Sincerity Over Simple Chords [02]

My short brown hair was in a ponytail and my green apron was splattered with flour, coffee, and anything else that you could possibly spill. It was 9:00 AM, and the morning rush was worse than usual. I was behind the counter, taking orders, when he walked in. I thought I knew him from somewhere, but I wasn't sure. I couldn't quite place my finger on his name. Maybe he was a regular here? I knew most of the regulars by name, but maybe he had been here a couple times before.
I could barely hear customers drink orders over the loud din of scattered conversations. People who were going through caffeine withdrawals were snapping at me, and commenting on how inefficient the service was. Although I wanted to punch some of them in the face, I bit my tongue, and kept my violent thoughts to myself. The guy who I had been curious about was now in line. The next customer was politely requesting their drink order. He noticed that I was looking at him, turned around, and made eye contact. I turned away, completely embarrassed. My face was flushed and I couldn't stop looking at my feet.
A few minutes and a few orders later, he was at the counter. I offered him a smile and asked him what he wanted. After he ordered, I decided to start up a conversation with him.
"Do you come here a lot? I think I've seen you around here before," I said.

"I've been here a couple times, once or twice. But it doesnt surprise me that you recognize me. I'm somewhat of a celebrity around this city," he replied, a friendly smile on his face. "I'm Chris, by the way."
"I'm Ellie, but you probably got that from the name tag."
He chuckled quietly to himself, and I handed him his drink. He walked over to a table and took out a book. I think it was Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut. He noticed me staring again, but this time he smiled at me and gave a little wave.
I still had no idea where I had seen this boy before. He was about my age, maybe a year or two younger. He had brown hair that was several inches longer than mine. His face was partially covered in a scraggly beard. He was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. Something about him held my attention. Maybe it was his eyes. They were a stunning shade of blue. I know I had seen them before.
I worked my way through the morning rush. By 10, the place was almost deserted. People had gone to work, gone off to lead their lives, away from me. I glanced around the cafe. Most of the tables were empty. There was a group of people having a light-hearted conversation at one end, and Chris sitting at the other end, still reading. Since I wanted to talk to him more, I decided to slowly saunter over that way. To make my approach a little less obvious, I cleaned tables on my way, starting at the other side of the room. As I walked towards his table, I put on my most genuine smile. I took a few steps towards him, and he looked up from his book.
"Want anything else to drink? There's a fresh batch of scones, if you're interested," I said.
"Another coffee sounds great," he said. "And maybe you could join me?"
"That could be arranged," I smiled. It wasn't every day that a cute celebrity asks you to join him for coffee.
I walked back over to the counter, with an incontrollable smile on my face. I took off my apron and put it on a hook in the storage room. I glanced over at the nearest reflective surface (in this case, the silver refrigerator sitting in the corner) to check my appearance. There was unfortunate sweat on my brow, and my hair was frizzy and coming out of its ponytail. I freed my hair from its elastic prison, and ran my fingers through it to try and tame the mess. It was better, but it still looked like crap. My eyeliner was smudged under my eyes and I rubbed it off with my fingers. I used my apron to wipe my face, and then I realized that there was someone watching me. I turned my head and saw my boss, staring at me with an astonished look on her face.
"What are you doing?" she asked me.
"I'm going to take my break now, if thats alright," I replied, with a shy smile.
"Why are you using that apron as a facecloth?" she said.
"I couldn't find anything else" I explained.
She laughed, and walked back out to the counter. I gave myself one final look and walked back outside. Honestly, I usually didn't care how I looked when I was at work, but when I'm in social situations I like to look presentable. I made two coffees and brought them over to his table.
"Thanks for the coffee, Ellie," he said.

"Awww, your welcome Chris!" I smiled. "What are you reading?"
"A collection of short stories by Kurt Vonnegut. He's one of my favourite authors," he said. Vonnegut, just as I had thought. I love his short stories.
The conversation continued like that for a while. We discussed literature, pop culture, politics, stuff like that. We didn't touch on music at all, and we barely mentioned ourselves. All I found out was that his name was Christopher Steele (it sounded so familiar) and that he was a musician. He plays bass. He has a girlfriend (bummer) and he has lived in St. Catherines for his entire life.
I looked at my watch and realized that my break was over. Chris and I said our goodbyes, and I went back to the counter. He picked up his book and left. He seemed really interesting, the kind of guy who I could carry on a conversation with for hours. He was pretty funny, too. I couldn't help but wonder if I'd ever see him again. He is a professional musician; maybe I could give him my demo?

Click----------->
Thanks for reading!
Comment, message, feedback?
I hope you liked it.

:-]