Come Around

Cassie got to the coffee shop about ten minutes early, figuring Alex wouldn't be there yet. He didn't come across as the type to arrive early for anything, so it wasn't a huge surprise when she didn't see him. She ordered a cup of coffee and took a seat at a table next to a window. It was looking like it would be a nice day. You know, your stereotypical southern California weather.

She had completely spaced out when Alex dropped into the seat across the table and leaned forward, resting his head on the table. The sound he made brought her back to reality. It was an unpleasant combination of a groan and a loud yawn.

Cassie looked at her watch, "It's ten fifteen," she said.

"Mmhmm," he mumbled into the table.

His clothes were a little wrinkled, like he had slept in them. He was wearing a gray knit beanie and his hair was sticking out in every direction. And he just sat there, head on the table, not moving.

"Are you hungover?" Cassie asked.

"Mmhmm," he mumbled again, still not looking up.

"Go get some coffee," she said and he mumbled something she couldn't understand. She sighed loudly, "This is your idea of starting over? You show up late and hungover. Great way to make an impression, Alex."

He slowly lifted his head off the table and looked at Cassie, squinting, "I suck," he said before dropping his head back on the table with a loud thud, "Ow," he mumbled.

"You really do. I'm leaving," Cassie said, pulling her purse off the back of the chair next to her as she stood up.

His head shot up off the table and he looked at her, "No!" he exclaimed, his eyes pleading along with his voice, "Cassie, please don't leave. I'm fine. Really. Not hungover. Just... tired."

"I'm not an idiot, you know."

He nodded, "I know," he paused, "Okay, I am hungover. I didn't mean to drink as much as I did last night. It just sort of happened that Zack talked me into a drinking game with these two really cute girls and I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear the rest of what happened."

"I really don't," Cassie said, looking toward the door, "I can use my imagination, not that I really want to in this case."

He laughed quietly, "But yeah, I'm fine, really. I can tell that you're not happy with me but I would really like it if you would stay, just for a few minutes. And if you're still mad, then you can leave without any argument from me."

She looked at him but didn't say anything. She didn't see any reason to give him another chance, as he had already pretty much ruined the one she was reluctant to give him in the first place. But something about the way he was looking at her made her slowly sink back into the chair, still holding onto her purse.

"Thank you," he said, smiling sleepily.

"Go get some coffee," she said.

"I hate coffee," he replied, leaning against the back of the chair.

Cassie raised an eyebrow, "Then why did you suggest we meet for coffee?"

"Because I noticed during the ill fated interview the other day that you seemed to really enjoy it. What were you drinking, anyway?"

"Black coffee," she replied.

"Gross."

She laughed, "This place has some of the best coffee I've ever had the joy of drinking and I would be doing it an injustice by contaminating it with cream or sugar or artificial flavors."

Alex stared at her like she had just grown another head, "That's seriously really gross to me," he said, "Are you sure you're twenty three and not forty three?"

She laughed, "Would you still want to get to know me if I was forty three?"

His eyes grew wide which only made Cassie laugh harder, "W-what are you saying?" he asked.

At that point, she was laughing too hard to say anything that would make sense, so she pulled her driver's license out of her purse and slid it across the table to him. His face relaxed as he examined it closely.

"You just had a birthday," he said and she nodded, "What'd you do?"

"I think I worked late," she said.

His jaw dropped, "You didn't celebrate?"

She shook her head, "Nope."

"Why not?"

"I don't know," she said, "I don't have tons of friends or anything and I don't really like big social gatherings. I haven't really celebrated my birthday since I turned sixteen."

"What about eighteen? Twenty one? Those are milestones. I partied so hard on my eighteenth. And twenty one will come soon enough and it will be the best night I won't remember," he said.

Cassie laughed, "I have no doubt about that. You must be thinking I'm pretty boring and antisocial," she said.

"Well," he said, "I wouldn't... Not.. I..." he sighed, "I didn't say that."

She smiled at him then looked down, into her coffee, smile fading. She unintentionally scrunched her forehead and blinked a few times.

"I didn't mean to offend you," he said.

"You didn't," Cassie said, still staring into her cup, "I was, um," she paused, trying to decide if she really wanted to open up about something so personal already to someone she barely knew. Alex stared at her intently, waiting for her to continue. Since she had already started, she quickly decided she should finish and drew in a deep breath, "I was pregnant on my twenty first birthday," she said quietly.

He continued staring at her, his gaze feeling like it would burn a hole in her forehead. Cassie's heart beat faster, harder. She could hear it in her ears. It wasn't that she was ashamed, not at all. It was just something she didn't flaunt.

"You have a kid?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No," she mumbled, looking up at him, "No, I don't. I miscarried, late term."

"That's pretty scary, I imagine," he said.

"It was," she said, "Not to mention quite painful, in many ways."

They were both quiet for a little while. It was one of those awkward silences where no one knows what to say next. But his gaze never left her.

"I'm sorry," he said finally.

"What are you sorry for?" she asked.

"That's not an experience anyone should ever have to go through."

A small smile crept onto her face, "Thank you," she said and took a drink of her coffee. It was getting cold. "I didn't mean to be a Debbie Downer right there. So, now that you know that about me, tell me something about you, Alex Gaskarth."

"Like what?" he asked.

She shrugged, "What do you want me to know about you?"

"I don't have anything like what you just told me."

"So? It doesn't have to be something like that. I don't usually share that right away. It's not my favorite subject, as I'm sure you could figure out."

He nodded, "I really don't know what you want to know," he said, his fingers getting tangled in his hair as he played with it.

"Anything. Come on."

"Alright," he said, quietly thinking for a minute, "Okay, how about this, I've never taken a girl home to meet my mom."

Cassie's eyebrows raised, "Why?"

"I don't know," he said, "I guess none of them seemed right. I didn't think my mom would hate them or anything. I just didn't want my mom to get her hopes up. I knew I wasn't that serious about any of them."

"Why not?" she asked and he shrugged, "How many of them were there?" she asked out of sheer curiosity, "I'm not going judge you," Cassie added when his forehead wrinkled and he lowered his eyes to the table, suddenly taking an interest in the wood.

"I've only had three actual girlfriends," he said, "But I hung out with a lot of girls. Hey, you wanna get out of here?" he asked, changing the subject abruptly.

"Are you sick of me already?" Cassie asked. In spite of herself, she had actually been enjoying the time they were spending together.

He laughed, "No. This conversation is getting too heavy," he said, finally handing her license back to her, "You look really cute in that picture, by the way."

Cassie made a face, "Not really. But what did you have in mind?" she asked.

"I don't know. Go for a walk. Find an arcade maybe? Waste away the rest of the morning playing video games."

"Alright," she said, standing up, "Let's go find some video games."