Cafe Owner.
Bisexual.
Interested in Adriel Flowers.
03/01/1985.
38.
Ox (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Jesse Sang Wu on Aug 21, 2020 11:47:29 GMT -8
It had been a fairly quiet day in the cafe. One of Jesse's earlier employees mentioned they were starting to get a rush every morning, which was exciting but also usually left the crew exhausted. He figured maybe it would be time for a new hire, but that was up for debate. He had a notebook on the counter in front of him, his latest one that he'd been using for business notes, with "new hire????" mindlessly circled quite a few times, along with budget notes and customer flow notes. He checked his phone, noticing Rhys would be showing up any moment now, and sat at the edge of the bar people watching. A cup of coffee appeared in front of him, and looked to his employee questioningly. "You seemed like you could use it." They said, giving him a grin. Jesse tried the coffee and nodded. "It would seem so, thank you." He tapped his pen against the notebook, staring out the window mindlessly, when he noticed his son arriving, but seemingly with someone else in tow. As Rhys entered, Jesse summoned him over, and Rhys said something to the girl with him and motioned for her to follow before he headed over to his father. "And who's your friend, Ah-zi?" Jesse asked him. "This is my classmate, Rochelle. I told her you make a really good hot chocolate!" Rhys said excitedly, motioning to her as he mentioned her. "And do Rochelle's parents know where she is?" Jesse asked, wondering how long it would be before the police barged in and claimed he kidnapped a child. "Um... well..." Rhys stuttered, glancing between his dad and Rochelle. Jesse sighed, rubbing his temples before putting his pen down, taking a long sip of the coffee he was now very glad existed, and pulled out his phone again. "Do you know your parent's phone number? Can I call them?" He asked the girl. He figured if she didn't know, he could call the school and tell them his son brought a kid to the cafe with him, but that would bring up some potential weirdness with the school, which he really would rather avoid. Rochelle gave him her dad's phone number and he typed it in and pressed call. He always hated making phone calls, and cold calls were even worse. Let alone this kind of cold call. As someone answered, he began awkwardly, "Uh, hi. Are you Rochelle's dad? I'm another parent of your daughter's class... It seems my son decided to bring Rochelle to my cafe... I'm terribly sorry. She's... safe. And stuff. But like, she's not at school." He said, explaining awkwardly. This was not a conversation he ever expected to be having. Tags: Adriel Flowers
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Kindergarten Teacher.
Bisexual.
Single.
01/24/1980.
41.
Monkey (WA)
Authored by Velexa.
Offline.
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Post by Adriel Flowers on Aug 21, 2020 18:18:41 GMT -8
Adriel gave a high five to every kid as they left his class. Some preferred quiet, gentle taps, while others liked to jump as high as they could and slap his hand with their own. Once everyone was gone he returned to his desk to begin gathering his things. He knew Rochelle would be there in a few minutes, his class was only a few doors down from his own.
He looked up when he heard the door open, it was the mother of one of his students. He put on a warm smile and asked, "how can I help you? Jeremy went down the hall with his brother."
"He just forgot his water bottle," she said, going to his desk and retrieving it. "Thank you Mr. Flowers for all your hard work."
"No problem," he said, waving to her as she left. He finished gathering his things into his bag and looked to the door, "ten bucks says she's talking with someone and lost track of time," he bet himself.
He closed up his classroom and headed to Rochelle's class. It was still open, and there were kids chatting, but no Rochelle. "Mary, where's Rochelle?" he asked his coworker.
She looked up from her computer, "I thought she went to your class already. She took her things and left already."
Adriel felt fear sink like a stone into his stomach. He forced a hesitant smile, "thanks, I'll look for her, but please keep an eye out and call me if you see her." He left the class quickly and used his considerable height and long legs to walk the entire school quickly. The panic was just starting to set in when his phone rang.
He quickly picked it up, "Hello? Yes, this is her father... Where is your cafe?... I'll be right there." Adriel was quietly fuming. The cafe was right down the street but he thought he'd taught Rochelle better than to just wander off like that. He made it to the cafe in less than two minutes and felt relief wash over him as he saw her through the window. He took another few seconds to gather himself and dampen his anger which was fueled by fear, then he opened the door.
Rochelle came up to him and held onto his leg, "Hi daddy," she said with a smile.
Adriel wanted to thank the man who'd called him first, but Rochelle had stepped forward. He gently pulled her off his leg and crouched down in front of her, "do you know why I'm upset?"
Rochelle pouted and shook her head, "no... why are you upset?"
Adriel took a quiet breath, "yes, you do, honey. Why is daddy upset?"
"Because I left school without telling you..." she answered with her eyes downcast.
He reached out and pulled her into a tight hug, "promise me you'll never do that again," he said into her hair. She sniffled and agreed.
After a minute he pulled himself together enough to let her go and stand back up. He kept his left hand on her head but walked towards the man at the bar and offered his hand. "I'm Adriel, Rochelle's father. Thank you for calling me."
Now that he was calmer because his daughter was within his reach he could take in the situation. He recognized Rhys but didn't know his name and his father seemed to be the owner of this shop based on their earlier conversation.
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Cafe Owner.
Bisexual.
Interested in Adriel Flowers.
03/01/1985.
38.
Ox (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Jesse Sang Wu on Aug 23, 2020 18:39:53 GMT -8
Jesse's eyes widened as Adriel walked in. He was tall, and handsome, and vaguely familiar, but in a way that made him think they've picked up their kids around the same time in the past. He appreciated that the man didn't start yelling at his daughter. In fact, he talked her through what she did wrong in a rather admirable way. As Adriel came to him and spoke, it took him a moment of staring at his hand before realizing he was frozen to the spot. He shook Adriel's hand and gave him a smile, "I'm Jesse, Ah-zi... err, Rhys' father. I only did what I hope any other parent would do. Apparently my son told your daughter about our hot chocolate, and she must have gotten excited and forgot letting a parent know where their child is at is important. I didn't want to give her anything without parental permission though. Also, Ah-zi, do you have something to say to Adriel?" He said, looking to his son and switching to Chinese for the last sentence.
"Oh..." Rhys said, shuffling over to Adriel with his eyes downcast. "Sorry I brought Rochelle with me without anyone's permission..." He mumbled. He looked upset, but Jesse knew he was trying to play at Adriel's heartstrings. "I didn't mean to get her in trouble or make anyone worry!" He said, louder this time, looking up at Adriel with eyes wide and watery. "It's just my dad makes really good hot chocolate and I wanted to share!"
Jesse sighed, patting his sons head as a gesture of telling him that was enough talking, and let out a sigh. "On that note, can I offer you and Rochelle anything? On the house, since it was my kid that caused this whole fiasco."
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Kindergarten Teacher.
Bisexual.
Single.
01/24/1980.
41.
Monkey (WA)
Authored by Velexa.
Offline.
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Post by Adriel Flowers on Aug 23, 2020 18:58:54 GMT -8
Adriel shook Jesse's hand, "nice to meet you," he said, looking him over quickly. He wouldn't call him short, because Adriel never called anyone short, but their height difference made him feel some sort of way, in a way he hadn't felt in a while. The freckle by his eye and the one by his mouth in particular was distracting, but he made sure to meet the other man's eyes instead.
Luckily, Rhys was there to distract him. "I accept your apology, and thank you for making sure to stay together on your way here." He told the little boy. He looked back up to Jesse, "I think I work at the only place closer to the school than you. I'm a kindergarten teacher so my class is a few doors down from theirs."
Rochelle tugged on her father's pants, "can I have a hot chocolate?" She turned on the puppy dog eyes.
Adriel smiled down at her. Yes, he was still a little angry but it wasn't with Rochelle, or Rhys, or even Jesse. It was with himself. "Sure, honey." He looked to Jesse, "could we get a hot chocolate and whatever you recommend? I'm open to trying anything," he said with a lazy smile.
Rochelle looked up at her dad and quirked her head. Then she looked at Jesse, then back to her dad. She shrugged, coming to her own conclusion and skipped over to Rhys, dragging him into some seats.
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Cafe Owner.
Bisexual.
Interested in Adriel Flowers.
03/01/1985.
38.
Ox (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Jesse Sang Wu on Aug 24, 2020 14:23:43 GMT -8
Rhys gave Adriel a toothy grin that he extended to Rochelle, and he climbed up onto a bar stool and patted the one next to him. "I promise it'll be really good." He told the girl. Jesse muttered a "nice to meet you," back to Adriel, and went behind the counter and washed his hands before starting to work on making the drinks rather than focusing on the man in front of him. For the kids, he made a special blue white hot chocolate with whip cream, and added sprinkles, and then topped it off with a spoon in the shape of a mermaid. "This is an extra special hot chocolate." He told Rochelle with a soft smile, gently sliding the cups towards the kids. For Adriel, he made a plain latte, lightly sweetened, and intricately decorated latte, sliding it towards the man without looking at him. "Hope you enjoy." He grabbed his own coffee from the bar counter and leaned against the sink, waiting for opinions on the drinks but not wanting to look at Adriel. He was really, really handsome, and his brain wasn't processing how to handle that without turning into mush, so he knew he could rely on that. Hopefully the drink he made spoke well enough for him.
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Kindergarten Teacher.
Bisexual.
Single.
01/24/1980.
41.
Monkey (WA)
Authored by Velexa.
Offline.
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Post by Adriel Flowers on Aug 24, 2020 17:09:07 GMT -8
Adriel's smiled was huge as Jesse passed the hot chocolate to the kids. He might have been more excited than Rochelle, "but it's blue,' he said in awe.
Rochelle tried it and squealed in approval, "it's so yummy!" She looked to her dad and stuck out her tongue, "it still tastes like hot chocolate dad, it doesn't matter that it's blue."
Adriel leaned forward to take a bite of her whipped cream, when Rochelle realized what he was doing she pushed the cup closer to him so he could try it. This lead to his nose, lips and moustache being dunked in whipped cream.
He looked up at Jesse, seeing his own drink being pushed towards him and felt like a fool. At least he was on brand for not being intimidating for his size right now. "Uh.. napkins.." he said reaching for one.
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Cafe Owner.
Bisexual.
Interested in Adriel Flowers.
03/01/1985.
38.
Ox (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Jesse Sang Wu on Aug 24, 2020 17:30:42 GMT -8
Jesse smiled at the kids as Rochelle tried her drink and squealed in approval. He bit back a laugh as the girl accidentally got whipped cream all over her dad's face, and reached for a napkin once the latte was in its proper spot. However, Adriel seemed to have the same idea, and their hands touched. He flinched, a now-shaky hand offering Adriel a napkin, "Uh... Here you go." He said softly. He pulled his hand back after passing the napkin, and suddenly became very interested in his notebook, though he wasn't reading any of the notes he had been contemplating over before his son decided it was time to bring a new friend with a really hot dad. He noticed Adriel didn't appear to wear a wedding ring, which left him desperately curious if the man was seeing anyone or still with his baby momma, and also if Adriel was interested in men.
His eyes finally focused on the page, and he stared at his budget notes but still wasn't processing any of it. He heard his son talking to Rochelle, something about how he could make hot cocoas in many different colors, and then excitedly talking about the different types of whipped cream available, from colorful to sparkly, but Jesse's attention was fading in and out of the conversation. He mentally scolded himself and told himself to get it together, or else Adriel would probably leave before he had the chance to even say anything else. He finally looked back up at Adriel, asking without even checking if he'd tried his drink yet, "how is it?"
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Kindergarten Teacher.
Bisexual.
Single.
01/24/1980.
41.
Monkey (WA)
Authored by Velexa.
Offline.
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Post by Adriel Flowers on Aug 24, 2020 17:52:03 GMT -8
Adriel took the napkin gently from Jesse's hand. He hadn't meant to make the other man flinch, nor stare at his notebook so hard. He used the napkins to wipe his face, watching the other man's face curiously. He didn't know how to make him more comfortable, though staring at him probably wasn't helping.
He could hear the kids talking but wasn't registering much until Jesse asked him about his drink. Adriel realized he'd been staring instead of drinking so he quickly picked it up and tried it. "It's good," he said automatically before the latte had even registered on his taste buds. Once it did he stared at the cup like it wasn't from this world. He took another sip and closed his eyes to savor the flavors. "So, you might have to marry me, this coffee is amazing," he said, opening his eyes.
Rochelle looked up at her dad again, then to Jesse, then back at her dad. She looked at Rhys and gestured to his dad then her dad and wiggled her fingers to try and signal something to him.
Adriel realized what he'd said and immediately tried to figure out how to take it back, "what I meant was... umm, g-great coffee." He was glad his skin tone didn't show blush.
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Cafe Owner.
Bisexual.
Interested in Adriel Flowers.
03/01/1985.
38.
Ox (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Jesse Sang Wu on Aug 24, 2020 18:09:06 GMT -8
Jesse felt his face heat up at the compliment, and he noticed Rhys and Rochelle seeming to communicate silently, making him wonder just how long they'd been friends for them to do so seemingly successfully, and also wonder what exactly the two of them were planning.
"T-thank you..." He squeaked quietly, focusing hard on the counter. He cleaned up his tools, hoping it would distract him from the very enthusiastic - and very weighty - compliment on his coffee. He decided to do what did best when nervous and talk about coffee, "Our coffee is fair trade and sustainable, and we get the beans unroasted, which makes them much fresher. Each day we roast a certain amount of beans for the next day, and then we don't grind them until making the drinks, so outside of going to a coffee plantation, it's about as fresh as you can get..." He chance looking at Adriel, to see if the topic was even interesting to him, but instead faltered and almost forgot to finish his sentence, adding awkwardly, "around... here..."
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Kindergarten Teacher.
Bisexual.
Single.
01/24/1980.
41.
Monkey (WA)
Authored by Velexa.
Offline.
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Post by Adriel Flowers on Aug 24, 2020 18:19:13 GMT -8
Adriel felt his own blush begin to subside as Jesse launched into his talk about coffee. He realized that he wasn't making the other man uncomfortable because of his size and stature, but possibly because of another reason. Part of him wanted to be clear and just directly ask him, 'are you gay or bi' but that probably wasn't something to teach his daughter to ask people right away when you met them.
He looked down at Rochelle, realizing she'd been suspiciously quiet. "What are you up to, munchkin?"
Rochelle shrugged, "just waiting for you to finish flirting, dad."
Adriel stopped himself from taking a sip of coffee so he didn't choke on it. "Wow..." he said, looking up at Jesse through some of his hair that'd decided to fall into his face. He raked it back with a hand, "my six year old knows when I'm flirting, this might be a new low for me," he said with a, what he hoped was charming, smile.
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Cafe Owner.
Bisexual.
Interested in Adriel Flowers.
03/01/1985.
38.
Ox (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Jesse Sang Wu on Aug 24, 2020 18:31:30 GMT -8
Rhys chuckled at Rochelle's blunt comment, but nodded along, making Jesse suspect his son was doing the same. He hid behind his bangs but looked back up when Adriel seemed to take his daughter's comment lightly. He laughed, slightly stilted, and motioned to Rhys. "My seven year old seems to be colluding with her, so I think we've both hit a new low." He said, though it was embarrassing to admit he'd been flirting.
Rhys gave Jesse a cheeky grin, making Jesse narrow his eyes at the boy. A thought struck him, and he decided to go for it before he could overthink it. "D'you wanna goona date wi'me?" He asked, speaking quickly. He did not miss Rhys giving Rochelle a fist bump. So they were scheming... but why??? He thought to himself.
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Kindergarten Teacher.
Bisexual.
Single.
01/24/1980.
41.
Monkey (WA)
Authored by Velexa.
Offline.
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Post by Adriel Flowers on Aug 24, 2020 18:39:38 GMT -8
"You took the words right out of my mouth. Yes, I'd love to go on a date with you," Adriel replied. He looked at Rochelle and Rhys fist bumping and he asked them, "what's all this about?"
Rochelle crossed her arms over her chest and said, "you've got to get back out there, dad. Get back on the horse."
"Where did you even hear that phrase?" he asked her. "Oh, your teacher just started dating again, didn't she," he looked up at Jesse, "Mary isn't the best at keeping her personal life out of the classroom."
He fished his phone out of his pocket, "did you call me from the shop phone or your cell earlier? So I can get your number?"
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Cafe Owner.
Bisexual.
Interested in Adriel Flowers.
03/01/1985.
38.
Ox (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Jesse Sang Wu on Aug 24, 2020 18:53:37 GMT -8
At Rhys' enthusiastic nods in agreement to Rochelle's words, Jesse let out a sigh, about to comment to his son about setting him up when he realized Adriel actually agreed to go on a date with him. "Oh... you said yes." He said quietly. He blinked and tried to process what was happening - he just got a date for the first time in years - before finally realizing Adriel had asked him a question. He pulled out his phone as if having to question the answer and wiggled it a bit as he looked at Adriel, "my cell." He quickly looked away again, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly. He looked to Rhys, "Ah-zi, were you in on this plan, too?"
Rhys nodded, "mmhmm! When Miss Johnson mentioned she started dating again-" "Hardly an appropriate topic for an elementary school teacher." Jesse grumbled. "-I mentioned to my table group that my dad was single, and Rochelle said her dad was too!" "Hardly appropriate to bring up in school." Jesse continued grumbling. "We started talking more and I mentioned you were bi and her dad was also bi, so I was like, 'I'd love a little sister!'-" "This I knew." Jesse said casually, nodding. "-and we decided to get you two together!" Rhys finished. "How did you know your plan would even work?!" Jesse asked his son, exasperated. "Cause you both like coffee!" He said matter-of-factly. Jesse rubbed his temples, shaking his head. "Why is my child so ridiculous?" He muttered to himself.
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Kindergarten Teacher.
Bisexual.
Single.
01/24/1980.
41.
Monkey (WA)
Authored by Velexa.
Offline.
|
Post by Adriel Flowers on Aug 24, 2020 19:01:21 GMT -8
"Was I not supposed to say yes?" Adriel asked, now unsure of himself. He'd have asked Jesse out himself, but he'd beaten him to it, now he wasn't at all sure if they had a date or not. Regardless, he saved the Jesse's number in his phone, if he hadn't been serious about the date, then Adriel would just try again at a later time when they got the know each other a bit better.
He listened to Rhys and Jesse's conversation and couldn't help but smile. "Coffee, my downfall," he said with a nod. "Hold on just one second." He crouched down to Rochelle's level again, "did you leave school without telling me because of this plan?"
Rochelle looked at Rhys and got off her stool and hid behind him, "I plead an older brother for defense," she said.
Adriel hung his head, "do you know how worried I was? Plot about my love life, or lack thereof all you want, but don't give me a heart attack in the process," he practically sighed. He reached for her and picked her up, placing her back on the stool.
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Cafe Owner.
Bisexual.
Interested in Adriel Flowers.
03/01/1985.
38.
Ox (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Jesse Sang Wu on Aug 24, 2020 19:23:11 GMT -8
"No, it's fine!" Jesse said quickly, waving his hands. "I just... Didn't expect that to work. I guess." He stammered. He went back into his phone's call history and saved the number as Adriel's. He put his phone back in his pocket and took a sip of his coffee, watching Adriel and Rochelle interacting and shaking his head a bit. He glared at his son and Rhys gave him an innocent look. "You should have known better. You could have told someone before bringing her here instead of letting her father worry about her." He scolded, though his tone was not even close to angry. He set his coffee back down on the counter in his original spot and returned from behind the bar, sitting near though not quite next to Adriel.
He played with his coffee mug a bit before finally glancing over to Adriel. "Um... So uhh... what should we do... for a date?" He asked awkwardly.
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