A blond man slipped through the side door of a vegan restaurant. He was trying to be quiet. Stealthy, even. Anything to avoid the commentary regarding his whereabouts. He had made it to the back of the restaurant without being spotted. He was almost home free.

Just a couple more steps...

He jumped when he felt a hand clap on his back, hard, making the green-eyed boy wince and nearly spill his coffee. "Hey Garfield!" Garth exclaimed. "Where you been, man?" Clearly, he had suspended his efforts to move the chairs from on top of the tables. One of the many things they took care of before they opened each day. Garfield had just returned to the shop after making his morning rounds. He often found himself looking forward to waking up. It was always his favorite part of the day, getting to Wild Thyme early. And then walking down the block.

Seeing a certain someone with purple hair.

"Just, uh, stopped in to the coffee shop." He raised his drink in a mock toast. Garth folded his arms and nodded slowly at this. "You know - had to get my fix." His jade pupils had darted off to side of Garth's long ink-colored hair, as he took a long, exaggerated sip. Not making direct eye contact.

"Oh, right. The coffee shop." He was smirking now. A knowing twinkle was alight in his black eyes. Oh, no. It was way too soon after the last one for another earful.

"Can't really be a morning person without something caffeinated," he explained.

He didn't like Garth's tone. Not one bit. To anyone else it would make logical sense. It was sound. Rational, even. Everyone drank coffee.

But his friend knew him all too well.

"Uh huh... And did you?" Great, what was he on about now? This was exactly what he had been trying to avoid. The inquisition.

"Did I...? What?" he repeated. To the untrained ear, it seemed as though he had no idea what Garth was insinuating. But they had, in actuality, had several conversations very similar to this one.

"You know...get your fix?" he asked, with a devilish grin spread across his handsome face.

Garfield now winced at this, instantly regretting his word choice. Still he continued to reason with him even though he knew it was futile.

"I just needed a buzz... You know A Brew'd Awakening is the only place with decent caffeine in a two-block radius."

"Right, right... And just how is the coffee shop today?" Garfield gave him a pointed once over. But then he sighed.

"You already know." He put a hand over his face, placing the cup down in defeat. "The same as it is everyday..."

"By that you mean, hardly knows you exist?" He chuckled, shaking his head.

Garfield could detect a note of glee in his voice. He shot him a dirty look. He always had the same thing to say where Rachel was concerned. What the hell did he know? He could only guess at things anyway.

He'd never even met her.

"Really, dude? She knows I exist!" Honestly. Not cool. "She's just more...you know, reserved than most girls." He nervously shifted the coffee back and forth on the table top.

As much as Garth was, very clearly being a douche about it, he had a bit of a point. That for all he knew, it was true. She quite possibly had zero interest in him. He just didn't know what to do! He had tried almost everything. But even his best joke material wasn't cutting it. Normally he wouldn't have even had to resort to such means. And just to talk to a girl. But this was different. She was different. She made him second guess himself. She was kind of intimidating.

It was weird, he had never had this problem with women. It was driving him crazy. Ever since he had seen Rachel through the window of her coffee shop. A Brew'd Awakening. He knew he wanted her. He had to find some excuse to go in and talk to her. To say something, anything.

Or at least to be in the same room as her.

There was one word that came to mind when he thought of Rachel. Ethereal. Otherworldly. Beautiful. Well, three. She was pretty and pale and petite. She had this shiny purple hair and these huge, intelligent purple eyes. He found himself reduced to an idiot, when he first tried to talk to her.

But she had taken pity on him, figuring he was just overwhelmed by the menu.

Yeah... The menu...

"Hi..."

Purple hair tossed, as a short girl in an over-sized black sweater turned to face him with a nonchalant expression. It looked as though she had been using a little downtime behind the coffee bar to read. And he was correct, as the book in her hands promptly dropped to the ground. As if she had been caught doing something sinister. Like purposefully swapping the labels for the regular and the decaf. She seemed a little caught off guard by his sudden appearance, and even didn't bother to pick up the fallen object. Frazzled violets skimmed quickly over his form, before moving rapidly back up to his face.

"Hello."

His legs had carried him here. He just didn't know why he'd let them! What was he was thinking? He didn't know what to say to her. Not really. He should have come up with a good excuse or at least a valid reason to talk. Instead of just walking in here on an impulse. He stood there in front of her for a few minutes. Just staring at her. Wow. His mind. It was still just...blank. He didn't think this would be so hard.

"Can I... help you?" She asked him this apprehensively, and then raised a brow.

"I was just walking by and I saw... Um, I saw..." He usually didn't get nervous. What was going on with him today?

"Are you having trouble with the menu?" She looked understanding and sympathetic.

"The menu? Yes, the menu - right. Right." He needed to get a grip. What was he doing? He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, I'm Garfield. Uh, Logan. I'm visiting the area today. I was in the scoping out a property around here my business partner told me about."

"Oh. I see... You must mean the old pie shop?" He nodded. What a relief! She didn't think he was crazy after all. "I'm Rachel." She walked around the counter to politely shake his hand. He grasped it firmly and gave her wide smile. She seemed momentarily startled by the gesture and moved back, before she shot another furtive glance at her feet. "So... since you're here for business, I'd think that I'm correct in assuming, you'll need something with caffeine."

"You know...you're probably right about that, Rachel." He gave her a grin, shaking his head wistfully. Wow, clever and beautiful.

"Well... how about a latte?"

"That sounds nice." She gave him the smallest of smiles. "So... do you have soy milk?"

Garfield grinned absentmindedly at the memory. It was true, things were different. They were a little closer now. But at the same time, not much had changed, looking at her still made him feel indescribably happy. She always brought a smile to his face. He had wondered if he could make her smile too.

He so desperately wanted to see her smile.

She always seemed to be in a world all her own as she glided around the coffee shop. Pensive. But graceful. Lighter than air, often with a book in hand. And the invisible wind that always seemed to make her violet hair flutter around her face. He had never seen a girl like her before. He had never known a girl like her. And he wanted to.

So, he would go in and visit her, under the guise of being a caffeine addict. A caffeine addict with a taste for overpriced drinks with names he had never heard of, and could just barely pronounce. All the while knowing that this was the only chance he had to be alone with her. To talk to her. For them to spend any real time together. And for her to possibly get to know him in turn. Then, there could be a chance that she would grow to like him too.

Then maybe, just maybe he would actually have a shot. With a girl...like Rachel.

Garth's sarcastic barbs snapped him out of his haze and back to the present.

"And by reserved, you mean she has no interest in cheesy jokes or...substitute cheese?"

He could feel a vein pulsing in his temple now. He was a right piece of work.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh... you know."

"Do I? Care to share your latest bit of unsolicited advice?"

"Alright, though it's not going to be pretty," he warned.

"Look, just say it, dude," he replied, bracing himself for the inevitable. The clincher, the crushing blow to the heart.

"Okay, but remember, you asked for it..." Garth warned.

"Spit it out already."

"Alright, alright," he said, rolling his eyes. "I just mean...you claim to invite her here, what - how times has it been now -"

"I don't know at least a dozen..."

"- and she never shows up. Correct me if I'm wrong?"

Garfield's voice died in his throat. He couldn't quite think of a rebuttal.

Seeing this, his partner continued on his tirade.

"Yet...you guys see each other every day at her store? I've never even seen this mystery girl stop here, not once."

"So...? What's your point?" the green-eyed guy managed, when he finally found his voice again. Knowing he would probably regret the answer.

"So, maybe she's just...not that into you, bro. Sorry." He shrugged and clapped him on the shoulder now. Almost as if what he said wasn't a big deal.

Garfield huffed and sunk further into his chair. Letting his body get closer and closer to the ground. "Yeah...right..." He sighed. "Sure..."

That couldn't be true, could it? He knew they were friends. At the very least. That much was already established. He even saw her every day. She seemed to more than tolerate him. And he made her laugh, that one time. Almost. It was practically a little chuckle. And that was laughter adjacent.

Whatever, well she was shy.

"Cheer up, Gar. And get that pretty smile back on your face. We're gonna need it." He put an arm around his shoulders.

"Oh yeah? Why is that?" He shrugged him off and sat up a little.

Like Garth hadn't just stomped on his hopes and dreams. Again.

"Because, my friend, they just started a women's kickboxing class at the dojo down the road. To help all those ladies really...let out their frustration, if you know what I mean."

His tone was a little too eager and tactless for Garfield's taste. And so were his suggestive eyebrows.

"Your point is what exactly?" He rolled his eyes.

Was he for real? Honestly?

"That it's Wednesday. Today. Is that day, my friend." He punctuated each word slowly and carefully, as if he was dealing with someone from Mars.

"And? What does that have to do with us?"

Garth was looking at him with an incredulous expression that said, "do I have to spell it out for you?" And he even asked him as much. He looked like he wanted to shake him.

"The point is when that class lets out, this place will be crawling with customers. But more importantly those customers will be hot sweaty girls!"

"So, what does that have to do with me?" Did Garth even know what he sounded like sometimes?

He wasn't going to go for it.

"You mean what doesn't it?"

"You already know I like -"

"Like Rachel, yeah. So you keep saying. Well, you can keep your little pipe-dream, or you can find yourself someone else. Someone to get out your frustration over her. Or even to let out her own frustration on you, if that's it's more your speed - I don't judge," he said, shrugging. At this his partner opened his mouth to interject. But he was immediately cut off.

"Then, you can get that blond head of yours back in the game."

Garfield was more than a little appalled at that which had just spewed out of his friend's mouth. He didn't even want to dignify that with a proper response.

"Okay... Right. I'll think about it... In the back. Alone," he said, slowly. And backed away. He certainly had no interest in it, but how could he possibly respond to that? How could anyone for that matter? Garth seemed convinced that this was what he needed.

It wasn't that he didn't know his stuff. He certainly got his vegan leather's worth of women. That was for sure. It was annoying actually. Somehow under all that douchery, he was a great business partner. And though at times it seemed a little further down, an even better friend. He knew in his own hopelessly misguided way, that Garth was looking out for him. But sometimes, Garfield just wanted to yank him by his man-bun. He was so...insensitive. He almost always had the same solution to everything. Women.

But Garfield didn't care about the other women. He hadn't for a while now, none of them were Rachel. He only wanted the chance to get to know her. And maybe then, she might want to be more than friends. Maybe go out with him. He knew that this is what he wanted, for a while now actually.

Unfortunately, he just wasn't the only one.

"Alright, careful, Wally," Rachel said patiently, as she observed her newest trainee. He was steaming the skim milk for a double chocolate chip mocha. And he was so close to getting it. Wally knew what to do, she knew it. But he needed to know it, too. He needed just a little more confidence.

"Now, slowly...draw back the pitcher..." The violet-eyed girl tried to continue easing him along. He claimed he could do this, but he had to complete the process from start to finish while she was in the room.

Rachel moved closer to him, getting a better look at his technique. He looked like he had progressed quite a bit since the last time.

"See, you've almost got it," she encouraged. She placed her hand on his wrist to guide him. "But... if you -"

He jumped at this. That was so like Wally. He always moved so quickly, it was a little jarring. He only narrowly avoided burning himself this time. Which was fortunate. But the beverage he had been working on had not been so lucky. Hot milk went flying everywhere.

"I'm so sorry, Rachel! I'm such a klutz. I swear I'll get better!" He declared, an apologetic look on his reddening, freckled face.

"That's okay, Wally," she reassured him. "Truly. I know you can get this." She gave him a small, kind smile. "Why don't we...take five - or ten - while you clean up? We can pick it up again later." His face was the color of his hair now. And he nodded vehemently, and ran his clean hand through the flaming tresses.

She slowly shook her head in dismay and went back to her stack of books in the front. That was the third drink in a row. He had potential to do really well here, she could see it. It's what made her take a chance on him in the first place. But he needed to calm down. Wally needed to simply learn how to take things slowly. She was teaching him an art. A delicate art that require just a bit more finesse. Not to move a mile a minute. Perhaps, he just needed to ease up on the caffeine himself. Just stick to making it, and not drinking it.

Now that was a tall order.

Well, maybe he could just try limiting his espresso intake to a single shot a day. Because a life without caffeine, while working in a coffee shop? That was cruel, even as a suggestion.

"Hey, Rae." A deep voice snapped her out her trance. Rachel looked over her shoulder in surprise.

Now who could that possibly be?

A/N: So, I have decided to continue this story after all! And I really wanted to say thank you to everyone who read my story, reviewed, and/or followed, checked it out, or encouraged me to continue with this little idea. Thank you! It has kind of turned into something. I have never written anything like this before and it's been wonderful. I think that has translated to something enjoyable. And it was for that reason that I really wanted to take my time with this chapter. Now I have one question which of course does not need to be answered or even acknowledged. I am not certain to continue this as a T or to make it into an M. I'm leaning towards just...leaving it as a T. Please don't hate me! (I'm sorry.) But there's good news, I just published another BBRae that is rated M and will be filled with lemons. So there's an upside! And also actively working on another story... In addition to my other ones, and all my random scribbles! Thank you so much for reading, I truly hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to check out my stories!