Waverly Merida (fromthegroundup) wrote in worldsapart_ic, @ 2019-02-08 22:05:00 |
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Entry tags: | waverley merida, xx_troy hendriks |
Who: Waverley Merida & Troy Hendriks
What: Coffee! And flirts!
When: Feb 8th, morning
Where: The Jam Jar
Rating: Low
Everywhere he went, all the places he’d been, when they found out he was from Maryland, he got the same advice, you have to visit the Jam Jar, or have you been to the Jam Jar? All the coffee place recommendations were the same too, this Jam Jar place seemed to be the talk of the whole city by the sounds of things. Everyone in the office seemed to have take away from there too -cakes and coffees and interesting teas with bubbles in them. He was sure that had to be an LA thing. But he decided that checking it out wasn’t the worst idea, since it was apparently that good. He’d need a place to go, right before work, pick up something to keep him attentive through the day, and if this Jam Jar place had all these positive experiences spreading the word of mouth, it was better to go by what people liked than what was expected. He could get a Starbucks in Baltimore, he was sure it was a matter of time before one popped up in Eldersburg too. But Jam Jar, that seemed to just be an LA thing, and one everyone raved about. He’d given himself a good two hours before he needed to be at the office, since he was relatively new to town they were easing him into things, later starts and letting him figure out the city before they started sending him out to find things. Thankfully, his maps app was fairly reliable, helping him find the place easily, and then all he had to do was figure out which of the recommendations to try first. --- Waverley tended to prefer the morning shifts; a lot of her favourite clients (including the police officers, because men in uniform) tended to be in before ten am. It didn’t matter - or that’s what she told herself - that her two favourite clients of all time didn’t come anymore due to having left the city. She still found herself looking for them whenever the bell above the door dinged, even after four years. It was early enough that the resident hipster hadn’t arrived yet and set up in his corner to give a general air of misery, grumpiness and incel hostility. She’d wiped down the booth in the hopes that someone - anyone - would take it up first. It always amused her when he had to find somewhere else to sit because he always took it as a personal affront that she removed the scribbled piece of paper he left there that said resErVED! every night and threw it in the trash. Of course, she paused where she’d been cleaning one of the coffee machines and generally ruminating on the day when that little bell dinged. She turned her head, telling herself it’s not them but she wasn’t even the slightest bit disappointed when she saw who it was. Someone new. Hadn’t it been a hot minute since she’d seen a completely brand new face? Lips painted with peach-gloss curled upwards as she faced the newcomer with a warm smile and she turned fully to face him. “Mornin’,” she greeted, “Not seen you round here before, new to LA? What can I get you?” --- At least he wasn’t disappointed with the service, an easy smile mirroring on Troy’s face at the greeting -it made sense that the customer service was exceptional, if everyone and their aunt was telling him how wonderful this place was, it certainly helped if the staff were friendly and engaged. “Brand new to LA,” at least in the scheme of things, he’d barely been there the full week, and even then he’d had to fly back to Maryland twice to get some stuff sorted, the flights would kill him, he was sure of it. “But since all I’ve heard about is the Jam Jar, I knew I had to check it out.” It seemed cosy, upbeat and friendly, something that he could absolutely find appealing for his morning coffees. Who wouldn’t want to start a morning with a cup of coffee and a pretty barista? “Well, what would you recommend for a fresh face?” The recommendations had been working well for him so far after all. --- Waverley beamed, “I’m glad all those people I pay to say nice stuff about my coffee shop is payin’ off,” she winked and leaned on the counter beside the register, looking through the glass display at the freshly baked items that were filling the shop with their heady scent. She hummed a little, looking at the new guy and then at the counter. “Considering how early it is, I’d definitely suggest a coffee, you get a discount for bein’ cute,” she told him before she pushed off the counter and moved behind the glass, sliding it open. She looked at him over the top, “No allergies or anythin’?” she asked, “On account that the maple pecan twists are to die for. I wouldn’t wanna be responsible for having to call you an ambulance.” --- The joke managed to draw a sharp chuckle from Troy, most likely a method of shifting attention from all the nice things people say, breaking the ice. It almost didn’t feel necessary though, that ice breaker, given how friendly and welcoming the whole atmosphere seemed. “Definitely a coffee,” he really couldn’t refute that, he knew that in a few hours, if he didn’t have some caffeine, he’d really start to feel the crunch of early mornings again. And then he’d likely be less cute, that was for sure. “But as I have no nut or maple allergy,” his allergies had seemed to really clear up since becoming a wolf, even with the odd condition of his new state it seemed better than worse, “so I’ll stick with the suggestion. A black coffee and a twist.” --- “When did you get into town?” Waverley asked with a tilt of her head, eyes watching him carefully looking for any sign that he might be supernaturally inclined. Annoyingly, there was nothing. He had broad shoulders though, looked like he might be strong. She let her mind slip into the gutter for a moment before she put his twist on a plate and slid it onto a tray. Looking over her shoulder she continued, “How desperate is your caffeine craving, handsome? Are you just a normal coffee guy or do you need something with kick?” They had Deathwish in, after all. Extra caffeine, extra taste. “We have extra caffeinated coffee for a proper boost if you need it.” —- “About a week ago,” he was fine to wait against the counter, passing conversation with the gorgeous blond in the wait for his order, “probably be another week or so before I’m properly settled too.” And then he could do his work, sort out his personal life and try to find a damn pack that would be willing to integrate him. All these things he could absolutely do from 9-5. “Oh, if there is one place I am not adventurous, it’s with my coffee.” Being entirely honest he wasn’t sure what a stronger kick would do to his system, his emotions were still a little unhinged at times, toss in an extra strong caffeine source and he might do something he couldn’t take back. He certainly didn’t want to growl at any of his new work mates after all. “I’m a vanilla coffee order, sorry.” --- “I’ll let you off on account of you being new,” Waverley teased, fingers snagging on a large china mug and started fixing up the coffee, her back to the newcomer until the water started hissing and steaming. Knowing how long it would take because she’d been working here for ten years, she turned back around and nodded. “It always takes time to settle somewhere new, but the people here are friendly, and there’s a lot of good folk that come here, so you’re bound to meet them.” Because almost everyone that came here ended up being a regular. When the machine stopped hissing, she carefully took the large cup from the machine and placed it on the counter. “You got a name, new guy? Otherwise that’s what I’ll call you forever.” She nudged the tray closer, now that it was loaded up, though she held up a hand to stop him from taking it right away. In a split second, she’d also added a lemon muffin on a small plate. --- Given he’d lived in Eldersburg his whole life, a small town outside the cities, with fields and farms and industrial warehouses around them, it was a huge change to move to a big city like Los Angeles. But he knew it was for the best, the smallness of Eldersburg had been weighing on him, and the chance that he’d catch on Abigail with someone else was just too jarring for his still unstable wolf. “So far you really can’t beat the hospitality here.” He hadn’t experienced any of the apparent pushiness or intolerance that Los Angeles could house, and he wasn’t in a rush to see that either. And so far, he was pretty sure he could see the appeal in visiting the Jam Jar regularly. “I’m Troy, please don’t call me new guy forever, I think that might get confusing if I’m around a while.” Which he hoped would be the case. At the addition of the muffin, Troy offered a somewhat sheepish smile, “Now that is just a level of unnecessary. I’m already going to tell everyone how right they were about this place.” --- “Man, how’re you gonna react when you find out I’m only gonna charge you five dollars?” Waverley asked with an arched eyebrow and a smile on her lips. She did, however, hold her hand out over the counter for Troy to shake. “And I’m Waverley,” She didn’t make her employees wear name tags; they gave out their names if they wanted to and not all of them did. Waverley, however, had no such qualms about sharing her name with anyone that might want it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Troy the new guy. Good hospitality aside - thank you very much - how’re you finding LA?” She knew better than to ask ‘what brings you here’, because sometimes that was a can of worms people weren’t willing to share on their first meeting. Or their fifth. She didn’t pry for secrets; she didn’t need to. If people wanted to talk they did. She respected their privacy as much as she expected people to respect hers. --- He groaned a little at the news of just how underpriced she was going to make things, but steadied himself with the knowledge that he was fully capable of leaving a tip to cover the rest of it. “I think you have this capitalism thing backwards.” But in communities like this one, it almost made sense. The smaller shops like this, they made their bones on the people who came in, and Troy would honestly say he’d rather support a place like this than a corporation. “Well, Waverley, it’s very nice to meet you and um, thank you for the exceptionally kind welcome.” It wasn’t like she needed to throw in all the extras after all, the good service and friendly nature sold itself. He supposed it was a bit of icing on the cake though. “I’m liking it, good weather, friendly people, nice area.” He’d managed to get a place in a decent area, near work but not too close to traffic, nothing too inner city either. He knew it was important he wasn’t too close to the general population should it take him longer than the full moon to find wolves he could at least run with. “I think it’s going to work out.” --- “Don’t worry, I make up for treating my favourites by overcharging assholes that come in.” She winked, tapping the sign beside the register that stated that management reserved the right to remove assholes from the premises. “Besides, I don’t think capitalism is quite all it’s made out to be.” She winked at him as he thanked her for the welcome and just lifted her shoulder. Customer service was something she didn’t hate. The surface world was a lot of bad things, but she didn’t get the opportunity to flirt half as much under the sea. And honestly, the people up here could be so… interesting. Her lips curled up into a genuine smile. “I’m glad to hear that,” she told him. “It’ll be good to see you more often. One more thing to make mornings worthwhile.” —- Capitalism wasn’t all it was cut out to be, and Troy had a lot of opinions on socialism and the art of giving instead of taking; it was probably not the kind of conversation to have in a coffee shop on the first meeting. “Well I don’t think I can fault that business model.” Least of all when it was probably keeping the place from getting too rowdy. “I’m sure mornings around here are plenty worthwhile, that sun and sky?” Although he doubted people came into the Jam Jar at this time of the morning because they were watching a sunrise. Between a morning dose of coffee and an impressive perk up from a beautiful and friendly blond? No, Troy didn’t think the Jam Jar was full of people up for the sake of it. “Although I think you know just how to rival a nice sunrise, hmm?” It almost felt odd to flirt, not in the sense of that he shouldn’t be doing it, but more along the lines of feeling a little out of practice with it. But Waverley certainly didn’t seem to mind the friendly banter, and there wasn’t harm in a little charm after all. --- “Sugar, the people in here when the sun’s coming up are usually the last ones that would appreciate how beautiful it is.” Also, she found that humans - or at least surface people - tended to take the sunrise for granted. Waverley still enjoyed watching the sun rise and set even after a decade of being here. It was one of those novelties that (after she’d been carefully taught about how the earth rotated around the sun so it happened every day and she didn’t need to worry about it not coming back) just never seemed to fade for her. The flirtatious response was a surprise to Waverley; oftentimes she flirted and it wasn’t reciprocated. That was fine by her, but it was always nice when someone did. Her cheeks coloured ever so slightly and she tucked her hair back behind her ear. She nudged the tray towards him once more before she added, meeting his eyes, “Why don’t you keep comin’ by in the mornings to find out?” --- Early mornings were rarely something people chose to wake for; if anything they tended to be forced on people -school runs, work, deadlines, the usual things that people felt the need to get up and get out and get on with. There were exceptions, of course. Troy wasn’t up for every sunrise, oh no, he enjoyed the lazy hours in bed just a little too much, especially while he’d been freelancing or working nights. But the office job was going to take up a few mornings at least, Troy already knew that, and if the incentive wasn’t enough, he probably wouldn’t see any fault in starting his mornings with a pleasant meeting with Waverley. “Oh, I’m sure I can find plenty of excuses to come here, good coffee doesn’t seem to be the only perk of making this my regular spot.” --- Waverley beamed, nudging the tray in his direction. “Go on, handsome, settle in for a spell if you don’t have anywhere else to be in a hurry. I’ll come by with a top up if you need.” She winked, “And if you’re still there in ten minutes and I have a break I’ll come join you.” —- “Now how can I pass up that kind of offer?” Realistically, he wasn’t due in the office for at least another hour, so spending some time in a coffee shop, conversing with a pretty and friendly woman, it wasn’t like it was the worst way he could spend the morning. Besides, he wasn’t exactly a fast eater, and he’d been given a free muffin. His mother often called him a grazer, like he was just extending his food as long as possible. It did leave him sitting in a booth along the window, watching the passage of Los Angeles morning go by, while he sipped on his coffee and picked at the twist he had. Thankfully, he wasn’t the sort to dwell too much on things, since he didn’t want thinking about home and family to sour his rather upbeat mood that morning. Not if he could help it. |