Early the next morning, he was present at the diner. The previous night he would call a paradox– traumatic, yet pleasurable. He had rolled upon his bed throughout the night with the thoughts of Scarlett in his mind as his eyes were fixed on the ceiling.
It was as though all things that happened the previous day had replayed in his mind. From the very way she spoke, to the way she chuckled and tucked her hair behind her ears, to the way she laughed at his ignorance, it made his cheeks burn in blush.
But how could he blush? He was the masculine one, the one meant to influence such a feat. Yet this very lady had a hold of him which he was sure she never had an idea of.
He had anticipated the rising of the morning sun to the extent that at the sight of the slightest light that touched the landscape, he jerked off his bed and rushed to get himself ready for the day's job.
He was expectant of her, standing with his hands placed on the counter, his fingers and his feet constantly tapping the counter and the ground simultaneously, and his eyes fixated on the door as he evaluated each soul that passed through the door.
"You're early?" Michael uttered from the side with eyebrows raised.
The other never took his eyes from the door, but paid keen attention to what his friend had to say, and only replied with the words, "Good morning!"
"What the hell are you staring at?" Michael asked as he directed his eyes towards the door. Perhaps, there was something there which he himself couldn't see, and needed some clarifications as to what it could be that would consume the attention of his friend.
Yet, the more he stared, the less he could see a thing worth captivating.
"I'm waiting for someone" Ethan Grey replied with a slight move of his fingers. If she claimed to be a regular customer of the diner, that day wouldn't be different. And so he waited until Michael had walked past, and the very person he was expecting stepped through the door.
There was his relief, a heave of sigh escaping his lips as he stood erect and wore a bright smile on his face.
She sighted him from afar, and with curved lips and eyebrows raised, she walked towards him before she asked him, "You haven't been waiting for me, have you?"
"Actually..." He let out a slight groan before he continued, "I have" he said again with a slight chuckle.
"Fine..." Scarlett chuckled nervously before she continued, "I'll just have the usual"
"About that..." He halted in his steps towards the machine as he turned around and asked her, "Do you have a minute to spare? Or are you in a rush?"
"Uhmm... No! Why?" She replied.
"Because.." He dragged the words as he dragged himself closer to where she stood, and peered into her eyes before he continued, "I want to make you a special cup of cappuccino. My special cup"
She leaned back, eyebrows arched and raised in pure bafflement of what he intended to do. She chuckled and said to him, "Fine. I'd love to have a taste of 'your special cappuccino'" she air quoted the last three words before she turned and headed towards a table in the centre of the room.
"Yes...!" The young man grinned the words with a clenched fist and an excitement burning inside his spirit as he turned around and grabbed a glass cup, off he went with the coffee making.
Ethan had spent the entire night of anticipation, learning how he could make the perfect cup of cappuccino to impress this lady. He had made his mistakes, and had unlearned the very things that caused those mistakes until he got the perfect cup which he suspected would sweep her off her feet.
A few minutes later, he was done with the coffee. He placed it in a tray, and he tenaciously walked with it towards her table, ensuring that not a single drop fell from the full filled cup.
"Thank you!" She said as she grabbed the cup from the tray, winked at him before she proceeded to take a sip from the cup.
He stood by the side, his heart throbbing against his chest and eyes closed as he expected her next words. As he paid keen attention to what she had to say, his heart was relieved of the tension as soon as he heard her say, "This is impressive..."
He opened his eyes to Scarlett wearing a smile on her face, staring at him as she continued sipping from the cup in her hand.
"I must say, this is one of the best I've tasted around here. How did you make this?" She asked him.
"It's called my special cup of cappuccino for a reason. It wouldn't be if I spilled the secret ingredient added" he responded with lips widened with a smile from ear to ear.
"And how much would that be?" She asked as she dropped the cup and searched through her purse.
"It'll still be four ninety nine dollars" he responded.
He would have given it off for free, but he feared the questions that would proceed from his gesture of love, and so stuck with the usual price for a cup.
She handed him the money in cash, and stood from the chair with the cup still in her hand. She lifted it up to his face and said to him, "This is very lovely. I'd love to have another cup, at the same time tomorrow?"
"Sure!" He squealed the words as he watched her leave the diner. He stood with his eyes fixated on the door even though her presence had vanished from his sight. There he had a reason to be steadfast at the diner each day. He counted the dollar bills in his hands, and returned to the counter where he continued with the sales.