He doesn't waste any time either as he responds right back.

Seeing the smiley face he adds to the text sends a smile straight to my face.

I stare at the apartment around me, looking pristine and spotless. Why did I do this today? I should have waited to do it when he comes over to play board games or as we draw portraits of each other.

I hear the alarm of the laundry, and I move along finishing the rest of my chores as I get ready for the rest of the day.

* * * 

I did not do much else at my apartment besides have lunch, figure out what games we have at home, and check the price of canvases online. The canvas seems so extra to me since we are not trained professionals, as far as I know, but I like the idea of us painting them at some point besides what I assume would be a preliminary sketch for our portraits.

But all of that is lost as I make my way to the cafe, where I decided to get there early since he was early last time and also on the off chance, it is crowded today. And it is a good thing I came because it is totally crowded today. 

10, 20 people are here, chatting away with their drinks, enjoying some snacks, doing work on their computers, filling up their planners and calendars, and children playing on a phone. 

There are three people working behind the counter tonight, where I recognize the one from the other day and the other two are Alice and Ben. They certainly look frantic as they are taking orders, filling orders, making food, cleaning tables, and all the other responsibilities it takes for a cafe to run.

I approach the line for the counter, where there are three people ahead of me, and most everyone is nice, patiently waiting for their order to be taken. Soon enough, I am at the front of the line, where it is Ben who is taking my order.

Ben greets me a hello as if he is saying, "I know you, but I'm not going to make a big deal out of it." I return a hello, where I ask for a raspberry tea and a lemonade refresher. He gives me my total, and he asks if it is for here or to go. I tell him it'll be for here, and he quickly nods before saying they'll call out my name once it's ready.

I nod appreciatively as I go to find a good spot, where Thomas and I can write. My favorite hunched man is back in his corner, where he looks disturbed by all the noise going on around him, but that still does not stop him from typing and typing away on his computer.

I find a table jammed in between the wall and the window of the cafe, where there are two perfectly good chairs for Thomas and I.

I sit down and put my purse over the back of the chair as I put my tote bag on my lap. I brought my tote bag with me because I wanted to write on my computer. I pull out my handy dandy laptop that has seen better days and find the closest outlet, so she doesn't die on me five minutes into writing.

As my computer starts up, I hear my name being called, where I jump up and head for the end of the counter. Alice is greeting me with a kind smile despite all the chaos going on in the store. I thank her for my drinks and hide away in my corner.

I have cautiously been paying attention to the bell above the door, waiting for Thomas's arrival when after the first three people come in and two people go out, I am confronted with Thomas.

His black t-shirt collides with his straight blue jeans, and he is searching and searching.

Searching for me.

I shake the thought of my head as he finally spots me, which brings a smile upon his lips. He moves precisely yet slowly as he maneuvers around all the other people surrounding us.

"Hey. I knew you'd get here early. How long have you been here?"

"Not long. How was your day?"

Thomas begins to tell me about the craziness at the library and how so many people were there. He said how there was supposed to be this show and activity for the kids, but the guy never showed up, so we had to make up something on the spot. He mentioned how a bunch of people came to get library cards before the beginning of summer.

While he's talking, he pulls out a notebook and pen from his tote bag that he brought, and as he sets them down on the table, he notices among my laptop are two drinks.

He stares at me like he isn't sure if he is about to say something wrong.

"Did you get me a drink?"

"Yeah, I got you a lemonade refresher. Is that okay?"

The grin on his face is so warm and inviting, where he slowly reaches out towards his drink and takes a nice, long swig.

He thanks me for the drink, and I feel giddy. "It was just a drink," I tell him, but he dismisses that out of hand. He thanks me again, and I assure him it was no problem, that I wanted to do it. That's when he says he'll have to treat me next time.

We move on from drinks as we talk about these short stories we are going to write. I tell him about how I am going to write something scary, something that will send a shiver down his spine. His first question is have I ever written something horror. I plead the fifth on that question, then I ask him what he's going to write about. He tells me he's going to write a mystery story about someone going missing and finding them in the most unthinkable place.

We begin working on our stories, slowly but surely. We chat and discuss ideas as we write, where after 30 minutes, we would be doing a better job if we had one of those devices that translates the words into text. I take a break as I shut my laptop and stare at Thomas.

He is diligently working on his story, hunched over the table with the pen in his hand, scribbling as fast as he can, where you can see his hand can't keep up with his mind. I watch him some more as I sip on my tea and also take in my surroundings.

From where we are, we can see outside the window, and there are couples, families, single persons going all about the main street as they are in the pursuit of shopping, eating, or enjoying company. What I can clearly see is the ice cream store across the way from here, near the parking lot. Daisy's Ice Cream. Inside is packed full of people, but I can most clearly see a young family, sitting at the tiny table outside, eating and laughing as the dad continues to fight the good fight of not letting a single drop of ice cream get on his daughter's pretty dress.

I smile as I focus my attention back on the cafe when I realize Thomas is watching me. He has stopped writing, and his pen is tucked away in his notebook.

"Are you taking a break?"

"Sort of. We do need to get out of here soon though since they close in about 10 minutes."

I suddenly am thrown back to last Wednesday, where Alice had to force me out of the cafe since I was so lost in my book, and I didn't know their hours.

"Oh my gosh, you're right! You're right. We need to get our stuff together and go."

I begin to shut down my computer, grab my purse, and get my tote bag open all while Thomas has not moved a muscle.

"What are you doing? We should leave before they have to tell us."

"Is that it for tonight? Will we see each other sometime tomorrow or the next day?"

His voice comes across frustrated, but he tries to play it cool by offering me a tiny smile. He doesn't want it to be over yet.

"Oh, well, you could come over to my place if you want. I'm only five minutes down the street from here. We could keep writing or do whatever. I did some cleaning today as part of my errands."

Thomas looks at me skeptically, which is probably related to the fact that I did not give him a definitive answer, and I sound like people who say you can come, but they don't really want you to come. Let's try this again.

"Come over. We can write more and relax. You probably haven't eaten dinner yet either, have you?"

His eyebrows shoot up as he gapes at me, "Lucy, are you saying you'll even make dinner for me? You already bought me a drink and now dinner?"

The mischievous look in his eye is lost on me as I tell him not to come anymore, which is quickly followed by him begging me to let him come over and how I already invited him over for Saturday, so that's the difference.

I shake my head as I send him a text with my address as I stand up from our tiny oasis.

"Ready?"

"Ready," he asserts as he grabs my hand and pulls me towards the door, heading on our way to my place.