Between Two Lungs

Mae headed over to B Cup Cafe, the local coffee shop where she spent most of her free time when she wasn't holed up in her apartment, her hands firmly rooted in her sweater pockets. It was a quaint place where the servers had befriended her and gave her discounts on drinks.

She pulled open the door and waved to the girl behind the counter. "Hey, Hannah."

"Em," she greeted with a nod. "Your usual?"

"Yes please," she nodded, pulling out a few dollars. "Large vanilla cappuccino with cinnamon on top."

Hannah made the drink and handed it to her, but waved off the cash. "This one's on the house."

"On the house?" Mae repeated. "What's the occasion?"

"Well, it might be because that man over there by the window told me to pay for whatever drink you ordered in advance," she grinned, pointing a finger to the front of the cafe where the tables were set up. Mae glanced over and saw Jordan sending her a small wave. She was surprised that she hadn't seen him when she walked in. She turned to Hannah and bit back a smile.

"Shut up, I know what you're thinking."

Hannah just shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Go on, enjoy your date."

"It's not a date," Mae corrected. "And when are you going to let me put some real graphics on the front window?"

"I'll talk to my boss about it," Hannah laughed. "Go on!"

Mae flipped her off as lovingly as she could before making her way to the table where Jordan was sitting. She sat across from him, her cup of coffee in her hands. "Hello, Mr. Staal."

"Hello, Miss...I don't know your last name," came his witty reply.

She chuckled. "It's Bennett."

"Well, Mae Bennett," Jordan said, taking a sip from his own cup of coffee. "It's nice to see you again."

"Likewise," she smiled, absentmindedly drumming her fingers along the side of the cup. "So, what brings you back to Alphabet City on your own? Did you end up getting a few days off?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "And I wanted to see you again." There was a bit of an awkward pause, and he quickly stammered, "I mean, I wanted to talk to you about the painting that I bought."

Mae felt a lump form in her throat and she nodded. "Oh. Yeah."

She brought both her hands under the table and started playing with the sleeve of her sweater, trying her best to avoid Jordan's eye contact. She didn't know if she was ready to tell him--he was basically a stranger to her. She hadn't even told Marc about Gabriel, and he had known her for nearly two years.

"His name is Gabriel," she began, her voice shaking slightly. "He..."

Jordan looked at her expectantly. "He...?"

Mae took in a deep breath. She couldn't do it. "He was a kid I used to babysit back when I lived in Ohio," she lied. "He died when he was seven. Car accident."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about that," Jordan mumbled. "When did it happen?"

"Three years ago." Another lie.

"Were the two of you close?"

Mae smiled bitterly and swallowed a gulp of her coffee. "Closer than you could imagine." Switching the subject, she straightened her posture and asked, "So, how long are you in the city for?"

"Three days," Jordan commented. "But I need a place to stay. I tried calling hotels and stuff, but even though I'm Jordan Staal, there aren't many vacancies in the area."

"You can stay at my apartment if you want," she shrugged. "I've got a pull-out sofa in the living room."

Jordan smiled. "I'd like that."

Mae nearly jumped a foot in the air as her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. "Sorry, I think I just got a text message," she apologized as she pulled out her phone. She groaned when she checked her inbox and saw that it was a message from her mother.

"Who is it?" Jordan asked curiously as he read the expression on her face.

"My mother," she grumbled. "She called me before when I was at Marc's apartment asking me to come home for Christmas. And now she's texting me, reminding me that my entire extended family is going to want to see me at the annual Christmas party because she told them all that I was going to be there."

"And you're planning on not going, I gather?"

"Fuck no," she declared, a little too loudly. Other patrons glared at her. "Sorry," she mumbled, placing her head in her hands. "I honestly think I have Tourette's or something."

"Everyone has bad thoughts," Jordan shrugged. "You're just more liberal about expressing them, I guess." He sipped his coffee and pushed the cup aside. "Is it really that big a deal for you to go back home for Christmas to be with your family? I love going back to Thunder Bay whenever I can to see my parents."

"It's different for you," Mae sighed. "Your parents are proud of who you are. You were born into a family that accepted you for who you are and loved you no matter what."

Jordan eyed her carefully. "Are you saying that your parents don't love you?"

"I'm saying that I'm the black sheep in my family," she corrected. "My dad's a doctor and my mom's a lawyer. Both of them have high profile careers, and they had high expectations of me to follow in either one of their footsteps. But when I was growing up, they were barely ever home. And I knew that it wasn't the life I wanted for myself, so I surrounded myself in art. It's what I love, but they don't understand that."

"I guess I never had to deal with something like that," Jordan agreed. "My entire family plays hockey. It's just something that was born within us." He sighed, looking out the window momentarily. "What made you choose New York?"

She shrugged. "Big city. Bright lights. The allure of it all, I guess," she said. "Columbus Ohio was the place I was born, but it was never my home. This," she smiled, looking around. "This is where I belong." She chuckled to herself and said, "Even if I am a starving artist."

Jordan grinned and stood up, towering over her. "Want to head back to your apartment now?" he asked. "I was thinking that maybe I could drop my stuff off."

"Sure," she agreed, picking up her quarter-finished coffee and tucking her chair back in. Looking back over at the counter, she waved and said, "Bye, Hannah!"

Jordan went to go get the door and when his back was turned, Hannah looked to Mae and gave her two thumbs up and mouthed the words, 'He's so hot!'

Mae just rolled her eyes and laughed to herself as Jordan held the door open for her. She thanked him and glanced back at Hannah again, who was doubled over on the counter laughing to herself.

"What was all that about?" Jordan asked, jerking a thumb in Hannah's direction as they made their way to his car.

"Oh, nothing," she said, climbing into the passenger's seat. "She's just being dumb."

Jordan just grinned and shook his head as he started the engine and drove the small distance from the cafe to Mae's apartment.