Chapter Text
The rain pattered against the window, the cloudy overlay not allowing a glimpse of the sun to hit the rainbow film she had plastered on the glass. Her eyes darted around the dimly lit room, hoping to distract herself with anything, but nothing came to mind. A small meow was heard below her feet, swinging in disinterest as her hands dug into her clothes' thighs. She sighed, her dark eyes flickering down to see the mismatched irises of her black cat.
“Lilith…” Her voice croaked out. She hadn’t cleared her throat in what felt like hours, parched and craving the ice-cold feeling of what the water might feel that was sitting in her bottle a few feet away. Though she didn’t have energy for that at the moment, she halted her legs, swinging to reach her arms down to scoop the cat into her arms. Her face immediately nuzzled the black fur, breathing in and exhaling, good god, she needed to brush this cat. Small hairs irritated her nose, which made her face scrunch up, but she decided not actually to do anything; she’d do it later.
Soft padding echoed through the quiet place along with the soft purring of Lilith.
“Let's feed you, yeah?” She murmured to the small animal who trailed on her heels. When both approached the kitchen, Lilith perched against the counter, rubbing her chin all over and started to moew lowly as she expected her food.
“Okay–okay. I'm going.” Her hands cracked open a wet food can, the stench making her grimace slightly as the mush flopped into the cat's food bowl. Gross.
“There, happy now?”
“Meow.” Lilith ran up to the bowl and shoved her face into the wet food, chewing loudly and purring while her owner laughed and shook her head. Now that her cat was eating, maybe she should focus on herself. Her hands rubbed at her face, trying to wake herself up by roughly touching her skin, but somehow it made her dizzy. Shit. She hasn’t drunk or eaten anything today, gotta do that right away.
She grabbed a bowl from her cabinets and picked up a box of mini-wheat. Was this a filling, healthy breakfast? No, but it was something quick to get into her system, and she couldn't care less right now. The milk was the last thing she needed, so she went around the island and opened up her fridge, eyes flickering around for the jug before grabbing it. The door closed shut as she kicked it with her foot before padding back to the bowl with cereal and poured in some milk. Oh wow, what a delicious meal she had. Her fingers grabbed a spoon, then started scooping the food into her mouth, her gaze moving back down to Lilith, who seemed to lick her bowl clean.
A few moments later, she drank the last remaining drops of milk before placing her bowl in the sink, gazing down at her cat with a tilt of her head.
“Should I go get coffee?” Her voice murmured lowly, brows lifting at the animal.
“Meow.”
“Okay, yeah, I was thinking maybe a matcha from the place down the street, too.”
She bent down and ran her fingers over the tufts of black fur on the cat's head before standing up and sauntering over to her bedroom. Her fingers flicked on the lights, groaning as she hated how gloomy it was. Any other day would've been fine, but today she was not feeling her best, and to top it off, with this kind of weather? It wasn’t making anything better at all. She rummaged through her dresser, pulling out a few items, and tried to figure out an outfit to go out in. It was just a small coffee run–wait, matcha run, oh, whatever.
Finally, she got some clothes together and pulled them on. Not really wanting to do much with her hair, she pulled it back and used a random clip she found. Her fingers wiped under her eyes as she looked at her reflection, making do with what she already looked like. Okay, we’re getting somewhere. Next step was to find her bag and head out, it'll be quick, but with her luck? She might run into someone she knows, or worse, knew.
“I’ll be back–don't mess with anything.” She slightly pleaded with her cat before slipping on her Converse and stumbling out her front door in a hurry.
The pavement leading to the sidewalk was wet, but it wasn’t raining at the moment, so she had to make use of the time she had to get to her destination.
It was sprinkling when she got to the stoplight by the cafe, her eyes darting over at a few people who were under umbrellas and seemed to be hurrying for cover. The walking sign lit up, signaling that it was her time to go. She crossed a bit hastily, the cars waiting at the light making her a bit uneasy since it was pretty busy. The cafe came into view, and she sighed in relief, already imagining the nice interior and soft atmosphere. The bell jingled as the door swung open, and her hand slowly closed it, not to disturb the other patrons. Some people sat at the small bar area they had, and others were spread out in sections, either studying or speaking to their plus one.
She walked up to the cashier, plastering a smile on her lips and greeting the barista. The other girl, the barista, smiled back at her and lifted her fingers against the kiosk.
“Morning! What can I get for ya?”
Her gaze flickered at the menu, even knowing what she wanted already, but wanted to put on an act to at least seem interested.
“Hi…uh, can I get an iced matcha, sugar-free and oatmilk?”
“Sure! Anything else?”
She shook her head, lips parting, “No, that's it.”
The barista nodded and rang her up, telling her the total of the order before continuing the cashing process. “It’ll be out shortly.”
Her hands were tucked into her sweater's pockets before looking around the cafe to find a spot to settle in for the time being. The voices in the cafe were low, with the soft hum of jazz music lingering in the back. She then caught a small table tucked into the back, covered by a shelf filled with the cafe's beans and merchandise. Thank god.
She walked over and sat down, sighing under her breath as she prepared to wait for her drink in silence. Her phone was right there in her pocket, but for some reason, she didn’t feel like scrolling through social media at the moment. The place here gave her things to look at. The baristas interacting with each other, the small paintings nailed to the walls, the windows that had rain residue lingering, and the other customers who seemed engrossed in themselves.
And him. Her brows raised a bit, examining the man who seemed completely out of place here. His scruffy brown locks that looked like they’ve seen better days, an off-green shirt that was unbuttoned at the top, and pulled up to his elbows. He had a smug look on his face, his light brown eyes gleaming as he stared at the customers who walked in, then slowly met hers. She felt her breath hitch, eyes widening slightly as her neck craned to look in the opposite direction. No way she was just caught staring at this man like a freaking creep!
“Iced matcha for Kendra!”
That was not the voice of the previous barista. She looked up quickly, rising out of her seat to go ahead and grab her drink. While trying not to make it obvious that she was high on her nerves from being caught staring, her hands twitched by her side as she approached the counter. The iced drink sat there, a small smiley face and heart drawn on the side, when a voice spoke, making her jump.
“Made with love, from yours truly.” The person grinned widely at her, brown hair bunched up into a low ponytail, and dark eyes gleaming with mischief.
“You ass, I didn’t know you were working today.”
Her cousin and friend, Alysssa, whose grin widened even more if possible, leaned over the counter and wiggled her brows. “Got called in.”
“Right,” Kendra mumbled as she took a sip of her matcha, eyes glaring at her cousin over the lid.
“Saw you eyeing that hunk of a man over there. He’s a regular, ya know.” Alyssa spoke lowly, keeping her tone hush-hush.
“Strade, I think. I never take his order to be honest… he's scary.”
“Scary?” Kendra laughed as they both scooted to the side of the counter to avoid blocking other customers. Her cousin nodded eagerly,
“Yeah! Major creep vibes.”
She raised her brows, a smile still on her lips as she tilted her head to the side. “Judging a book by its cover? Classic of you.”
“That is not what this is!”
“Seems like it.”
Alyssa glared at her before huffing into her palm, gaze moving towards the man who sat near the front windows, who sipped his coffee. She seemed zoned in for a good minute and then snapped her gaze to Kendra,
“Go talk to him.”
Her face blanched, almost choking on her drink as she quickly shot her cousin, who had a shit-eating grin on her lips. “Are you dead ass right now?”
Her cousin snorted, propping herself up on the counter now.
“There's no harm in shooting you’re shot. I saw you looking at him…he’s hot, I'll give you that.”
“That doesn’t mean–”
“You only live once, and technically, if it goes bad, you’ll never see him again.”
She gawked at the other girl, in utter disbelief, but not surprised by her antics. Alyssa always had a knack for making things stressful, especially for Kendra, and this was one of them.
“You do it, I'll give you free pastries and drinks for the next two weeks.”
Damn, that was a good deal, but was it seriously worth the embarrassment she might have to endure if this guy thinks she's a weirdo?
“A month and you have to buy me dinner.”
Alyssa squealed, hands grabbing at Kendra's arm excitedly, “Yes! Anything!”
“I hate you so much.” Kendra swatted her cousin's hand away before tightly squeezing the plastic up in her hand, eyes focusing on the brunette across the cafe who seemed really into the painting that hung in front of him.
She can't believe she's actually doing this, god damnit Alyssa. It seemed like the noise of the patrons' voices hushed down almost immediately, unless that was just her heightened anxiety. Her feet slowly shuffled towards the direction where the man sat, completely unbeknownst to the nervous matcha-loving girl who was indeed regretting all her decisions up til now. Okay, this might be a horrible plan. What the hell was she going to say? How was she not going to make this weird? Should she just go up and slide into the seat across from him and start talking? The rain is nice, right? No! She’s so fucked.
“You alright, dear?” A deep, sturdy voice murmured out from in front of her.
Kendra blanched, eyes snapping down and seeing how she had already made her way towards him and now stood in his view. Shit.
“O-Oh yeah, I’m doing great.” She wasn’t, she was so, so far from doing ‘great’.
“Did ya need somethin’?” His brown eyes caught the cafe's ambient lighting, making his irises glint gold. Oh wow.
“No, I um–” Her hands tapped rhythmically against her half-filled cup, the water residue catching her fingers, “Just wanted to say hi.” Hi?! She internally grimaced, praying that this man would not call her a freak and laugh in her face, but all that disappeared when he let out a low chuckle that sent a shiver down her back.
“Niedlich.”
He leaned back into his seat, motioning her to sit down while he got comfortable, that wide smile forming back onto his lips. Kendra gulped, goosebumps rising all over as she tried to figure out what he had just said. It sounded German, but then again, she couldn’t be sure, but all she knew was that it was sexy coming from his lips. Get ahold of yourself! As she snapped back into reality and quickly pushed herself into the chair across from him, her gaze momentarily flicked to the counter, and her eyes narrowed in slight annoyance. Alyssa peered over the espresso machine, smiling broadly all the while, multitasking and making drinks. She was enjoying this, and Kendra was already planning to get her back for it.
“A friend?” Strade, that’s what her cousin said his name was, cleared his throat a bit before throwing out that question. His eyes were trained on her face, almost like he was trying to remember every single detail about her. Kendra licked her lips a bit nervously and out of habit, forcing herself to catch his gaze and maintain it.
“Yeah. My cousin.”
“Huh…so you must be a regular here then? This is the first time I’ve seen you.” The man leaned forward, crossing his arms over themselves as they settled onto the table between them, which unfortunately had her eyes glancing down briefly before snapping back up.
“I’m usually here at night, I uh–wait for her to get off and we head home together.”
“Roommates and cousins, you must be close.”
Why was his voice sultry? Is he doing this on purpose, or is it natural because she was about to puke from this interaction. His stare was so deep that it frazzled her, making her overthink her responses and trying to keep her voice from shaking.
“Yeah, you could say that.”
He grinned widely, baring his teeth, and she quickly noted the sharp canines. Oh, good lord. Kendra let out a small sigh, which caught his attention, and, without hesitation, leaned forward with a tilt of his head.
“Am I boring you, Kendra?”
Her heart stopped, breath catching in her throat, all the while she stared into those vexing brown eyes of his, god, he had to be doing this on purpose.
Wait–she never told him her name.
“How–”
Strade laughed with his chest, the sound reverberating throughout the cafe as his eyes crinkled up. “They called out your drink earlier, Süße.”
Oh. Oh.
“Right, yeah…” Her face was burning up in either embarrassment or the fact that this guy was getting under her skin so quickly in the few minutes of talking to him. There was a small brief of silence, but she could feel his eyes boring into her, most likely taking in her awkward posture and how she tapped the table now, relishing in the fact that he did this to her. Damn him, now he was getting on her nerves. This isn’t how she thought this whole interaction would go, and she was for sure going to punch her cousin for setting this up. The sound of a low huff from him had her eyes flick up, and she saw his grin shrink to a small smile as he gazed at her with interest.
“Are you from around here?” He spoke lowly now, changing the tone of the conversation.
Kendra nodded, smiling a bit and responding to him after taking a sip of her watered-down drink. “Yup. Raised and born,” her brows lifted, giving him a small questioning look, “and you?”
“No.” His hand stretched back towards his nape and rubbed it with his fingers, meaninglessly playing with his brown strands. “I moved here from Germany about a year or so ago.”
“For work?” She asked, her interest piqued, and took notes on his demeanor when he talked about his life or current situation.
He chuckled, “You could say that.”
Okay, he wasn’t giving her anything to work with at all, and why was he being so discreet with his responses? Her dark eyes almost narrowed at him, pursing her lips tightly before she leaned back into the chair and tucked her chin a bit.
“So secretive and for what? Hiding something?” She teased a bit lightheartedly, hoping that it’d ease him up so he would reveal at least something about himself.
His expression shifted for a split second, but she caught it, the way his brows raised a bit, and his jaw ticked to the side to reveal a sliver of indifference. It was only a second, and then he schooled his expression back to that calm, collected one, a playful smile forming on his lips.
“Maybe, maybe not. How am I supposed to reveal things to you if you haven’t done the same, Kendra?”
“What do you wanna know?” She quipped out, determined to at least find something out about him so she could go home fulfilled.
Strade stared at her for a beat before moving his arms to cross over his chest, leaning back, and manspreading like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“Work? School? What does Kendra like to do for fun, hm?”
He’s having so much fun with this, she groaned internally. Kendra pushed her drink to the side and propped her head up with one of her palms, thinking of what small details she could reveal to this partial stranger.
“I’m not in school at the moment, but I do work a part-time job for the time being.” She shrugged a bit before answering his last question,
“As for fun? I tend to draw sometimes, walk around the parks nearby, and hang out with friends when I have free time.”
“An Artist are you?” He murmured, his expression softening just a bit.
“I guess so, yeah.”
He smiled, almost genuinely, then proceeded to sit up straight and take the last remaining sip of his coffee. “You must show me sometime, I’d love to see it.”
“O-Oh, um I don't think–”
“I’m always here at nine am sharp. Bring some of those drawings with you.”
She sputtered, eyes widening as he kept cutting her off as he stood up and grabbed a brown jacket that hung off his chair. His eyes gleamed down at her the whole time as he slipped it on before he leaned a bit down, towering over her.
“I’ll see you then, Schatzi.”
Strade stood back up, casting a grin over his shoulder before he exited the cafe, the jingle of the bell only serving to pull Kendra back down to earth. Her face flushed, fingers twitching against the table before she snapped her head over to the counter to make eye contact with Alyssa. Both girls had their jaws dropped in utter disbelief at what just happened before chaos erupted in the small cafe.
“Holy shit–” Her cousin choked out, trying to contain her excitement and laughter at Kendra’s pale face. Shit. SHIT!