow managed to pick me up and spin me around once before setting me back down.
If my heart wasn’t beating out of my chest before, it would be now. But I wouldn’t let my body fears cloud over this moment.
I got the job.
I did that.
I did.
When Sean set me down, I leaned into him to find stability. Something came over me and I wrapped my hands around is biceps. I felt his muscles flex as he slid his hands from the sides of my ribcage down to my hips, before sliding to the small of my back and holding me closer.
I finally lifted my eyes to meet his eyes. He had the slightest smile tugging at the corner of his lips and his eyes seemed to have grown darker.
My heart was racing, and it felt like each second lasted forever. I felt my skin tingle as he dragged his left hand around to my hip and brought it up until he finally caressed my chin with his thumb. His fingers brushed my cheek lightly and it felt like fireworks.
Every thought in my mind left, leaving only his eyes piercing into mine. He leaned forward and I let my eyes close as I felt his lips connect with mine. I could feel how tentative he was, like he was waiting for me to continue; to give him permission.
That was when I let everything else go. I let myself lean fully into the moment and get what I’ve been wanting for too long now.
I parted my lips, inviting him in, deepening the kiss.
We were both pulling at each other, hungrily and afraid to let go.
I curled my hands, gripping his shirt, desperate for him to keep going.
I could tell he didn’t want to stop either but slowly, the kiss came to a stop. We were both breathing heavily, and I kept my eyes closed, relishing the moment.