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I watched him in the flickering light of the sushi bar. The light –there was only one, after all, because the place was so tiny- was going out. In fact, I figured it was likely to go out while I was still there. I watched as our shadows danced on the walls, the flicker making them look like schizophrenic shadow puppets. Sometimes, I thought, he doesn’t need a light that’s burning out to make his shadow schizophrenic.
It was a very small sushi bar, a family business. I doubted they were getting much income out of it. It was small and comfortable and yet trashy and disconcerting at the very same time. The walls were washed-out white and blah –painted that boring and supposedly soothing color. The tables were small, intimate, and colored black and crimson.
I knew exactly why Andrew had brought me here. Little prick that he was, he thought that a place as trashy as the bar he had first tried to pick me up in would be an appropriate place to dump me. Why couldn’t I have seen what a prick he was earlier? I thought with disgust. I might as well give him his first memory of being the dumped, I thought, barely containing my urge to smile. But if I did, I would give myself away.
I stared at the table and waited for our server. I looked up as she came over. She looked about 21, was big busted, and very pretty. She was defiantly of Asian descent, and she wore it as well as she wore her black hair, which was tied up in a neat bun with a few shorter strands framing her face.
I began to flirt with her, shamelessly, but in Japanese. From our conversation, I learned that: a) her name was Angelina, b) she was 21, like I had suspected, and c) she was bisexual. The perfect waitress for today. Andy, although he was not fluent in Japanese, followed some of our conversation. Storm clouds rolled into brown eyes that were cold as ice. I hid a smile and told Angel we’d like to order now.
Nodding, she turned to Andy. “What would you like today, sir?” she asked in clear English.
“Just a cup of tea, if you don’t mind,” he replied through clinched teeth.
“And you, Ravyn?” she asked, knowing my game and throwing in the nickname to rile him.
I smiled at her. “I’d like a cup of green tea, please.”
She smiled at me and nodded. She didn’t bother to write it down as she headed to the kitchen to get the different teas. We were her only two customers. There were six small tables, and only ours was occupied, let alone full.
“Ravyn, this isn’t working between us,” Andy said as soon as Angel was out of hearing range. He leaned across the table to make it look like an intimate conversation to the casual observer.
“Duh. You make no effort to make this work. This is not my fault,” I replied, smiling at the tall Japanese boy who stuck his head out of the kitchen. The boy blushed, smiled at me, and called for Angel. She came running as fast as she could in her short black skirt, tank top and three-inch heels.
“I have, Ravy. I have,” Andy returned in a needy voice. I found it very annoying all of a sudden. Ravyn, who are you kidding? You always found it annoying. You just hid it from yourself.
“Uh huh. If you were trying, you’d know I hate that nickname,” I spat. “Consider yourself dumped.” I rose to my feet, grabbed my tote bag –no need for a purse with that- and walked away from him, leaving him with two cups of tea and the tab.
I stopped at the counter, grabbed a pen from my pocket and wrote ‘For the light’ on a napkin, along with my name, number, and offer to fix the place up for free sushi for as long as it took me to finish. Using a paperclip that was somehow tucked in my pocket, I paper clipped a twenty to it and left. A few minutes after I walked out, the boy came to the counter. He picked up the napkin, read it, and looked through the window, directly at me, and smiled.
I winked at him. He flushed crimson. What a cute, shy kid, I thought as I started down the street. Downtown was my ideal scene. I grew up downtown. I know that part of the city the best. Everything good was in the heart of New Orleans. The best gumbo, chicory coffee, and the hottest guys were downtown.
Besides, my favorite coffee shop was downtown. A cup of Tony’s chicory coffee was known to put me in a considerably better mood. Garner’s coffee wasn’t quite as good as Tony’s, but it did suffice when it was his shift and not Tony’s, and it was better than any other I’d find in New Orleans.
In a few minutes, I found myself standing in front of Cajun Coffee. Although their name was somewhat unoriginal, I forgave them because their coffee was the best in New Orleans. Trust me, I know. I would walk ten thousand miles for a great cup of coffee. Tony’s won the gold, and Garner’s took the silver.
I pushed through the door. The cheerful tinkle of the bell annoyed me as I came in. However, I knew it would make me smile on my way out. It always did. The waiter –the only waiter employed here, Jaycob Dresden- leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen door. He smiled when he saw me.
“Hey Ravyn,” he said, his smile spreading clear across his face.
“Hi, Jayke,” I replied. “How was your day?” I liked to think of the period of light as day. It was nine and the moon was full and high.
“My day was fine. The usual?” His voice was surprising for someone as young as him. It was like scuffed leather: deep, dark, rough, and a little ragged.
“That depends. Who’s in the kitchen?” I inquired.
“Tony,” he replied, still smiling.
“Then double it,” I replied. “My usual table free?”
“Always is, babe. You’re our best customer.”
“Thank you,” I replied, placing a hand on his arm. Jayke could be a little crazy, but he was a good and reliable friend. I leaned over and kissed his cheek
He smiled at me. “Now go sit down, honey.”
I couldn’t help but smile as I walked to the back corner of the coffee shop. ‘My table’ is in the darkest corner of the shop. I liked to keep my back to the wall and my eyes on what was going on in the shop. It was a crazy compulsion, but I couldn’t help but give in to it.
The tables matched the color of their house-blend coffee with no additives. The tiled floor was crimson, to present a nice color blend. I knew the layout of the shop like the back of my hand. I ought to. I redecorated it for free coffee as long as I worked on it not even a year ago. Fifteen intimate tables for two; generally, only seven were used other than mine until it got real busy.
Today, it was busy. Thirteen of the fifteen tables were full. I pulled a book from my tote bag and began to read. I looked up and smiled at Jayke when he brought my coffee. He smiled back, kissed my cheek, and ruffled my hair. After smoothing my hair a little –quite a chore with the crazy curls I call hair- I went back to reading my book.
A few minutes later, I looked up when I realized my cup was empty and I needed to flag down Jayke for some more coffee. I discovered there was a man sitting across from me. As he took a sip of his coffee, I studied him covertly. He was tall, leanly muscled, and blond. He wore an Armani suit. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out.
He felt my eyes on him and looked up. I found myself staring into the most intense, electrifying eyes I had ever seen. I forced my gaze away from him, hoping it would break the spell. It didn’t. I was utterly enthralled by his masculine beauty and commanding presence.
I prayed silently that he didn’t notice. Good God! What a tremendously sexy guy. Mmm. Yummy! I thought, ashamed of myself but still ogling.
“Sorry,” he said apologetically. He gestured to the room. “All the other tables were full, so Jay seated me over with you. He said you wouldn’t mind.”
I looked around the room. He was right. The room was full. Funny how I hadn’t noticed it when I looked up. I should have. I was too good at observation. And yet I didn’t notice it because of the most amazing and mesmerizing pair of blue eyes I had ever seen.
“I don’t mind. You just startled me, is all,” I replied, doing my best not to lose myself in his mesmerizing eyes.
“Not expecting company?”
“I just dumped my boyfriend and my only friend who drinks anything with me is out of town, so that would be a no,” I replied, explaining my surprise and yet brazenly letting him know I was available. I was quite ashamed of myself as soon as the words were out of my mouth.
“Mmm. I’m Talon. Talon Marks,” he said, extending his hand.
I took it. “I’m Kara Black. My friends call me Ravyn.”
He pressed a kiss to my hand and I covered my sharp indrawn breath with a breathy sentence in French: “Enchanté!”
Talon gave me a sideways glance.
“Nice to meet you. Sorry. It’s French. Sometimes, I forget not everyone speaks it,” I said with a half smile.
He returned a smile. “I took Spanish.”
“¡Maravilloso! ¡Yo, también!” I replied, switching languages with the quick ease known only to those who work with languages everyday.
“Why do you know so many languages?”
“I’m a linguist and occasionally a translator in spare time.”
“That does explain it,” he replied with a sexy little half-smile
“That’s what everyone says,” I replied with a roll of my eyes.
“That’s also a very original name,” he said casually.
“I’m an original person,” I replied with a smile.
“I’m sure you are,” he said, a slow, sexy smile working its way onto his full, kissable lips and into his electrifying eyes.
I smiled and flagged Jayke over to the table for another cup. My smile slowly found its place, inching across my lips cautiously.
It’s amazing what some steaming-hot chicory coffee can do. With a little conversation over one cup of it, my day was finally starting to look up. I couldn’t wait to see what the second cup would bring.
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