“Thanks, thanks, aw shit– you guys are so nice. That’s, uh, the set– thanks for listening, maybe you just forgot your earbuds, but– enjoy your coffee. Thanks, guys. Yeet.” Pepper hopped off the stool, headed for the bar to grab her coffee. She felt a little shaky, still, letting people watch her, even though she felt her thighs touch at the top when she paced or her stomach rolled up a little when she sat. But people kept smiling at her, guys, girls, just when they caught her eye, like she was pretty and worth attention– and she was determined not to give up. She felt someone approaching, and she was trying to be more social, so she addressed them while she stuck her straw into the iced coffee. “’d you like the set?”
James often found himself in a variety of locations, from shady dive bars, to sunny suburban-like parks, to hole-in-the-wall coffee places like the one he was sitting in then. At least, to him it was a hole-in-the-wall. He could never be sure. Just like he couldn’t be sure what it was exactly he was watching the woman perform, partly because he had close to no idea where he was, and because he had absolutely no idea who she was. What he did know was that she had caught his eye through the crack in the door as he had been passing by outside.
He approached her as though he knew what he were doing, when in reality he still had no words to say to her. Stopping beside her, he briefly cleared his throat before smiling, his hands hesitating for a second before he held on out to her. “Hi,” he started, clearing his throat again when the word came out a bit quieter than he intended. “I know this is probably really forward, and creepy, but you’re...you’re stunning.”
“I mean- The set...the set, it was great. And, uh, I’m a photographer working on a city-life piece for a magazine, The Ambience. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it... Sorry, this is really weird isn’t it?”
