Lust.

It was dark out that morning. I should have known better than to believe that the rain would go away from Purshing so easily. A thin layer of mist smothered the ground and stuck to the tips of the blades of grass, causing my feet to make a light crunching sound as I made my way to the center of the town. There weren’t many people out so early and I berated Hawley in my mind for making me get up so early. I still felt the lingering effects of the gin that I had accidentally consumed the night before.

I was wearing a denim jacket with the sleeves cut out and a lavender-colored tank with small daisies sewn around the neckline and my hair was in a complete mess of curls. My jean shorts were ripped slightly and I had secured a thin belt around my waistline to keep them from settling lower on my hips. Casual summer attire served as a blessing in the humid, sticky weather.

The trees above the approaching gravel road sighed as the wind brushed my cheeks with its fragile fingertips. It felt unusually cool and caused my muscles to immediately tense. The delicate flowers around the wooden buildings nestled into the trees seemed to waver in the weak intensity of the gust. I involuntarily shivered as I reached a building that had a forest green sign over it that read Purshing Coffee Company in golden letters. The wind carried the faint scent of roasting coffee across the entrance of the store.

As I opened the door and stepped across the threshold, the cool air mixed with the scent of various coffees hit my nose stronger than it had outside. The store was comfortable feeling; the walls were made of stone and the lighting was dimmed. There were leather armchairs positioned in small groups along with tables closer to the door. I could see the people working behind the counter leisurely, pouring up coffees for the few that were in line. I spotted Hawley in one of the leather chairs with a styrofoam cup in hand.

“Hawley!” I called, making my way through the maze of tables. He looked up from the book he had been reading after taking a sip of coffee and his mouth spread across his face in a sideways grin. His auburn hair was somewhat a mess about his forehead and his red and brown plaid flannel shirt was buttoned wrong. “Don’t you look a mess this morning.”

“Good to see you too,” He smirked, looking down at himself. “I’ll have you know that I stayed up half the night trying to read up on some Purshing history. I also made an effort to get up extra early to do the same before you got here.”

“Exited, eh? Well, you’re shirt is buttoned wrong,” I laughed. His eyes went down to his shirt and he began to fix the buttons so they aligned perfectly as they should have been. “So, what kind of adventure are you taking me on today?”

“I was thinking we could get a start by going down to that spot where the old Indian cabin is and then we could head back up to the tarot store at the end of this street. The lady in there believes more crock than anyone in this town. Or at least, that’s what I’ve heard,” he mused, collecting his things and putting them into his leather satchel.

I informed him that I’d be getting a coffee to go before we made our way down to the old cabin and trekked over to the counter. A tall boy with sandy brown hair and curious green eyes stood behind the register- looking less enthused with his job than a kid at the dentist- twirling a pencil around his finger. He had on a royal blue sweater complimented with a salmon-colored tie. I guessed that he was older than eighteen but not a day over twenty. He looked at me with those curious eyes when I reached the register, as if to question seeing me before in this town.

“Can I get a toffee cappuccino, please?” I asked, taking out my wallet while subconsciously pressing my lips together. I could feel the stickiness of my coconut lip balm rub off onto the skin above my upper lip. Good thing it was clear.

“Of course you can. But can I ask you a question first?” He smiled a lop-sided smile, which was quite similar to Hawley’s own adorable grin. I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Shoot.”

“How long have you been in town, and have I seen you before?” He grinned wryly. Before I could answer, he turned around and quickly informed another girl behind the counter to go fetch my toffee cappuccino.

“I’ve been in town just for about a week now and no, I’ve never been to this coffee shop so I suppose not. Unless you go to Purshing High School,” I laughed.

“No, that’s my brother’s domain. I’m home schooled. My name’s Ellis, by the way,” He smiled. The girl had handed him my cappuccino in the midst of our conversation and he slid it to the edge of the counter. “That’ll be three dollars and fourty-five cents.”

“Thanks. I’m Ella,” I told him while I dug through the contents of my purse. I made sure to count out the exact change for the drink because I was getting annoyed at the large pile of coins threatening to spill from my wallet.

“Well, Ella, I guess I’ll be seeing you around?” His tone was amused. It was more of a statement than a question. I could see him looking over my shoulder at Hawley with a hint of laughter in those curious green eyes.

“Sure,” I stated, turning on my heel and heading for the door. Hawley shot me a sort of confused look before opening the door for me and looking back from Ellis to me. I supposed he was wondering what in the world we were talking about while I left him standing at the door by himself. When we got outside, I made sure to inform him that the boy’s name was Ellis, and that we were just making friendly conversation, which he just smiled at before he began dragging my down an isolated looking dirt road.