A New Day

"So far awaaaaaaaaaay!!! We wait for the daaayeeeeyaaaaay!!!!

The song blasted out of my alarm clock, jolting me awake. I scrambled to hit the snooze button to save my ears from the onslaught of sped up guitar and yelling. Luckily I have been training myself for years to wake up to through the fire and flames by dragon force so I was used to this routine. I know people always say don't make a song you like your alarm, but if the song is loud and obnoxious anyways you're forced to get up to turn it off.

I sat up in bed, cracked my neck and rubbed my eyes awake. My brain was on autopilot, standing up and walking into my bathroom, flicking on the light, turning the shower handle and waiting a few seconds. The first thing I consciously realized for the day was the hot water as it gave me an attack hug, startling but comforting. Pulled from my dream world, I lathered vanilla coconut soap all over my body. Then like the efficiency freak I am, I rinsed, brushed my teeth, and pissed all at the same time. Curse my engineer brain.

The goosebumps immediately set in once I drew the curtain back. My studio apartment had a huge window so it always felt cold in the early spring. Evaporative cooling from the water on my body also didn't help. Time to enter reality once again and hope to make it back to the end of the day.

I looked in the mirror as I dried my hair. At 6'1" I always had to lean down a bit to see myself in the bathroom designed for a much shorter population. My hair turned from dark to white blonde as I rubbed the water out. I liked my long hair but it did always leave a huge mess around my apartment. I gave my two huge slightly saggy lovelies a kiss on the nipple for good luck. Always good to start your day reminding yourself to have fun. I threw on my fluffy robe to give myself an inkling of modesty before sitting down at my kitchen table to get to work.

I liked being a chemical engineer but lately it's felt like my job has been drifting further and further from what I originally wanted to do. I love being in a lab running experiments, using my hands and flexing my brain. I love the detail and precision needed to control experiments. I love watching in real time my predictions come true. I love being completely frustrated my predictions were wrong and I need to find new answers. I used to wake up excited to go in and contribute, to see the fruits of my labor.

Unfortunately, that drive backfired. I began to get recognized for my efforts in the lab, the higher ups in the business liked my ideas and wanted to hear more from me. I was invited to more and more business meetings, giving presentations and talks on all my findings in the lab. Soon I was promoted and told to design more experiments. What I didn't realize is that designing experiments meant more paperwork and less actual experimenting.

Soon enough I was just a new desk jockey, my entire life revolved around Microsoft office. The one benefit was that I could now do my job mostly from home. So there I was, ready to start this Friday of writing reports and plans intermixed with meetings.

Before I knew it, two hours had gone by and it was 9am. I slapped my cheeks a bit to wake up. Words were starting to blend and longer sentences became gibberish. I really needed some coffee.

I stood up and cracked my neck and back. My terrible posture and workout habits were definitely going to catch up to me soon, but it was really hard to get motivation to maintain myself. I walked over to the counter and reached for the coffee grounds. I peeked in and saw it was just a teaspoon left.

"Damn," I muttered. I had been putting off going to the store. Driving twenty minutes out of my way then tiptoeing around the average idiot in the world for an hour then driving back home and needing to put everything away just to need to cook was too much. I do absolutely love to cook, it's just getting the ingredients that's the hard part.

I perked up as I remembered the new coffee shop that opened up on my block. When I walked past it the other day it smelled so good, like buttery pastry and hot espresso. Nothing got me going quite like smelling baked goods. Maybe this was a good way to break up my monotony and get new ideas for stuff to make. I jogged into my closet and put on some underwear for the first time today. I picked a warm blue frilly dress and packed my computer.

It felt like the first time in months since I had truly ventured outside of my apartment. I rushed down my buildings grimy stairs, my muscles just as eager as me to get some real motion in. The sun shone brightly but the air was still cold as I walked out, just how I liked it.

Since moving here for my job right out of college, I haven't made many friends. My coworkers were nice but all a bit older than me and have full families already. I have known for a long time that the traditional suburban life was not for me. I would much rather be the one living alone in the woods, doing whatever I wanted each day. Unfortunately money was a thing and while I was paid handsomely, the five years I've worked have not given me enough savings to quit society yet.

Making friends has always been a bit of a challenge for me. It didn't help that I'm a lesbian so my natural friend pool was also my fuck pool. Whenever I've befriended someone I always end up getting feelings and ruining it. Or whenever I've specifically dated women, they always seemed more interested in just sex not relationships. I guess that was the curse of being young, everyone myself included was bad at communicating or even knowing what we wanted in the first place. It all became too much of a hassle and I haven't truly tried meeting new people since shortly after I moved. I've had a few one night stands but mostly it was me, my toys, and my porn in a thruple every night.

I nearly walked completely by the coffee shop. Glancing in it seemed mostly empty, just the barista and a few customers in the cozy looking cafe. I opened the door to "Flik's beans" with a cute jingle above my head. It still smelled a bit like paint and construction but overwhelmingly I could smell the fresh baked breads. I stared at the huge case of breakfast items at the counter. All kinds of sandwiches, breads, and pastry glistened in front of me. You could practically see the butter dripping out of all the baked goods. I probably got a bit too entranced because the barista called me over.

"Need some help choosing?" They said.

"Uhhhhh...." was all I could mutter back, my eyes unable to leave the gorgeous display of perfect food. I loved some good food porn, cooking tv shows especially always got me envious. I wanted to try them all!

"Well if I could make a recommendation, our sandwich of the day is the cats meow." The barista said, waving to get me to turn my head.

I turned my eyes to him, "What's in it?" I wiped my mouth, maybe a bit worried that I was unconsciously drooling.

"It's black pepper bacon, a fried egg, gruyere cheese, and avocado all on a fresh potato roll. The owner thinks it's the greatest sandwich ever concocted." They said.

"I'll take it, and a large coffee with milk and vanilla," I responded. The warm treats in front of me beckoned me back but I held strong in my choice. "I will be back for you my sweets." I whispered. I already knew I would be a repeat customer.

I got my order and plopped into a booth in the corner to get work done. I started strong getting back into my report, furiously beating out a few paragraphs. I quickly ran out of steam however, my mind drifting away from the gibberish in front of me. Something about today was not allowing me to get my work done.

"Would you like some company?" I jumped a bit, the sweet voice to my side plucking me out of the ether.

"Huh?" I responded. Standing in front of me was a tall girl with bright orange hair. She held a cup with some kind of orange yellow fluid at her cocked hip. Her green lipstick accentuated her full smile, her light blue eyes beaming in to me.

"Would it be okay if I sat with you? You seem to have stalled out on whatever you're typing." She said. She had some audacity to just come up to a stranger and ask to sit with them. I almost reflexively said no but I caught myself. I did come outside of my apartment for a change of pace, meeting people could be nice.

"Oh uh sure I guess." I shifted my cords aside to make room for her on the other side of the wood booth. "Wait how did you know?" Her words finally clicked, she knew I was struggling with my report?

"Wanna know a secret?" She leaned in and whispered mischievously. I couldn't help but eye her up, she was wearing a forest green and navy blue lace sundress. The flower patterns in the lace were incredibly fine and beautiful. I could see her freckled skin peeking through the holes in the lace. At least the top was fitting very snugly, lifting and highlighting her deep cleavage and toned shoulders. Her warm breath tingled my face, she stared right at me smiling still as she definitely caught me ogling.

"You didn't answer me but sure." I huffed out, my personal space definitely felt a bit invaded but this girl was an expert at tearing my walls down. I wanted to invite her to me to be closer.

"I think you look hot when you bite your lip to think." She whispered and then leaned back to her seat. She bounced a bit as she giggled at her own admission.

"O-oh... well thanks I guess." I hadn't been complimented like that in years, I almost forgot what it was like to be called hot. I really was in some kind of mood today because I started to heat up at her comments. I must have blushed because she calmed down some. Maybe she felt a bit bad about leading in with the flirting so hard. She took a sip of her drink and talked again.

"You looked stumped and I wanted to see if I could help you out. I know I like to talk through my problems." She said. Normal people don't walk up to strangers and just offer assistance on computer work. I should have told her to mind her own business, the report I was working on was mildly confidential. No super secrets but definitely should let our competition see our private data.

Before I could realize what I was doing I just responded. "These numbers don't make any sense, I wish I could go into my lab and redo these experiments myself." I tended up, why was I just spilling my guts the this girl? Was she some kind of sexy sorceress who could make your true thoughts come out?

"Well why don't you?" She bluntly responded. She looked genuinely curious, like I answered my own question without even realizing it.

"That's really not my job anymore. I'm supposed to be the idea woman now, plus the testing is expensive and we can't afford to redo it." I tried to explain without getting too technical. I guess I could go in and do the tests but my coworkers might think I doubted their work. That was a whole office drama I wanted no part in.

"That is a pickle." She pouted. "Maybe you need to stop brute forcing a solution and think of new explanations." Again her words were so matter of fact, like she was peering into my thoughts before I even had them.

I was taken a bit aback. "Wait why am I telling you this? Who are you?" I finally found myself. This girl could be like a random corporate spy. Unlikely but still not crazy. Or maybe she was trying to get my personal info to steal my identity. She certainly had the charm to beguile it out of people.

"I'm Sarah, and I'm hoping to be your partner in crime for the day." Another cute giggle and smile. I could not stop admiring her, she wore confidence like birds of paradise doing a mating dance. I decided to bite, maybe this adventure was just what I needed.

"Hi Sarah I'm Claire. It's not often I get unsolicited advice in coffee shops." I tried to turn on my wit, I grew up in a very sarcastic house so it was more core talking style.

"Oh you look very capable," Sarah said, "but I've seen enough people hard at work to know when they're stumped." She placed her chin in her hand like she was a philosopher pondering. Maybe now I had her attention.

"Maybe, do you watch people often then?" Hoping she would get the naughty joke there but with plausible deniability if that was not what she's about.

"Definitely, being a librarian is the perfect job for watching people in their own little worlds. It's like peering into their lives in the most intimate way." I felt my own smile creeping in. I had missed this kind of banter. This kind of instant chemistry was hard to come by.

I laughed. "Sounds like you have people figured out then. Even if it is odd to watch people minding their own business." She still sat staring at me sipping her juice. The straw disappearing in her puckered green lips.

"Oh I know I'm odd, it's one of the things I like most about me." She responded, "I also like to make up lives for everyone in the library. It's like my own visual novel." Now that was a bit of a shock to me, most visual novels I know are of the sexy variety. Maybe that's just my hopelessly single mind in the gutter however.

"What life do you think I'm living when you were watching me then?" I was genuinely curious how I looked to her now. Maybe I was more of a mess than I thought, I certainly didn't put too much thought into my appearance before coming here.

I saw her glance me up and down. "You're certainly a professional, not an artist. Artists are always moving or are way messier than you. Definitely a STEM field not some random business person. STEM are the ones that stare at their screen while they look for trends or do a calculation. You also looked a bit lonely, like something was missing. I guess that was the second reason I wanted to come talk to you." I felt a bit exposed at how accurate she was but I tried to play it cool.

"And what was the first reason then? You certainly don't help every lonely looking woman you see." I shifted my body a bit, I wanted to show myself off a bit, hopefully she didn't notice my posture before.

"I already said, I think you're sexy. Unfortunately I am shallow like that." She smirked back at me. I was definitely enjoying her talk. Work might have well been on a different planet now that Sarah captured my attention.

"Thanks, I think you're hot too." I tried to say confidently. My flirting was definitely rusty, but I do know sometimes a quick honest answer is best.

She grinned back. "Good! Really glad my gaydar was in calibration today." We both laughed. I already felt myself getting attracted, this was honestly the most fun conversation I'd had in years. It reminded me of many nights in bars, challenging myself to go talk to the hottest girls there. Mostly I got pushed to do it by a friend but I did always like to push myself when I knew I had support to fall back on. Rarely did I feel as good going alone as I did now.

"You were also right by the way." I said back. "You pretty much nailed my life story." Either types of people really are obvious or she was just that astute.

"Like I said I've got practice. So what exactly do you do? Maybe I can help even more with your report or whatever." My brain went on autopilot exposing my resume, when you have to explain your job in every interview, business meeting, or random introduction it becomes a rehearsed presentation like any other.

"I'm a chemical engineer working at a research facility. Basically I'm trying to pioneer new materials reactions to sell to corporations who make random stuff. Everything from stronger polymers to cleaner plant fertilizer I've dipped my feet into. This current project is trying to find a new artificial sweetener but this most recent result is crazy. The compound reacted way differently than every other similar test." I hoped I didn't break her, that much technical phrasing usually made people not in the field black out.

"Oh cool! I just read a book on polymer 3D printing, I had no idea light could cause liquids to turn to solid! So what was so different about the new sweetener test?"

Sarah engaged so quickly I was impressed. "It seems like the sweetener acted like an enzyme, it could attach to cell DNA. It didn't seem to do anything but it still should not bond like that. I'm thinking the sample was contaminated."

"Why? Couldn't this be an exciting new result?" She said.

"I guess, seems unlikely though." It was normal to question strange results. Plenty of time someone does just an oops with the test and it needs to be done. Maybe she was on to something though.

"Just think about it." Sarah said. "I'm just here to help you challenge your own thoughts cause you looked stuck." I looked back at my computer and half finished report.

"Thanks you're right, I'll have to think about that for the next round of tests. Now though I'm dreading finishing this thing." I slumped back, the boredom of writing sneaking back into my brain. I was just starting to have a fun day.

"Do you really need to finish it today? Like what's your deadline?" She said back.

"I guess not," I pondered, "Even if someone does ask for it I can say I'm behind." I glanced back up at Sarah, her eyes glinted mischievously and a toothy grin appeared on her face.

"Well in that case I say you quit work and hang out with me! I know loads of stuff I'd like to do with you." Her voice became deep and seductive at the end. Naughty thoughts popped into my head of what she could possibly want to do with me. I certainly would love to get a better look at the full body underneath that colorful tight top.

"Mm yeah that sounds nice..." I shot out of my daydream of looking at her chest. I looked up to her laughing.

"I like that your eyes give away your intentions Claire. I take it you see something you like?" She grabbed her own breasts and shook them a bit. "Don't worry I really like what I see too." She sent me a wink and an air kiss. Her actions truly made me flush, no denying it anymore that I was aroused.

Still trapped in my stupor, she replied again, "First I want to know more about you as a person though." She stalled for a second to think. "What's your ideal beach day?"

"Ohh good question," I brought my fingers to my lips as I brooded my answer. "Do you always lead with that question?"

"Oh yeah, it tells you a lot about a person! Like are they super chill, always on the move, into sports, like food, like drinking, know how to swim, are a nudist..."

I cut her off, "has anyone admitted to being a nudist to you?"

"Only one, it seemed like an afterthought to her but I was very interested." She caught herself, "wait I asked you! You gotta answer now!" I laughed at her reaction.

"Fine, alright so my perfect beach day starts early but not crazy early. We find a spot close to the water and set up chairs and coolers. A nice sunscreen massage from a sexy bikini girl is appreciated but not necessary."

Sarah purred back to me, "ohh agreed, didn't think about that."

I continued on, "I always start with some sun time, I love reading books on the beach. Something about the crashing waves and warm gusts are perfect for getting lost in a book. Then when I start to get too warm I jump in the water. It's gotta be fresh water though, the ocean sucks."

"What why??" She said aghast, "I love the ocean!"

I tutted my finger, "Ah but you get all sticky from the salt and who knows when a jellyfish will sting you. No problems like that in the Great Lakes."

She leaned back huffing, "I guess, maybe I need to try it."

"You do!" I responded. I continued to spin the tale of my perfect beach day, Sarah hung on all my words and interjected approval or disgust where necessary. It felt like catching up with an old friend not talking to a complete stranger. I was more open with her by the second, I wanted to get to know everything she was up to too.

"Alright my turn for a question." I had this one brewing for a while and I had to know. "What's the sexiest craziest thing you've done on the job at the library?" I was blushing just asking her but I knew I wanted to. I was getting more and more turned on and this kind of sexy talk got me even hotter. My years of pent up lust was starting to take control of me.