Before I met Chris and before I had even a modicum of success as a writer I worked at a little cafe in Los Angeles. I was trying, to no avail, to find a job as a freelance writer for an online blog somewhere in the city but worked there to make ends meet. But when a stranger walked into that cafe little did I know everything would change.

*****

"Hey, Estelle!" I shouted from the living room of our apartment. "Do you know what happened to my nametag? I cannot find it anywhere and I have no idea where I put it." She walked into the room with her toothbrush hanging from the side of her mouth. "I could've sworn I saw it when I walked into the kitchen this morning."

"Did you check your purse?" She asked, her voice muffled as she continued brushing her teeth and walked back to the bathroom. "You always leave it in there, Laurel."

"Yes, I already looked in there," I said and ruffled through my purse one last time. "I didn't find it when I-" I paused for a moment and defeatedly pulled my nametag out of my purse.

"I told you." She said from the bathroom.

"You are a bonafide genius." I laughed and grabbed my car keys from the kitchen counter. "I'll see you tonight."

Estelle walked back into the living room. "You better not be late tonight. It's Casey's birthday and she will rip that pretty little head clean off your shoulders if you're late again."

"I know, I know. I promise I won't be late. I'll give you twenty dollars if I am." I told her and made my way to the front door.

"I will take you up on that." She laughed and waved me out of the apartment.

*****

By some miracle, I got to work five minutes before my shift started, much to the surprise of my manager.

"On time for once?" Mark laughed at me as I walked behind the counter and set my things in the back. "I hope this lasts."

"Early actually." I joked. "But I can't make any promises. You know me too well for that." I pulled my notebook out of my back pocket and started scribbling down some random notes.

He smiled at me and went back to making himself a cup of coffee. "This much is true. So, what kind of drink would suit your fancy this morning?"

I held my pen up to my chin in thought. "I'm thinking just a classic vanilla latte with some swan art."

"I'll see what I can do for you." He went back to preparing the coffee and I sat in front of the counter continuing to write in my notebook. "Any inspiration come to you this morning?" He asked, hearing my pen run against the paper.

I chuckled. "Not unless you count waking up twenty minutes late and scrambling to get ready as inspiration."

"I'm sure you could do a lot with that for a story." He placed a mug next to me on the counter. "A love story. A compulsively late barista struggling to make it big as a writer meets a handsome mysterious stranger one day. It practically writes itself." He joked and sat down next to me.

I shook my head and chuckled. "I've never been one for cliche stories, Mark."

"Laurel, I hate to break it to you, but you are a cliche. Probably in the wrong city though."

"Are you telling me I should move?"

"Oh god no. You're late every day but you sure as hell know how to upsell some scones. We need you here."

"Apparently I'm the only one who knows how to do latte art around here too," I said and looked down at my coffee. "This looks more like a cartoon penis than a swan."

"We all have our weaknesses." Just then the door chimed signaling the first customer of the day. "Looks like it's time to sell some scones." He gave me a pat on the back and took his coffee over to the back counter to start doing inventory.

"Good morning!" I said to the man walking up to the counter putting on my best customer service persona and standing up from my stool. "How are you today?"

He smiled and tousled his hair a bit. He was incredibly handsome and I felt like I was blushing just from looking at him. "I'm doing pretty well. How about yourself?"

"I'm doing fine. There are worse places to be." I joked and earned a chuckled from him. "So, what can I get started for you today?"

"I'll just take a small dark roast to-go. And why don't you throw in a scone too."

"Sounds great. Can I get a name for that." I said and pulled out a to-go cup and a sharpie.

"It's Josh." He said with a smile and handed me his credit card.

"We'll get that going for you right now, Josh." I smiled at him and handed his card back.

*****

After my shift, I rushed home as quickly as I could and found Estelle already dressed and waiting for me on the couch. "Actually on time for once. That's surprising." She said without looking up from her phone.

"I'm thinking about turning over a new leaf." I joked, closing the door behind me and walking to my room.

"Knowing you that won't last very long." She shouted after me. "Now hurry up so we're not late."

I changed out of my work clothes as quickly as possible and dashed into the bathroom to do my makeup. I was ready in ten minutes, which was faster than I think I've ever managed to get ready. "I'm all set. Let's head out." I said confidently as I walked back into the living room. "Do you wanna drive or should I?"

"I'll take it this time." She stood up from the couch and grabbed her purse off the kitchen counter. "I'd rather not be hungover at work tomorrow night."

"I guess it's a good thing I work at a coffee place then. Easy access to hangover cures." We made our way out of the apartment and into the parking lot, praying that we'd make it to the bar on time.

*****

We made it to the bar just in time and saw Casey and Jules sitting at a table. "It's the birthday girl!" I shouted as we got to the table and I pulled Casey into a hug.

"I can't believe you made it on time." Jules laughed as Estelle and I finally joined them.

"It's a miracle truly." I laughed. "Now I am going to go get myself a drink. I will return shortly." I slapped the table and made my way over to the bar. It was surprisingly busy for a Thursday night so I had to wait to get the attention of the bartender. As I stood by the bar I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around. I was surprised to see Josh's face, the guy I had served earlier that day at the cafe. "Oh, hi."

"It's nice to see you again. I didn't expect to see you here." He was just as handsome and charming as he had been that morning.

"You know working at a coffee shop is a lot tougher than you would expect." I joked.

"I don't think I caught your name this morning."

I smiled and held my hand out to him. "It's Laurel."

"Well, Laurel, it's nice to officially make your acquaintance." He responded and took my hand in his. "How about I get that drink for you?"

"I will certainly take you up on that offer. A rum and coke, if you please." He quickly flagged over the bartender and ordered my drink for me.

Just as I was about to thank him his friend walked over and slung his arm around his shoulder. "Come on, Josh. Stop being creepy and come back to the table. I'm moments away from kicking your ass at darts."

"I am being the opposite of creepy. I met Laurel this morning at The Grind and I was just being friendly." Josh pushed his arm off and smiled at me. "This is my friend, Chris. I apologize for his crassness but maybe you'd like to join us for a round of darts."

"Yeah, it'll be a lot of fun." Chris beamed. Something about him seemed oddly familiar but I could not peg where I knew him from. And while Josh was a good looking guy, I couldn't help but fall into Chris' gorgeous blue eyes.

I almost forgot how to speak while I was lost in the handsomeness that was Josh's friend Chris. I finally regained the ability to understand and respond. Sighing, I replied. "As much as I would love to, I'm here for a friend's birthday so I have prior obligations."

"That's a shame. But I hope you enjoy your drink and hopefully I'll see you around sometime." 

"That would be lovely." Josh gave a curt wave goodbye and headed back to his table while I grabbed my drink and made my way back to my friends.

"Who was that hottie at the bar?" Jules asked when I sat back down.

"Just a guy who came into work today." I shrugged off the question and took a sip of my drink. "Nothing special really." Estelle turned to look at me and gave me a prodding look. I sighed before responding. "Well, to be honest, his friend was a lot cuter."

Casey chuckled and shook her head. "He did seem more your type. I would say go for it."

"Speaking of handsome men," Estelle started, "Why isn't Alan here with us, Casey. You would think the birthday girl's man would join us for the festivities."

Jules froze and discretely shook her head attempting to warn us to avoid the subject. Casey sighed and set her drink down on the table. "He will not be joining us tonight because he is no longer the birthday girl's man." All three of us tried to console her with kind words and hugs but she brushed us off. "I'm fine guys, don't worry about it. He was an ass anyway and I'm surprised you guys didn't say anything about it earlier." She laughed. Estelle and I exchanged a quick look before turning back to her. "What was that about?"

I sighed before responding. "Well, we tried to tell you before."

"Multiple times, actually," Estelle added. "But you were a little too blinded by infatuation to realize it."

Casey laughed at our responses. "I guess you're right. His hauntingly good looks distracted me from his rotting core of a soul." She joked.

"How about a toast," Jules spoke up and raised her glass. "To a new year free of assholes with rotting cores." We all raised our glasses and cheered.

"I hope one of you is prepared to be my designated driver because this birthday girl is planning on getting plastered."

"I think Estelle will take up that mantle. In the meantime let's get a round of shots."

*****

About thirty minutes in we all had a nice buzz going and Casey insisted on all of us going to play darts with Josh, Chris, and their friends. They were incredibly inviting and we were all more than happy to be there. "All right, I say we all team up. Teams of two with a boy and girl on each team." Chris announced gesturing with a beer in his hand.

"I think that sounds like a fantastic idea," I added.

Chris smiled at me. "As the two pioneers for this idea, Laurel and I will be on a team. You may divide amongst yourselves." Josh looked a little annoyed by our pairing but Casey quickly jumped at the opportunity to be his partner.

"I hope you're good at this. I don't want to have to pull your dead weight here." I joked and nudged Chris with my elbow. 

"Oh, don't you worry. We will crush this, I promise." He held up his hand for a high five and I obliged. 

We played darts for a while before Estelle eventually got bored from losing to Chris and me in every round, so we decided to sit and talk instead. The conversation bounced around to a bunch of different subjects that probably were not very interesting for a sober person. Chris discretely pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket and stood up. "If you don't mind me, I'm going to go outside for a second."

"I think I'm gonna join you," I added before he walked too far away and grabbed my purse to join him. Josh looked a little upset for the second time that night, but I couldn't pass up a cigarette with a handsome man.

We walked out to the porch at the front of the bar and I pulled my pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of my purse. The two of us set a cigarette between our lips. He successfully lit his while I struggled with my own lighter. "Here, let me help you." He leaned over and lit mine for me with his lighter.

"Thanks." I smiled and took a drag. "I guess this guy was standing on his last leg." I usually managed to be confident around guys I thought were attractive, but something about him gave me butterflies in my stomach like I'd never felt before and words were suddenly not my strong suit.

He smiled at me and turned to look out toward the street. "So, what do you do?" He asked.

I took my cigarette from between my lips and sighed. "I work at a coffee shop right now," I told him and leaned against the railing facing towards the building.

He turned his head to look at me. "You don't strike me as the kind of person who plans on working at a coffee shop for the rest of her life. What do you want to do?"

I smiled at his response and looked down at the ground. "I'm actually a writer. Well, a struggling one, but still a writer." I laughed. "The cafe is just a way to keep me alive for right now until I find some kind of freelance job." 

"That's really cool. I wish you the best of luck in that endeavor."

"Thank you, it's greatly appreciated." I smiled and turned to face him. "So, what's your passion?"

"I'm an actor, actually."

"Oh, wow, that's really cool." He nodded along and took a drag from his cigarette. "Anything that I might have seen?"

"Maybe, yeah-" Just as he was about to finish his sentence when Jules and Estelle burst out of the bar supporting a limp Casey between them.

"Woah, what is going on?" I asked, shocked by the state Casey was in.

"Apparently she had a lot more to drink than we thought," Jules said and tried to shift Casey's weight on her shoulders. "We're gonna get her home now so she doesn't feel even worse in the morning."

I put out my cigarette and turned back to Chris with a sigh. "I really wish we could talk more but duty calls." I switched spots with Estelle to support Casey while she went to go get her car and we started down the steps out of the bar.

"It was really nice to meet you, Laurel. Maybe I'll see you around sometime." Chris leaned over the railing so he could see me before we got into the car.

I smiled up at him. "I'd like that a lot." I wanted to stare into his eyes for the rest of my damn life but was quickly pulled back into reality by Casey attempting to drag me into the backseat with her and repeatedly calling me babe. Who knew that mess of a night would lead to the rest of my life.