"It's Hazel," she replied quietly. So far so good. Finally at the warm coffee shop, Hazel let her umbrella close. She walked inside and then held the door open for Carrio. The small building was cozy, a fire lazily burning away in a large stone fireplace with white cushioned seats surrounding it, several booths and tables, and of course the small counter to order your drink.
Carrio thanked her before walking insude. He loved the stylistic decor. The older look of the fireplace tickled at his fancy as he trotted up to the counter to order himself a cappuccino.
Hazel made her way behind Carrio, thinking of getting a basic vanilla latte. Suddenly a wave of relief washed over her as she saw how excited he seemed to be. Was irony at play here that he didn't get out much either?
Carrio pulled out money, enough to pay for both of them. They were told to go sit, and sitting in a booth near the rainwashed windows is what they did.
"You didn't have to pay for us both," she said with a small frown. It was her who asked in the first place anyways. Her mind forced guilt into her thoughts as she stared at her hands.
Carrio gently sat her down in the booth and sat across from her. “That’s alright. Whenever anyone goes out with me, I pay. It’s just a gentleman’s code.”
"I still feel a bit bad though…" she added timidly. Hazel was extremely unprepared for conversation between herself and Carrio. The only thing she knew they had in common was the fact they liked books.
(gonna go sleep, it's nearly 1 AM)
(Okay! Night!)
Carrio shrugged. “Don’t be. I like paying. It’s easier on your wallet. You deseve the extra cash.”
Hazel chuckled half heartedly. "I don't know about that, but thank you…" she said, actually looking Carrio in the eyes. She gently rubbed her left arm as she attempted to think of conversation topics. There wasn't much luck.
Carrio met her gaze steadily and smiled encouragingly. “So have you read any of the books you checked out? You chose a good bunch. You actually always do.”
"Today's selection, no… but from previous times I have. I… suppose I have quite a bit of time on my hands," Hazel replied, voice becoming softer towards the end. Her focus ended up dropping to her hands that were sitting on her lap, lightly gripping her knees.
Carrio nodded slowly. “That’s good. You should always try and broaden your range of reading.” His voice was soft to match hers.
Before Hazel could reply, both of their names had been called from the front counter. The smaller girl gave a small nod before scooting out of the booth and went to retrieve the warm cups of coffee. Returning, she carefully set Carrio's cup in front of him and her own in front of her as she sat back down.
Carrio grinned and accepted his food and cup. “Thanks. Were you going to say anything?”
Hazel shook her head, resulting in her braids swaying gently. "Not really. I can agree that having variety is definitely good though," she said before taking a quick sip of coffee. It was still too warm for her preference, but at least it didn't burn her tongue.
Carrio buried into his muffin without a second word. This girl seemed to be very shy, but bookish. Carrio liked her, more than any other woman he met. He smiled a little and continued eating.
Hazel had already eaten earlier on and was a bit ashamed on how her figure looked, so she simply ordered the coffee. Carrio seemed like such a nice person, but her self doubt refused to let her be completely comfortable around him. She had always hoped it would go away with time and medication. While her anxiety was indeed less, she was still quite awkward and timid.
Carrio gave a gentle burp, excused himself, then patted his round tummy. He loved himself a good blueberry muffin. He smiled a bit. Despite all of the calories he ate in a day, he loved sweets. It gave him a large boost in weight, that he didn’t need, but he ate a ton anyway. What did he have to loose?
(Carrio is a mood)
Hazel chuckled lightly at his actions. She wished she could feel confident enough in herself to love how she appeared. Her mind was unsure of how to converse with the librarian. Based on books she'd read she doubted pick up lines were appropriate due to the fact that she only wanted a friend. Was he a friend? Thinking of Carrio like that made her insides feel a million times better.
Carrio caught her staring and beamed at her. “So! What do you do for a living? Hopefully something calming.”
"I actually work here," she replied, fiddling with her sleeves. Hazel honestly didn't quite like talking about herself, but they were simple enough questions.
Carrio beamed a little wider somehow. “That’s wonderful! Do you work as a cashier or do you make the drinks?”
Carrio's ever growing smile was quite an unusual thing for Hazel to see. Especially when directed at her
"Um, I usually do some of both, but I'm quite awful with the different names so usually I'm at the front, taking orders," the woman said, still fiddling with her hands.
Carrio laughed gently. “I’m sure you’ll get used to it. It’s really just a practice type thing.”
"I sure hope so," Hazel added, looking back up at Carrio. He really was a kind person… Something in her chest wanted to sit and talk with him like this more often.
Carrio smiled warmly. “I bet if you got tired of it, I could offer you a job. I’ve been looking for assistants everywhere. If you ever get overwhelmed with your job, I could hire you.”
Hazel's cheeks warmed instantly, her shy smile immediately shrank to a look of surprise.
"R-really?" she asked, not sure if his offer was truly real.
Carrio beamed. “Of course! Why would I be lying about something as serious as this? I’d probably be able to pay you more than this minimum wage job, too,” He added thoughtfully.
"I didn't mean to call you a liar… I'm just surprised that you would offer me this," she explained in a rush. She didn't want to offend her new possible friend and maybe employer.
Carrio waved a hand. “Don’t worry about offending me. Of course I’m not lying about it! You're very bookish, and you probably know the library very well.”