“I was up at five-thirty, so I went for a run and found the grocery store a couple blocks from here.”
Blayne stood there, staring at Ethan.
“Do I have something on my face?” Ethan asked.
“Oh, umm, sorry. I—”
“It’s the hair?”
“Yeah,” Blayne managed to get out.
“I felt like a change. I saw the display at the grocery store and thought, ‘why not?’—so here I am.”
“There you are.” Blayne took a second to take it all in. Ethan had also shaved his stubble off. He barely looked like the guy he’d picked up at the airport the day before with the facial hair gone and the blond hair. “Looks good. Different…but good.”
“Thanks.”
Blayne walked into the kitchen. Ethan had already put out a mug on the countertop for him, so he poured himself a cup of coffee and added a dab of milk from the refrigerator. He noticed a few new items Ethan must have picked up when he was out and about.
“I didn’t pick up anything for breakfast. I figured I’d take you out somewhere when you got up. Any ideas of a fun, trendy place to grab a bite?”
Blayne took a sip, noticing the bold flavor of the dark roast as it entered his mouth.Not bad. “Yeah, there’s a coffee shop that serves breakfast not too far from here. Why don’t I get ready, and we can head over there?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
* * * *
The Dream Bean was a cozy little coffee house located a block from Pennington University. It was close enough for Blayne to walk there from his apartment, between classes or on his way home. Okay…so Blayne stopped in Dream Bean a lot. The café had enough room inside for a backroom where they roasted their beans, about eight tables with chairs inside and another ten on the raised porch in front of the store. The café had its own line of merchandise that lined one wall. There were beans in nightgowns, beans in bed, beans with nightcaps and beans drinking coffee. If you could put a bean in some kind of sleep, Dream Bean had already done it.
Blayne approached the main counter and recognized the employee immediately.
“Todd, I didn’t know you worked here,” Blayne said in as pleasant a voice as he could muster.
“Hey, Professor Dickenson. I started working here last week. What can I get ya?”
“I’m going to have the medium flat white with the egg white turkey wrap.” Blayne turned to Ethan, who had sidled up next to him, “And you?”
“I’ll have whatever he’s having. I trust him.”
“Sure thing.” Blayne’s student entered the information into the cash register and gave him the total. He pulled out his credit card.
“Blayne,” Ethan started.
“My treat. I’ll let you get dinner or something.”
Ethan scrunched up his face, clearly not excited that Blayne was paying for breakfast. “Hey, you got coffee this morning. This one’s on me.”
Ethan nodded.
Blayne swiped his credit card and punched in his four-digit code. The beeping sound on the card reader let them all know it had gone through.
“Thanks, Professor! I’ll have those right out to you,” Todd said as he handed them a metal stand with the number ten atop.
“Want to sit outside?” Blayne asked. “It’s not too hot yet, so it should be pretty nice.”
“Sure,” Ethan agreed. “Sounds like a plan.”
The two walked out into the mid-morning sun. A few students had the same idea, so Blayne directed Ethan to a table in the corner, away from the students and the front door.
