Solitary Cafe: Americano

"That's why I wanted to settle!" The businessman shouted into his Bluetooth. As he shuffled along the busy city street, no one seemed to notice his disgruntled features. He was young looking, but his face appeared haggard, and it was clear that stress had already taken a toll on his body.

"Yes, that's my point," he replied to whomever he was speaking to as his polished shoes clacked against the pavement. "Tell them that Teddy said to settle. No, Not Theodore, they call me Teddy, they know me by that name. I don't know, but it's worth a shot."

The business glanced up at a street sign and turned the corner before resuming his conversation, "And I'm telling you that it's better than sitting around and doing nothing while our other accounts tank! Can you do that? Thank you! Fine...sure. Okay, sounds good, keep me posted. Bye."

Once the call had ended, the young man, who allegedly went by Teddy to his friends and coworkers, glanced down at his smartwatch, "2:27," he muttered as he began to look around. He had a few minutes to kill until his conference call at 3, an event which he was most certainly not looking forward to. He took a deep breath and shook his head: saying that he wasn't looking forward to it was an understatement. He would have rather lit his own arm on fire than attend the meeting, but there was no way he could avoid it.

After he'd recovered from his short moment of self commiseration, he examined his surroundings and furrowed his brow, "Where the hell am I?" He asked himself lowly as he looked up and down the street. He could have sworn that he'd turned down eighth, the street one block away from his firm. There was a coffee joint that he frequented regularly, and he'd planned on getting something strong to help him through his conference call.

He realized something else as he surveyed the street: there was literally no one around. His skin began to prickle as he realized that there were no cars parked on either side of the street, and there was no sign of the pedestrians that only moments before he'd been trying to ignore.

"What is this, the twilight zone?" He asked himself with a nervous chuckle. A bit of fear was beginning to build up inside of him, but he shrugged it off almost defiantly, "All right, let's just see what the GPS has to say."

He produced his phone and pulled up the mapping app. He was right about to feel triumphant when he saw a phrase appear on the screen: 'Sorry, but we can't find your location'

His eyebrow twitched, "You've gotta be kidding me. Stupid cellular dead zones..." he muttered as he turned to look at the storefronts. There was an Italian restaurant that he'd never seen, a conscription shop and an acupuncturist. Oddly enough, they all appeared to be closed.

"There's gotta be some sort of...ah!" He exclaimed as he looked to his right. There was a place that appeared to be open, and he headed toward it immediately.

There was a single metal table and matching chair in front of the building, and a quaint looking handwritten sign that hung from the door, "The solitary Cafe," he read the sign aloud. The windows were tinted as well as the glass door, and there was no other signage besides the handwritten one, not even a health code rating or an hours sign. "Seems fitting," he added as he glanced around the street. He'd never seen or heard anything about the place, but that fact wasn't too surprising. There were hundreds of small coffee shops in the city and he was willing to bet that that particular establishment wasn't even listed on anyone's website. He stared at the window for a long moment before placing his hand on the door and swinging it open.

"Hello, welcome to the solitary Cafe," he was greeted immediately by a cheerful, feminine voice.

He heard the greeting before he realized where it had come from, "Hi..." he took a step forward as his eyes roamed the interior. He'd been expecting the run of the mill, indifferent downtown coffee joint furnishing, but he was surprised to see a classy looking set of booths off to one side and an assortment of oak tables with matching chairs in the middle. His eyes darted to the surrounding walls where he saw several pieces of framed art. He thought for a moment that his mind was playing tricks on him, but it seemed that every single picture depicted some sort of rubber duck. He remembered himself then and moved his gaze to the counter.

A young woman stood there, smiling politely at him. She was of average height, brunette, and her skin was deeply tanned. There was nothing particularly arresting about her features, though she would have been considered attractive by anyone's standards. Despite that fact, Teddy felt suddenly nervous and out of place, and he barely managed to keep from stuttering, "Um, this is kind of embarrassing, but...I may be a little lost. What street is this?"

"Oh, that's nothing to be embarrassed about, happens all the time," the girl flashed him a smile, "This is asterisk street."

Teddy pursed his lips. He'd been working in the same firm for nearly five years, and he'd thought that he had a good grasp on where everything was in reference to his office, but he'd never heard of an asterisk street. Were it a different sort of person behind the counter, he might have admitted his ignorance immediately, but he didn't want to look like a fool in front of the girl, "Ah, okay. So, if I'm trying to get to eighth which way should I go?"

The girl, whom he could now see was wearing a very tasteful white blouse, continued to smile, "You can go either way and you'll end up on eighth."

The businessman's confusion quickly turned to irritation at the comment, but the girl spoke again before he could comment, "Sorry, just a little joke. If you make a left out of the door then a right at the next intersection you'll hit eighth."

He nodded slowly, "Alright, thanks." He took a step back and reflected on what she'd said. It hadn't sounded like she was joking, but he blamed his lack of perception on his stress.

"You're gonna want a drink for your meeting; can I fix you one before you go?"

He looked up at her with startled eyes, "What makes you think I have a meeting?"

She laughed softly, "I'm sorry, I just assumed. You looked like you were in a hurry. I can be quick, just tell me what you want," she gave him another smile.

The young woman's smile was captivating, but Teddy was a creature of habit, probably to a fault, "Look, I really appreciate it, but I have a usual place I go to."

"I can make it better than your usual place," she persisted with the smile.

The girl's reply was disarming in an inexplicable way, and Teddy wasn't sure how to react to it. He glanced over the precocious girl as if he were assessing an opponent. She couldn't have been any older than her early twenties, which meant that he was likely only five or six years her senior, but there was something about the way she carried herself that made him feel like he was at a disadvantage. He smiled begrudgingly and chuckled, "Okay, fine. If you're that sure, how can I refuse?"

"Thank you, I'll have it right out for you."

Theodore blinked, "Oh, I haven't told you my order."

"I already know what you need," the girl stated as a matter of fact as she took up a sixteen ounce paper cup.

The girl's smile had never wavered, but Teddy wasn't sure that he wasn't the victim of some sort of practical joke, "You're serious?" He crossed his arms indignantly and smirked, "Okay... what's my drink?" He was simultaneously frustrated and amused by the girl's sheer audacity, and even though she hadn't been rude about it, her polite insistence was almost worse.

The girl set the cup down on the counter and looked up at him, "You're going to a meeting. It's probably a conference call, because you've got your suit on but you're not wearing cuffs or a tie clip. You look stressed out, which means that this is a meeting that you really don't wanna go to. You need some strong coffee, but you don't want drip because it's going to sit in your stomach like a rock and probably give you acid. So, what you need is an Americano," she returned his smirk as she took up the cup and began to write on it, "No cream, no sugar, just good, strong espresso cut with hot water."

Teddy was too stunned and impressed to feign otherwise, "Okay...good guess."

The barista giggled, "I'm not guessing, this is my job. I'll have it on the bar for you in just a minute."

"Thanks," the suited man replied reluctantly as he took a few steps forward. His intent was to pay for the drink, but the barista was already working in front of the large espresso machine behind the counter. He stood there for an awkward moment as the sound of the grinder met his ears. He made his way to the bar on the opposite end of the counter and absently looked around. He hadn't noticed before, but on every table there sat at least two or three rubber ducks. Each of them was unique, and he chuckled under his breath when he turned to the bar and noticed a duck dressed like a pirate.

His gaze inadvertently went to the young woman making his drink. From the bar, he had an unobstructed view of the area behind the counter, and he watched as his impromptu barista moved her slender fingers over the wide silver machine. The overpoweringly pleasant smell of fresh espresso filled his nostrils as the brunette pulled the shots, and the scent alone was enough to calm him. Before he realized it, he was openly watching her work, as if he were watching a movie.

Once the two small glasses were full of dark liquid, the young woman took up the paper cup, "Two doppios should do it, that's four shots."

Teddy wasn't even sure that she was addressing him, and it sounded as if she were simply thinking out loud, so he remained silent.

"Some people argue that the temperature of the water is the most important thing, but I personally tend to side with those who think that the pour is more important," she continued without looking at him. "We put everything we have into our drinks," she smiled as she lowered the cup to her waist, "That's what makes us special."

In that moment, Teddy's reality froze. His brain was registering what was happening, but his perception was muddled. He watched with disbelieving fixation as the mysterious barista flipped her leg up onto the counter and hitched up her skirt. His skin prickled sharply and his breath caught as fascination and horror rose up within him. The fact that she wasn't wearing panties was made obvious by the small, neatly trimmed patch of hair just below her waistline, and his mouth dropped open as his eyes fell further still. The barista's pussy was smooth and perfect, and she had already lowered the cup between her legs.

A sort of paralysis came over the businessman over the course of what might have been the most confusing three seconds of his life. A monstrous wave of nervous dread and excitement flooded over him, as if he were a prepubescent boy discovering sex for the first time. It was a dreadful, wonderful sensation that he didn't know how to process.

There was nothing he could do as the young woman looked downward and uttered the smallest sigh. A stream of clear urine splashed gently into the paper cup, making a tiny, hollow noise that struck the businessman as the single most arousing thing he'd ever heard. Helplessly, he felt himself grow erect beneath his slacks as he watched the stream intensify. The barista bit her lip and sighed once more as she filled the cup to the halfway point, "Okay... That's too much," she murmured softly as the stream slowed. She lifted the cup and deftly swung her leg off the counter before heading for the sink, "The temperature still has to be right," she said aloud as she poured the majority of the cup's contents down the drain. "There... About two ounces is right." She stepped to the espresso machine and dispensed hot water into the cup. Then, after setting the cup down, she expertly took both glasses of espresso into her hands and poured them equally down the sides of the cup.

As steam rolled upward from the freshly made beverage, Teddy was still unable to move. The barista snapped a lid over the cup and approached him. Gingerly, she set the drink down in front of him and once more flashed her undeniable smile, "Americano on the bar for Teddy."

Teddy, was still trying to recover from what he'd just seen, but the normalcy of hearing that specific phrase gave him some alacrity. Out of sheer habit, he took the drink immediately, "Thank you," he said in a tone that was distant and hardly audible.

He made his way around to the front of the counter and almost robotically asked, "How much do I owe you?"

"Whatever you think is fitting," she replied as her eyes found his.

He produced his wallet with his free hand and rifled through the bills as if he were looking for something specific, "Here," he said as he pulled a twenty and set it on the counter, "Keep it."

"Thank you so much, that's very generous of you. I hope you enjoy your drink as much as I enjoyed making it."

Her tone was still quite professional and not at all flirtatious, but her words were intoxicating to him.

Theodore said nothing as he replaced his wallet and silently headed for the door. He could feel the tight strain of his erection against the fine fabric of his pants, and his face was blushing fiercely. Having no other option but to exit the building, he opened the door and pulled.

"you're going to do great with the meeting; don't let those guys intimidate you," she called after him merrily.

He smiled slightly, thinking that he might actually have gone insane, "Thank you," he replied genuinely, feeling legitimately encouraged, "I won't."

As if in a trance, Teddy took a left out the door like he was instructed and made a right at the next block. He wondered why he felt so calm, and he realized then that he was in shock. A hundred questions came into his mind, questions like whether or not he had made the entire thing up. Questions like: if it had actually happened, how was it not a health code violation, and why had he allow himself to pay twenty dollars for a cup of coffee that a woman pissed in?

Then, as if he were waking from a dream, he heard the familiar sounds of the city street and looked up at the intersection sign to see the white text printed over the green: 'NW 8th'. As usual, traffic was boisterous and pedestrians and homeless people were everywhere.

He glanced down at the cup in his hand and read his name aloud, "Teddy," he said lowly. It was written with a black marker in sharp calligraphy, and there was a heart and an asterisk drawn beside it. He realized that he'd never told the girl his name, and as he stared at the cup his hands began to tremble.

He knew he should be disgusted, or at least, that's what his logic brain told him, but everything about the beverage was absolutely unique; so much so that even the thought of throwing it away caused a pang of guilt.

Slowly, he raised the cup tremulously to his lips and drank. His eyes widened and he sighed in surprise.

It was the best cup of coffee he'd ever tasted.