A short story romance I’m working on.

Jade sat looking out the floor to ceiling windows in Café Java, her mind’s eye wandering across the pages she’d already written and trying to figure out where to go next. The Café usually provided the perfect environment for her writing. She found that at home she could come up with a trillion different things to keep her from writing; laundry that had been put off for too long, a good dusting, a long bath to finally shave her legs, a well needed pedicure, or even that next level of Tetris that she had  yet to conquer. And then, perhaps, the next one after that. So, she had left the house to work at the Café, where they now knew her by name and often had her skim milk, double-shot latte ready for her when she got to the counter. The modernist design of glass and chrome kept her from being distracted, as did the fact that it was rarely very busy, and even then, only with people hurrying in and out again to their high power, high stress jobs in the surrounding city center office towers.

But today, Jade felt out of sync. Ten chapters in, and she couldn’t yet figure out where her story was going. Would they fall in love? Would it end in misery, as a few of her other novels had? She had no clue, and it frustrated her to distraction. With a deep sigh she slapped her laptop closed and stretched tight back muscles.

Turning, she looked around to see what clientele the small place had in on this dreary, grey day. Jade raised an eyebrow in interest at the compact, handsome woman ordering from Fred at the counter. Short-cropped brown hair framed a high cheek-boned face and large blue eyes. Her skin was pale and had a smattering of freckles around a small, slightly upturned nose. In no way would she be considered pretty, but Jade found herself instantly attracted to the well built form twenty feet away.

Realizing she was blatantly staring, she turned quickly away and looked once again out the window, thinking to herself that there was no way she had time to get involved with anyone right now. And besides, how do you even know she’s single? Or would be interested? Jade snorted quietly, and then looked up, mortified that the hot woman was walking past just at that moment, and smiled slightly at her as she passed through the door.

Jade shook her head, grinning, and packed up to go home and play on the computer.

                                                       *****

“I hate Tuesday. It’s too close to the horrors of Monday, and way too far from the bliss of Saturday.” Kit sat staring grumpily into her luke-warm coffee, slouched in her chair with her legs splayed out in front of her.

Kevin laughed and pushed the powdered sugar donuts in front of her. “C’mon. It isn’t as though you do anything important on the weekends anyway. The last time you went out, velour was still in style and John Travolta sang and danced.”

Kit pushed the donuts back at him and said, “Not true. I’m not old enough to remember Travolta in that role. But I’ll grant you that it’s been a while. Since Janet, I just can’t deal with the scene.”

Kevin pursed his lips in disdain at the mention of Kit’s ex. After four years together, Kit had come home to find a Dear Jane letter and all of Janet’s things gone. A quick phone call three days later confirmed what Kit had known deep down; Janet had moved in with the geologist she had been seeing while Kit had been working long hours establishing herself in her profession. The profession she thought would make them enough money to eventually travel and enjoy one another’s company. Janet obviously hadn’t seen it that way.

“Janet didn’t deserve you. She had terrible dress sense, and she was pretentious, and that, my dear, is a bad combination.” Kevin took a large bite out of his donut and nodded sagely as powdered sugar drifted onto his blue cashmere sweater. “Not to mention, a geologist? Borrring.”

Kit smiled at him and ran a hand through her short hair, thinking she needed it cut again. Even more, she decided, she needed coffee. “I’m going down to Java for coffee. Coming?” Her chair screeched as she shoved it back, making them both wince.

“Yes, I’ll come. Maybe we’ll even see that hottie you told me about last week.” He wiggled his well-trimmed eyebrows suggestively, and Kit shook her head and strode past him, a piece of her hoping he was right.

“Morning, Jack. How’s things?” Jade asked, leaning on her elbows on the counter and resting her face in her hands.

“Better than for you, looks like,” he replied, taking notice of the dark circles under Jade’s blue eyes.

“Mmm. I can’t  sleep until I get my story into deadline shape, but it just isn’t coming out.”

“Well, take this, and go sit. Maybe you’ll find inspiration in your foam.” He smiled as he pushed her latte across the counter, and smiling back, she turned and promptly crashed into a body behind her, watching in horror as the hot liquid splattered across a blue button down shirt.

“Oh my god. Oh my god. I’m so sorry. Here, let me…” Jade grabbed a wet towel off the counter and began to mop at the brown stain, suddenly aware that the chest she was swiping at wasn’t flat.

“Um, Oh god, I…” Jade faltered, totally unprepared to meet the eyes of the hot woman she had noticed a while back. One she had evidently just dumped hot coffee all over.

“It’s okay. No worries. Really.” Kit held the shirt away from her skin, glad that she had thrown on an undershirt that morning to layer against the autumn chill. Kit glanced at the culprit of coffee stained shirt and her breath caught. She hadn’t recognized the blonde from behind, although she had been admiring the view while waiting to place her order.

Turning, Kit glared at Kevin, who was trying so hard not to laugh he was actually snorting, and his face was turning a strange crimson color.

“Give up, would you? You may as well let it out before you pop like a tomato.”

Kevin took a deep breath and let out a belly laugh, tears flowing down his face.

Shaking her head in disgust, she turned back to the woman who had left her rather wet, and not in the good way.

Jade took in the deep green eyes and full lips and glanced immediately away, so embarrassed she hoped the laminate floor would open up and drop her to the other side of the planet.

“I’m so sorry. Can I buy you a cup of coffee? A new shirt? A new car?” Jade flashed an apologetic smile.

“Really, its okay. I was clearly standing too close to allow you to even turn around. And I keep an extra shirt in my office just in case some beautiful woman spills coffee on me.”

Jade’s eyes grew round at the smooth compliment, and turning back to the counter, said, “Jack, I’ll buy whatever she and her friend are having.”

“Again, I’m so sorry. If you decide you want me to pay for your dry cleaning, please just call.” Jade handed her card over, and Kit glanced at it, recognizing the name.

“Jade Crandall? As in the author of Diamond Mine?” Kit asked, impressed.

“Um. Yes, actually. I come here to write. Which I should be doing now, really. I’m so sorry. Please call me if you want me to replace the shirt.”

Backing away, Jade gave one last apologetic smile and turned away, ducking into the bathroom.

Holding the sodden shirt away from her with one hand, and rubbing her thumb along the edge of the  business card with the  other, Kit murmured, “I will, don’t worry.”

                                                       ******

“Mortified. I mean, can you believe it? The one person I would want to impress and I cover her in coffee. Could I be any smoother?” Jade knew she was coming perilously close to whining, but the image of her wiping down that wet, soft chest with a dishtowel kept running through her mind like an dreadful movie scene.

Angela grinned and gave a deep theatrical sigh. Passing her another glass of white wine, she said, “I can only imagine you hands caressing her chest in an attempt to clean her off. I wish I could have been there. I probably would have been next to her friend, laughing just as hard.”

Jade stuck her tongue out at her friend and then took a sip of the aromatic wine, tucking one leg under her on the overstuffed couch.

“She’s so hot. You don’t even know. I mean, what are the odds I would spill my drink on the one person I’ve wanted to walk through the door?”

“You know,” Angela said, “She’s right. She must have been standing practically close enough to give you a wedgie for you to turn around directly into her.”

“Maybe. Or maybe I was just really clumsy.”

Jade lay her head back on the couch and closed her eyes, thinking of the nice flavor of the wine and smooth fabric under her hand.

                                                         ****

“Jade Crandall.” Jade answered her phone for what seemed like the tenth time that day, frustrated that she had gotten so little writing done.

“Yes, hi. My name is Kit Cramer, and we met at the Café the other day. I was wondering if I could take you up on your offer to get my shirt cleaned?”

Jade sat there, stunned into silence. Kit Cramer? She had spilled coffee on Kit Cramer, leading architect in the metro area for the last five years? Although she knew the name, she had never seen the face. Well, evidently she had.

“Hello? I was just kidding, really. I mean, coffee in a cup would be fine, too.” Kit bit her bottom lip, thinking that perhaps this had been a mistake after all.

“No, oh, sorry. I’m just so surprised. Yes, of course I’ll take care of your shirt. And yes, I’ll buy you coffee in a cup as well. Of course.” Jade stumbled over her words, cursing her sudden inability to sound like an intelligent human being.

Kit exhaled and said, “Excellent. Tomorrow at two?”

“Perfect.  See you at Java at two.”

Jade straightened her shirt one more time before walking out of the house and down the block to Café Java. She hoped that the low cut, pale blue blouse didn’t seem trashy, but she also knew it showed off an impressive amount of cleavage. She was also aware that the tight jeans and knee-high boots showed off the rest of her figure to an advantage. If this was any kind of opening, she wanted to make it a good one. 

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