Love Like a Tidal Wave.
Coffee Shop Soundtrack
There was a cloudy, gloomy sky looming over the usually warm and sunny city of San Diego. Vic put his hood up as rain began to sprinkle. He turned onto Harbor Drive and continued with his walk. He looked at the ground and shoved his hands in his pockets.
His head ached and his stomach was sick. He had just finished fighting with his girlfriend of 2 years, again. She had recently moved to Encinitas, and the distance was quickly driving them apart. He had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to be faithful to him, and his gut was correct. She had just called to tell him that she had cheated on him, with more than one person. Though Vic had never been anything but kind, loving, and sweet towards her, she had spoken to him in a bitter manner. When she spoke, she spit venom. He was heartbroken, but he knew that their relationship was no longer ok for him. All it had been since she moved was toxic and frustrating. He was stressed, angry, frustrated, and his head was spinning. He was never great at communicating his feelings, and he had been pushing away his friends and family since this whole ordeal began. He just needed to be alone.
The rain began to come down even harder. Within a minute it had gone from a light sprinkle to a torrential downpour. He dipped quickly into Starbucks and slipped his hoodie off. By this time, it was completely soaking wet. He shook his head and swept his hair to the side, trying to get rid of the hoodie hair that he had going on. He sighed and looked around the small shop. It was quiet for such a chilly day. He stepped up to the counter and waited until the barista turned to take his order. But as soon as she turned around, the breath was sucked out of him. He was trying to gasp for words, but they wouldn't even come close to coming out. He stared at her, with his mouth slightly agape for what seemed like an eternity. She was stunning. First of all, she was shorter than him, which was an instant turn on. Vic wasn't a real big guy, and any girl that was smaller than him was almost automatically cute. She had long, jet black hair, tied back into a teased ponytail, with a ribbon tied into a bow wrapped around the base. Her skin was a rich olive color, not quite the brown of the Mexican girls that he knew, but he couldn't place it. And her eyes.. They were big, with a color that rivaled the tide pools at the more protected beaches in California. Her eyelashes were so long, and accentuated the eyes that he was falling deeper and deeper into.
She coughed and gave him a confused look. “Uh, what can I make for you today?” she asked. Vic tried to snap out of his daze and answer the question. “Can I uh.. can I get uh.. just a venti black house roast coffee please” He managed to stutter out. “Sure, that'll be $4.37”, she replied. He handed her a five and told her to keep the change. She turned again to fill a cup. She put a lid on it, and placed it in a coffee sleeve. As she handed him the cup, their hands touched. The swirling, nauseous pain that had been in Vic's stomach turned quickly to butterflies. She smiled at him, and brushed her bangs out of her face. “Thanks” he said as the cup fully entered his hand. “My pleasure”, she replied, giving him another big smile with her perfectly straight, pearly white teeth. He turned and went to sit in the corner of the shop. He tried to pull out his phone to find a game or something to distract himself, but he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. She moved so gracefully as she worked, even though she was so tiny that she had to adorably stand on her very tip-toes to reach some of the higher things. One of her co-workers came out from the back and told her to go on break. She made herself a small cup of coffee and slipped out of her apron. She then came over, and sat down in front of Vic, who was surprised, but tried to play it off and still act cool, even though he thought his heart was going to jump out of his chest. She smiled sweetly as she sat down and held out her hand.
“Hi, I'm Magdalynn, but you can call me Maggie. I couldn't help but notice that you can't take your eyes off of me.”
Whoa. This girl was blunt. She was so confident, it took Vic by surprise. He tried to gain his composure as he took her hand in his.
“I'm Victor, but you can call me Vic. I'm sorry if I was staring, you're just incredibly beautiful” He replied, shaking her hand then letting go. She smiled back at him.
“You're sweet”, she stated, looking down at her nails. “What do you do for a living Vic?” she asked, seeming genuinely interested.
“I'm uh.. I'm a musician. I sing in a band” he replied. He could feel his hands shaking a bit. It was weird. Vic almost never got nervous, but this girl was making him stutter, his palms were becoming sweaty, and his heart was fluttering.
“Wow, that sounds really cool. Are you guys any good?” she giggled. “I'm a student, I don't just make coffee for a living”.
Her laugh was so adorable. It was like angels singing. He smiled and rubbed the back of his head.
“I guess we're ok, we're just trying to really get on the map right now. What are you studying?” He leaned slightly forward, just to hear her voice slightly clearer.
“I'm majoring in Sports and Exercise Science, with a double-minor in nutrition and psychology”.
Cute, and smart too. Vic liked it, and he definitely liked her. They continued talking for a bit until it was time for her break to end.
“Well, it was really talking to you,” she said while glancing at her watch, “but I have to get back to work”. She began standing up from the table.
“Uh, wait!” Vic slightly exclaimed, “Can I get your number? I would really like to get to see you again”.
She leaned down and wrote her number on a brown napkin. She smiled and waved.
“Bye Vic. It was great to meet you”.
He left the coffee shop and walked up the street. He couldn't help the smile that was spreading across his face, and he was sure that he looked ridiculous smiling to himself.
9/25/13