She seemed self-conscious in the spotlight he gave her. That didn’t turn Owen off, in fact, he found it rather refreshing and relatable. Being in the creative business, he had learned that self-esteem was more often built from the outside than people generally appreciated. It was hard to have confidence in oneself when others around you didn’t.
So he took her hand in a firm but not unkind grip. A shake between equals. Her hand not only looked small in his, but felt small in his. A fitting kind of small. A complementary kind of small. The brief contact, to him, felt more electrifying than was probably appropriate for their current relationship. Which is to say their essentially non-existent relationship.
It was over in a moment and she was back to smiling in a bashful way again. Suggesting he take her somewhere else for coffee. “I guess I will.”
Owen’s attention was also drawn to the other woman behind the counter, the blonde who looked uncomfortable, or angry? Owen couldn’t discern the social context.
Like a spectator at a sporting event his attention was then drawn to the next player. A woman addressed as 'Eden' who locked eyes pointedly with Julianna and answered, “Yes, I’ll be happy to help, Maeve.” Her lips pressed into a thin line as she folded the wet towel in her hand and pushed her way back behind the counter and disappeared into the back room.
Eden mouthed ‘oh my god’ as she passed Maeve and when they were alone she whirled on the blonde and leaned close. “What is she doing?”
There was questioning also in Owen’s eyes as he tracked the women escaping the room. Had he missed something?
“Let’s go with that then.” Owen trusted in Julianna's recommendation. He was sure he’d like anything she made. “Anddd…” he leaned to frown at a display of pastries. His phone came to life suddenly bursting out into a loud and very recognizable Vivaldi tune. He cut the ringer off but frowned at the name on his screen. “Can I also get a croissant?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose and stared down at his phone. “Sorry, I really have to take this. This scientist is up my ass, right now.” He answered the call with a friendly “hey” while flipping open his wallet and fingered a MasterCard while answering, “yep, I’m looking at it right now. Yeah, literally right now.” Owen passed Julianna the card and rolled his eyes as he lied to whoever was on the other line.
He moved away from the counter to choose a table by the window. He was caught up in his call and neglected to retrieve his card, much as he had neglected to get Julianna’s phone number during their first encounter.
Owen got his laptop out and set up while he continued speaking to the person on the phone in a hushed tone. When he was finished with the call, he quickly became engrossed in whatever was on his laptop screen.
So he took her hand in a firm but not unkind grip. A shake between equals. Her hand not only looked small in his, but felt small in his. A fitting kind of small. A complementary kind of small. The brief contact, to him, felt more electrifying than was probably appropriate for their current relationship. Which is to say their essentially non-existent relationship.
It was over in a moment and she was back to smiling in a bashful way again. Suggesting he take her somewhere else for coffee. “I guess I will.”
Owen’s attention was also drawn to the other woman behind the counter, the blonde who looked uncomfortable, or angry? Owen couldn’t discern the social context.
Like a spectator at a sporting event his attention was then drawn to the next player. A woman addressed as 'Eden' who locked eyes pointedly with Julianna and answered, “Yes, I’ll be happy to help, Maeve.” Her lips pressed into a thin line as she folded the wet towel in her hand and pushed her way back behind the counter and disappeared into the back room.
Eden mouthed ‘oh my god’ as she passed Maeve and when they were alone she whirled on the blonde and leaned close. “What is she doing?”
There was questioning also in Owen’s eyes as he tracked the women escaping the room. Had he missed something?
“Let’s go with that then.” Owen trusted in Julianna's recommendation. He was sure he’d like anything she made. “Anddd…” he leaned to frown at a display of pastries. His phone came to life suddenly bursting out into a loud and very recognizable Vivaldi tune. He cut the ringer off but frowned at the name on his screen. “Can I also get a croissant?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose and stared down at his phone. “Sorry, I really have to take this. This scientist is up my ass, right now.” He answered the call with a friendly “hey” while flipping open his wallet and fingered a MasterCard while answering, “yep, I’m looking at it right now. Yeah, literally right now.” Owen passed Julianna the card and rolled his eyes as he lied to whoever was on the other line.
He moved away from the counter to choose a table by the window. He was caught up in his call and neglected to retrieve his card, much as he had neglected to get Julianna’s phone number during their first encounter.
Owen got his laptop out and set up while he continued speaking to the person on the phone in a hushed tone. When he was finished with the call, he quickly became engrossed in whatever was on his laptop screen.
Bitch, I'm limited edition.
The following 1 user Likes saronym's post: megs
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Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-16-2017, 01:38 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-16-2017, 01:45 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-16-2017, 03:06 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-16-2017, 03:27 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-16-2017, 04:10 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-16-2017, 07:17 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-16-2017, 09:07 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-16-2017, 09:56 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-16-2017, 10:45 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-17-2017, 10:01 AM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-17-2017, 11:15 AM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-17-2017, 11:54 AM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-17-2017, 12:46 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-17-2017, 01:17 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-17-2017, 02:05 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-17-2017, 02:53 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-17-2017, 07:15 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-17-2017, 08:43 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-20-2017, 11:21 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-21-2017, 04:37 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-23-2017, 02:50 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 05-07-2017, 05:14 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 05-13-2017, 09:26 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 05-15-2017, 01:48 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 05-16-2017, 12:44 AM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 05-21-2017, 12:54 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 05-24-2017, 12:10 AM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 05-29-2017, 04:50 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 05-30-2017, 07:51 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 06-24-2017, 09:38 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 06-28-2017, 07:39 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 07-31-2017, 11:09 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 08-29-2017, 12:16 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 09-29-2017, 07:04 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 12-01-2017, 01:17 AM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 08-04-2019, 12:06 PM