"Hey buddy, I'm going to have you run the counter today so you can watch for your girlfriend." Marcus teased, pushing Talon from the back room and towards the cash register.

"Funny," Talon rolled his eyes, still feeling the confusion from last night. Why wasn't he able to kiss her? It seemed like she wanted him to. "You only want me up here, because your other employee quit and the new trainee coming in today isn't the best with money." Talon shot back as he leaned against the counter of the coffee shop. His eyes found the clock, counting down the minutes until Vanessa would be in for her morning brew.

"Yeah, you got me." Marcus muttered. He smiled then shuffled past Talon to grab something from under the counter. "Speaking of the little pretty bitty you always wait for, how did your date go last night?"

Talon shook his head, not sure where to even begin. "Well, it was good, until she was so distant at dinner we didn't even talk for an hour, but I was able to fill that by slowly eating my chicken wings, and ordering a second round without her noticing. Then when I dropped her off, I lost my nerve and wasn't able to kiss her yet again. I'm going to blow this if I don't man up and do something about it." Talon rambled, mindlessly wiping the rag across the table.

"You still haven't kissed her and that was what, your third date?" Marcus looked at Talon with judging eyes. Talon knew he deserved it.

"Don't get me wrong, I tried multiple times yesterday. When we pulled into the restaurant I was going to do it, but I sat there too long, and I care about this girl so damn much, that I panicked and pulled away."

"Did you pull away before she leaned in, or did she lean in and you just didn't finish the job." Marcus leaned against the counter, getting comfortable to settle into conversation.

"I just didn't finish the job."

"Oh that's bad."

"I know!"

"You'll be lucky if she still buys her coffee here." Marcus nodded his head, then swatted Talon with the stack of papers in his hand. "Damnnit, stop chasing away my customers with your chicken ass." Marcus had a big smile across his face, letting Talon know he was just messing with him.

But Talon felt the same way deep inside.

"I'm doing my best." Talon muttered.

"Well, focus up and try to not let her mess with your head too much. You've gotta start making coffee in about two minutes." Marcus gestured towards the clock on the wall, showing Talon that the shop was supposed to be opening soon. Talon nodded, entered his employee passcode into the cash register and started his morning prep work for the rush.

The time seemed to fly by when Talon was helping customers, and by the time the line had cleared out, it was forty minutes later. Vanessa should be walking through those doors any minute now.

Talon watched carefully at every passerby walking down the street. None of them looked as appealing as Vanessa did. He held her coffee behind the counter, ready to hand it to her as soon as she made it through those doors. All the other customers had been taken care of and were either sitting down to enjoy their morning drink or rushed out the door to get off to work. The clock continued to tick away the seconds, and Talon's arm grew tired holding the cup.

Where was she? Had he really scared her away because he wasn't able to kiss her?

"Still not here?" Marcus asked from behind the wall, hiding himself from the customers.

Talon didn't answer, he just shook his head.

Just as Talon was about to throw the coffee away, he caught a glimpse of her dark hair swirled on top of her head like spaghetti, very different from her usual swept up look. His heart flickered, as he noted her lack of breath as she ran up to the counter.

"Here's your coffee." He muttered, dumbfounded by her beauty even when she was noticeably not put together. Talon glanced at the bags under her eyes, and the smeared makeup that only added to them. She looked like she had just rolled out of bed, but not the kind of 'fresh out of bed' look in the movies, the real and raw, makeup down her face, lines still in her skin from whatever position she fell asleep in. Was that a puzzle piece imprint on the side of her face? This left Talon concerned. Even when she'd wake up for work late, she was still usually a little more put together than this.

"Is everything okay, Vanessa?" He asked, rushed around the counter and placed his arms on hers. Vanessa froze, her lips hung open like she was about to say something.

She shook her head, looking around the room, and then took a deep breath. "Yes." Was all she muttered.

"Are you sure?" Talon felt the need to pry, but didn't want to seem like he was digging too quickly.

"Yes," Vanessa said more confidently. "Everything is fine. I'm just running really late for work and I'm afraid if I miss one more meeting, my boss may fire me on the spot." Talon nodded, understanding after the conversation they'd had the other night. She wasn't lucky like he was. Marcus would always understand if Talon was running late, and vice versa.

"Well, here, the coffee is fresh and ready to go, and I'll cover your tab today." Talon smiled, pulling his hands from her arms and placing them on her hands that were now cradling the coffee cup.

"You don't have to, I have the money to pay."

"It's fine, and I'd love to."

Vanessa nodded and turned to walk away. Talon stood dazed at the meeting, but was coherent enough to follow her with his eyes.

"Thank you," Vanessa muttered when she turned to look at him over her shoulder. It was only then that Talon noticed the jacket she had been wearing. It was the same one from last night, the leather jacket that nearly put him on his knees with how good it looked.

"Of course, I hope to see you again, Vanessa." Talon whispered, not sure if she heard him or not. But when her hand lingered on the door longer than either of them expected, he knew she had. Vanessa looked like she was struggling with a decision. She turned on her heel, the door now behind her, and closed the distance between the two of them.

Talon sucked in a deep breath, watching her as she came closer. He wasn't sure what she was doing or how he was supposed to respond, but her gaze held him in place. Time seemed to stop around the two of them. The very few people that were still lingering in the coffee shop all seemed to fade away.

"Look, I know I'm running so late, but I don't feel right leaving without saying this." Vanessa looked up at Talon, leaning against him for support. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest, feeling the most romantic they've been since they've met.

"Then I'll try to keep my mouth shut and let you say it." Talon beamed, his voice husky. He knew it was time, now was his moment.

Vanessa pulled away, just for a moment, to set her coffee cup down on the table next to them. They were still standing in the middle of the entry and if any other customers tried to get in right now, they wouldn't be able to, but Talon wasn't moving a muscle.

Once the coffee cup was out of the way, Vanessa placed her hands on Talon's cheeks. She paused long enough to feel the heat building up on her skin. She shook her head, drawing in a deep breath before moving to her tiptoes. The world shifted around them as everything went quiet. There were no more sounds from the cars on the roads outside, no more chatter from the voices inside. At this moment, it was just Talon and Vanessa.

Talon felt the warmth of Vanessa's lips wrap around his, pulling him deeper into her body. His hands drifted to her lower back as the rest of him ached for her. It's been too long, and this was exactly the kind of kiss he needed. He followed in her dance, letting her lead the moment so he could savor every last second of it. It felt like minutes before Vanessa finally pulled away, and as soon as she was gone, Talon craved her lips once more. One kiss would never be enough.

"I'm sorry, I know this is probably the worst place for me to have done something like that, but you seemed to keep chickening out whenever I thought you were going to and I just couldn't wait any longer." Vanessa said in a raspy voice. Talon noticed her chest heaving with every word she said. He tried to look away, but he'd already been busted staring.

"You don't ever have to apologize for that. I've been wanting to do that for ages, but you're right. Every time I felt like it was the right time, I just couldn't follow through."

"Well, I don't ever want you to miss another moment." Vanessa turned to look at the clock and all of the color nearly washed from her face. "Oh god I'm so terribly late." She muttered, pulling away frantically and quickly reaching for her coffee cup.

"Here," Talon said, handing her the mug that was just out of reach. She smiled, nodded and went to turn to leave. Talon grabbed her hand and as she took a step towards the door and pulled her back, quickly planting another kiss on her lips. "Didn't want to miss another moment. But hurry, let me know how work goes."

Vanessa smiled against his lips. She nodded, and Talon watched as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. God, she needs to stop doing that.

Vanessa whipped around once more, trying to leave the building. Talon held himself back this time, even though he wanted nothing more than to grab her and hold her all day long. He didn't care if he was in the middle of the coffee shop, and there were strangers all around, or about any of the flack Marcus would for sure give him in the next ten seconds. Once Vanessa reached the door, she stumbled to the side, allowing a few customers to filter in.

"Pick me up tonight? We can go for a walk through one of the parks or maybe get some more food somewhere?" Vanessa said as she leaned against the door with it half open.

"I'll see you at seven." Talon smiled and without noticing his hand shot up to wave at her as she left. He watched her head bob through a crowd of people as she weaved through the pedestrians trying to get to their jobs.

Talon couldn't tell how he was feeling. Both nerves and excitement were overflowing out of his body. His knees were shaking from the adrenaline, and he was nearly knocked over when someone placed their arm on his shoulders. Talon looked to see Marcus, curly haired and all leaning against him with the cheekiest smile on his face.

"My boy's in love." He teased, pulling his free hand to his mouth and biting his finger. Talon rolled his eyes and pulled away, not sure how to respond to the not-so-unexpected comment. Talon found his place behind the counter once more, helping the newbie with one of the coffees he was horribly making. Marcus followed him, handing the cup to the customers once it was completed and taking their payment before pushing Talon to the back room.

"No seriously, bro, are you falling for this girl?" Marcus tried to keep his voice down, but the excitement in his face matched what Talon was feeling.

"Maybe." Talon shrugged, but he knew that was a lie. He definitely was.