Page 31 of Feels Like Coming Home

My new suite was nice, not as nice as the last one, but still nice. It had more small-town charm to it than the last place, but I almost preferred that more. It had a king bed, a full dresser, and a full-sized bathroom on one side and on the other, a small living room space with a TV and a couch. Once I entered the room, I tossed my bag down on the bed, slipped off my shoes, and grabbed my laptop before sitting down on the couch.

My first search was ‘local coffee shops near me,’ knowing that without a doubt Haley would be all over them. I knew how much she loved going to any and all local coffee shops from all the times she would drag me to the ones back home growing up. Most kids just took the easy route and went to the Starbucks in town, not Haley though. She was never one to take the easy way out, not on anything.

My search proved helpful because this town was small enough to where there was only one coffee shop in town.Coastal BrewsI read on my laptop screen. My hands came together in a prayer position and I brought them to my lips.

“Thank you, coffee gods, for making this easy.” Looking at the hours of the coffee shop, I realized they were closed, and I would have to wait to go by until they were opened again tomorrow to see if I could find Haley.

Tomorrow,I thought.You will go and maybe, just maybe, you’ll get lucky again and see her. And if not tomorrow, the next day.

I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to try again with her.

Not this time.

Not again.

My eyes shotopen before my alarm went off at 6:30. Not that they had been closed much at all last night. The anticipation of even justmaybeseeing Haley kept me up most of the night. I knew the coffee shop opened at seven and something in my gut told me I needed to go today. Unfortunately, it didn’t tell mewhenI needed to go, so I just decided to get up, get dressed, and go for a run.

But after running for almost an hour, I still hadn’t spotted her. And I was starting to smell. Unable to take my stench any longer, I retreated to my hotel room to shower, change, and head back out as fast as I could. By the time I was ready again, it was almost nine and I was starving. Before leaving my hotel room, I checked myself in the mirror. It was the middle of January and with the way the ocean air cooled off the temperature outside, I decided to put on my favorite pair of jeans and a long-sleeved gray tee shirt. I also grabbed a jacket in case I needed it.

This town was so fucking small that after my run this morning, I pretty much had the entire thing committed to memory. It wasn’t a bustling downtown scene like Charlotte, so it wasn’t hard to figure out. As I walked down the street, I took in my surroundings.

It was a brisk morning, and the sun was starting to reach its peak in the sky so that it warmed your skin when you stood in it. There was a park in the middle of the town square and on the other side was Coastal Brews. I’d just made my way up to the steps that led inside the coffee shop and was reaching for the door when someone in the window caught my eye and stole my breath all in one moment.

There she was, sitting toward the back of the coffee shop by herself. I watched her for a moment, scrolling her phone and tucking a piece of hair that had fallen from behind her ear. I didn’t even realize how long I had been staring until someone behind me mumbled “Excuse me.” I cleared my throat and held the door open awkwardly so they could go in ahead of me. Following behind them, I grabbed my spot in line and moved my body so that I was facing away from her. I hadn’t thought about what I would do when I finally found her.

This is what you get for not coming up with a real plan, you moron,the voice inside my head said flatly.

My fingers started to methodically tap the side of my leg, which was only something I did when I was nervous. I could order, sit down, and be like, “Oh my gosh! Haley? I had no idea you were here!” and pretend like I hadn’t borderline hunted her down. But she’s smart and would see right through that. I could just walk up to her and say, “Hey.” But was that too lame? I didn’t want to come off as lame just as much as I didn’t want to come off as a stalker.

All I knew was that I wanted to talk to her. That was the whole reason for coming to this town in the first place.

Before I realized it, it was my turn to order, and I had no idea what I wanted. Ihatewhen people get to the front of the line and don’t know what they want. That’s literally the whole point of standing in line. To avoid slowing down the line too much, I ordered my usual coffee order, a plain black coffee, and the first food item I saw on the menu. I didn’t even read what it was, it was just the first thing I saw so I told the barista behind that counter it was what I wanted. I nodded to the guy and took the number sign he handed me before moving out of line. Before really processing what was happening, my feet were taking me toward her. It was as if my body could sense she was near and it needed to be close to her. She never looked up from her phone until she noticed my feet on the floor in front of her.

Her eyes lifted toward mine and she had a smile on her face until she realized who I was. Her face transformed from warm and welcoming to pale white and confused. I could see the color disappear from her face when it hit her thatIwas the one standing in front of her.

“Jones.” My lips turned up as I said her name.So much better than “Hey.”

“What thefuck?” Her face froze. She’d spoken a little louder than I think she meant to, and some of the locals turned to look at us. She cleared her throat, trying to recover from dropping an F-bomb so loudly, and spoke again. This time through pursed lips and clenched teeth.

“Johnson.”

“May I sit here? All the other tables are full.” I motioned toward the empty chair at her table fit for two. Before she could respond, I pulled it out and took a seat, placing the number sign next to hers.

My eyes were fixed on her face and I could see her brain working out what was happening. That was something I had always loved about Haley: if you looked closely enough, you could see her thinking. A few seconds passed and before she said anything, she took a deep breath in through her nose and exhaled it out softly through her mouth.

That’s new, I thought.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Her eyes pierced through me, and I could feel the heat of anger and confusion in her voice. I also sensed something else in her words, something I couldn’t quite pinpoint.

“I believe that’s what you said to me the last time we saw each other.” I smirked.

She looked down and thought about it. I knew immediately when she put it together because a small grin flashed across her face before she looked at me again.

“That’s what I said to you when you came to the funeral.”

“It is. I feel like you’ve said those words to me before onmultipleoccasions.”

“Maybe you should stop showing up to places unannounced and uninvited.” She cocked her head, challenging me.

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