#with:ssvperboy

maria sets the glass back on the counter, teeth sinking on her bottom lip holding back a wince as the shot burns her throat. a quick shake of her head, then the automatic thumbs-up. the person beside her keeps talking but she’s not really listening. she glances sideways, lips tilting a polite smile, nods like she’s listening, and taps the side of the small glass. she’s wondering why she decided to come and starting to regret the fact that she failed to eat something before she left the house when a different taller glass is placed in front of her. the person she came with starts to talk again. she reaches for the drink while saying she needs the ladies’ room, and then veers the other way toward what a direction that looks like it might lead to an outdoor space.

bodies move around her as she threads through. she clutches the glass to her sternum and glances down to try to wrestle the zipper of her bag one-handed. the floor flashes shades of green and blue. she slows without meaning to, fiddling with the zipper, managing to pinch her lighter out through a small opening. she’s digging for a cigarette, brows pulling together because she's annoyed at the zipper and at her own hands for finding her phone instead of what she actually wants. by the time she registers the sight of shoes too close to hers, it’s already too late. "wai-"someone bumps into her (or she bumps into them, hard to tell), and the impact knocks her off balance making her phone and lighter slip from her fingers and her drink wobble.

rafeez isn’t in the habit of spending too much time scrolling through social media. waste of time, lack of interest - his reasons are varied. however, when he does, he indulges, commits to the bit. sue him, he likes to be nosy.  that’s how he’d seen her for the first time in… he’s not sure, actually. a photo a mutual friend has posted and there she was, wearing an apron. an apron. that alone made one of his eyebrows lift. curiosity had spiked and he had tapped her tag, only to be met with a… deleted profile. both eyebrows had raised at the sight of it. he’d paused, fingers hovering, then opened the page in a browser instead and there it was in its full glory. he’d laughed under his breath, wondering how long she’d had him blocked without him even noticing.

that had been weeks ago.

now he’s pushing open the door to a café he’d never before paid attention to. he checks his wristwatch, it’s later than he’d like, but time had gotten away from him. she's here though, it doesn’t take long for him to spot her behind the counter (he’s confident it’s her even with her back turned). he steps up, rests his elbows casually on the counter, and watches her do her thing for a moment while wondering how long she’s been wearing that apron for. after a beat, he lets out a sigh, deliberately dramatic: "service sure is slow in here."