i do not want to have you to fill the empty parts of me

i want to be full on my own

i want to be so complete i could light a whole city

and then i want to have you cause the two

of us combined could set it on fire

-rupi kaur

Although the saying was "it never rains in Southern California", it did just that— steady droplets of rain descended from the heaven as a rumble, much like a bass drum, sounded off.

Laurielle sat patiently waiting inside of the Cafe, it's warmth, social dynamic, and the smell of freshly brewed coffee beans were pleasantly comforting to her; At least fifteen tables occupied its interior, a variety of colorful paintings and luring advertisements plastered the walls,

Her eyes averted towards the rose-gold Michael Kors watch she sported upon her wrist, then towards the entrance as a small sigh escaped her being, had he forgotten about her?

Of course it dawned on her again that August may have suffered from social anxiety, but to her knowledge and after them talking it over once more, she was sure that he'd press his way through.

The storm seemed to worsen as time progressed, it wasn't particularly the best day to be on an outing but, her worrying soon came to a halt beings that August had came into view; Just outside he took his time parking the bike he had arrived on, locking it up against the double-sided bike rack.

Laurielle's posture suddenly had changed, she sat straighter, her chest was now broader, shoulders relaxed, and legs crossed as he entered the Cafe.

He quickly made his way over to the table, leaving a trail of water behind as his feet squished with every step he took, that only triggered his embarrassment even further aside from feeling like the entire Cafe was staring at him.

"Oh my goodness hi, I'm so glad you made it I was starting to get worried." Laurielle breathed out nervously as he finally took a seat across from her "I guess next time we'll have to check the weather yeah?"

Snapping his head upwards at her, his eyes pierced through hers as small wrinkles formed at the top of his forehead, he began to frown "What do you mean next time?"

"If this goes well..." she trailed off before twiddling her thumbs together "Maybe we could do it again?"

He sighed while removing his jacket, and neatly folded it before laying it off to the side "Listen Lauri, don't get used to this okay? I'm not necessarily into this kind of stuff."

"Hmm," she then propped her elbows up on the table, resting her head in her hands she smiled sweetly and leaned a little closer to him "So what are you into then August?"

Her staring and close contact made him feel every bit of uncomfortable, but he allowed it figuring she didn't know any better, and if she did then she was definitely fighting fire with fire.

"Are you ready to order now ma'am?" the voice of a server startled August causing him to flinch unintentionally

"It's okay August just take a deep breath," she whispered to him before directing her attention towards the server "Yes, we're ready..."

After ordering , Laurielle settled with a simple Vanilla Frappuccino while August just had to be a man, and order a regular coffee.

"Those are some interesting taste buds you've got there, you're not going to add any sugar or something to it?"

"Nah I like it black, besides this is how my granddaddy used to drink his, and he put me on so I always do it like this here." he shrugged and carefully brought the beverage towards his lips, taking a sip

"I'm so sorry,"

His facial expression soon became twisted "Whatchu apologizing for?"

"The way you spoke your sentence in the past tense let's me know that your grandfather is—"

"Yeah." the word had cut her statement short as she swallowed her own saliva waiting for him to continue, but an unpleasant silence took ahold of the conversation

Laurielle wasn't one to pry, if people wanted her in their business then they'd state that— otherwise she let it be which was the best thing to do right now,

"What do you do for work?" he questioned

"I'm a pharmacist, and yourself?"

"What do you think my profession is? I want you to take a good look at me... and give me your best guess Lauri."

She curved her lips to the side while analyzing him, "Umm I'm not very great at guessing, besides you seem like such a free spirit it'd be hard to pinpoint directly."

"Well then I guess it'll remain a mystery for now."

"Hey that's not fair, I'm opening up to you— don't I deserve the same thing in return?"

"Deserve?" he questioned as she nodded "That's a bit much wouldn't you agree?"

"Not at all, the whole purpose of us seeing each other again was to get to know one another."

"How persistent are you with time?"

She flared her nostrils a bit in agitation beings that he never answered any of her questions, but asked her another in the process; "I don't know August, why?"

" 'Cause time will tell all, it's even worth it..."

"It'll definitely be worth it trust me."

"Looks like the storm is clearing up," he changed the subject "I should get going soon if I want to make it back home before sundown."

"Wait what? You just got here and it's only 2:30, but I could give you a ride if you'd like— we could strap your bike on the roof of my car maybe?"

"No thank you, I don't trust you yet so therefore I don't want any favors and I definitely don't want you to know where my house is, safety first."

"That's understandable..." she said in a low tone

"Plus I have to go back to the hotel and get my bag, I got a room the other day to be in town for our 'date', I don't live within the city limits."

"You don't live in Pasadena? I mean I know you said you don't trust me but in what part of California do you reside in?"

"Idyllwild, it's on the more rural side of California. Away from the cities, away from people, away from everything..."

"I've heard of that place."

"Ever been?" his eyes began to glisten as his face slightly lit up with excitement, his joy was soon put to rest as she shook her head, "That's unfortunate, it's beautiful there. There's peace and quiet..."

"It sounds divine, how far away is it from Pasadena?"

"By car it's about 2 hours,"

"And in your case? By bike it's how many hours?"

"8 and a half—"

"Are you kidding me!?" she exclaimed gaining attention from other guests as he attempted to shush her

"Did you really have to make that loud outburst? No I'm not kidding, but I know shortcuts so it only takes about 4 hours for me, maybe even 3 at the least."

"So you rode your bike all the way to Pasadena, for some books?"

"I know it sounds crazy, and maybe it is— but if we're really being honest here, I got more than what I bargained for."

Laurielle blushed uncontrollably, whether he was referring to her or not, that's how she perceived it. Something was truly different about August, he seriously wasn't like other guys, and this became intriguing to her.

"And the fact that you actually spent the night in town speaks so many volumes, you could've went on your journey home yesterday but you didn't, I don't want to jump the gun here but..."

"Time will tell all," he finished the sentence for her while standing to his feet "I have to go Lauri,"

"Wait, when can I see you again?"

"I'm uncertain, I don't really have a reason to come back this way for a while, or ever really."

His words had stung her, but she couldn't show that so she just sucked it up and nodded which surprised him, clearly she wasn't as persistent as he thought she was.

"Well then I guess this is goodbye August,"

"Yeah I-I guess it is." he cleared his throat before turning to walk away, just a piece of him screamed for her to stop him in his tracks, but she said nothing as he continued towards the exit

Sighing, he did a pivot turn heading back to the table "Lauri? I usually don't do this type of thing, in fact I don't do this at all but you make me feel different. I don't know if that's good or bad but I'm going with it, because it f-feels right."

"Go on." she said with a grin

"I'd like to see you again, so whenever you're free let me know."

"That's so amazing August I definitely will, would you like to exchange numbers so we can text and stuff?"

"And stuff? What else do you have up your sleeve?"

"I'm innocent, now what's your number silly!?"

"All I got is a landline, so there won't be any texting going on. I hope that didn't burst your bubble..."

"A landline." she repeated sounding less enthusiastic "That's wonderful, I'll just go ahead and tap you in."

He chuckled a little while giving her the number to his house, "It doesn't matter what time you call, whether it's late at night or early in the morning— I'll answer."

"Sounds great to me, I hope you enjoy the rest of your day and be careful on the trip back home."

"Gotcha." he said now turning to walk away again

She then called out to him, stopping him in his tracks "And August? Thank you for coming..."

He simply nodded as a response before exiting the Cafe, she watched him unchain his bike from the rack, and off into the world he went.