A Latte Kind of Love

     The birds were singing and the sun was shining. Hazel couldn’t help but smile at the beautiful, crisp autumn day. She watched the wind blow through the tree outside and instinctively tugged down the sleeves of her sweater before remembering she was indoors. She chuckled lightly to herself and took a sip of her coffee. It was a latte made just the way she liked it: decaf, with a little dusting of toasted coconut and hazelnut. She smiled, letting the warmth run through her body and returned to her book.

     The bells above the coffee shop door rang, signaling a new customer had entered the building. Intrigued, Hazel looked up from her book. In walked the most beautiful cat she had ever seen. Long navy blue hair, striking green eyes, and stripes that resembled lightning dancing up her legs. She couldn’t help but stare as this feline walked up to the counter. When the barista finished taking her order, the gorgeous cat turned around... and caught Hazel staring dead at her. 

     Embarrassed, Hazel quickly returned her attention to her book, blushing like a madwoman. Little did she know, the tall, blue cat smirked kindly at the little brown one, amused by the attention. The barista finished making her drink-a sugary, syrupy, whip cream topped concoction that barely resembled the coffee it started out as-and handed it to her. She smiled, and walked over to Hazel’s table.

     “Hello,” she said with a smile.

     Hazel jumped, startled by the blue cat’s greeting. “H-hello...” she stammered back, lifting her gaze away from her book. 

     “My name’s Gale. May I sit down?”

     “O-of course!” Hastily, Hazel gestured to the open seat across from her. She quickly returned her hands to her lap, realizing that the gesture might have seemed a bit too eager. 

     Gale didn’t seem to mind, though, as she gladly took the chair and sat in it. 

     Hazel cleared her throat and introduced herself as well. “I’m Hazel.”

     “So, Hazel,” she started, tapping her nails on the wooden table between them. “What brought you here today?”

     Hazel sighed and looked out the window next to her. “This is my favorite coffee shop. Whenever I need to get away or have a moment to myself, I always come here to read. It’s nice and quiet. Quite a lovely place, actually.”

     “Oh. Should I go then? Let you read?” Gale gave her a playfully hurt look as she loudly took a sip of her “coffee”. 

     “No!” Hazel shouted quickly. She cleared her throat, a blush creeping upon her cheeks before continuing. “No. I don’t mind your company at all.” Gale laughed and both felines took sips from their coffees. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you around here before,” Hazel inquired, hoping to break the small bout of silence. 

     Gale rolled her eyes and waved her coffee around dramatically. “I have been to SO many different coffee shops these days. They can never get my order right.”

     Hazel looked at the drink the other feline was holding and wasn’t surprised. It looked like a sugary, complex drink with more additives than locations of this coffee shop. 

     Gale noticed her perplexed look. It was kind of cute. Okay, it was really cute. So cute, Gale debated doing something she had never done before. It was risky, but looking at this other feline, she thought the risk was worth the reward. 

     She moved her paw over Hazel’s and smiled gently at her. “But I think I like this shop the best.”

     Frozen, Hazel gulped and attempted to breathe against the nervous pounding in her chest. “Th-they got your order right at last?”

     Gale chuckled and removed her paw from the other cat’s. “Something like that,” she cooed. Grabbing her coffee, she stood up and walked around to Hazel’s side of the table. “I have a modeling job soon, so I have to go now, but will you be here the same time tomorrow?”

     Hazel nodded quickly. She was silent. Words would not form. Her tongue was jelly.

     “Alright,” Gale smirked, gently stroking Hazel’s ear playfully. “I’ll see you then.”

     Hazel watched Gale walk out the door amazed. Had... had she just gotten a girlfriend? No, she couldn’t get too ahead of herself. They were just two strangers going to meet again the next day for coffee. Potential friends, right? But as Hazel drank the last of her coffee and began to read again, she couldn’t help but smile at the idea that they could be more than that.