He was frozen in time, struck by the awe and the beauty of this certain lady who stood before him. He noticed even the tiniest details of her looks, and was mesmerized even more when a gentle wind blew across her hair, and pushed off a few strands to expose the brightness of her skin.
It was as though all things appeared slow and steady to him, even the very way she reacted to the wind's touch on her skin. Her lips were curved upwards into a smile, and her clearest dentition was shown, alongside her amber colored eyes which glowed even under the bright morning light.
"Wow!" He whispered the words to himself with his tongue running against his upper lips in admiration, and forcing his eyes down from her hair, to her neck, and the cleavage exposed to his sight.
"Hello?" She called out to him again, this time, waving her hands a few inches away from his face, a gesture which seemed to have altered his train of thoughts back to the real world.
"Oh. I'm sorry" he shook his head as he responded, blinking numerous times with the entire environment seeming normal to him. It felt as though he was in a trance, a state where the only thing he could hear were the sweet sounds of the winds and the slight chuckle which escaped her lips.
"I got carried away" he said to her with all honesty. He looked down at his hands which had immediately become sweaty, and looked up again with this feeling of timidity, one he could not fathom.
"It's fine. I get used to it" she responded with her fingers tucking some strands of her hair behind her ears.
"A cup of cappuccino, please" she asked again.
"Okay. One cup of cappuccino, coming right up" he said out loud and turned around. He grabbed a plastic cup and placed it underneath the instant cappuccino machine. He pressed a few buttons, and waited for the cup to be filled before he turned around and handed it over to her.
"And there's your cup of cappuccino. Forgive me, I don't know the price of that actually" he whispered the last few words with eyes fixed on the counter, mostly on her hands which were placed on it before he looked at her.
She wore a smile on her face which proceeded into a slight chuckle as she answered, "Seems you're new here"
"Yeah, I just resumed" he replied.
"You're in luck. I come here every morning, and I buy this particular cup of coffee. So I'll educate you the price" she said with a smile on her face, blushing slightly as she dipped her hands into her pocket.
She brought out a few dollar bills, and a few coins, counted it before she handed it over to him. He took it from her hand, and counted it himself for a confirmation before he uttered, "That's four ninety-nine dollars."
"Actually, it should be four sixty-six, but I always add a tip for every cup of cappuccino I get here" she shrugged her shoulders before she took a sip from her drink.
She winked at him, and turned around to leave but halted at the sound of his voice.
"I don't know your name" he said to her. He had the money in his hand, but had his heart throbbing hard against his chest as though it would break out and fall. His hands became super sweaty, and his inner mind uttered words of prayer with the hopes that he could at least get to know what name she bore.
"I know business is all about profit and satisfaction, but you…" She said as she turned backwards with a smile on her face, and continued, "for your first day, and you're already flirting with your first customer. Now what do we call that?"
"Shit!" His inner man yelled in frustration. His smile has disappeared, and his face was lowered to the ground as he felt more than dejected with her response. His expectations never tallied with the response he got, and he could only apologize with a pricking conscience.
"I'm sorry. No offense." He said to her as he swallowed hard.
"None taken!" She said to him with another chuckle.
"The name's Scarlett" she said to him. He looked up immediately, and his heart leaped for joy, which was evident in the way his face had suddenly changed from wearing a frown to having a broad smile that showed off his dentition.
"Have a nice day….?" She replied, stressing the last word with her eyebrows raised, and her head tilted slightly up the side, indirectly asking for his name.
The other never understood her gesture, and was sinking deep in the sudden affection generated for this random lady. But when he had come to the understanding of what she meant, he answered her without any hesitation.
"Ethan!" He said with an excited tone coating his words. Then, he calmed his ecstatic nerves with a light sigh and said again, "Ethan Grey!"
"Well, Ethan Grey. It's a pleasure to meet you. Have a nice first day of work" she smiled at him before she turned around to leave.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" He said after a few seconds of watching her walk elegantly, with a slightly louder tone, causing her to halt for the second time.
This time, she never turned backwards. She only tilted her head to the right-hand side, and had her eyes move a hundred and eighty degrees to the right as she responded.
"Of course! I only hope you'll know the prices of the things you sell before then" she uttered the last words with her head turning back to the door, and taking another heavy sip of the drink in her hand before she walked out of the diner.
"Oh I will. For your sake." Ethan whispered the words to himself after watching for a few seconds as she left the diner, and after she had disappeared from his sight. He chuckled and smiled broadly in the thoughts of her words, the sweetness of her tone and the beauty she exuded in the slightest things she did before he shook his head and went on with his work at the diner.