A Hidden Cafe

The address and subsequent directions Daisy sent you were rather vague. But you still managed to find the cafe where she wanted to meet. One of the first things you notice and appreciate is the building you are about to enter is made up of old New York stone. Not many still exist and those that do are often too modernized. This one, however, still looks and feels like old New York, especially when the early afternoon sun hits the stone.

Once inside the quaint cafe and you quickly realize why Daisy would want to meet here. Not only is it hard to find but it seems its customer base are largely celebrities looking for a little privacy. The best of both worlds when your entire life is documented.

You flag down a waiter and he points you towards Daisy's table. You nervously approach her. When she notices you she smiles and stands. She's wearing a simple green sundress that flows with her slim body. Seeing her in that dress makes you feel better for ditching your work suit in favor of a simple dress shirt and pants. As you had guessed, this is more of a casual meeting rather than business.

"Thanks for meeting me here. I went ahead and ordered for the both of us." She greets.

"Thank you for the invite." You say as you both take your seats.

You both sit in a bit of an awkward silence before you both break into a small nervous laugh. A waitress drops off two cups of coffee and leaves a small tray of tiny desserts.

"So the reason I asked you here." Daisy says deciding to break the ice and get to the point. "I feel like I owe you an apology."

"An apology?" You question giving her a puzzled glance as you put a packet of sugar in your coffee. "That's not necessary."

"Please don't interrupt." She tells you. "And yes, it is. You took me in to your home while I was beyond intoxicated. You were honest with what had happened, you tried helping me and were a perfect gentleman while I was...well, quite frankly, I was a bit of a bitch to you. I never thanked you for your help and I even took home your jacket. God I even accused you of drugging me!" She buries her face into her hands in embarrassment.

Almost like a reflex, you reach across the small table and grab her hand. She looks at you, fighting back tears.

You smile at her. "Even though I don't believe you owe me one, I accept your apology. Plus, you didn't exactly accuse me, you just alluded to the possibility."

She smiles weakly. After a few moments she finally withdraws her hand from yours and grasps her cup of coffee.

The two of you spend the next several minutes in silence. Not the awkward silence from before. This time, it's a more comfortable silence. Almost as if you two were long lost friends and were enjoying each others company for the first time in years.

"Oh I think I'm going to regret asking this." She finally says. "But, I really need to know. How badly did I behave that night?"

You can tell from her expression that she's expecting you to confirm her fears.

"You....were...." You let tension build with each word.

"Well...?" She asks impatiently.

"The absolute worst." You say with a straight face.

You see the color drain from her face. You can't take anymore and break into a small laugh.

"Okay, that's a lie. No, seriously, you didn't do anything bad." You admit.

Daisy gives you a look of disbelief while trying to hide her own smile. "Wow. Just wow. I call you a gentleman and it turns out, you're an asshole."

The two of you share a laugh.

"Okay, come on. Tell me everything. Please." She nearly begs.

"There really isn't much to tell." You say. "You were pretty much just really drunk. You were screaming at the band which I took to mean you really enjoyed them. You weren't exactly able to walk so I had to carry you upstairs. Then you told me that I was handsome and that I smelled good."

"Shut up!" She exclaims. "I did not."

"I swear." You raise your right hand in the scout's honor salute.

"Oh god." She rubs her forehead. "And that's everything?"

"Yep." You answer sipping your coffee. "After that you fell asleep."

Suddenly your phone starts ringing. You pull it out and see that it's Ingrid calling you.

"Do you need to get that?" Daisy asks.

You decline the call and look to the beautiful woman across from you.

"I don't." You sort of lie. Honestly, you didn't know what Ingrid wanted. It was likely an attempt to figure out who you were with. Although a small chance did exist that something important came up. But you didn't really care at the moment.

"Good." She smiles.

The two of you spend the next few hours talking about a variety of topics. She asks you about your career and what you love about it(you're a huge music fan and that is probably the best part of owning Carpe Diem).

You ask her about her career, purposely avoiding the Star Wars aspect, figuring she probably talks about it enough as it is. Instead, you ask her about the remake of **** on the Orient Express and her upcoming projects.

Before you know it, your waitress is informing you that they're about to close up.