“Whoa, cuz. Calm down.” Tim stood up, readying himself for a fight.
I shook myself, breathing slowly, trying to come back around. “A meeting. Set up a meeting.”
“Here or on their turf?”
“Neutral. Set something up for tomorrow. I have plans tonight.”
“Two nights in a row?” Tim smirked. “Is that an all-time record?”
“Just shut up and get me that meeting.”
I got up and looked out the window at the people outside. None of them were worried about crazy bears and wolves trying to take over the city. How had my life gotten so damn complicated so fast? Nineteen wasn’t supposed to suck so much.
My phone rang and I grabbed for it, hoping the unknown 631 number was the call I was waiting for.
“Toby here.” I used my business greeting without thinking.
“Ah hey. It’s Casey.” She sounded different on the phone, more timid maybe.
“Hey. I was wondering if you were ever going to call.” I tried for nonchalant.
“Yeah, I worked most of the day.”
“You work on Saturdays?” Had I known that, I would have gone in to see her. It would have simplified things.
“Usually. I also work a lot of Sundays.”
Maybe I’d have to start going over to Coffee Heaven seven days a week. “Good to know.”
“Why? You planning to come in on weekends now?”
I smiled. She’d gotten that right. “Like I said last night, you serve good coffee.”
“Do you still want to hang out?” She sounded kind of nervous, like she thought I was going to back out.
“Yeah. Definitely. Have you decided whether I can pick you up?”
“Jess says I can trust you. But can we do coffee instead of dinner?”
“And you trust Jess?” I wasn’t sure how close they really were. I’d never heard Jess talk about Casey before. I knew the coffee instead of dinner trick was to make it easier for her to leave if things got awkward. I was okay with that. I’d just make sure things ran smoothly.
“I think I do.”
I laughed. “Either way, you can trust me.” And even if you don’t, I already know where you live. I kept that part to myself. I also didn’t voice the part about following her home the night before to make sure she was okay. She’d probably interpret my protectiveness as stalking.
“You can’t be worse than Eric.”
I frowned. What kind of trouble had he been giving her?
She gave me her address and I pretended to jot it down. “Coffee sounds great. I’ll see you at seven.”
“Great. See you then.”
***
Casey was waiting for me outside when I got there.
“Am I late?” I glanced at my watch. I’d made sure to leave extra time.
“No.” She looked away guiltily. “I just thought I’d meet you out here.”
“And here I thought you trusted me.”
She shrugged. “My dad raised me to be careful around men.”
“That’s a good thing.”
We turned the corner and started walking down MacDougal Street in the opposite direction of Coffee Heaven. Even if it weren’t run by bears, I wasn’t taking her to the place she worked for a date.
“Where are we going?”
“Just a little café I know about.” What I left out was that it was a paranormal place with a strict ‘no humans without an escort’ policy. Hopefully, she wouldn’t notice anything different about the clientele. The upside for me was that we’d get a private table with a view. If she wanted a coffee date, she’d get it, but it wasn’t going to be anything run of the mill.
Three blocks further down, I hailed a cab. I didn’t want to do it too close to her place. There were so many eyes on me at any time, and there was no reason to make it that easy.
“We’re taking a cab? There’re plenty of good places right here.”
“I think you’ll like this one.” I held open the door to the yellow cab idling at the curb.
“If you say so.” She slipped in, and I followed her.
I gave the driver the address of the café, which also happened to be the address of Battery Park. It wasn’t too long of a cab ride.
We walked around for a while, and I was thankful that the night was a little bit warmer than the previous few. Spring hadn’t come early, and I didn’t want Casey getting cold.
“How did I not know there was a second café here?” She gazed around at the gardens like a kid in a candy store. I made a mental note that she liked flowers.
“I guess you haven’t been with the right company.” Of course, it didn’t hurt that the café, The Sprite House, was hidden by spells. Some Pterons stay away from magic, but I embrace it. Maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up in the supernatural world. I was only introduced in my early teens.
After giving her some time to enjoy the courtyard, I gently led her through the door. We walked up a spiral staircase to the main floor. The entry to the café was decorated in different shades of gold and red. The color theme extended to the elaborate chandeliers that hung down from the ceiling.
Casey eyed me skeptically. “I thought you agreed to a coffee date.”
“This is a coffee date. I promise.”
I put my hand on the small of her back and directed us to the hostess stand. “Table for two.”
“Right this way, sir.” The blonde haired witch smiled as she led us through the main section of the room. The café served coffee and dessert until ten o’clock at which point it switched over to a night club. Designed for privacy, it was one large circle with a dozen smaller circles surrounding it. The hostess left us in our own little alcove. Instead of chairs, it was set up as a booth with only one bench. The hostess had correctly assumed this was a date and not business.
I gestured for Casey to scoot in first, both to give her the window, and because I liked the idea of blocking her from the line of sight of anyone passing by. I didn’t expect trouble in the café, but you never knew what was going to happen.
I opened one of the black leather menus and set it in front of her. “They have some pretty good specialty coffees here, and the crème brulee is the best I’ve had.”
She leaned in toward me, her shoulder bumping into mine. I savored the closeness. It had been ages since I’d been that close to a girl, let alone one as beautiful as Casey. A few minutes into our date, and I was already berating myself for not asking her out sooner. Even her scent made me happy. The smell wasn’t perfume. I figured it was probably body wash. Strawberry.