Chapter One

Carrie opened her eyes her to the bright, morning sunlight. She sat up and stretched. Today was the first day of the rest of her life. She was young still, just 18, but soon to be 19. She had been accepted to The Orlando school of Art, a small but private college just on the edge of town. She had also just gotten a job at a new coffee shop down the road called " The Java Spot ". She looked at her clock 8:15am. She had to be at work at 9:30am.

After taking a shower, she threw on one of favorite tank tops and a pair of worn out jeans. She went out to her kitchen and smiled at her little apartment. It was all hers, and she was proud of it. She picked up her purse, which was really more of a bag then a purse, and headed out the door grabbing a light baby blue cardigan on the way out.

When she got to work she said, " Hey " to her new boss and a couple of coworkers she had talked to when she come in for interviews earlier. She thought the work was easy really, and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere of the coffee shop.

Around 3:00pm her shift was almost over. She went into the back to hang up her apron, when she felt someone standing behind her. Carrie turned around to see a short, chubby brown haired girl staring up at her.

" Hey, your new here aren't you? ", she asked.

" Yeah ", Carrie smiled, " just started today ".

" Well, my name's Marcy, and I have to go to the hospital, cause my mom's sick, and I have no one to take over my shift, and well, um...I was wondering if you would? ". Carrie smiled with sympathy.

" Sure, I will ". Marcy's eyes widened,

" Thank you so much!! Okay, well, my shift is from 8:00pm to 1:00am...cuase I have to clean ". Carrie sighed, she didn't think it would be so late. But, being the nice person she was she just nodded.

Carrie got home and her puppy, a boxer bull dog named B-rok, ran up to her and jumped on her, licking her face.

" Hey baby! ", She yelled, patting B-rok on the head. " C'mon, let's go try to get some sleep, cause mommy's got to get up at 8:00 and work all night ". She walked into her room, dropping her stuff on the floor. She flipped on the TV and closed her eyes, wondering had in store for her. She drifted off into some kind of strange dream.

The late shift was almost dead. It was a week night after all and who would really come out for coffee at 10:00pm at night? Most of the time she sat at the counter, drinking a hazel nut steamer and sketching in her sketch book. It was just about 11:30pm when she heard someone walk in. She turned to see a young man walking in. He took a seat at a small table in the back. Carrie couldn't see him that well, but she knew he was pretty good-looking by the way the light hit his face. She got up and cleaned off a table near him, making eye contact a couple of times and smiling. The last customers had just walked out and they were now alone in the place. She walked over to him,

" Hi ", She smiled, " Can I get you anything? ". He looked up and smiled sweetly, Carrie was very taken with his appearance, he was VERY cute, and something about him seemed familiar.

" Um, is it too late? ". Carrie smiled,

" No, we close at 12:00pm ".

" Yeah, " He smiled, " but, I don't want to be one of those guys who comes in and keeps the servers here longer when all they want to do is close ".

Carrie laughed, " Well, I am here to 1:00am, anyways, so it really doesn't matter ". He looked up at her...he had gorgeous deep brown eyes.

" Can I trouble you for a Mocha Latte'? ".

" Coming right up! ", She turned and went behind the counter. She heard him get up.

" Do you mind if I sit over here? ", he said pointing to a bar stool right beside where she sitting.

" No, go ahead, you can keep me company ", She handed him the hot beverage.

" So, have you worked here long? ", he asked taking a sip. Carrie sighed, "Whoa, what a late shift you got stuck with! ", He laughed.

" Yeah, I kinda didn't have to, but this co-worker had an emergency, so I really had to ".

" Oh, your boss forced you? ", He asked.

" No ", Carrie said, " I just would feel terrible if I didn't ".

" Wow, that's really sweet of you to do something like that ", He said, " By the way, my name's Howie ".

It was then it dawned on Carrie who he was. She tried not to react.

" Oh, I am Carrie ". Howie looked over at her and smiled again. Carrie could smell him from where she was sitting and it was nearly driving her crazy he smelled so good.

They talked for a while longer, Carrie told him about just moving to Florida, and being accepted to art school. Before she knew it, it was 1:00am.

" Whoa ", She said, " I have got to close! ". Howie glanced down at his watch,

" I had no idea it was so late! ". He stood up of the stool and stretched. " I better be going ".

" Yeah ", Carrie sighed wishing he wouldn't leave.

" Um, can I get your number? ", Howie asked looking down at the floor. Carrie smiled and scribbled her number on a napkin. " Thanks ", He picked it up and put it in his pocket, " I will call you". He looked deep into her eyes one more time and headed out the door. When he got out to his car he took out the napkin and read it. Under her number there was a small message, it said, Your sweet! Call me! He laughed to himself at the corny-ness of it, but thought it was cute. He turned around to look in through the window and saw Carrie sweeping up. Something had just happened between them, he didn't know exactly what, but he was definitely going to find out.

Chapter 2

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