Nothing to Lose

It was half past noon when Josh woke up the next day. He walked into the living room and saw that it was empty. Everyone must already have gotten back to Tom’s studio to get their pictures taken. He trudged into the kitchen slowly to look for the usual pot of coffee, but found it to be empty. “Damn it guys.” Josh muttered to himself as he ran his fingers through his unruly hair. It was then that a small smile began to form on his face as he remembered a small little shop that he could go to so he could get his daily caffeine fix.

After pulling on some pants over his boxers, changing his shirt and grabbing a beanie he was out the door and on his way to the small shop. When he got there, he was disappointed to find that the coffee shop was totally empty except for the same bright-eyed barista from the night before.

“Back again, I see?” She grinned widely, surprising Josh because she remembered him and also because she was so chipper for having been up so late the night before.

“As are you.” Josh yawned, “One coffee please. I have no idea how you work shifts like this.”

“I drink lots of coffee, obviously.” She started laughing to herself quietly as if she was in on some sort of joke that no one else was a part of, “Just take your seat and I will bring it to you shortly.”

Josh turned and walked over to the table he was at only hours before. He sat down and stared at the empty seat across from him, wondering what the girl was doing right now. He felt pretty stupid, assuming that this girl would be in here just because he was there. That was until a small, slender body slid in the booth seat across from him and unfolded the page of a George Orwell book.

“It’s common courtesy to at least ask if you can sit down at a table with a stranger. I could have been meeting someone you know.” Josh smirked repeating her words from the night before. He couldn’t help the butterflies that were fluttering in his stomach the moment he made eye contact with her.

“Josh, I told you yesterday that this is my table. Therefore, I do not need to ask if I may sit here.” She rolled her eyes, “Why are you even here? I’ve never seen you around this area before.”

“Well, I’m claiming this half of the table as my own.” Josh grinned triumphantly, “And I’m new in town as of recently. I just moved out here to do some work for the next few months.”

“Just for a few months?” She asked him curiously as she played with the worn edges of her book.

“Yeah, then I have to do a bit of travelling.” Josh said as he thought about their first official American tour coming up in a few months, “What about you? Are you from around here, El?” He smirked as he remembered the name that Margot had used the night before.

“It’s Eloise to anyone that I am not friends with, Joshua.” She rolled her eyes dismissively, “And yeah I’ve lived here my whole life.”

“What is it that locals do for fun around here, Eloise?” Josh asked as he stared at her. He was immediately mesmerized by everything the girl did. From the way she turned the pages of her book, to the way she licked her lips every few moments as if she was deep in thought about something important.

“Not too much, Joshua. We're quite boring if you ask me.” She clicked her tongue and shrugged, folding the page of her book and placing it in her bag, “Don’t you have anything better to do than to sit in a coffee shop all day?”

“Not particularly, no.” He chuckled as he leaned back in his seat and stretched his legs until they accidentally touched Eloise's feet to which she instinctively pulled away, “I’ve actually been ordered to take the day off, so I’ve got absolutely no agenda.”

“Are you going to answer that?” She eyed his phone that was lighting up on the table completely ignoring his statement. He looked down suddenly and sighed as he saw the name blink repeatedly on the screen. He bit his lip and contemplated answering it, but before he could say anything Eloise grunted and grabbed the phone.

“Somebody has got to answer it!” She huffed as she hit the green button on the screen before Josh could even analyze what was going on. He stared at her wide eyed as the puzzled look on her face turned into a frown.

“Ello?” She questioned before briefly pausing, “No, this is Eloise.” There was another slightly longer paused that made Josh’s heart beat faster, “No I am not some whore sleeping with your precious Joshua. If I was, I wouldn’t be stupid enough to answer the phone when another girl is calling in.” Josh examined Eloise’s face as she wrinkled her brow before laughing softly. She had a pleasant laugh, much unlike the feminine cackle he was used to hearing, “Alright, Hanna I’ll let him know. Cheers!” She smirked and hung up the phone before handing it back to Josh.

“Quite a bird you have there, Joshua.” She smirked, “She’s a real charmer.”

Josh groaned and shook his head, “Don’t even get me started.”

“But you love her, don’t you?” Eloise asked curiously as she leaned forward and put her elbows on the table, resting her head in her hands.

“I suppose I do, yeah.” Josh exhaled deeply and took a sip of his coffee that had just been placed on the table along with Eloise’s usual.

“Either you do or you don’t love her Joshua. It shouldn’t be a complicated answer to a simple question.” Eloise noted as she sipped on her tea. She took a moment to examine Josh for the first time. He was attractive for the most part, slightly on the chubby side but Eloise had never cared about weight too much. She noted that his haircut was slightly odd to her, she had never been a fan of the undercut look, but it worked for him somehow. She watched as he ran his fingers through his hair in a very frustrated manner and how he ground his teeth as he tried to find an appropriate way to respond to her.

“It’s not that simple when the girl you love cheats on you every time you’re out of town for more than a week.” He said without looking up at the girl sitting before him.

“Oh,” Was all she managed to say. She had to admit that she felt sort of bad, provoking both him and his girlfriend like that. It wasn’t her place to answer his phone, and he looked pretty upset to say the least.

“It doesn’t matter. We’re not together anymore anyway.” Josh sighed as he stood up and pulled on his coat. He suddenly wasn’t in the mood for the girl’s company, no matter how much he seemed to enjoy it. He wasn’t in the mood for anyone’s company now. He just wanted to be alone, “Lovely to meet you Eloise.” He smiled curtly before he hurried out of the shop leaving Eloise even more bewildered than she already was.

“A rather peculiar one he is.” Margot noted as she walked by to pick up his coffee mug, “Seems like your type of guy if you ask me.”

Eloise glared at her friend as he phone buzzed in her hand. She chewed on her bottom lip as she looked down at the text and frowned before she stood up and pulled her coat on just as Josh had moments before, “Not likely, Margot. Put the tea on my tab?”

“As always, dear.” Margot smiled sadly as the girl left the shop hastily. She had a feeling Josh was just what Eloise needed, even if the girl didn’t know it yet herself.