~The Present ~

With the semester over, Markos decided maybe it was time to clean out his office. He was well aware of his reputation around campus as the unconventional, nutty professor type. He was known for his brilliant yet scattered and rambling thoughts. It was as if his thoughts were rainbow colored shards of glass that he collected at random and tucked away in different corners of his mind. No one was ever sure where they had come from or what they were for, but he held them dearly as if they were gold. Then one day, he would toss them to the ground and every little piece would fall perfectly into place to create a beautiful mosaic. And then it all made sense.

"Good lord," Markos uttered to himself as he surveyed the damage. 

He'd been so wrapped up in his work, he hadn't realized how bad it'd gotten. Now with fresh eyes, he could see what a disaster it was. No wonder all his students teased him - lovingly of course. The entire floor was coated with crumpled papers, books, potion bottles, and lots and lots of empty coffee cups. 

With a heavy sigh, Markos got to work. He started with the easy stuff and started picking up the books one by one and stacking them on his book shelf. As he sorted through the mess, he stumbled across an old leather bound journal he had since he was a kid. He let the memories sink in for a brief moment before tossing it aside. He miscalculated how close his desk was and the journal just missed. It landed on the floor splayed open with the spine facing up. When he went to pick it up, a glossy 5 x 7 photograph slipped out and fluttered to the floor. It caught his attention and piqued his interest. He furrowed his brow in confusion as he bent to pick it up. 

A pang of hurt stung his heart when he turned it over and saw four goofy kids with black hair and ear-to-ear smiles staring up at him. Sand was squished in between their toes as luscious waves crashed in the background. The girls had buried Markos's entire body in the sand, leaving only his head poking out and they couldn't have been more proud of themselves. 

Nostalgia washed over him like the waves on the shore. He remembered those days. When they were young, their parents created their own little island oasis just off the coast of Santorini that they escaped to every summer. It was made entirely from magic and was hidden to the world. Only the Tarby clan knew of it's existence, which made it that much more special to them. 

As far as Markos knew, it was still there. But it had been all but abandoned years ago. There were no more sand castles or foot prints in the sand. Only empty hammocks and empty memories.

Markos let out a heavy sigh and shoved the picture in his coat pocket. Too many painful memories and too little caffeine.

In need of a pick me up, Markos headed down to his favorite coffee shop. His spirits were immediately lifted when he saw Tyrella standing behind the counter.

"Markos!" Tyrella greeted him warmly. "How you doin' baby?"

"Better now that I've seen your beautiful face," Markos said with a smile.

Tyrella smacked her lips together and rolled her eyes, but Markos knew she loved it when he complimented her. It was all part of the little game they played.

"I'm serious," Markos chuckled. "I haven't seen you in awhile. It's nice to see you."

"Oh please," Tyrella scoffed with a dismissive wave of her hand. "The pleasure is all mine. Now what are you having? Your usual?"

"Yes please," Markos said with a boyish smile. 

"Only for you, baby," she winked.

As she rang up his order, Markos let his mind wander back to his last visit. And he couldn't help but poke his head around her to look for a certain someone. 

"She's on break," Tyrella said as if reading his mind.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Markos said coyly as he counted out his bills.

"Mmhm," Tyrella said as she bobbed her head. 

She didn't believe him for a second. Markos wasn't the least bit surprised she had seen right through him. She knew him well and he wasn't exactly being subtle.

"Really," Markos said, keeping up the charade. "I haven't got the slightest clue."

Markos gave Tyrella a knowing smile before tossing his bills on the counter and grabbing his coffee. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, but couldn't stop herself from smiling. That boy was too much.

"But uh, before I go," Markos said just as he had reached the door. "Just purely out of curiosity, where do you guys take your breaks?"

"There's a picnic table around back," Tyrella smirked. "You'll find her there."

"Thank you," Markos said with a sly smile as he slipped out the door.

Markos wasn't exactly sure what "around back" meant, so he wandered around the building until he happened to stumble across a set of old paint-chipped picnic tables. Brie sat scrolling through her phone and twirling the end of her braid. She had her feet kicked up on the table next to her without a care in the world. She didn't see him right away. Markos took that opportunity to take in everything about her that he had missed the first time around. He hadn't noticed her silver hoop nose ring or  the stacks of rings on her fingers or the flannel shirt tied around her waist or the worn-out vintage doc martens on her feet. Every new little detail just made him that much more intrigued. And he couldn't wait any longer to talk to her.

"Hey," he said.

He knew it was a weak opening, but he didn't care. It got her to look his way and that's all that mattered.

"Hi," Brie said back, letting her braid slip out of her fingers.

He was the last person she was expecting to see here. The coffee shop was only a part-time gig to make her a little money while she was in school so, to her disappointment, her chances of running into him were slim. That didn't stop her heart from racing every time the little bells hanging from the door chimed, hoping it would be him. But it was always someone else. Eventually, she got used to the disappointment and gave up the fantasy. 

Figures as soon as she stopped expecting him to show up, boom there he was.

"Remember me?"

"Yeah I remember," she said. How could she forget? "You're the guy who likes to steal coffee."

"Okay I did that one time," he joked. "And it was an accident."

"Sure it was," she teased, feeding off his playful energy. 

"It was!" Markos maintained with a laugh. "I'm not a thief."

"Yeah right," she said. "If I hadn't stopped you, you would've walked right out that door."

"I would've noticed," Markos said. "And I would've come back and paid."

"Would you've though?" She said as she squinted her eyes at him in fake suspicion. 

"Honestly probably not."

They looked at each other and burst out laughing. 

"I'm gonna have you banned," she teased, unable to suppress her giggles.

"Please don't," he said with a laugh. "I don't know how I'd survive."

"You could make your own damn coffee," she quipped.

For a split second she feared she had maybe taken it too far, but to her relief his eyes glistened as he broke out into a smile. 

"Make my own coffee?" Markos said, feigning shock and ignorance. "You mean you don't like serving coffee to grumpy, sleep deprived college students and over zealous hipsters trying to act apathetic? Let me ask you something, how many times a day do people ask if the soy milk is gluten free?"

"Too many," Brie chuckled and shook her head. 

Even as a newbie, part-timer the customers were already beginning to wear on her.

"I'm not that bad right?" He asked. "Please tell me I'm not that bad."

"I don't know," she said. "I've only served you once."

"Well," Markos said as he debated whether the perfect opening was given to him purposefully or if he was just delusional and all this flirty banter was in his head. Either way, he was confident enough to take the leap. "How about you get to know me more?"

"And how would I do that?" Brie said, giving him a coy smile.

"I could think of a few ways," Markos smirked.

Brie bit her lip, knowing she had walked right into that one. She didn't regret setting him up for it though. She liked that he could make her blush.

"How about we start with dinner?"

"I'm okay with that," Markos said. "You like sushi?"

"I love it."

"All right then," he smiled. "It's a date."