Chapter 11: Part 3

Breaking her out of the trance, Jack places a cup down hard on the table between them.

"Hey, Sera, thought you might like a fresh one. You look busy there." He leans on the arm of her chair.

"Oh, thanks, Jack."

"What are you writing?"

"Oh, you know the usual Amanda jumble." She reaches into her purse to pay.

"Don't worry about it, my girl drinks for free."

Sera glares at him. Didn't they just have this conversation? It's almost like he's doing it on purpose. As the thought comes to her, does she notice his eyes lock on the mysterious stranger. He's trying to mark his territory. The stranger doesn't even give him the satisfaction of looking up. A faint smirk plays on his lips, but his eyes remain on the pages of his nameless book.

"Thanks again, Jack." Her tone is dismissive as she turns back to her laptop. Her fingers deftly fly across the keys, but none of the words on the screen make any sense. Jack remains for a few seconds, then finally takes the hint and returns to the counter. Sera blinks, trying to re-read what she wrote, but it is just a mess of gibberish.

"Wow, they sure are friendly over here." His eyes never glance up, but she'd know that voice anywhere—as if it were tattooed on her heart.

"You have no idea," she mumbles under her breath, but he hears and laughs.

Finally, he lowers his book and peers over her way. Shyly her gaze returns to her computer screen.

"I'm Nate," he introduces. Nate.

"Sera," she murmurs as he reaches his hand out for hers. The moment their two hands connect, she feels a current of fire shoot straight up her arm and into her core. From her heart, the heat spreads its way slowly, out to the edges of her body. She quickly recovers, pulling her hand away and nods in the hope he didn't catch the way that touch affected her.

"Sarah, that's a really pretty—"

"No," she interrupts, "Sera with an E, short for Seraphina." You would think she'd be used to people getting her name wrong by now. It's only been twenty-four years, but to this day, it still bothers her.

"Oh." He looks taken back.

"Sorry," she apologizes, not meaning to come off rude. Without warning, a smile crosses his face, and he shakes his head to himself, allowing his stray hair to slip back over his eye. "What?" Sera asks, desperately wanting to be a part of this inside joke.

He looks up, "Oh, it's nothing. "It's a really pretty name. Where did your parent's get it from?"

"To be honest, I have no idea."

"Do you know the history behind it?"

"No, I can't say I do."

"Well, Seraphina comes from the term Seraphim, which are the highest-ranking Angels in God's court. They are said to be fierce and brave, characterized mostly by their fiery red wings."

"Angels?" she snickers, but he no longer looks amused. He's serious. "Um, no. I didn't know that. I, um... I don't really like my full name, that's why I go by Sera."

"It's a shame, Seraphina is a beautiful name. You should be proud of it."

She's full on blushing now. "Thank you," she finally gets out. Surprisingly, when it comes out of his mouth, she likes it, too. It rolls off his tongue like a Spanish accent rolls the R's. It's like a dialect she's unaware of.

"So is that your overprotective boyfriend over there?" he interrupts, stopping her from recounting his voice saying her name.

"Who?" she looks up, "Oh, Jack? No, we are just friends."

"Oh." He smiles. "Does he know that?" They both glance over to notice Jack glaring at their interaction, while he pours someone's coffee.

"I thought so. We just talked about it less than an hour ago," she mentions, returning her gaze to Nate.

"Well then, Sera with an E, what are you tapping away at over there on your computer?"

"I'm just correcting a paper for my friend."

"Correcting? It sounds like you're writing it for her." He smirks.

"Well," she says, hiding a laugh, "It needs a lot of work."

"Your friend or the paper?" The smirk turns into a wide grin, like he knows something.

"Both." She returns his smile. "My friend, Amanda, has been trying to get through nursing school. It's been her passion for years. However, she's not a school person. So, I'm just helping her out."

"That's very nice of you. I admire that in a person."

"What exactly do you admire?"

"It's the culmination of everything, the loyalty/love/friendship/encouragement/willingness to forgo your needs for theirs. They are all admirable traits."

"Wow, uh, thanks." Just when she thinks her cheeks couldn't get any redder, they do.

"Anytime, Sera." He keeps saying her name like he's trying to remember it. Maybe she was too harsh in correcting him.

"So, what about you? What brings you here?" She dives into questioning this mysterious man, desperate for more.

"I'm just catching up on some reading." He lifts his book for emphasis.

"Are you from around here? I've never seen you before," she implores further.

"I've just moved here from up north." He smiles indicating his answer is another inside joke before sitting up in his chair and leaning closer toward her. "Your chest is—blinking."

"Wha—" Before the rest of the word has escaped her lips, she glances down to notice her vial-necklace nestled under her sweater slowly pulsing an eerie white color. "It's never done that before," she mutters, slipping it over her head and into the palm of her hand.

"What kind of necklace is that?" He hovers over the table to get a closer look. Sera glances up at him, his face is millimeters from hers. His scent lingers, reminding her of Christmas—pine, and maybe something else. His eyes return to hers when she allows the necklace between her fingers to slip into her bag. She becomes entranced by his blue eyes. She thought they were beautiful at night, but the way the afternoon sun currently glimmers off of them shows that they are breathtaking.

A phone begins to ring, breaking their eye contact. She blinks, and he leans back into his chair. "I think that's your phone." He points to her bag on the floor.

"Oh." Flustered, she pulls it out from the pockets of her purse. "Hello?" she answers.

"Sera, I'm dying." Amanda's hoarse voice on the other end informs her.

"No, you're not. Just drink the water I left you."

"I did. I tried to get up for more, but the room's spinning, and I almost puked."

"You might feel better if you do."

"How long are you going to be?" She coughs dramatically.

"Well, depends on how badly you need this homework." Hopefully, she needs it really bad, Sera would love an excuse to stay here just a little longer.

"Homework can wait, I need my friend." Amanda knows just what to say to get to her. "And I want a bacon, egg, and cheese."

Sera laughs, dispelling some nervous energy when she realizes Nate's blue eyes are still on her. "A bacon, egg and cheese? I thought you felt sick."

"Bacon cures everything."

Sera chuckles again. "Okay."

"You're the best, Sera."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be right there." Sera clicks the phone off, placing it on the table and closes her laptop. "I have to go. My friend is sick."

"Sick?" His face calls my bluff.

"Okay, she's totally hung over, but I have to help her." Placing her laptop back in her oversized purse, she glances over at him one last time. Damn you, Amanda. She hoists her bag onto her shoulder and climbs to her feet. He hands her phone back.

"I took the liberty of entering my phone number."

"Oh, that was fast." She places the phone in her back pocket and pauses, hesitant to actually leave. They stare at each other for a moment. His perfect blue eyes peering up at her willing her to stay longer. Is she seriously going to drop the mysterious guy she's been dreaming about for months to care for her friend? Of course she is, that's just what Sera does. "Okay, well—bye."

"I-will-call-you," he states. The sentence sounds rehearsed.

She smiles, the blush heating her cheeks. "Good bye." With that confirmation, she finally gets the courage to leave the man of her dreams in the coffee house. She glances back only once before opening the front door. His gorgeous eyes still follow her.

*