Status: First story! Hope you enjoy :)
Sanctuary
"Blurred Lines"
“It’s not that hard,” Taryn said, motioning to the chalkboard menu above their heads. “Just say what you want and what size. And then tell them your name.”
“Where’s the…normal coffee?” Matt said with a smirk, scanning the Starbucks menu above his head.
“You invited me on a coffee date and you’re just going to get straight black coffee?” Taryn scoffed, crossing her arms.
“Okay, fine. How about a…vanilla bean frappucino?”
“A girly drink. Nice,” she teased. “Also, that has no coffee.”
“You suck,” he said, nudging her shoulder as they inched forward in line. The dimly lit Starbucks was packed with students cramming for finals and downing triple-shot mochas. Taryn inhaled the strong scent, turning back to face him.
“But this is why I don’t do Starbucks,” he groaned as Taryn stepped up to the register.
“Can I get a…grande Iced Mocha Latte please?” Taryn said to the girl taking her order.
“Can you make that two? And a blueberry scone, please,” Matt said, sidling up next to Taryn. He held out a twenty-dollar bill to the girl.
“Sure. Names?” she said, holding up a plastic cup and a black sharpie.
“Matt. And Taryn,” he said as she scribbled both names on the cups.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Taryn said as they headed for an empty table to wait for their drinks.
“And what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t?” he scoffed, holding out a chair for her.
“Matt,” she said, cocking her head at him as she sat down. “It’s just me. You don’t have to be that way.”
“Hey, you agreed to this. I don’t care how informal this place is.”
“Well, thank you,” Taryn said. “I really do appreciate it.” She neglected to thank him for not simply wanting to fuck her at the end of the night. A little chivalry went a long way, especially with recent events.
“Matt!” one of the baristas called. He stood up, heading for the counter to grab his drink. Taryn followed, soon after the sound of her own name.
“Um, I don’t think that’s yours,” Matt said jokingly. He motioned to her cup, where messy handwriting read “Tarin”. “Seriously. Someone’s going to be pretty angry with you for taking their drink.”
“Shut up,” Taryn laughed. “They never get it right here. But it’s not worth it anyway.”
“So tell me, what is your fascination with this place, then?” he said, resuming his place opposite her at their table.
“I don’t know. It’s cozy.”
“This is your definition of cozy?” he said in disbelief, looking around at the hustle of all the students around him.
“Must you be so goddamn argumentative?” she joked, tearing off a piece of his scone and popping it in her own mouth. “Yes, it’s cozy. Maybe not now, but I like the atmosphere anyway.”
“Girls are weird,” he shrugged. She shook her head, the déjà vu of his statement almost overwhelming.
“So it’s your turn,” she said, leaning in. “Why did you ask me here?”
“Well, don’t you have class soon?”
“Yeah? So?”
“So, you can’t eat breakfast alone!” She laughed, his sense of humor completely refreshing. She was at ease with him. She didn’t feel the need to impress him, and she liked that.
“I just can’t believe you braved Starbucks for me.”
“Consider yourself lucky, Miss DeMarco. I wouldn’t do this for just anyone.”
“Oh, I am. No worries,” she said, flashing her most polite smile. His leg brushed up against hers and she felt her cheeks blush.
He studied her face for a moment before looking down at his cell phone. “Shit. I hate to cut this short, but I believe I misjudged how long we would be standing in line.”
"I didn't even touch my coffee yet!" She batted her eyelashes at him, curling her lips up in what she hoped was a flirty smile. “I don’t have to go, you know. It’s just a lecture.”
“Nope,” he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet. He bent down, lifting her backpack and holding it out to her. “I will not be a bad influence on you.”
“What a guy,” she said, she laughed, sliding her backpack onto her shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her into a close hug. She held his head to her chest and inhaled his crisp cologne. He planted a quick kiss on the top of her head, taking her by surprise. It was sweet, and she found her chest swelling with giddiness.
“Have a fun lecture,” he joked as he pulled away from her. “Text me later if you want.”
“Will do,” she said, heading for the opposite door. “Thanks again for this. It was fun.” He held up his cup in acknowledgement and returned her smile as she headed for the door. She continued on, trying to hide a cheeky grin as she kept her eyes on her feet. She didn’t know what that coffee date had just implied, but she found her feelings for him growing. He was a sweetheart, and although he wasn’t like any of her guy friends thus far, she found herself drawn to that. Maybe, just maybe, he could help her out of this rut.
***
A few nights later, she sat with Shane in Radnor’s fourth-floor lobby, attempting to last-minute cram for her Ethics final. She still had about a week left until the exam, but knowing how she and Shane normally performed on Ethics-related assignments, she figured they needed all the study time they could get. However, it had become clear that after one too many interruptions by just about everyone on her floor, they weren’t going to get much more done.
“We’ve been here for almost three hours,” Shane said, rubbing his tired face and tilting his head to look at her. “If we don’t know it now, we aren’t going to.”
“True,” Taryn laughed. “I don’t think I can focus on anything anymore.”
Shane’s phone buzzed with a text and he paused as he answered it. She picked at her thumbnail, biting her lip awkwardly as she waited for him to finish.
He sighed, tossing his phone down on the table and shaking his head as he looked at his lap.
“You okay…?” Taryn said quietly. She looked down at his phone.
“Yeah…yeah,” he said slowly. He picked up his phone, toying with it as he paused again. “It’s just…this girl.”
Her stomach flipped, that familiar and hated feeling of jealousy rising in her throat again. “Is she angry with you?”
“Oh, God no,” he said quickly. He stretched backwards, his baseball tee rising up and revealing the waistband of his plaid boxers. She averted her eyes, trying to focus on what he was saying. “Her name’s Kylie. She’s just…this girl who works at the snack shack during our games.”
Taryn nodded, trying to keep quiet as he found the words to elaborate.
“I’ve been-” he started, pausing as Alex began striding through the lobby on his way to the men’s room.
“Oh, hey guys,” he said, smirking at Taryn as he walked by. Taryn raised an eyebrow at him, trying to warn him to keep quiet. He shook his head, scoffing to himself as he disappeared again. She pursed her lips, looking back down at the table. He was getting bored with her, too.
“So…you’ve been…” Taryn prompted Shane.
“Oh, I’ve just been…you know, talking to her at games and stuff, and we exchanged numbers and things, but I can’t figure out if she’s interested or not. I can tell she’s into me and I know she’s single but she’s fucking gorgeous so I’m sure she has loads of guys trying to date her…I just don’t know.”
“Wow,” Taryn said, knocking her knee against his underneath the table. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this insecure.” She tried to ignore the little voice in her head that questioned him. Why he had never tried to get to know her like that. Why he had never assumed that he wouldn’t have a shot with her. Of course he didn’t. She was no Kylie. He knew he could have her anytime he wanted. She was easy.
He sighed, running his fingers through his hair and letting out another sigh.
“I’m just kidding,” she said. “I’m sure she’s amazing. Have you hung out with her outside of the shack yet?”
“I mean, not really. She came out with us one time, but I could tell she was bored.”
“I’m sure she does like you,” she said reassuringly. “If she’s as gorgeous and spectacular as you say she is, trust me. She doesn’t waste time on boys she doesn’t like.”
“Who’s the girl?” Alex said, sliding suddenly into the seat opposite Taryn. She jumped. She hadn’t even seen him return from the men’s room.
“A friend,” Shane said, trying to act nonchalant.
“And you can’t tell if she likes you,” Alex said knowingly. “Kelly’s the same way, man.”
“Kelly…?”
“She works in this building. Blond hair, always working the front desk…” Alex said. Taryn looked down at her hands, biting her tongue.
“Oh, I’ve seen her. She’s real cute. Nice one, dude,” Shane said, exchanging a quick handshake with Alex. Taryn’s stomach flipped again. She felt sick.
“She’ll come around,” Alex said, pushing himself to his feet and turning for his room. “Just don’t push it. Girls like it when you’re their friends first.”
“Because you’re such an expert on girls, yeah?” Taryn said, smirking up at him.
“You don’t want to go there, DeMarco,” he fought back, turning his back on her.
“Asshole,” she muttered, turning her attention back to Shane as Alex left again. “Anyway, so you like her a lot.”
“Yeah. And what’s funny is that we were actually pretty close in high school. Before I made the varsity baseball team.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing huge. I actually dated one of her good friends and it just made things awkward. I think there was always something between us, but we just kind of denied it all the time.”
“So there’s no question!” Taryn said. “It just wasn’t your time back then! This is the world saying that you’re meant to reconnect!”
“I don’t know…I really don’t want to mess this up.”
“Trust me, she probably likes you just as much. She’s probably actually thinking the same things you are.”
“You think?” he asked skeptically as he answered another text.
“Yeah. Just go for it,” Taryn said against her will. As much as she hated to admit, she and Shane were done…whatever it was they had begun doing.
“Well, thank you,” he said, flashing her a small smile. “You’re a sweetheart.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” she said shyly.
“Well, you know…with everything…” he started. “Just…thanks.”
“Where’s the…normal coffee?” Matt said with a smirk, scanning the Starbucks menu above his head.
“You invited me on a coffee date and you’re just going to get straight black coffee?” Taryn scoffed, crossing her arms.
“Okay, fine. How about a…vanilla bean frappucino?”
“A girly drink. Nice,” she teased. “Also, that has no coffee.”
“You suck,” he said, nudging her shoulder as they inched forward in line. The dimly lit Starbucks was packed with students cramming for finals and downing triple-shot mochas. Taryn inhaled the strong scent, turning back to face him.
“But this is why I don’t do Starbucks,” he groaned as Taryn stepped up to the register.
“Can I get a…grande Iced Mocha Latte please?” Taryn said to the girl taking her order.
“Can you make that two? And a blueberry scone, please,” Matt said, sidling up next to Taryn. He held out a twenty-dollar bill to the girl.
“Sure. Names?” she said, holding up a plastic cup and a black sharpie.
“Matt. And Taryn,” he said as she scribbled both names on the cups.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Taryn said as they headed for an empty table to wait for their drinks.
“And what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t?” he scoffed, holding out a chair for her.
“Matt,” she said, cocking her head at him as she sat down. “It’s just me. You don’t have to be that way.”
“Hey, you agreed to this. I don’t care how informal this place is.”
“Well, thank you,” Taryn said. “I really do appreciate it.” She neglected to thank him for not simply wanting to fuck her at the end of the night. A little chivalry went a long way, especially with recent events.
“Matt!” one of the baristas called. He stood up, heading for the counter to grab his drink. Taryn followed, soon after the sound of her own name.
“Um, I don’t think that’s yours,” Matt said jokingly. He motioned to her cup, where messy handwriting read “Tarin”. “Seriously. Someone’s going to be pretty angry with you for taking their drink.”
“Shut up,” Taryn laughed. “They never get it right here. But it’s not worth it anyway.”
“So tell me, what is your fascination with this place, then?” he said, resuming his place opposite her at their table.
“I don’t know. It’s cozy.”
“This is your definition of cozy?” he said in disbelief, looking around at the hustle of all the students around him.
“Must you be so goddamn argumentative?” she joked, tearing off a piece of his scone and popping it in her own mouth. “Yes, it’s cozy. Maybe not now, but I like the atmosphere anyway.”
“Girls are weird,” he shrugged. She shook her head, the déjà vu of his statement almost overwhelming.
“So it’s your turn,” she said, leaning in. “Why did you ask me here?”
“Well, don’t you have class soon?”
“Yeah? So?”
“So, you can’t eat breakfast alone!” She laughed, his sense of humor completely refreshing. She was at ease with him. She didn’t feel the need to impress him, and she liked that.
“I just can’t believe you braved Starbucks for me.”
“Consider yourself lucky, Miss DeMarco. I wouldn’t do this for just anyone.”
“Oh, I am. No worries,” she said, flashing her most polite smile. His leg brushed up against hers and she felt her cheeks blush.
He studied her face for a moment before looking down at his cell phone. “Shit. I hate to cut this short, but I believe I misjudged how long we would be standing in line.”
"I didn't even touch my coffee yet!" She batted her eyelashes at him, curling her lips up in what she hoped was a flirty smile. “I don’t have to go, you know. It’s just a lecture.”
“Nope,” he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet. He bent down, lifting her backpack and holding it out to her. “I will not be a bad influence on you.”
“What a guy,” she said, she laughed, sliding her backpack onto her shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her into a close hug. She held his head to her chest and inhaled his crisp cologne. He planted a quick kiss on the top of her head, taking her by surprise. It was sweet, and she found her chest swelling with giddiness.
“Have a fun lecture,” he joked as he pulled away from her. “Text me later if you want.”
“Will do,” she said, heading for the opposite door. “Thanks again for this. It was fun.” He held up his cup in acknowledgement and returned her smile as she headed for the door. She continued on, trying to hide a cheeky grin as she kept her eyes on her feet. She didn’t know what that coffee date had just implied, but she found her feelings for him growing. He was a sweetheart, and although he wasn’t like any of her guy friends thus far, she found herself drawn to that. Maybe, just maybe, he could help her out of this rut.
***
A few nights later, she sat with Shane in Radnor’s fourth-floor lobby, attempting to last-minute cram for her Ethics final. She still had about a week left until the exam, but knowing how she and Shane normally performed on Ethics-related assignments, she figured they needed all the study time they could get. However, it had become clear that after one too many interruptions by just about everyone on her floor, they weren’t going to get much more done.
“We’ve been here for almost three hours,” Shane said, rubbing his tired face and tilting his head to look at her. “If we don’t know it now, we aren’t going to.”
“True,” Taryn laughed. “I don’t think I can focus on anything anymore.”
Shane’s phone buzzed with a text and he paused as he answered it. She picked at her thumbnail, biting her lip awkwardly as she waited for him to finish.
He sighed, tossing his phone down on the table and shaking his head as he looked at his lap.
“You okay…?” Taryn said quietly. She looked down at his phone.
“Yeah…yeah,” he said slowly. He picked up his phone, toying with it as he paused again. “It’s just…this girl.”
Her stomach flipped, that familiar and hated feeling of jealousy rising in her throat again. “Is she angry with you?”
“Oh, God no,” he said quickly. He stretched backwards, his baseball tee rising up and revealing the waistband of his plaid boxers. She averted her eyes, trying to focus on what he was saying. “Her name’s Kylie. She’s just…this girl who works at the snack shack during our games.”
Taryn nodded, trying to keep quiet as he found the words to elaborate.
“I’ve been-” he started, pausing as Alex began striding through the lobby on his way to the men’s room.
“Oh, hey guys,” he said, smirking at Taryn as he walked by. Taryn raised an eyebrow at him, trying to warn him to keep quiet. He shook his head, scoffing to himself as he disappeared again. She pursed her lips, looking back down at the table. He was getting bored with her, too.
“So…you’ve been…” Taryn prompted Shane.
“Oh, I’ve just been…you know, talking to her at games and stuff, and we exchanged numbers and things, but I can’t figure out if she’s interested or not. I can tell she’s into me and I know she’s single but she’s fucking gorgeous so I’m sure she has loads of guys trying to date her…I just don’t know.”
“Wow,” Taryn said, knocking her knee against his underneath the table. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this insecure.” She tried to ignore the little voice in her head that questioned him. Why he had never tried to get to know her like that. Why he had never assumed that he wouldn’t have a shot with her. Of course he didn’t. She was no Kylie. He knew he could have her anytime he wanted. She was easy.
He sighed, running his fingers through his hair and letting out another sigh.
“I’m just kidding,” she said. “I’m sure she’s amazing. Have you hung out with her outside of the shack yet?”
“I mean, not really. She came out with us one time, but I could tell she was bored.”
“I’m sure she does like you,” she said reassuringly. “If she’s as gorgeous and spectacular as you say she is, trust me. She doesn’t waste time on boys she doesn’t like.”
“Who’s the girl?” Alex said, sliding suddenly into the seat opposite Taryn. She jumped. She hadn’t even seen him return from the men’s room.
“A friend,” Shane said, trying to act nonchalant.
“And you can’t tell if she likes you,” Alex said knowingly. “Kelly’s the same way, man.”
“Kelly…?”
“She works in this building. Blond hair, always working the front desk…” Alex said. Taryn looked down at her hands, biting her tongue.
“Oh, I’ve seen her. She’s real cute. Nice one, dude,” Shane said, exchanging a quick handshake with Alex. Taryn’s stomach flipped again. She felt sick.
“She’ll come around,” Alex said, pushing himself to his feet and turning for his room. “Just don’t push it. Girls like it when you’re their friends first.”
“Because you’re such an expert on girls, yeah?” Taryn said, smirking up at him.
“You don’t want to go there, DeMarco,” he fought back, turning his back on her.
“Asshole,” she muttered, turning her attention back to Shane as Alex left again. “Anyway, so you like her a lot.”
“Yeah. And what’s funny is that we were actually pretty close in high school. Before I made the varsity baseball team.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing huge. I actually dated one of her good friends and it just made things awkward. I think there was always something between us, but we just kind of denied it all the time.”
“So there’s no question!” Taryn said. “It just wasn’t your time back then! This is the world saying that you’re meant to reconnect!”
“I don’t know…I really don’t want to mess this up.”
“Trust me, she probably likes you just as much. She’s probably actually thinking the same things you are.”
“You think?” he asked skeptically as he answered another text.
“Yeah. Just go for it,” Taryn said against her will. As much as she hated to admit, she and Shane were done…whatever it was they had begun doing.
“Well, thank you,” he said, flashing her a small smile. “You’re a sweetheart.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” she said shyly.
“Well, you know…with everything…” he started. “Just…thanks.”
♠ ♠ ♠
Chapter 28!Please feel free to comment, recommend, and subscribe! A huge thanks to those that already have! :)
Song: 'Blurred Lines' by Robin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell