Anna might be (elatedorgassy) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2014-02-02 19:08:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, anna of arendelle, michael glass |
I think I might have flirted a little more than should have.
Who: Michael Glass and Anna of Arendelle
When: Mid January
Where: Baxter Bakery
What: Random Encounter
Rating/Warning: Low/None
Status: Complete
Anna went into Baxter Bakery looking for Peeta. She couldn’t deny it. If someone asked her what she was doing there, she was likely to blurt it out before she had a moment to think of something else to say. On that note, coming up with a better story was probably something she should be doing.
It was warm and welcoming inside the bakery. Anna had noticed that the first time she’d stepped in there. And today was no exception. She stepped into the line of customers and started to hum happily to herself. She wasn’t even thinking about the strange, white streak that had appeared in her hair. She was just happy to be there. Happy to be out and about. And happy to be getting a Sparkling Latte.
This wasn’t stalking. Really. She was just hoping to bump into him again.
Michael had traded shifts with one of his coworkers a few days before so that he could have a night off to prepare for a meeting with another record company. Yeah he’d come out here to deal with one specific company but so far they hadn’t extended an actual contract offer to him and he was getting tired of waiting on them to make up their mind so he was meeting with other companies. And he was rapidly reaching a point where he didn’t care if he was being rude to the company who’d initially approached him or not. He liked working at the bakery - he liked his coworkers, it let him interact with people and yeah gave him money to do stuff with his girlfriend when they both wanted to go out.
He finished catching up with the regular in front of him and called the young lady behind her up to the counter with a warm smile. He hadn’t seen her in Baxter Bakery before but judging by the way he hadn’t noticed her studying the menu it probably wasn’t her first time in there. He gave her a quick lookover, noticing the white streak but not saying anything about it, it was a little weird but he’d seen other weird things out here. “Welcome to Baxter Bakery. I’m Michael,” he told her. He noticed that she seemed to be looking for someone and there was a mischievous look in his eye as he continued speaking. “So is there something I can get you or someone you’re looking for?”
Anna stepped up to the counter and was about to ask for a Caramel Coffee--what had Peeta called it? A Blended Caramel Coffee?--when she noticed the guy behind the counter talking to her. She inhaled sharply, eyes going slightly wide, and wondered what it was with this place and employing stupidly handsome men. “I uh…” she said, and then completely lost her train of thought. Her cheeks flushed and she put on a very dopey smile. “...not looking for someone.”
Thankfully, there was no one in line behind her at this point. She could go stupid and take a moment to find her thoughts without holding anyone up.
Michael had to fight to keep his smile from turning into a grin when he noticed her visible distraction at his greeting. He’d have been lying if he tried to say he didn’t find it flattering when girls reacted that way. Especially when he hadn’t done anything that he’d expect to get that type of reaction from someone. He couldn’t resist the opportunity to tease the girl in front of him just a little bit when she answered him though, not to be mean but just because it was too easy for him not to. “Are you sure? I could go see if they’re in the back if you tell me their name,” he told her turning his head as if to look in the kitchen when he was really just checking the baked goods case.
Yeah, the sight of Michael’s smiling face ran all thoughts of Peeta out of her mind. She was still rather pink as she glanced behind him toward the door to the back room, then back to Michael. “...Um, it’s okay. I was just… I need a coffee… you’ve got them here, right?” She said, stupidly. “I mean, of course you do. I just… um… Caramel? Caramel coffee.” She said, then broke into a ridiculously sheepish grin.
Michael couldn’t bite back the grin that time and he hoped that his quick movement of bringing his hand up to cover his mouth masked it, and that the cough he forced made it less obvious that he was covering something up. He didn’t think he’d get in trouble for messing around like he had been but it wasn’t nice and he knew that. “Any particular size Caramel coffee?” he asked, drawing his words out a little to make his Texas accent more pronounced.
“Small? Medium. Medium is good.” Beat. “Large. Large is better. With whipped cream?” She said, still pink and grinning stupidly up at him. “And um… what goes with Caramel Coffee?” She added, looking over at the pastry case. That brought back the memory of Peeta and the Cinnamon bun, and made her wonder how it was so many gorgeous people worked in this place.
Michael would have been lying if he’d said that he wasn’t enjoying the way the girl in front of him was blushing so furiously. It was nice to have his ego stroked a little even if the girl wasn’t actually doing anything except blushing and smiling. “Large with whipped cream and extra caramel sauce for such a pretty girl,” he told her, ringing it up and then thinking about the pastries in the case. Any of them would go well with the coffee but his personal favorite were the Caramel Pecan Squares to go with it. “I normally get the Caramel Pecan Squares to go with it.”
“Caramel Pecan Squares. That sounds perfect. You’re perfect. I mean, what?” Anna said, then cleared her throat. “I really should just stop talking. Talking gets me into trouble.” She was bright pink now, stammering, and flustered. She pulled out her purse to get her wallet and start fiddling with it. Her fingers were shaking.
Michael raised one eyebrow at that little slip of her tongue and then smirked as he told her “I don’t know if I’d go that far but thanks for the compliment. And please don’t stop talking on my account, I’m curious as to what you’ll say next.” He started ringing her order up, giving her his employee discount to be nice and make up for his behavior. Even if he was having too much fun making her so visibly flustered to stop what he was doing. “So what name should I put on this order for you?” he asked as he told her the total. “Or do you want me to bring it to your table when the coffee’s ready?” Technically not something they were required to do but it was something he liked doing when they were slow. It gave him a chance to get to know people and he never knew who might have some influence in the music industry and be willing to drop his name to people.
Anna laughed. Oh, jeez! A very, very cute boy was taking notice of her. It was the best of every world. And he was giving her coffee and sweets, and everything! Had she died and gone to heaven? AND a discount?? She was blushing furiously, and nodding. “Well, I should hate to disappoint you. I think half of the things that come out of my mouth are probably very boring.” She said, then reached out to hand over some cash for the coffee.
“Oh… Anna. Or you could bring it out. Whatever you like.” She said, shyly.
“I don’t think you could ever be boring Anna,” Michael told her with a wink as he counted out her change and handed it to her. “Pretty girls rarely are after all. I’ll bring this out when it’s ready. Then I can talk to you more,” he told her with a grin.
Anna flushed deeply. She gave a gentle sigh, much like a puppy dog, and dumped all of her change into the tip jar. “Okay. I’ll be… over there.” She said, motioning vaguely toward a table by the window. Then she peeled herself away from the counter, and went to sit down.
Yeah. He was lucky his girlfriend and his boss neither one got upset about his flirting with the female customers. But that sigh made him wonder if he didn’t need to pull it back a little with this girl. After all he did have a girlfriend that he was crazy about. He took a few extra minutes preparing her order, hoping it would give her time to calm down and quit blushing. He set her order down in front of her and waited a few seconds before speaking. “Anna, I might owe you an apology.”
Anna had been staring out the window when Michael came over with her order. She brightened considerably, sitting up and the smile on her face spreading, when she caught sight of him. “...What? Why?” She asked, reaching for the plate and mug. “I… I should be thanking you for the delivery.”
Michael couldn’t help but smile back at her when he saw that smile, it was infectious. But after a few seconds he grew serious again. “I think I owe you an apology for how I was acting before. I think I might have flirted a little more than should have. I’ve got a girlfriend,” he explained.
If she hadn’t been embarrassed before, she was horrified now. Anna went bright red, her eyes went wide, and she shook her head violently from side to side. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t… I wasn’t thinking… I’m really sorry. I never meant anything by it!”
If Michael hadn’t felt bad before about the way he’d acted, he did as soon as he saw how uncomfortable she was. “It’s not your fault Anna! Really it’s not. You...I shouldn’t have flirted back with you like that. You didn’t know I had a girlfriend and I...did. So - can we start over and I not be a complete jackass and lead you on?”
“Yeah, yes.” Anna said, still rather red around her cheeks and neck. She broke into a completely embarrassed smile--at least she had a bit of a sense of humor about it. “I mean, you can tell her it was just… some harmless flirting. I hope she won’t be angry with me.” She added. “...It doesn’t mean anything.”
“If she gets mad at anybody about this it’ll probably be me,” Michael told her, rubbing the back of his neck and giving her an awkward smile. “Or at least it should be me. I am sorry Anna,” he told her sincerely, looking her in the eye. “I should get back to work,” he told her after another moment’s pause. “Let me know if there’s anything else I can get for you before you leave.”
“Well, apologise to her for me, anyway.” Anna said, not wanting to make anyone angry, even someone she may never get to meet. She was rather pink, barely making eye contact. “Go on, get back to work, then,” she added, giving him a little wave. “Okay. I’m fine. Really. I’m sorry. I’ll um… have a good day.”
“Alright Anna,” Michael told her a gentle smile placing across his face. “I’ll tell Gwen that you’re sorry about it too. But please don’t worry about it,” he added quietly. “I forgot to say that didn’t I?” he asked with a laugh at himself. “Have a great day Anna and come back to see us sometime,” he said, remembering his training before he walked away already trying to figure out a way to tell Gwen about this without making her want to break up with him. His flirting with Anna had gone way beyond his joking around with Izzy.