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Hannibal noticed people. Anyone who met him would claim that he noticed everything, and he almost always did. He had trained himself long ago to notice things, it had come in handy for him many a time; especially after becoming a psychiatrist and eating people.
When he first noticed you, he did not see you first. Actually, he had caught a whiff of your shampoo before you ever came into his line of vision. He followed his nose, turning his head to see you for the first time.
You were ordering a coffee, nervously fumbling over what kind of specialty coffees there were, until you apologetically asked the barista to recommend something.
Hannibal chuckled at how nervous that had made the barista. Hannibal was usually one for making coffee at home, but he was on his lunch break and had decided to come to a chain. He wasn’t sure why he had made such a decision, but now that he saw you, he was glad that he did.
“Try the chai tea latte.” He said, smoothly slipping into the conversation.
You turned to look at him while the barista sighed in relief, getting started on the latte without waiting for your OK.
“I’m sorry for holding up the line.” You said, and Hannibal could tell you genuinely meant it. “I don’t normally come to places like this.”
He smiled, setting three dollars down on the counter before you had the chance to pay for yourself. “I was actually waiting for my order. You’re fine.”
You tried to take back his money so you could pay for your own coffee, but the barista snatched it off the counter, calling to the next person in line, letting you know it was time for you to get out of the way.
You shuffled away from the line, your face turning pink in embarrassment. Hannibal chuckled to himself and followed you, admiring your flushed face. You looked good enough to eat.
“Thank you for paying.” You said, smiling slightly at him. “You didn’t have to though.”
Hannibal grabbed his drink as his name was called, looking at your body language. “Are you having a rough day?”
Your back straightened in surprise as you quickly tried to make your face look more cheerful. “Oh my god, I’m sorry, was I that obvious?”
He smiled at your reaction. “Don’t worry, you’re fine. I’m a psychiatrist. I’m quite good at reading people.”
Your name was called, and you took your drink from the barista, telling the barista thank you as you took it. The barista ignored you as he went back to his business, even though the line of customers was gone and he surely had time to say ‘you’re welcome.’ That rubbed Hannibal the wrong way as he guided you to a table. You followed him before you even realized what you were doing, sitting down with him.
You were a cute little thing, and very polite. Hannibal liked that. When he first caught scent of you, he thought you looked very appetizing, but it would be a shame for the world to lose someone with good manners.
“Do you order coffee a lot? You seem to know what’s good.” You smiled, sniffing your drink.
“I’m just confident.” He said. “I prefer to make things on my own, but I only had an hour for lunch. I promise you, I could make the latte you’re drinking at home, but I would make it much better.”
You finally took a sip of the drink, and you smiled at him. “I don’t know, this is really good.”
“May I try?” Hannibal asked, taking it form you when you nodded yes. He placed his lips exactly where yours had been on the cup, savoring the taste of you as he took a slow sip.
You watched for his reaction, unaware of his fixation of touching his lips to yours-no matter how indirectly.
He finally pulled the drink back, enjoying the sight of both of your lip prints overlapping on the rim of the mug. “Not bad.” He said. “I would make it with more cream, theirs is basically just tea.”
You took your cup back. “I’d love to compare the two.”
Hannibal smiled, pulling his card out of his breast pocket. “Come by my office sometime. I’ll bring chai tea latte in a thermos every day until you do.”
Your face heated up again as you took the card from him. “That’s a lot of pressure.” You joked. “But, you have piqued my curiosity.”
Hannibal leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of his own drink. He knew exactly what he had accomplished, and he knew he would be seeing you very soon.