I have to remind myself often that there’s a reason I was chosen for the Hendrick Scholarship. It’s a prestigious art scholarship that thousands of students compete for every year.Iwas chosen. The board of directors saw my application, my art, and they decided I was worthy.
Without that scholarship, I would never be able to pay for college. At least not without taking out a crippling amount of debt. Even though I love my art and being selected for this scholarship is a huge boon, taking out hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt for an art school degree is ridiculous in this day and age.
I grab my order notebook and walk around the counter to Ivan’s table. After the incident the first day we met, I’m always extra careful with my steps around him. Tripping one time is an accident, but I’m hesitant to create a pattern.
His hazel eyes lock on mine as I approach, and I feel my heart skip a beat. “Welcome back. Double shot espresso, right?”
“That’s exactly it,” Ivan says with a smile. He takes a breath and leans forward almost conspiratorially. “I was wondering if you’d like to grab yourself a drink and join me.”
I’m at a loss for words. Leah has been teasing me all the time about how he might have a little bit of a thing for me, but I hardly believed it was true. Hearing this, I feel the excitement growing in my chest, and I just nod like an idiot.
I turn and walk away from the table awkwardly fast, and the entire time I’m behind the counter setting up the espresso machine for Ivan’s drink, I want to slap myself in the face.
“I’m going to take my break,” I tell Leah, too embarrassed to look at her.
“Hmm, a little suspicious it’s right around the time Mr. Ruggedly Handsome comes in,” Leah whispers, leaning against the counter and looking over at Ivan still sitting in the booth. “That wouldn’t have anything to do with this, would it?”
“He asked me to have a drink with him,” I admit, feeling the blush rise on my cheeks.
Leah grabs my arm and squeezes it tight, barely holding back the excited jumps she does. “I knew you liked him. You didn’t say it, but I knew. I mean, how couldn’t you? The man’s a god. You’ll have to tell me if he’s got tattoos all over his body after?—”
“We’re just having coffee,” I interrupt, not wanting to hear where her train of thought goes. “It’s not like I’m going to sneak into the alley and sleep with him.”
“Ugh, you’re so pure,” Leah says, rolling her eyes dramatically.
I know. It’s painfully true how right she is. I’m nowhere near as experienced as some of the other girls my age. Leah is nineteen, and she has a roster of guys to hook up with whenevershe wants. I’m nineteen and have done some pretty intense hand-holding.
Ivan is clearly older than me. His face is rugged, and there are a few lines around his eyes, though he doesn’t have any gray hair yet. Honestly, I’ve never been into older guys until now. It’s daunting, though. His experience would probably tower over mine.
But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. This is just coffee, after all.
I finish making Ivan’s espresso and pour myself a cup of steaming hot peppermint cocoa, the cafe’s Christmas specialty. I’m extra careful walking toward the table with both of our drinks, and I almost let out a sigh of relief as I set both drinks down.
“I have to admit, I’ve been wanting to ask you to do this since that first day,” Ivan says as I settle in across from him.
“Even with the coffee burn?” I ask, laughing as I nervously sip on my cocoa.
“Somehow, that made me want it even more.” He rests his elbows on the table and leans forward into the conversation like it’s already the most interesting thing he’s ever talked about. It’s so strange to me. “Tell me about yourself.”
I make a show of pretending to think hard about the question.
“There’s not much to say right now. I’m a full-time student studying animation and digital illustration, and I work part-time at a cafe,” I finally say, shrugging.
“Animation? That’s really fascinating,” Ivan counters, leaning forward further.
“It’s awesome. I really love it. I’m only a first year, so I don’t have a big portfolio as of yet,” I say, preparing to tell him about some of the classes I’m taking next semester to actually startpracticing animation. Before I can, my phone rings loudly in my pocket.
I jump in my seat and flash him an awkward smile as I pull it out of my apron pocket. Behind the counter, it’s always so loud that Leah and I both forget to turn our phones on silent and can go entire shifts without noticing. But it’s much quieter at the tables.
“I’m so sorry,” I say, preparing myself to shut my phone off right away. When I see the caller ID, I freeze. I wrinkle my eyebrows, wondering what the Hendrick Foundation is calling me about.
“Everything okay?” Ivan asks.
“Yeah, I just have to take this call really quickly. I’m sorry, I’ll be right back,” I say, sliding out of the booth and walking a few paces away for some privacy. “Hello?”
“I’m calling for Miss Danielle Miller,” a man’s voice says on the other end of the line.
“Speaking.”
