Page 6 of Finding Parker

Courting women in the coffee shop was, without a doubt, my calling in life. Without a doubt, this was going to be an interesting summer. In an effort to claim my newfound perch, I left my tablet on the table, stood, and walked toward the staircase. Carefully choosing a few books and a magazine from downstairs just might make me a more interesting option to the single women.

I reached the bottom of the staircase and noticed the thin brunette standing at the counter of the coffee shop. As I turned and walked toward her, she looked over her shoulder and smiled. It wasn’t my original intent to attempt to strike up a conversation with her, but considering her expressed interest, I figured I may as well attempt to speak to her.

As I slowly walked her direction, she turned and looked over her shoulder again.

“I saw you met Victoria,” she said as I approached, not bothering to turn around and face me when she spoke.

“I did,” I paused as I reached for my wallet.

“She doesn’t like people. I’m surprised she talked to you. She doesn’t talk to anyone. She’s in here quite a bit, but she keeps to herself,” she said as she picked her coffee up from the counter.

As she turned around, I made mental note of her porcelain like skin and natural good looks. Her hair was cut in what now appeared to be an asymmetrical style, leaving her left side significantly shorter than the right side. For an adult male, I stand a little less than average height, at 5’-10”. As she rotated my direction, I realized she was about eight inches shorter than me.

And perfectly beautiful.

“I’m Parker,” I muttered nervously.

“Katelyn, Nice to meet you,” she smiled and raised her coffee cup in a celebratory fashion.

“Can I help you?” the barista asked.

Overweight, covered in tattoos, and sporting devices in her earlobes which were the size of quarters, the barista stood as a drastic contrast compared to Katelyn. Her visibly dirty hair was cut in a bob and as black as black could possibly be.

“A black cup of coffee, sixteen ounce please,” I smiled.

“Pretty basic,” Katelyn said as she tilted her head toward the barista.

“$2.76,” the barista said.

“I don’t like to complicate things,” I stated as I handed the barista my newly acquired credit card.

“Carmel macchiato,” she said as she raised her cup again, “it’s not complicated. It’s delicious. Oh my God, you should live a little Parker, it’s so good.”

And with that remark, she smiled, turned, and walked gracefully toward the stairs. I watched curiously as she worked her way up the steps. When she reached the half-way mark, she turned and smiled over her right shoulder and took a sip from her cup. The shorts she was wearing revealed although thin, her legs were very muscular. My level of interest rose as she reached the top of the steps.

“Can you make that a caramel macchiato?” I asked.

“I’ve already made you the coffee,” she rolled her eyes as she responded, placing the cup of coffee on the countertop.

“I’ll pay for both,” I nodded, “you still have the card.”

“Fine,” she snapped as she turned toward the espresso machine.

I grinned at the thought of returning to the upper floor and talking to Katelyn. She was probably the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in person. I stood in wonder if her personality would match her beautiful looks as the barista handed me my freshly made drink.

“What do you want me to do with the coffee?” she asked.

“You can dump it out. Or I suppose you could offer it to someone free of charge,” I smiled as she handed me my credit card.

“You always come to book stores to mack on women?” she asked.

“I’m studying,” I responded.

“Studying getting laid,” she snarled.

I turned and walked up the stairs, eager to speak to Katelyn. As I reached the top of the landing and turned toward my table, she looked up from the book she held and smiled. I smiled in return as I pulled my chair away from the table and lowered myself into it.

The upper floor was sparsely populated. Of the sixteen or so tables situated on the floor, six were occupied, five of which were women. I turned and looked over the handrail and onto the first floor. Primarily filled with women, the first floor was at capacity. A few men sat and read, most of which appeared to be college students. None seemed to be interested in anything but studying.