Dogs Chase Squirrels 2 - Coffee Talk

Irene grinned from ear to ear as the wind whipped against her face, revving up her Vespa as she took to the highway.  Sure, her mode of transportation might not have been entirely highway legal, but times like these brought out one of her favorite mottos: fuck the cops.  Her large, bushy tail was blown back by the air stream, which she curled as best she could while she picked up speed.

She couldn’t recall the last time she visited Pinewood -- maybe for a gig a few years back.  She didn’t have much incentive to visit the college town otherwise.  The highways were always a mess, what with the constant construction that never seemed to finish, but despite being a cool Saturday morning, the roads were surprisingly clear; a detail that Irene took pleasure in.  It meant she could really cut loose and go full speed -- well, as fast as a souped-up moped allowed, anyway.  It wasn’t her dream car, sure, but damn, did that Roland set her back.

Admittedly, Irene found Camelia’s request for a coffee date to be a little confusing, not when there seemed to be so much...chemistry between the two of them already.  Then again, any time she could spend with the Labrador would be time well spent.  And it’s not as if she hated coffee; she just hoped coffee was a precursor to more vigorous activities.

The highway lanes narrowed as she found herself on the southern outskirts of the college town, eventually merging towards a surface street, its concrete worn down from decades of use and disrepair.  There was a homeliness to this part of town -- quiet, almost quaint businesses, juxtaposed with modern shopping centers and cafe eateries just north of those.  The walkways even played a cute little jingle whenever the Walk sign changed over.  Irene found the little town rather droll as she navigated her Vespa in the direction of Pinewood University, which took up a fair portion of the northern part of town.

Naturally, the college itself wasn’t her destination, but rather, a cafe that was popular with the students just south of the main entrance onto the campus grounds.  The squirrel woman pulled into the parking lot, taking off her helmet and shaking out her brown locks.  Without a mirror, it was hard to tell how tousled her hair looked, but she hoped a more natural appearance would make for a solid second impression -- she had already nailed the first one, after all.

Irene elected to go more punk with her outfit choice today, wearing a white shirt and tattered black jeans.  She hoped to upsell the “good girl gone bad” vibe, as it always left an impression on previous dates.  All two of them since moving to Denver.  Despite how demure Camelia appeared at first glance, Irene could tell the moment she shook her hand -- behind that smile was a wild woman, begging to be let loose.  And Irene was dying to get to know her.

Holding her helmet against her left arm, she made her way into the cafe, a weathered sign reading “McCarthy’s” scrawled on it in bold green letters.  Inside, the cafe reminded her of something she’d expect to see out of a retro 50's cafe, complete with decorations and decals that were plastered across the walls, an old-school jukebox tucked against the far wall -- with actual vinyl records, instead of a fancy MP3 player gussied up with old-school flair -- and old booths reminiscent of something straight out of a movie set.  Camelia sat on the far end of one of those booths, reading a small book bound in purple leather, with a gold trim.  She glanced up from her book upon hearing the door open and smiled upon seeing Irene.  

“Hello!  Over here!”  She waved the squirrel woman down, who returned her smile with one of her own as she took a seat opposite the canine.

Camelia looked just as pretty as before, still wearing her beige cardigan but opting for darker colors this time around; a purple blouse with a matching skirt.  Irene could feel her heartbeat racing faster as she sat down, taking everything in.

“I hope you didn’t have trouble getting here,” Camelia asked with that eclectic voice of hers.  She gently scratched her ear, a large gold hoop earring dangling off it.  “I know this place isn’t hard to find --”

“Nope, not at all!  It was a pleasant trip,” Irene replied, placing her helmet down nearby.  “I’m so happy you left that note, by the way!  I was really worried you wouldn’t come back.”

“I’m sorry, that was my fault.  I meant to stop by to check out another show, but work kept me from making the time.”  Camelia closed her book, placing it into her handbag.  “Oh, did you want to order something before we talked?”

“Er, sure!  I could go for some coffee.”

“Good choice.  The coffee here is superb.”  Camelia looked around, noticing a rabbit waitress making the rounds, whom she waved down.  The rabbit walked up to the pair, smiling wide -- and even wider at Camelia herself, looking somewhat surprised to boot.

It didn’t take long to place an order; a pot of coffee, and two cups for each of them to enjoy.  The metal pot the rabbit left was a bit weathered and dented, but serviceable.  Quaint, even.  The waitress eagerly poured a generous amount of coffee into each cup before taking her leave with another wide grin.

Camelia took her cup in hand, mixing in a fair amount of cream and sugar.  Irene, however, simply brought her cup to her lips, taking in a long sip.

“Oh wow,” she exclaimed.  “This is really damn good.  I just assumed they bought Folgers or some crap like that.”

Camelia shook her head.  “Nope.  They grind their own special house blend here.  The owner’s been tweaking the formula to get the balance just right.”

“Er, yeah.  Balance.”  Irene couldn’t help but chuckle at Camelia’s straightforward answer.  “Um, Camelia, don’t read this the wrong way, but you’re giving off this kind of sexy librarian vibe right now.  I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with that --”

“Oh, but you aren’t wrong,” Camelia replied, interrupting the squirrel mid-sentence.  “I actually am a librarian.”

Irene blinked.  “Wait.  You’re serious.”  Camelia nodded.  “Holy crap.  No offense, but...aren’t librarians supposed to be, y’know...old?  Not that I’m calling you old -- hell, I think you look younger than me!”  The squirrel let out a nervous laugh.  Holy crap, why do I sound like I’m in high school again?

Camelia took another sip of her coffee, suppressing the urge to laugh.  “You’re so cute when you’re flustered.  Did you know that?”

The squirrel felt her ears turning red as she hurriedly took another sip of her own.  Real smooth.

Camelia placed her cup down, leaning back a little.  “But to answer your question, no, not every librarian is ‘old’, as you put it.  We're passionate about what we do, so we tend to stick around at our jobs longer than most.”

“Huh.  Fair, I suppose.”  Irene tilted her head slightly.  “So where do you work, anyway?”

“I work at Forrester Library.  It’s not too far from here, actually.  It’s privately owned, so we’re allowed more freedom to do what we please compared to a public library.”  Camelia gave the squirrel a mirthful smile.  “Plus, being the boss gives me a few extra perks.”

Wait.  Did she say boss?  “Like, you’re in charge of the place?”

“Somewhat.  I’m the head librarian.  Originally the position was called ‘senior librarian’, but...well, let’s just say that would have made me feel old.”  The Labrador chuckled to herself.  “I still answer to the owner, but I have ways of convincing him to see things my way more often than not.”

All of a sudden, Irene felt a twinge of intimidation from the petite canine, who simply continued to drink her coffee with a smile.  Not that she wasn’t proud of what she did for a living, but being a musician paled in comparison to running an entire library.  Not to mention how casually Camelia mentioned being able to manipulate the owner, of all things.

This girl was dangerous.  Irene couldn’t have been more enamored.

Irene’s ears twitched as a small grumble took her out of her mild daze.  She looked down at her stomach.  “Oops.  Guess breakfast didn’t last as long as I thought it would.  Mind if I get something to eat?”

“Not at all,” Camelia replied.  “All of the food is great here, but the burgers are fantastic.  I recommend the Sunny-Side Up burger.  They fry the egg perfectly, and it goes surprisingly well with the coffee, too.”

“Huh.  I’m not the biggest fan of runny yolk, but I’m willing to try anything once.”  Camelia waved the rabbit waitress back down, helping Irene to place her order as the idle banter continued.  The squirrel couldn’t help but feel a little out of her element; the Labrador moved from one topic to the next with grace, yet always dodged around the question that was burning in her mind ever since they sat down.

It wasn’t long before Irene’s food arrived; a large burger on a brioche bun, surrounded by a bed of french fries.  A gigantic egg sat on top of the patty, its edged fried to a perfect crisp as its golden yolk wobbled slightly.  Irene placed the bun on top of the egg, pressing down as the yolk broke, its contents oozing over the edge of the patty and down onto the plate.  Irene winced for a moment as she picked the burger up, giving her meal a cautionary sniff before taking a small bite.  Her eyes went wide the moment she began to chew, all while Camelia watched, grinning.

“Holy crap.  This is amazing.”  Irene took a second bite, much bigger than the first, letting the yolk fill her tongue, which made the burger taste surprisingly creamy.  Her tail flicked slightly as she swallowed again, shivering a little.  “You were right, Camelia.  I can’t remember the last time I had a burger this good!”

“I had a feeling you’d enjoy it!  In fact, I get the feeling there’s a lot you’d enjoy, if given the opportunity.”

Irene paused between bites to respond.  “Um, that sounds like an invitation.”

“It could be.  But that depends on where you want this conversation to go.”  Camelia finished off her coffee, reaching for the pot to refill it.  “After all, it’s rare for two shifters to meet each other out of the blue, wouldn’t you say?”

Okay, that did it.  Irene’s cheeks were fully red now, her ears as bright as her face as she put her burger down.  “Oh.  Y-yes, that.  Heh, you beat me to the punch.”

“Oh, I could tell you were thinking about it.  I just didn’t want to be rude and hop right into it, is all.  But I’m sure we’d have talked about it eventually.”

“Yeah, I suppose.”  Irene looked down at her right hand, still remembering that sensation when she shook Camelia’s own.  “So, where should we start?”

“From the beginning, I suppose.”  Camelia leaned forward.  “Just how big can you get?”

“Oh my.  Going for the hard questions off the bat.”  Irene grinned, taking a sip of coffee.  Again, the canine was right -- the bitterness of the coffee went great with her burger.  Definitely not a combination she’d have thought of.  “Maybe I should ask you first, since you brought it up.”

Camelia’s tail flicked to and fro against the booth.  For the first time since they had started talking, she looked oddly pensive.  “Let’s just say it’s a big number.”

“Oh, I see.  You’re playing hard to get.  I’ll have to work for my answer, is that it?”  Irene couldn’t help but laugh.  “Well, then, little dog, let’s just say you’ll have to work to find out mine as well.”

Camelia seemed to flinch at being called little, but her grin never faltered.  “You may be surprised just how ‘little’ I can be, Irene.”

“Heh.  Is that a challenge?” Irene idly chewed on one of her fries, staring the canine down.

“No.  Unless you want it to be.”

“Nope.  Just feeling you out.”

Camelia giggled quietly.  “Fair enough.”  She stood up from her booth to take a stretch.  Irene glanced over, noticing that she wasn’t wearing her slip-ons; her bare feet flexed against the cool floor, toes wiggling slightly on the tiling below.

“Huh, it’s rare to see someone who still goes barefoot,” Irene remarked.  “Especially with how cold the weather’s getting.”

“Heh.  I guess it’s a habit I never quite grew out of,” Camelia replied.  “I always found shoes to be too restrictive.  I only wear the slip-ons if there’s snow, and only if there’s a lot of it.”  She sat back down once she finished her stretch.  “In fact, I rather enjoy feeling the world underneath my feet.  It feels...liberating.”

Something about the way Camelia said that made Irene’s heart flutter.  Irene was adept at reading between the lines, and she liked what she was reading.

“I hope that doesn’t bother you much.  I know some people find it weird.”

“Nah.  I think your feet are cute.  In a totally platonic way.”

The Labrador laughed mirthfully.  “You make this sound like this isn’t a date.”

Irene blinked.  “Wait.  Is this a date?”

“Maybe.  Or it could just be two girls enjoying some coffee together.  Again, that depends on where you want things to go from here.”

“I...wow, I didn’t think this through.  I mean, when you left the bar, I went out looking for you, to --”  

To do what, specifically?  Have a steamy make-out session?  Maybe re-enact a Godzilla scene?  I mean, she’s incredibly pretty, but was that the only reason I went looking for her?”

“Wait, you were looking for me?  I did tell you I had to work the next day, right?  I just took the elevator, it was the fastest way for me to get to my car.”  Camelia canted her head, her voice taking on a professional tone.  “I mean, what were you expecting to happen?”

“Um, I...er, well, after...y’know, we shook hands...and that wink, I just...oh God, I’m making a fool out of myself.”  Irene’s head hit the table, her hands wrapped behind her head.  “I’m sorry, Camelia.  I must sound like a creep.”

Camelia hummed to herself.  “No, I’m pretty sure I’m responsible for that.  I didn’t mean to lead you on.  For what it’s worth, if I did have the time, I’d have waited for you outside the bar.”

Irene looked up.  “Really?”

“Yeah.  You’ve got quite the electric personality.  Who wouldn’t be attracted to that?  And knowing you’re just like me makes that attraction that much stronger.”

Irene chuckled to herself, righting herself back up.  “And what might have happened if we did meet up that night?”

“Well, that’s easy.  I’d have invited you for some late-night coffee.  Basically, what we’re doing now.”  Camelia giggled, raising her cup.  Irene blinked once before giggling herself, her giggling evolving into full-blown, belly-shaking laughter.

“Damn, girl,” Irene said, wiping away a tear when she finally managed to calm herself down, amidst more than a few stares from other customers enjoying their own meals and conversations.  “You’re an enigma, you know that?”

“I’ve been told that on occasion.”  Camelia finished off her second cup before standing up again.  “Would you like to go for a walk?  I’d love to continue our conversation.”

“Oh, sure!  Talking’s nice.”

“But you’re thinking about doing more than just talk.”

“Well, as you said, let’s see where the conversation goes.”  

Irene shot Camelia a wry smirk as she stood up as well, having eaten her fill.  Camelia walked up to the waitress who was still making her rounds, handing her a couple of twenty-dollar bills from her purse.  The rabbit smiled, leaning forward to whisper into the canine’s ear, which made her blush slightly.  Heading for the kitchen for a moment, the rabbit returned with two paper cups, filled with more coffee, which she handed to both Camelia and Irene.  Irene didn’t usually drink that much coffee in one day -- contrary to popular belief, squirrels could handle their coffee without becoming hyperactive furballs -- but given how good the coffee was, she certainly wouldn’t turn down another serving.

“So, where to?” Irene said, taking a sip as she followed the Labrador outside.

“Oh, I’ll leave that a surprise until we get there.  Trust me, you’ll love it.”  Camelia couldn’t help but grin.