Honey

For a while, Frank was upset. Eliza hadn't really done anything wrong, it was a simple misunderstanding, but it was the fact that she'd known he wasn't ready for anything new that pissed Frank off. Business was slow, so Frank had spent a majority of the day sitting on the counter playing with his fingers. Eliza hadn't bothered with asking her friend to restock shelves. He was never very productive when his mind was going a mile a minute.

Finally, when the work day came to a close, Frank turned to Eliza and spoke his first words in the last three or four hours. "Did you know?" He asked.

Eliza cocked her head to the side. "Know what?"

"That he was going to ask me for coffee. Or on a date. Anything that may provoke a relationship. I know you mentioned it, but did you know for sure?"

Eliza sighed. "He never flat out told me, but I figured he would." Frank groaned, and Eliza cut him off before he could say anything more. "I had the best intentions. I figured a new guy would get your mind off of Josh. You've been hung up on that dick wad forever, Frank. I only wanted to help."

Frank nodded, not bothering with a counter argument. He had no argument, really. Eliza wanted to help, and while it wasn't exactly the way he'd planned on getting over Josh, it was a sweet gesture all the same. Eliza grinned and enveloped he friend into a hug.

"I"m so glad you aren't mad at me anymore. It sucked having to stock shelves without you."

Frank laughed and hugged her back. "I know. I could tell by the sour expression on your face."


When Frank had settled into his apartment, a reality television show of some sort playing on the TV his parents had let him keep, his cell phone rang. He glanced down at the caller ID, but didn't recognize the number. By the fourth ring, his curiosity had taken over and he decided to answer the call.

"Hello?" Frank answered an uncertain nature taking over his voice.

"Hey," came the voice from the other line. At first, Frank didn't recognize it. "It's Gerard."

Gerard. The guy from the store. The guy who wants to take him for coffee. Frank glanced down at the palm of his hand, but remembered he'd washed the number away when he'd gone to the bathroom. He found himself not knowing what to say, and was grateful when Gerard took the wheel and continued on with the conversation.

"Uh... I came by the store today and asked you for coffee?"

Frank guessed this Gerard guy was just as nervous as he was. Or maybe embarrassed because he thought Frank didn't remember him. Either way, the phone call was becoming increasingly more awkward by the second.

"Yeah," Frank said, clearing his throat. "I remember you. I just... I don't know."

Gerard chuckled, his aura of confidence returning to him. Perhaps Frank's silence had done some temporary damage to Gerard's ego. "I just wanted to make sure I didn't freak you out when I stopped by today. Eliza said she was going to tell you but... well, it didn't seem like she did."

Frank swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. His hands felt warm and clammy; he'd never gotten this nervous over a phone call. It felt... foreign.

"Yeah, she did. Or... she tried. I... it was this huge misunderstanding. I thought she was talking about this guy I used to date, but she was talking about you, so when you showed up I was kind of... I was surprised."

Gerard was silent for a moment making Frank think he'd said something wrong. He mentally slapped himself and continued on with what he was saying.

"Don't get me wrong. I wasn't disappointed or anything, I just wasn't expecting you to show up and ask me to coffee."

He heard Gerard shuffle around in the background and then came a response.

"Well, do you want to go? I don't want you to go out with me out of pity or anything. That isn't really how I like to do things. I just stopped by because I knew I'd be kicking myself in the head for weeks if I didn't."

Frank felt stupid. Or something worse than stupid. Sitting on the couch, he glanced over at the television and saw nice looking blond girl and a dark haired boy sitting at a table in some fancy restaurant. A date.

For some reason, Frank wanted a date as well.

"Yeah," he said. "Why wouldn't I want to go?"

He could hear the smile in Gerard's voice when he started talking locations and potential changes in the date and time. Frank simply went along with everything the dark haired man from the convenient store suggested because, in all reality, he was never good at planning.

Frank just wanted it be four o'clock on a Saturday at the Coffee Bean. The table closest to the window.