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After nearly six months floating around earth, Felicity was finding life back on the ground a little… different. She wasn’t quite used to the feeling of something beneath her feet. She had only been back for a couple of weeks, but she thought it would be easier to get readjusted by now. She left her home that morning, promising herself she would have a normal day. She had an appointment with her physical therapist in about an hour, but she planned on stopping for coffee before that. Astronauts have to go through a reconditioning process after they return to earth. It’s rigorous and difficult on the body. She would rather go through the training program again than have to keep going through the reconditioning. But she needed it. Astronauts lose a lot of bone mass in space and the process, which includes a lot of exercise, builds up that mass along with muscle strength.
She was only on day ten out of forty-five of her reconditioning.
Felicity pushed that thought away and marched her way toward the closest coffee shop. She discovered it the other day. It hadn’t been there six months ago when she left on her mission. Speedy’s. She thought it was an odd name for a coffee shop, but then again espresso can really put the pep in your step. The coffee joint was in a large and sleek office building. The sign for Speedy’s was bright red in a font that popped against the grey building.
Felicity could smell the coffee wafting out onto the street. “Mmm.”
Without another thought, she walked into the building. She was met with a stronger scent of coffee, pastries, and the sounds of a coffee shop; clinking glasses, fingers moving across keyboards, and hushed conversations. The walls were a darker red than the sign. It seemed warm and inviting mixed with dark wood and black accents. She made her way to the counter where she only had to wait behind one person. Her eyes moved over the handwritten sign, hanging high above the counter. The handwriting was soft and curly.
Felicity was up to give her order. She opened her mouth to speak and her voice caught in her throat. The barista stood there too handsome to be real. He grinned, making his beautiful blue eyes sparkle. He had a sharp jawline covered in the perfect amount of stubble. She could see cute little dimples as well. He leaned his hands on the counter, forcing her attention to his arms, which were well muscled.
“If you’re having trouble deciding, I suggest the brew of the day. It’s cinnamon.”
She swallowed. “That sounds great,” she practically squeaked.
“Small, medium, or large?”
“Large, please.”
“Great. Can I get a name for that?”
Felicity’s brain went blank for a moment. “Oh! My name,” she said after what seemed like an eternity. “Felicity.” Her cheeks burned brightly.
She had been away from earth so long, she forgot how to act around human males.
“Can I get one of those blueberry muffins too?” She managed to choke out.
“Of course.”
He rang up her order and gave her the amount. She whipped out her card and paid for it without a problem. He gave her a blueberry muffin and then set out to make her order. It was probably the easiest order in the world, all he had to do was pour her a cup of coffee. She held her muffin and stood off to the side to wait for her coffee.
“Felicity,” he said with a smile.
“Thank you.” She took the coffee before turning on her heels to find a table to sit at.
She sat near the counter. Not because she wanted to get a good look at the barista or anything like that. Nope. She just didn’t want to walk very far. Felicity set her coffee down and pulled out her phone. By her calculations, she had at least twenty minutes before she had to walk the rest of the way to her appointment. She scrolled through her news feed as she took a bite of her muffin. Her eyes stayed on her phone, reading an article on some new piece of tech. She took another bite of her muffin and let it fall out of her hand, fully expecting it to float. She blinked a couple of times, registering what she had just done.
“No, muffin.” She sighed, looking at the discarded muffin on the ground.
The barista came toward the table, looking at her curiously. “Did… did you just purposely drop that on the ground? If you didn’t like it you didn’t have to eat it.” He chuckled. “Although, I did make it fresh this morning.”
“No.” She pouted. “I thought it was going to float.”
He blinked at her. “You thought it was going to float?” He looked at her for a long moment. She saw the light bulb moment go off in his head. “Oh shit, I should have realized it sooner. You’re Felicity Smoak, that astronaut that just got back to earth. I saw you on the news the other day.”
She nodded.
He laughed. “Is that a common thing? For astronauts to assume something is going to float?”
“Yes.” She deflated, slumping her shoulders.
“Have another muffin on me.”
She perked up. “Really?”
“Yeah. It was an accident. I don’t see why you shouldn’t have another one.”
He turned to leave, but Felicity stopped him. “Wait, what’s your name?”
He pointed to his name tag which she hadn’t bothered to read. “Oliver.”
She smacked her forehead with her palm. “I’m doing great today.”
Felicity went back to Speedy’s the next day. This time she ordered the coffee she was originally going to get the previous day, a cafe au lait with an extra shot of espresso. She decided not to go with a muffin just in case. However, her brain chose to drop her coffee that morning. She stared hard at the coffee spilled on the floor, feeling like an idiot. How was it possible to drop a cup of coffee? A whole cup of coffee? She picked it up and grabbed some napkins to clean up her own mess. She wasn’t going to make Oliver, the cutest barista in the world, clean up her mess. She threw away her napkins and coffee cup. She was about to leave, when Oliver said her name. Felicity turned and found him, holding out a second cup of coffee to her.
“I had it waiting, just in case.” He winked.
“You remembered?”
“How could I forget astronaut girl?”
She rolled her eyes. “Great, now I’m astronaut girl.”
He smiled wide. “Yep. You might have to come back a few more times before I actually remember your real name.”
The teasing brought a blush to her cheeks. God dammit. She was not a girl that got flustered over attractive men. She never had been. But something about Oliver gave her butterflies and made her feel like a giddy school girl. She told herself to chill out. With a deep breath, she smiled.
“Well, maybe I will see you tomorrow.”
Of course, she went the next day. And the next day. Then the day after that. She even found herself wandering in there after work. It was a lot later than normal. The quiet of the coffee shop was a little unnerving. Oliver wiped down the counter, his eyes away from her, completely focusing on the task at hand. She smiled as she watched him work. Felicity wasn’t sure how long she was standing there before he finally looked up. His eyes went a little wide.
“I didn’t know you worked out.”
Her eyebrows went up and she looked down at herself. She wore a sleeveless crop top, showing off both her arms and the remnants of her abs along with a flared skirt. “I… uh. I have to work out a lot to build up my bone mass and muscle strength after being up in space. I mean I worked out a lot beforehand too, to get me ready for the trip….” She trailed off.
“Impressive.”
She blushed. Normally, she wore a lot more clothes. She was used to being covered up in her space suit, but it had just been too warm that day to deal with long sleeves and pants.
“It’s quiet in here today.”
“Closing in about five minutes.”
“Oh! I’m sorry, I can leave.”
“No!” He said a little too quickly. “I mean, why don’t you sit and have a coffee. Maybe we could… talk.”
She smiled. “Okay.”
“Your usual?”
“Yes, please.”
She watched him move around behind the counter. Each movement was smooth and practiced. She watched the flex of his muscles beneath his shirt. The seriousness of his furrowed brow as he measured out the coffee and milk. She bit down on her lower lip, worrying it between her teeth. When he was through, he slid her the cup with a charming smile. She returned it with interest. He undid his red apron and joined her on the other side of the counter. They sat down at the nearest table.
“So, I’ve been wondering. What were you doing up in space?”
“Living.”
“What?”
She chuckled. “They were testing the effects of space on my body during the six months I was up there, so I was mostly just… living up there as I did down here. Not exactly as I did down here, but you know…” She waved her hand about. “I sent my team every little change in my body. It was tiring, but interesting.”
“Wow.”
“Did you miss earth while you were up there?”
“Oh yeah. I had my partner, but we were both kind of homesick. Now that I’m here it’s so… weird. Everything feels so different.” She picked up her coffee and took a sip.
She moved her hand to her right and was about to let go when Oliver reached over and grabbed the cup from her hand. “How about we put that down on the table?”
She blushed for the millionth time since she had met him. “That sounds like a good idea.” Felicity firmly planted her cup on the table. “What about you? What made you want to work here? You’re really good at it.”
“Oh it’s my sister’s place. I just kind of work here out of boredom.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“You make the best pastries I have ever tasted and some of the best coffee and you work here… out of boredom.”
He nodded.
“You’re a strange one, Oliver.”
He laughed. “I could say the same to you.”
She joined in the laughter. “I’m not denying it.”
No, she was not going to deny it at all.