It Started in a Coffee Shop

Luckily I didn’t work the next day. I laid under my covers until at least three pm. Not necessarily sleeping, but laying there and thinking of the night before. And every so often, I cried. Evan was the only person I was interested in since I began attending school here in the fall and found out my boyfriend—well, ex-boyfriend now, I guess—cheated on me at his school.

Corey and I had dated since sophomore year of high school. He was my first everything. My first real relationship, my first kiss, the first person I had ever slept with. He was my first and my only.

We decided to go to different schools, 6 hours away. We had each gotten scholarships for how well we did on our SAT’s, but they were to different schools. He wanted me to go with him so bad, but I couldn’t afford it there and I didn’t want to take out more loans than I needed to.

So, on his first night there he got drunk with his new roommate and some other people from his dorm. He went out and ended up fucking some girl. On his first night.

I spent my first night going to bed crying because I missed him so much and Thanksgiving break seemed so far away.

All while he was getting wasted and screwing someone else.

I wondered if it was anything like how it happened with me and Evan. I wondered if he was just so drunk, but that girl didn’t care if it felt wrong. It probably didn’t even feel wrong to her at all. People my age tend to just fuck around. And I happened to not be like people my age.

I wasn’t into screwing a whole bunch of people. I was brought up thinking that sex was something that you shouldn’t do with just anyone. I thought that was a normal thought process; that other people felt that way, too, and when we were younger, it seemed like they did. But as we all got older, people started sleeping together and eventually not caring. And then there was me, who didn’t sleep with my boyfriend until we dated for a year and a half.

So until about three in the afternoon, I cried off and on, thinking of either Evan or Corey. At that point my head was hurting and I was getting nauseous and I had to get up and find something to do. I felt like shit and I was so miserable.

The coffee shop was literally right up the street from my apartment, not a far walk at all. I decided I needed some coffee for the first time since I started working there (coffee became less desirable the more I made it for other people), and that it also wouldn’t hurt to get one of those little pastries that we sell.

The air was so warm as I stepped outside. I felt a little more alive. Maybe I would just walk around the town aimlessly later.

I entered to see a slightly hungove (or maybe just tired?) Mel making orders while some older man I hadn’t worked with yet took orders.

“Baelie! How was last night?” she asked enthusiastically as I approached the counter. She thought Evan and I hooked up and she was happy for me.

“Uh, pretty shitty.” I placed my order and chatted with Mel after she handed me my things.

“Why, what happened?” She said in a quieter voice than normal.

“I don’t know, we were like making out. And then he tried to go too far and turned into a prick when I didn’t want it. It was fucking terrible.” I zoned out, focusing on some random point behind the counter. I could feel my eyes glaring, trying to burn holes into whatever point I was focused on. I felt like I might have been able to if I could just keep glaring a bit longer, but then Mel snapped me out of my trance by leaning across the counter and tapping at my shoulder. She pointed behind me to draw my attention to something I should see. And there, seated at one of the little tables, was Evan. Evan was in the fucking coffee shop, which had me rather irritated. He obviously knew I worked there. What if I was working that day? Did he think that I, in any way, shape, or form, wanted to see his face for at least a week? Maybe more. The fucking nerve.

“I’ll see you,” I said to Mel. I turned to storm out of the shop, to get to back to my apartment as fast as I could and lock myself in for the rest of night to watch funny movies to try to dull the anger flaring inside me. But Evan noticed me and stopped me at the door.

“Baelie, I need to talk to you! Please?” His eyes were pleading to me, but I wasn’t buying it.

“I’m pretty sure there’s nothing left to say after last night, so.” I made for the door again, but he quickly moved in front of me before I could.

“Is this really happening…”

“Ten minutes. Give me ten minutes, and if you don’t like what I have to say then I will leave you alone, forever, if that’s what you want.”

I glared at him, channeling whatever anger I could to get through to him. “Ten minutes. And that’s it.”

I followed him back to his table. He was silent at first. I watched him with my arms crossed while he ran his hand through his hair. He was jiggling his leg nervously and looking into his cup. Did he not realize I was serious about his ten-minutes offer?

It was silent for too long, and I felt the need to break the ice with a snide remark. “So, how’s your erection?” I said to him.

He then ran his hands down his face, leaned forward a little and looked at me with his deep, dark brown eyes. They were so captivating… But I had to stay focused on the conversation at hand.

“Look, Baelie, I… I’m just really sorry about last night. It wasn’t me, ok?”

“That’s it? That’s all you have to say? Jeez, Evan, that’s a little cliché, don’t you think? And it was you.
It was just drunk you. Which is still a part of you, just whenever you drink.”

“I know, I know. God, I know. I’ve been trying to cut back. Really, I’m not an alcoholic or anything, I was just drinking with friends, and I drank too much.”

“Then why was it such a problem with your last girlfriend that she dumped you? Are you really always that much of an ass when you’re intoxicated? I wouldn’t even drink when I’m with friends, if I were you.”

Anger erupted in his eyes. “That’s not even the whole fucking story, so don’t talk about what you don’t know. This has nothing to do with her. This is about me and you and I’m trying to apologize,” he said through clenched teeth.

I normally don’t bring up things like rumors when in an argument, because I want to be in control and make sure I only say what I know. But I was a little too emotional to not pull that out of my vault.

“Well. You’re not doing a very good job,” was the only response I could manage.

He let out a loud exhale and kind of smiled. “Wow. Someone is being extremely aggravating.” He said, chuckling a little. The kind of chuckle someone lets out when they’re too frustrated to try anymore and all they can do is laugh.

His dimples got me off guard. Actually, his smile in it’s entirety is what got me. How was I supposed to stay mad at a smile like that? So, I accidentally smiled back at him. Oh shit. That was it, I was done.

“Really? I know someone else who’s really aggravating, when they’re drunk. I think they should meet each other.” And that was it. Just like that. The fight was over. I was the most pissed off and miserable person about five minutes ago and now he had me smiling. I was forgiving him and he had won.

This was not the outcome I predicted. I predicted not being impressed by what he had to say (and really, I still wasn’t) and storming out with my original intentions before he stopped me.

“So. Would you give me a second chance? And I won’t get that drunk around you again, I promise.” He was back to pleading eyes. I rolled mine in response.

“Yes. You get a second change.” There was that smile again, slowly becoming my favorite thing on the planet. “So, what are you going to do with your second chance?”

“Uhhh…” he thought, glancing out the window. “Well, it’s a nice day. We could walk around.”

I tried not to get excited about the fact that I was thinking the same thing not long ago. “Uh, yeah, sounds good. I need the exercise anyway.”

“Pft, stop that,” he scoffed, standing up. I looked back at Mel who gave me a wave as I followed Evan outside.