The two weeks flew bye quickly.

Before I could say
Otorhinolaryngologist, I was packing up the little belongings I had and was already out the door of Cumberland . I understood though, this was how the world worked. Even though I was the one that resigned, this reiterated the fact that everyone was replaceable.

Big organizations like Cumberland strived greatly on the high levels of unemployment, they could pay us peanuts for all we cared. We wanted a job no matter how much we knew we were being cheated.

A peanut is better than no peanut after all.

I walked out of the cool air conditioned building and without looking back I made my way out into the humid air. I was immediately bombarded with the busy sounds of the economy. Armed with my resumé and a determination that could move mountains I started my walk along the block of businesses.

The nagging voice that kept saying I will end up having to go back to my home town with my head held down and my dignity in shreds prompted me walk faster.

I needed a job, and I needed it now.

______

By noon I was exhausted.

I have been walking in and out of buildings asking if they were hiring and leaving resumes at the front desk. So far I had not had a stroke of luck. By then the blinding heat and the lunch rush had drained me of the earlier determination which had ebbed considerably, leaving me feeling a little defeated and a lot tired.

I walked into the first coffee shop I could find, thinking I could maybe spare the money to buy something cool to drink. Maybe a glass of iced tea, or a bottle of water.

When I was inside, I was bombarded with the smell of freshly baked goods and the familiar aroma of brewing coffee. I inhaled deeply savoring the smell and immediately deciding to add a croissant to my list.  An extra 5o cents couldn't hurt...much.

As I peered up at the menu from the back of the fairly long line, I became aware of the nagging feeling of someone watching me.

I shrugged it off, chalking up the tingly feeling at the back of my neck to a reaction to the heat and suddenly stepping into the ac.

It persisted and after trying to resist for a while longer, I let my eyes trail from the menu to casually slide across the room.

The tables were mostly filled with men in business suits sitting in front of coffees and talking on cellphones. There were also a few -what I assume to be college students- tapping away at their laptops while taking hurried sips of various coffee beverages.

As my eyes skimmed over the crowd, I did a double take as I was met with a pair of dark brown eyes. The stranger had a hood over his head, and after holding my gaze for a few seconds. He bent over a black book, his hands expertly holding a pencil that moved in decided strokes over the pages.

I was aware of the goose pimples that swelled over my skin. Tingling as it spread up my arms and neck. He looked up at me again, and when our eyes met he held my gaze once more.

I was startled by a slight tap on the shoulder. I turned around to look at the short girl who had her light pink hair in a curly bob, she gestured to the line with a slight smile. During my little moment, the line had moved up and I was holding up those behind me. I shuffled up in the line, mumbling a thank you to the girl.

I tried to act unaffected but I could feel my face flushing. I still felt his eyes on me but I ignored it, focusing hard on not giving into the nagging urge to peer at him from under my lashes.

When it was my turn I ordered an iced coffee and ended up buying a turkey sandwich. When collecting my order I glimpsed a little pink flyer, quickly reading it to make sure it is what I suspected. I spoke before the barista went to serve the other customer.

"Are you guys still looking for help?" I pointed at the flyer so she understood what I meant.

She smiled at me, "Yeah, I assume you're interested. I'll just hand you a form and you can fill it out."

She ducked under the counter to produce a form securely clipped on a clipboard. She handed it to me,

"I'm Ashley by the way. Don't be afraid to come over if you have any questions." I smiled at her, thanking her before balancing my order and the clipboard simultaneously turning around to scan the room for a seat.

My eyes automatically found his table.

The seat across him was empty, it was one of the few empty seats left in the shop. Steeling my shoulders I made my way over to the table, sliding into the seat before dropping my bag beside me.

I ruffled through for a pen, and unwrapped my sandwich before taking a bite.

I finished my sandwich in silence except for the expected background chatter of the cafe and the scratch of his pencil over the book, which he had subtly pulled closer to his body earlier.

I let out a sigh after taking a long drag of my iced coffee.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" I asked suddenly breaking the silence.

I watched as he slowly looked up from his book, he straightened from his slouch to pin me with his gaze.

"I doubt it." He said.

His voice was a little gravely but deep, like he hadn't spoken in a while.

He closed the little black book and stuffed it in the pouch at the front of his hoodie. There was a cup of black coffee that probably had long since gone cold, abandoned and pushed to the side to make space for the book he had, now hidden away securely in his pocket. He was obviously a little protective of it.

He leaned back to look casual, but I could see from the tension in his shoulder that he was affected by my presence.

"Hmm," I said before pressing the top of my pen to my lip so the point could pop out. I started filling out the form.

After a few minutes I spoke again, "So am I to assume, that a shady looking stranger who has no idea who I am. Has been secretly watching me while ominously scribbling in a black book?"

I looked at him, gauging his reaction.

I was met with his profile. He was focused on something outside, I glanced out the large windows. There wasn't anything spectacular going on, just people hurriedly trying to grab a quick lunch before going back to work. This was the business district after all. Nothing was slow in this part of town.

We sat in silence for a while, I had almost convinced myself he didn't hear me when he spoke, breaking the silence with his deep voice.

"And am I to assume, that you just walk up to strangers who you think might be stalking you, maybe making a hit list of some sort. And just strike up a conversation with them." He cocked his head to the side and his hood shifted a little revealing more of his face.

I let myself take in his features, his lips were full, accented by a slight feathery barley there mustache. His cheekbones were obviously defined and the shadow from the hood and the mixture of the sunlight hitting his face just right made me think that maybe I was hallucinating. And he wasn't there at all.

I resisted the urge to ask the guy at the table across from us -who was bent studiously as he typed on his laptop- if he could see the man in front of me.

I watched the corner of his lips twitch then settle on a slight smirk, I absentmindedly reminded myself that most serial killers were known to lure in unsuspecting victims with their physical attributes. Tom Bundy for example was expert at this.

I cleared my throat, averting my gaze a little to collect my thoughts.

"You're right. I mean, I have seen Death Note and it could be totally plausible that you're making a list of random strangers for some nefarious reason that you obviously will not tell me about in detail. But if my memory serves me right, you live in my building. You were the guy that saved my green beans."

I felt my lips stretch into a smirk. I was feeling pleased with myself for remembering where I'd seen those eyes before.

"I can never forget beautiful fingers."

His index finger paused mid tap on the table. He let out a chuckle, bringing his hands up to run it across the rim of his coffee cup.

"So you have a thing for fingers?"

I could feel myself redden as I realized what I had done by letting the little embarrassing fact slip.

I did have a thing for nice hands, Beautiful fingers were an aesthetic I was devoted to. But he didn't need to know that.

"Uhh," I trailed off taking a sip drink to avoid answering.

He chuckled, shifting into a sitting position. "Noted. For purely not-so innocent, non-stalkerish reasons. That out of respect, I will not go into in detail."

I choked on my sip of tea, letting out a strangled squeak before gulping down my mouthful. My hand flew up to wipe the dribble that rolled down my chin, my eyes widened as the possible meanings behind what he just said flipped through my mind like a video montage.

Before I could collect myself, he was pushing back his chair and getting up. A satisfied smirk on his face as he brushed passed me.

"I'll see you around." He mumbled so only I could hear.

By the time I was fully recovered all that was left of him was the forgotten cup of black coffee, my soiled application form and a cloud of his scent that has enveloped me when he had passed by. Something manly with a hint of weed.

When I finally made my way back to the counter, Ashley automatically handed me a clipboard without me having to ask.

"I had messed up his order for the entire first two weeks I'd been working here. And craziest thing is his order was almost the same every single time!" She let out a cute little giggle that I was always amazed by the fact that some girls were able to make.

My laugh sounds horrible.

She finally calmed down to flash me a bright smile as I tried to hide the embarrassing flush that was slowly creeping up my face.

"Thanks." I mumbled turning around quickly to walk back to my seat. Clipboard clutched to my chest as I fought to keep my mind off of the guy in the hoodie.

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A/N
An update in less than a day because the first chapter is trash and needs editing. I whipped something up at work 😂  it's not edited.
enjoy.
Also, please pause to appreciate the pic of him in the mm 😭💓
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