Clumsiness and Coffee [Elijah]

[ABIGAIL JAMES]

Abby was exhausted. There was paint under her fingernails and a little bit in her hair, but she needed something to help her relax. Her students had been working with acrylic paint today, and it was always a messy day, even though her students were in high school and should be able to maintain their messes. She wasn't upset, though. Painting was always her favorite to teach, since it was her preferred medium and she could teach the students all kinds of tricks. Of course, those tricks involved getting messy, but she loved it. With such a busy day, though, she was ready to go do some gardening and take a shower. But she really wanted some tea too.

She stopped in at Sunshine's Too for one of her favorite herbal blends and a chat with one of her best friends, the owner, Jo. They had been friends for a long time, and her favorite people to hang out with were Jo and Lafayette, their fabulous gay boyfriend. While Jo made her tea, Abby told her about her day, noticing there was no one else in the store but a couple other customers. She wasn't even aware of anyone else coming in. She grabbed her to go cup of tea, popping the lid just a little to smell it. "Ugh, I love you so much, Jo. I'll call you tonight and we'll set something up with Lala," she promised.

Just as she turned, she collided into someone's chest, tea first. She gasped, feeling the hot tea scorch her fingers, and for an instant she was angry. Why was this person standing right behind her?! But then she calmed down, realizing she was at fault too, and she felt awful for having spilled tea all over this person. Her large brown eyes lifted to the face, worried. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. "I am such a klutz! Here!" She quickly grabbed some napkins, and set her now 1/4 full cup on the counter and she turned back to him, handing him some. "I'm so sorry," she said again, more softly.

When she looked up again, she noticed the man she had collided into was actually really handsome. Maybe it was good fortune she spilled her tea all over him. Then again, she didn't think he was really happy with her right now. She bit her lip, cutely apologetic as her big doe eyes looked up at him. "Can I buy your tea or coffee? By way of apology?" she asked uncertainly. Abby just couldn't stay on a handsome man's bad side. Especially not when he had such blue eyes. She gave him a small hopeful smile as she waited for his answer.

[elijahgrey]

Elijah had always been a coffee addict, even since he was a very young boy. He had been known to try several different blends at once, spending a couple of hours assessing the inherent differences of each. He had a particular fondness for Sumatran blends, but recently stumbled upon Sunshine's, Too, where he had developed a weakness for a rather delicious black tea from India. Not to mention his weakness for the owner of the shop, a very pretty girl called Jordanna.

Elijah liked her closely-cropped haircut, and her big, bright eyes were enchanting. He wasn't a stalker or anything, but although he came to the shop for the tea, he stayed for the pretty proprietress. Yeeeah... even Elijah couldn't deny it: he was a creeper. Great. Just what he'd always wanted to be when he grew up.

Though he had been standing in line to order his drink, he decided that he was tired of coming to the shoppe every day only to stare dreamily at a girl who was so far out of his league that she was practically in another ocean entirely. He turned to go and promptly dropped his wallet. He had only just straightened up from retrieving it when something petite, curly, and very hot in temperature collided with his chest.

"Oh crap," Elijah exclaimed rather uneloquently as he was scalded by the steaming and fragrant liquid. He was silently lamenting the state of his white Oxford button-down and new tie, both of which were drenched, when he caught a glimpse of the tiny woman who'd collided with him. She had big brown eyes that were currently expanded to the size of saucers, he supposed because she was embarrassed, and a mass of bouncy brown curls that fell about her shoulders with great energy. Briefly Elijah wondered how long it took her to make it look that carelessly toussled. He spent an hour making his hair look like he didn't give a damn. He enjoyed the irony of it.

The woman was babbling apologies, but Elijah waved them off with his hand as though they were flies. "Not at all," he said graciously. "You must let me replace your drink, seeing as it is I who am wearing it now." Elijah offered a lopsided smile, which screamed "boy next door," even though he was wearing a suit worthy of wall street. "Elijah," he said, extending his hand to her.

[ABIGAIL JAMES]

"Not at all. You must let me replace your drink, seeing as it is I who am wearing it now. Elijah."

Whoa. Abby was shocked she didn't join the puddle of tea on the floor. Not only was this guy cute as hell. Not only did he have the bluest eyes she had ever seen in person. Not only did he have a smile that could make a lesbian weak in the knees. Not only did he speak really well. But he had an accent. She felt like she hit the jackpot. Her hand found its way into his and she gave a sweet smile. "Abby," she said, giving his hand a gentle, but firm squeeze. She looked down at his shirt, and then gave him another apologetic smile. "And I feel I owe you big time," she said.

She turned back to Jo, but she didn't need to call her over. She was already watching and laughing. Her eyes narrowed at her. "Jo, can you get me another tea and whatever Elijah would like?" she requested, giving Elijah a kind smile as she said his name. Why did he have to be so cute? It was always worse when the guys who saw her clumsiness were as cute as Elijah. But she couldn't help but laugh at the huge mess she had made of him, and she tried to stifle it as she looked at him. Thinking it was a little rude to laugh at him, she said, "I'm sorry, I just...I really did a number on your suit." She giggled again, looking away from him and making eye contact with Jo. No words were needed. They both knew this guy was hot.

Her eyes turned back to him narrowed playfully. "Though, maybe you stood right behind me so I would crash into you and you could get a free drink?" she teased. She gave a wide smile to let him know she was kidding, which gave her another good chance to look at those eyes. Man, they were blue. When Jo came back with their drinks, Abby got ready to pay, pulling her paint-stained wallet out of her purse with her paint-stained fingers. She wasn't about to let Elijah pay for the tea she had just spilled all over him.

[elijahgrey]

As Abby called to Jo, Elijah motioned to Jo behind Abby's back that he would be paying for the beverages. He slipped deftly around Abby and slid his card through the terminal, took her drink from Jo, whom he seemed to have forgotten momentarily, and turned back to face the lovely woman behind him.

"I really did a number on your suit," she said with a giggle. "Though maybe you stood right behind me so I would crash into you and you could get a free drink?" Her eyes were narrowed playfully, and it made her look very cute.

Elijah laughed quietly at the young woman's theory that he'd deliberately placed himself in her way in order to score a free drink. "An interesting conjecture, but no," he said with a little smile. "I simply can't keep a hold on my wallet. May I be so bold as to invite you to sit outside with me?"

Elijah had a different manner of speaking than most men his age. He did, of course, have his accent, but he also spoke with a lilting rhythm that was remeniscent to some of gentle waves. He also tended to speak rather formally. His ex-wife had loved that about him at first, but she had soon grown tired of his formality and seeming inability to relax. She claimed that he was "terminally uptight" and that he "couldn't unwind a ball of yarn." That was one of the many reasons he was no longer married.

[ABIGAIL JAMES]

Before Abby could pay, Elijah reached around at paid for both of them. Very sneaky. She could have protested, but she thought it was kind of attractive that he was so assertive. Still, her eyes narrowed a little, playfully so, and she took her tea from him gently. Even his laugh was pleasant. "An interesting conjecture, but no. I simply can't keep a hold on my wallet. May I be so bold as to invite you to sit outside with me?" Abby laughed a little at his excuse for running into her, deciding he could be forgiven. He was the one with tea all over him after all...But when he invited her to sit outside with him for a drink? She smiled wide and nodded. "Sure!" she replied. She threw one last excited look over her shoulder at Jo before she followed Elijah out of the store.

Outside there were a few tables set up along the sidewalk, and she took a seat at one of them, smiling up at Elijah as he took his seat. She didn't even think to be self-conscious about the paint in her hair or on her fingers. Actually, she didn't even know she had paint curled around one of her many curls. It wasn't much, but it gave her a bit of a carefree look. Had she known, though, she might have asked Jo why she didn't tell her. She took a sip of her tea before looking up at Elijah again.

"So you're from Scotland, right?" she asked, her hands cupped around her tea. "Your accent gives you away." She gave a little giggle before cocking her head to the side. "What brings you to Scriptor Bay? We don't get a lot of people from other countries around here. Except maybe Canadians, but they almost don't count." She gave a laugh to show she was kidding, but she kept her eyes on him as she waited for his answer. She couldn't get over how blue his eyes were. It was a distinct possibility that she could just stare at them all day.

[elijahgrey]

"So you're from Scotland, right? Your accent gives you away," Abby said, and Elijah pretended to look confused.

"What accent?" He asked, keeping a straight face for all of five seconds before he broke down and laughed. "Yes, I was born and raised in Edinburgh by my dad and granddad. It was a house full of male drama- that is to say, no drama at all." He laughed again. "Abby is a Scottish name, you know," he added as an afterthought. "Am I correct in thinking that it is short for Abigail?" He took a sip of his black Americano.

Elijah spent a moment or two taking in Abby's appearance, noting with some high degree of pleasure her big brown eyes and mass of brown curls, both of which he found very attractive. His favorite quality, however, were the flecks of paint that adorned her hands and hair, and he had to resist the urge to reach across the table and brush away the smear of green paint on her cheek.

"I am going to venture a guess and say you are an artist," Elijah mused, his elbow on the table and his chin resting in his hand. "If this is indeed the case, I would very muuch like to see some of your work."

[ABIGAIL JAMES]

Elijah was funny, Abby decided. First he pretended he didn't realize he had an accent and then he talked a little about being raised in Edinburgh. "It was a house full of male drama--that is to say, no drama at all." She laughed before taking a sip of her tea. What a great way to wind down after a long day. Hot tea and a hot Scot. "Abby is a Scottish name, you know." Her eyes lifted to his again, curious. "Am I correct in thinking that it is short for Abigail?" A wide smile came across her face, very interested in this little tidbit of information. "Yeah, but I didn't know that!" she replied excitedly. "That's really interesting!" Her eyes showed her genuine intrigue as she lifted her cup to her lips again. Who knew she would be spending her time so pleasantly this afternoon? She might have dressed a little nicer if she had known.

For a moment, she looked down into her tea, letting a brief silence come over them. It was nice, and she could hear the voices of passersby. But she could feel Elijah's eyes on her, so she lifted hers back to his. A smile spread across her face, not quite sure what he was staring at. It was cute, but it made butterflies flutter around her stomach and she felt her cheeks turning a little pink. She was glad when he started speaking again. "I am going tot venture a guess and say you are an artist." Her eyes immediately went to her hands and she laughed. He was leaned on the table, and she mimicked him, finding that a good indication that he was interested. "If this is indeed the case, I would very much like to see some of your work."

Abby's smile grew and she had to look away for a second as she fought back her blush. Man, he was cute! "Yes, I am an artist. An art teacher at the high school too. Today the students were learning to use acrylic paints and, well, you can see how messy that got," she replied, showing her hands. "It's easier to use your hands for correcting some mistakes, though. I was showing them a few tricks and just didn't wash my hands enough, I guess." She laughed a little and then brought her cup to her, giving him a smile that only hinted at flirtation. "But if you're really interested in seeing my pieces, I'll have to get to know you better." Her smile grew and she took a sip of her tea. "What is it you do, Elijah?" He looked so clean-cut, he was certainly a businessman of some kind.