Meeting At Starbucks

At Starbucks, once they prepared your order, they’d call you up by your first name. I must’ve been so lost in thought, I didn’t notice when the barista was calling my name… Until an extremely cute guy with perfectly coiffed light brown hair and magnetic blue eyes came up to me at the table and said, “Uh, excuse me, Miss… I think your order is ready.” And damn, that smile… Those teeth!

“Thank you.” I said to him with a small smile as I went up to get my large iced caramel apple cream latte. As I returned to my seat, I almost bumped into this guy. “Sorry about that.”

“You good?” he asked with a smile, giving me a thumbs-up.

“Yeah, I…” I chuckled. “I didn’t even notice that my name was being called.”

“That’s okay,” he said with a casual shrug. “That tends to happen when you’re at Starbucks, especially this one. Everyone loves it so much as a popular coffee establishment. It gets so crowded and crazy quickly, so it’s really easy to get a little lost.”

“Well…” I took a sip of my heavenly-tasting frozen drink. “I’m not a huge fan of coffee, but I sure love the free Wi-Fi.”

“Gotcha.” He smiled as he gave me a wink, then made his way in the line and placed his own order.

Something about this guy was really attractive; I wasn’t sure what it was, but he looked like he was closer to me in age than Dominic was. Dominic, as Martha said, was 39, almost 40. I couldn’t possibly relate to a widowed man who was nearing 40… No matter how sexy and attractive and wealthy he was.

I watched this handsome stranger order a ham and swiss croissant with some lemonade, and I couldn’t help but think to myself, “That’s some breakfast.” I always thought that guys at Starbucks usually ordered a cup of plain coffee and whatever else might sound “appealing” but really aren’t, at least not to me. But who was I to judge his choice of meal? As he awaited his order, I signaled for him to come sit with me, unless he was expecting someone or had plans with them instead. Much to my surprise, he came over and sat across from me.

“Hello there, stranger.” I gave him a flirtatious grin.

“Thanks for inviting me to sit with you while I wait for my food, stranger.” He smiled back in the most adorable way.

“Were you expecting anyone else?” I asked. “If so, I wouldn’t wish to interfere with your plans to go hang out with them.”

He chuckled. “Nah, you’re good. I came here all by my lonesome. And I assume that you’re here on your own, too.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I am. But I’m really not too keen on coffee, though.”

“Oh? Then why come to a famous coffee shop?”

I shrugged. “Because why not? As you can see on the menu, there are other things you can order at Starbucks besides the coffee, you know. I’m not sure what’s so appealing about the coffee.”

“The coffee at Starbucks in general, or this particular coffee at this particular Starbucks… Or are you just bashing coffee in general?” He grinned.

I rolled my eyes. “I am not a coffee basher.”

“You are so.” He gave me an amused look. “But it’s totally okay. You’re entitled to your own opinion, just as much as I’m entitled to mine.”

I wanted to challenge him… In a good way, of course. “And just what’s that?”

“My opinion is that coffee is, well, meh. On a scale of one to ten, I’d give it a five-and-a-half, six at the very least. It’s not the worst drink in the world, but then again, it isn’t exactly the number-one best, either. There are health pros and cons to it, just like there’s a good and a bad to every good thing.”

That was actually philosophical. Who knew he was such a smart guy? “Wow, I…” I was about to say something when he heard his name being called, “Will!” That’s when I knew what his name was: Will. And he obviously knew mine.

He got his order and returned to our table. “Yep, wanted a small breakfast. You sure you don’t want half of this croissant?”

I’d hate to turn down a really good-looking croissant, but I wasn’t really hungry. I just wanted a cold drink; that didn’t mean I was in the mood for food, too.

“No, thanks, Will. I’m really not that hungry.”

He was impressed that I knew his name. “How did you get so good at learning names?”

“Well, I heard your name being called…” I smiled.

“Kidding.” He chuckled. “I know yours, too. Kari-Ann. Right?”

“Yep.” I nodded.

“That’s such a cute name. Were you named after anyone special, or what?”

“I don’t think so. I think it’s just a name that my mom really liked. Guess you’ll just have to ask her when you meet her next time,” I said jokingly, and we laughed. “What about you? Were you named after anyone?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I was,” he said. “My full name is Wilford Brooks IV, named after my paternal great-grandfather.”

“That’s very interesting,” I said. I was genuinely interested in learning the history of his name. “I like that.”

“Thanks. So, I’m a little surprised to see a pretty girl like you sitting here all alone in a Starbucks cafe on a Monday morning.”

He was a real charmer. “I can say the same thing for a stud like you.” I gave him a flirtatious wink.

“Ah, well…” I could feel him blushing. “I wouldn’t say I’m that attractive.” His modesty was very attractive. At least I knew that he wasn’t one of the cocky ones, either.

“Well, I think you are.” I took another sip of my iced drink. “Unless your girlfriend will feel intimidated by a gorgeous blonde flirting with her man, huh?”

“Nope.” He shook his head. “I actually don’t have a girlfriend at the moment. But I am straight, if that’s what you wanted to know.”

Of course I knew he was straight. If he weren’t, he would’ve said something immediately instead of trying to make me look like a fool for hitting on him. “I had a feeling. I’m straight too, but it’s too bad I’m single. Single but ready to mingle.” I touched my hair in a seductive way, hoping that he’d notice the pink and blue highlights.

“Oh, cool, you’ve dyed your hair these cute, crazy colors.”

“You’re a keen observer. I had this done a long while ago. I wanted to go for a new look for once in my life. I didn’t want to be just a regular plain Jane blonde. No offense to any other blonde girl who might be in this room.”

“No, I get it. It’s great to change your style once in a while. Is it a thing that you do often, or is there a reason behind that choice?”

He sounded like he wanted to get to know me better. A public cafe wasn’t a good place for us to continue this conversation. I suggested that we go out to the outdoor section of the cafe for some more privacy instead. Fortunately, more people seemed to prefer coming inside the cafe to taking advantage of the outdoor cafe. I wanted to tell Will a little more about myself without freaking him out or scaring him off. I wanted him to know the real me because he was nothing but a total stranger to me, and I knew that after this morning, I’d probably never see him again.

We sat across from each other at a table outside the restaurant, so we had a little more privacy with people entering the shop and leaving after receiving their others. Some people even chose to stay in the cafe to use their laptops and connect their chargers to an outlet, so it was best to stay in the room for that. Only one girl was sitting outside, reading her book and listening to her music with her earbuds, so I highly doubted that she’d be eavesdropping on my and Will’s private conversation.

“There’s a reason that I like to change my look,” I said, “but it’s a little bit personal, so I’d rather not get into that at the moment. I’ll share that sometime later along the way, if you’re okay with that.”

“Okay, no problem.” He gave me a look of concern. “I don’t want to pressure you into saying something that you’re not comfortable with.” He was so understanding… Just like Dominic.

“I’d like that, thanks. Anyway, where are you from?”

“Originally, I’m from Phoenix,” he replied. “I live here in L.A. with my brother, Ethan. He’s actually my twin, so yeah.” I wasn’t sure why I found it amusing when he mentioned that he was a twin. “Don’t worry, it’s really me, Will. Not Ethan, I promise you.”

“I know that.” I gave him a friendly punch on the arm. “And that’s nice, you’re from Phoenix. I’m relieved to meet at least one other person who isn’t a native of the City of Angels.”

“You’re not originally from L.A., either?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No, I’m actually from Ryder, which is a small town in Connecticut.”

“Such a small town, right?”

“Yeah, it is. So, what brings you here to L.A.?”

“My brother and I came here to launch our own personal training business. That’s what I do for a living. We have a gym set up in our house so that we can help other people reach their fitness goals, including women who plan to lose weight but aren’t really sure how to go about taking that first step.” He took out his phone. “If you’re interested, you can follow our business account on Facebook, Instagram, and what the heck, LinkedIn, too. I’ll assume that you’re up-to-date on social media trends? If so, then you can follow me… Here.” He pulled up his business account on Instagram. He and his brother, Ethan, are tagged in their business’ profile name, so that meant I was free to follow him on Instagram… If I wanted to. His business was called the Brooks Brothers Fitness. A very creative and original name, and they’re based right here in L.A..

“I got you.” I took out my phone and typed in BBFLA, the acronym for Brooks Brothers Fitness Los Angeles, and started following the brand. Then I followed Will on his own personal account. Yes, I could tell him apart from his brother, Ethan. Under his profile, he wrote, “NOT ETHAN” to show the whole world that he was Will and not his brother.

“Thanks,” he said when I followed him. “And at your own time, you can follow us on Facebook, too.”

“Will do.” I smiled as I took another sip of my drink. Damn, it was so delicious; I’d order it next time I was at Starbucks or happened to stroll by.

“You never told me what brought you to the city of Hollywood lights,” he said with a smile.

I wanted to tell him one good, positive thing about me that was truthful. “I am enrolled at the Trade Technical College,” I said. “I’m studying Culinary Arts.”

“That’s really nice. Do you like to cook?”

“I love to cook,” I said. “I want to open up my own business someday, catering for important events like weddings, birthdays, graduations… Baby showers, bridal showers, you get the idea.”

“And funerals too, huh?” he added, and we chuckled. It’s like he could read my mind. I mentioned the same thing to Dominic a while back.

“Yes, even funerals,” I replied. “Because why not? Every funeral service deserves to have nice food, too.”

“True that. So, what would you call your catering company?” he asked.

That was a good question. Not once has anyone ever asked me that, not even Dominic, surprisingly. “Hmm… I don’t really know, Will. I don’t know if this is creative enough, but Kari-Ann’s Catering, maybe?”

“No, that’s… That’s good. It’s always best to give your business a name after yourself to let other people know that it’s your personal brand. Your name is very unique, so everyone will automatically know that it’s you. For Ethan and me, Brooks Brothers Fitness is our unique name. Our last name is Brooks, and we’re brothers, and everyone knows that. That’ll be a wonderful business name that you can use for yourself.”

I liked that he believed in me. Even though we were total strangers, we had faith in each other in our personal ambitions. “I love to cook and bake things. I haven’t done it in a very long time since…” And there I was again, this close to revealing a troubling secret. I cleared my throat to quickly digress. “Never mind, I just… I meant to say that I’m sometimes too lazy to do it. No particular reason, though.”

“Okay, understood.” He gave me a curious look but shrugged it off. “And on that note, let’s play a little game where we take turns saying one fun fact about ourselves. So, I’ll say something and you say something. And it has to be truthful, can’t be a lie. I have an amazing ability to tell when someone is lying.”

“You do?” I grinned.

“Nope.” He shook his head. “Unfortunately, I do not, but apparently Ethan does. I’m not sure how, don’t even ask. He just has this gift. Like, one time, one of his old girlfriends told him that she went to Jamaica for summer vacation, and he immediately found out that she was lying. He found out that she’d been cheating on him for a while… With another woman. He knew about her lie, just by looking at her Instagram by creating a private account. So, yeah, that’s how he found out. This is a true story, by the way. I felt pretty bad for him to find out about his girlfriend cheating that way.”

I knew it wasn’t something that he’d make up. “I’m so sorry for Ethan,” I said. “That must’ve been awful.”

“It was, yeah. This was over a year ago, so he’s completely over it by now. I don’t think he’s seeing anyone–well, at least seriously–but he’s hanging in there. He has our business to fall onto when he’s not thinking about chasing girls left, right and center.”

“Good for him.”

“Yeah, so anyway, let’s get on with the game. So, an interesting fact about me… You already know this, but I’ll just say it again: My name is Wilford Brooks IV, named after my paternal great-grandfather, and I am a twin brother to Ethan Brooks. Your turn now.”

Since he started off with his name, I decided to start off with mine as well. “My name is Kari-Ann Maloney, and I’m 31,” I said. “I’m half-Irish, which I guess you can tell by my last name, Maloney.”

“Ah, Maloney… I knew the name sounded a little familiar. You’re Irish, huh? Ever been to Dublin?”

“A few times in the past when I was very little,” I replied, “mostly to visit my grandparents on each side and some relatives. I haven’t actually been there or anywhere else in a long time since…” I cleared my throat again. “Never mind. Your turn.”

“In a long time since when?” he asked me, intrigued.

I couldn’t believe this was the second time I almost told him about my disturbing secret. “Don’t worry about it, Will. Hey, you know what? Let’s try to share an interesting fact about each other. Can we do that?” I grinned. I was a little sly, changing the rules of the game.

He willingly went along with it. “I like it when a woman is willing to change the rules when necessary. Okay, I suppose I don’t mind.” He shrugged. “Want me to start, or…”

“Ladies first.” I grinned. “Let’s try to guess each other’s star signs.”

“Alrighty then. Not really a huge fan of trying to determine someone’s personality based on their sign, but here we go.” He took a deep breath before he could guess mine. “This is going to be a totally random guess, so forgive me if I get this wrong, but you are… A Gemini!”

By chance, he guessed correctly! “How… How did you…” I stammered.

He shrugged again. “Hey, like I just said, it was a totally random guess.”

I was so amazed that he was able to guess my star sign. “You’re right,” I said. “I am a Gemini. Born June 12th.”

“Well, happy early birthday to you,” he said. “That’s just five months away.”

“Thanks. Now let me try to guess yours.” I wanted to be sure that my random guess was the right answer, but who could ever really tell, anyway? “You’re… A Leo?”

He imitated a buzzer sound to show that I was wrong. “Nope, not even one bit close.” He shook his head. “I’m actually an Aries.”

“Really?” I was amazed.

“Yep. Born March 27th. And I’m 30 years old.”

I knew it; he was about a year younger than me. “Well, happy early birthday to you, too,” I said. “That’s just two months away.”

“You got that right.” He took a sip of his lemonade and quickly got up to throw out his bag of the croissant that he just finished, then returned to his seat with me.