Together, Forever! Ch. 04

The next morning was a free one for Victoria. She didn't have an appointment until 1:00 in the afternoon, so she had the morning to pursue her other dream. Thanks to Tom she knew of a coffee shop Colin liked to frequent, so she packed up her laptop and headed out the door.

When she arrived at the coffee shop, she quickly realized why Colin liked it so much. It had a very cozy atmosphere and it didn't seem to matter who you were or, on the other hand, who you weren't. People were there to soak up the atmosphere and reflect. Victoria found a spot close to the door but in plain view so if Colin did come in, he couldn't help but see her. Her table was a small one compared to the two plush upright armchairs at it. The table was clear of any clutter so she placed her laptop on the table and chose the chair facing the door, hoping he'd recognize her face if he chose that day to drop in. A waitress came over after a while. "Good morning. Welcome to Cathy's Coffee. What can I get for you?" Victoria looked up from her work into a smiling face. The waitress was an older woman with brown hair. A touch of gray was at her temples.

Victoria smiled warmly back up at her. "I think I'll have a Café Latte with hazelnut."

"Do you want a tall or grande?"

Victoria quickly glanced up at the board to how large a tall was. Just as she suspected, it was large enough and ordered that. As the waitress walked back to the counter, Victoria quickly glanced back up to the door, wistfully hoping he'd walk through it. After a moment, she got to work, intent on getting some work done and resolved that she probably wouldn't be lucky enough for Colin to come into this particular place today.

Sometimes fate has a way of lending you a hand when you think it's impossible to accomplish anything on your own. Halfway through the morning, Victoria was well on her way to finishing a story she had due in a couple of weeks, when he waltzed in. To tell the truth, she was completely caught up in her work and didn't see him enter.

"Excuse me, miss. Here you go." The waitress was bringing her second cup of Café Latte along with another mug.

As she began to walk away from the table, Victoria touched her lightly on the arm. "Ma'am? I think you've made a mistake." She turned back around to look at her. Looking at the other cup of coffee, Victoria added, "I'm alone."

"I'm sorry, but I was told this other order was also at this table. There must have been some mix-up. I apologize for the inconvenience." She took the other cup of coffee away and Victoria followed her with her eyes back to the counter and that's when she saw him, standing beside the bar with a sly grin on his face. She blushed quickly, knowing her face must have registered the shock and embarrassment she felt at not paying attention to the door. What if he had entered and left without her even knowing it?

She watched him saunter over to where she sat, intercepting the waitress and retrieving his cup of coffee. "May I join you?" She wasn't about to refuse but she did a real good job of playing it cool.

"Sure," she said nonchalantly, waving a hand towards the empty armchair. She looked back at her laptop, adding a last thought before turning her attention to him. She wasn't about to let the fact out that she was here looking for him.

"I hope I'm not intruding," he said, watching her for a quiet moment. She looked up at him and smiled, shaking her head. "I wasn't sure if you remembered me from the other night ... at the club?"

She sipped her coffee and watched him. "I remember."

He watched her as she tried to continue working but she found it very difficult to concentrate on her work with him sitting just inches away. "I should apologize to you," he added.

Without looking up, she asked, "And why's that?"

"I didn't call you and I'm sorry."

She stopped her work for a moment, looked up at him quickly and said, "Don't apologize." Then looking back at her laptop added, "I didn't expect you to." Although, in her gut, she knew it was a lie. She not only expected him to, she had hoped for it and prayed for it; devastated when he didn't.

"I usually do what I say and I didn't." He waited for a moment, expecting her to look up from her laptop. When she didn't he continued anyway. "I had a late meeting with my lawyer. We're trying to close on a house that I'm buying." He watched her as she looked up at him and sat back in the chair, wrapping her hands around the mug to keep them from shaking. "I had every intention of calling, I swear."

She gently shrugged her small shoulders. "You must stay very busy, especially now that your movie has been heralded as being the top grossing movie ever. That's quite an accomplishment." He smiled sheepishly as she continued. "I heard that it's already brought in half a billion dollars. That's quite a lot of money in a little bit of time. I mean, it's only been out since November." She took another sip of her coffee, watching him over the rim of her mug. "Congratulations."

He laughed as he leaned forward in his chair. "Thanks." He eyes her for a moment and then asked suddenly, "How about you? Are you an actress?"

Victoria almost spit out her coffee. Laughing, she reached for a napkin to wipe her mouth and looked him, a smile still in her eyes. "No!" Then after a moment added, "Although, after thinking about it, in order to be a good writer I guess there is some acting involved." She glanced out the window as she said, "I'm also a first grade teacher so I have to be able to entertain and educate at the same time."

By the time they had emptied their coffee mugs twice, they had exchanged quite a bit of information about one another and Victoria was surprised to see he was definitely interested in her. "You know," he said, leaning forward to look at her evenly, "I'm going out to Millennium again this evening and I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me?"

The waitress suddenly appeared at their table. "Would you like another refill?" Victoria shook her head no.

Colin looked up at her. "Just the check." Looking back at Victoria, he asked, "So?"

"Millennium?" She raised her eyebrows at him and then remembered that it was the name of the club where they had met just two days ago. "Oh, now I remember." She looked at him squarely, trying to play it cool. "I don't know Colin ..." She smiled at him as she closed her laptop and wiped her mouth. "I have a lot of work to get done."

"Don't break my heart ..." he teased her, his eyes more serious than his words. She watched him for a moment and then with a smile, agreed to go.