it was a twisted combination . very rarely did booker find himself both amused and annoyed ; an amalgamation that certainly had more to do with the beautiful thief , and less to do with the stuffy coffeehouse aesthetic . he preferred caffeine in peru .
peru . peru . peru . he should’ve been on his way to that country , a smirk plastered across his features as his team played the ever popular what if . what if we get shot by sadistic mercenaries ? what if we find more gold than anticipated ? what if alta breaks his arm again ?
but no . someone stole the key to his next step , and now he was paying $4.50 for retribution in the form of an overpriced coffee . “ I’m trying a thing , ” he whispered playfully , his charming personality shining through as the barista leaned forward . the red-headed boy smirked , almost as if conversing with booker in such a close proximity had made him look cooler . “ . . . sometimes you have to make your own meet-cute . ” he finished , eyebrow arched after he polished off the end of his description .
ethan , as his name tag read , would write booker’s name on his coffee , but would call out the thief’s name an act , he would add , that worked perfectly as booker made his way toward the blonde beauty .
“ um . excuse me , miss. ? ” he lightly tapped her shoulder ( his other hand sliding like a ghost into the slight opening of her purse ) , his brow furrowed in benevolent confusion as he addressed the one named tayla . he noted that she didn’t look like a con artist . she seemed pure ; like living sunshine . he wondered plainly what her laughter would sound like . “ i . . . think you took my coffee . ”
when people steal things , they make it a point to leave almost immediately . it was a mistake . quick departures were always suspicious , and booker , a man with a trusting face and a charming smile , was enjoying the concept of having a conversation with her while housing her things in the boot of his backpack .
he was a college student , after all . note the glasses and messy hair .
and seeing as she also had a thing for snatching things that didn’t belong to her , he made it a point to keep a steady hold of his bag , an act that would allow him to appear both studious and nervous . “ unless your name is booker , then . . . i’m sorry , you must’ve had a hard time in high school .
she was distracted, guard down as her bright hues lazily scanned the room for any INTERESTING prospects. ROOKIE MISTAKE. it was fruitless either way, after getting a taste for the big leagues, anything short of the tantalizing prizes with price tags with digits spanning long enough to resemble phone numbers was considered yawn inducing. but did always make for good practice to keep ones fingers N I M B L E.
tayla was not a novice. that was a common error that many made when confronting her, falling prey to her coy yet tantalizing half smiles and the shy way her gaze fell as if the mere pleasure of having anothers attention was far too much to handle. it was a well orchestrated choreography that allowed her to surveil her targets all the while maintaining an impeccable aura of innocence that never failed to cut her loose of a sticky situation. she was the ultimate red herring, a powerful weapon to wield.
but she was also painstakingly HUMAN.
which meant, like any other red blooded commoner, she was a sucker for the element of surprise. granted, she didn’t often allow herself to be caught up in a ruse, much less one with such a romantic preamble- what were the odds that the hottest man in the coffee shop just happened to order the same skim iced latte and that she of all people had mistakenly grabbed it? but the hopeless romantic that seemed to leech on her otherwise sharp instincts leaped at the chance to engage with the tousled hair adonis that shot a cursory glance in her direction.
how was she supposed to pay attention to her purse when those eyes caught her attention?
❝ OH, did i? ❞ sure enough, ʙᴏᴏᴋᴇʀ was scribbled onto the side of the plastic cup, block letters taunting her idiocy before she turned her attention in his direction once again. ❝ you’re absolutely right. though 𝓉𝒶𝓎𝓁𝒶 didn’t exactly guarantee a walk in the park back in the day. kids are vicious. ❞ with a soft chuckle, the blonde held out the drink, complimentary smile with apologetic edge in tow. note to self, get a decent nights sleep so you don’t steal a strangers drink.
though he was attractive enough to steal her attention, old habits die hard. even when she was feigning normalcy in her day to day life, the itch she’d developed never took long to resurface, taking advantage of any instance that he looked away to cast a gaze on his person, see what was easily REMOVED, borrowed even. they say thieves develop an instinct after a good couple of years for weeding out trouble and something about ʙᴏᴏᴋᴇʀ sparked a fleeting notion of recognition, coaxing her to casually rearrange her purse- not really sure that there was any need to do so - before giving him another charming smile. ❝ honest mistake, i’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again, you’ve changed my drink swiping ways. ❞
tangentwithtanner
2087
jacobvanloon
baratheonpilled
theartofmadeline
stormborns
