Hey there happy reader!
Grab a snack and a cold beverage of your choice. It’s story time!
I have a thirty-something year old niece who lives in nearby Brooklyn.
She works at a high school as a speech language therapist and loves her job and the very cute and trendy neighborhood where she lives. She enjoys making a difference for her students, adapting to their varying learning styles and she is grateful that she can walk to work from her lovely studio apartment in a charming (old!) brownstone-like building.
One morning last week, she was heading to work but stopped at a local coffee shop for her morning dose of caffeine.
Now, if you know Brooklyn, you know that there are these cute little spots everywhere. She happened to choose one where she found a student of hers ordering lunch to go. Seeing that this young girl was late for class, my niece sent her on her way, offering to pick up the sandwich for the student and bring it to school for her. (My niece is so kindhearted. This is typical behavior for her.)
Anyway, once the student was gone, the man behind my niece tapped her on the shoulder and asked if she was a teacher. She explained what she did, that she was a speech therapist, and then asked this tall, dark, and incredibly handsome (her words!) man what he did for a living. He said he was an actor.
And with that all the blood drained from her brain, because it was then that she recognized him. In a bold act of courage, she offered him her number!
Who knows what might happen next!
I’m just so proud of her for not falling in a dead faint. He happens to be someone who she truly thought of as being amazing before they even met… life’s interesting, right?
And of course, my brain went to work.
I now have two chapters of a new book written, based on that “by chance” meeting. I might even turn it into a series! And because I’m so excited about this project, I’m going to pull back the curtain and offer you this very, very, rough sneak peek!
The drizzle was picking up outside as Brianna ducked into her favorite coffee shop on Water Street. Her normally pin straight blonde hair was fighting the humidity, frizzing lightly around her shoulders. It was a Monday morning in the beginning of October, and she had been dreaming of her first cup of java since she woke up to an autumn chill; the gray skies outside her bedroom window had made it hard for her to come fully awake. As soon as she took a deep breath of the earthy ground beans and heard the hiss of the milk being steamed, she could feel her day finally begin.
There was a line, of course, the place was popular. She started to calculate how long it might take to get her drink. She was wondering if she could avoid a caffeine withdrawal headache when she noticed one of her students placing what seemed like an extremely complicated order and slowing down the entire process.
“Dara! Dara!” Brianna called. The young girl turned around. “What are you doing in here? Your first class started twenty minutes ago!”
“I’m getting something for lunch, Ms. Jensen. It’ll only be another minute.”
“Dara. Go across the street to school. I’ll get the sandwich for you. Come by my office after third period and it’ll be waiting for you.”
Duly chastened, Dara murmured a quick, “Thanks, Ms. Jensen. You always have my back.”
“I do, Dara, but if Principal Simmons sees you coming in late, there’s detention in your future. Now, go!”
Dara shuffled out the door and Brianna watched her cross the street and enter the building safely. Just as she was about to turn back to the line, a deep voice behind her said, “That was nice of you. What you just did for that girl, I mean. Are you her teacher?”
Brianna looked up. A tall man was speaking to her, but at first, she was so taken by his good looks that she hesitated before she could respond. He had curly auburn hair and sharp amber eyes. He was broad across the shoulders, somewhat athletic in build. He wore blue sweatpants hung low on his hips and a white hoodie with no logo. He was waiting for her to answer him. She cleared her throat.
“Um, no. I’m the speech therapist at the school across the street.” After so many bad first dates, she was almost at a loss of what to say next. This guy is cute. Think, Bri, think.
“Well,” he said. “None of my teachers at school ever did anything like that for me. It was kind.”
It started to register on Brianna that he had a distinct British accent. Damn it, Bri! How’d you miss that? You’re in trouble.
She was a sucker for an accent. “You know what I do for work,” she began. “What do you do?”
“I’m an actor.”
Sheesh! My luck. Another unemployed man. I’m done paying for drinks. Just be polite, get your coffee and go. But instead, her good manners had her ask, “Would I have seen you in anything?”
“I dunno. Do you watch “The Standhopes?”
Almost before he finished his question, recognition dawned. Brianna felt a shock run up her spine.
“Wait a minute. I don’t believe this. You’re that smart groomsman, right? The one who invents a new way to train the horses, aren’t you? Wow, your character really makes something of himself!”
“Oh, so you’ve watched the entire season!” He put his hand over his heart in an endearing gesture and smiled. His bottom front teeth were the tiniest bit crooked. “I’m Jack, by the way. And you are?”
“Brianna. But my friends call me Bri.”
The line began to move forward. She was next to order.
“Well then, Bri. It was nice to meet you.”
Just then the woman behind the register asked for Brianna’s order. “I’ll have an oat milk latte, one pump of vanilla, please. Oh, and there’s a sandwich there for Dara.”
“Add a large black tea with a splash of milk to that,” Jack said, leaning over her and producing his debit card. She could feel the heat of his body, now inches away from her.
“Oh no, you don’t need to pay for my order,” Brianna said. “It’s okay.”
“You’ve inspired me this morning, Bri. It’s my pleasure.” His smile made her feel things that should have been more familiar but weren’t.
“Thank you,” she smiled. She started to walk down the counter to where the orders were delivered once they were filled.
A thousand thoughts filtered through her mind in a flash. And then she heard her friend Ron’s voice in her head, his advice always pushing her to step out of her comfort zone. Be bold, girl! No one is going to save you but you! Once at the end of the counter, she turned back to him and with every ounce of courage asked, “Would you like my number?” Shocked that she even asked, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, immediately uncomfortable. She’d never done that before and instantly regretted it.
He smiled the kind of smile she imagined must have won him many a role when it came time for an audition. It was dazzling.
“I’ve actually got a girlfriend, but thanks for brightening my day. Do more good deeds, Bri. I know a good egg when I see one.” Then he winked at her before picking up his tea and walking out of the shop, the little bell over the door tinkling as he disappeared into a van across the street.
Brianna didn’t know if she was relieved or disappointed. Off course he’s got a girlfriend! All the good ones do. And seriously, what’s the difference? She’d never hold her own with a man like that…She grabbed her coffee and Dara’s sandwich, squared her shoulders and stepped outside where she got fully drenched in what was now a pouring rain. She sprinted the five hundred feet to the front door of the school building. It was just the start to another day in paradise.
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