Cafe Love: Cupid's Cafe Box Set Books 2-4

by Ashley Lauren

  “Very well.” Brooke waved a hand, indicating the boat. “Please tell me you know how to pilot this thing.”

  “Of course, I do.”

  “Why don’t I believe you?” Brooke said. “There are at least seatbelts, right?”

  Justin nodded as they both sat down together near the steering wheel. Brooke buckled herself in and looked at Justin expectantly.

  To Brooke’s immense relief, Justin eased the boat out of the dock without mishap. Slowly, they cruised out of the small marina and into the open water. There, the wind grew a little stronger, and the water became choppy. As a result, the boat rocked violently to and fro, making Brooke’s head spin.

  “I… I don’t feel so good…” She stammered, as she felt her stomach flip into knots.

  “Oh no, are you seasick?” Justin inquired. Before Brooke could answer, he moved over to her side. He unbuckled her from the seat and gently moved her to the side seating, where he sat her down. With his arms around her shoulders, he steadied her as best he could. “Why didn’t you tell me? We could have done something else.”

  “I’m not usually–” Brooke couldn’t finish her statement as she suddenly leaned over the side of the boat, heaving out her dinner.

  Justin didn’t feel competent around people when they felt sick. The best he could do was to try to be understanding and help her in the way he would want to be helped. He held her hair back so it wouldn’t get dirty and as time went on, he took her scarf off, also saving it from her sea sickness.

  “Shhh… it’s okay. It’ll pass,” he whispered gently in her ear, hoping the statement was true. After about a half hour, Brooke felt a little better. The water around them calmed and her stomach settled. “Are you alright?” Justin asked softly, full of concern.

  “Yeah… I think so.” Brooke said, wiping her mouth against the back of her hand. “I didn’t think I got seasick. I’ve been on a boat before, and it’s never been a problem. I don’t know what happened.”

  Brooke couldn’t look Justin in the face. Justin just held my hair back as I puked my guts out over the edge of the boat. What must he think of me?

  “It’s alright. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

  Brooke felt Justin move closer to her, but she refused to look him in the eye. She just felt too humiliated. Justin’s fingertip pressed underneath her chin, forcing her to look up at him. Instead of seeing thinly veiled disgust, she saw real concern in his eyes. Brooke felt a little tug in her heart. Could this boy standing in front of her be any sweeter? Only an angel of a guy would worry about her hair or scarf and to top it off he wasn’t disgusted with her for getting seasick. This guy’s a keeper.

  Justin moved so that he was sitting next to her. Tentatively, she rested her head against his shoulder.

  “Do you feel better?” Justin’s voice sounded deeper with her ear snuggled against his chest.

  “Yeah… thank you,” Brooke whispered softly.

  She could hear the faint sound of his heartbeat. It seemed to be beating at a rapid pace, but she didn’t know if that was normal for him or not. Is he as nervous and excited as I am? She snuggled in a bit closer and could have sworn that she heard his heart stutter. The thought made her smile. Maybe getting seasick wasn’t all that bad if she got to cuddle up to Justin.

  Chapter Four

  The moon shone overhead, and the water calmed, so the couple decided to stay out on the ocean. Justin managed to put down the anchor after fiddling with some of the boat’s controls. In the end, the boat rocked gently in a soothing motion which made their time out at sea pleasant and relaxing.

  “This is nice,” Brooke whispered as she looked out at the Bay, sparkling under the moonlight. It looked like there were hundreds of tiny stars dancing across the water. Brooke felt like she could lean over the boat and scope them up into her hand. Her recent bout of seasickness came to mind, and she decided to keep herself firmly inside rather than risk rocking the boat. Instead, she sat down on the side of the boat, keeping her mind focused on a faraway location to occupy herself.

  “Yeah… I love the water,” Justin said as he sat down. He placed his arms on the railing as he looked over in her direction. “It can be really beautiful. Being out here like this, it makes you appreciate the awe and wonder of nature, you know? Makes you think that there must’ve been some greater power that created it all. Something this beautiful couldn’t have just happened by chance?” Justin sighed as the words spilled from his lips.

  Usually, he was nervous in front of girls, tripping over his words and sweating profusely, but the more time he spent with Brooke, the more comfortable he became. For some reason, it felt like he had known her all of his life. When he was around her, a pleasant feeling wrapped around his spine, making him paralyzed with pleasure. The warmth kept his heart beating quickly.

  “Are you really religious?” Brooke asked. They had just met that afternoon, and she didn’t know much about his personal life yet, but she wouldn’t have pegged him as the religious type. He seemed too…scientific, more focused on logic and believing in what could be explained by facts and figures.

  “I wouldn’t say I’m religious, per say. More of… I like to believe in some higher power or that kind of thing.” Justin smiled to himself. “For all I know there could be a whole clique of gods up there, using us as entertainment. It feels that way sometimes.”

  Justin looked into Brooke’s eyes, and she felt a connection to him that she couldn’t explain. Yeah, I know what it’s like to feel as if you aren’t quite in charge of your life. I feel that way right now as if someone or something is guiding me toward you.

  A tingle ran through her entire body. Brooke broke eye contact with Justin and rubbed at the goose bumps on her arms. Her thought had gotten too serious too fast, so she tried to lighten the mood. “So, you think that almighty beings are playing some kind of board game, and we are just their pawns?”

  “Maybe? I don’t know. I guess I just want to believe that we are here for a specific purpose.” He chuckled nervously and rubbed the nape of his neck. “Is that too weird?”

  “No. No. I think a lot of people would agree with you.” Brooke paused. Adjusting her position, crossing her legs, one over the other. “As for me, I don’t know what’s out there… but I do believe in some supernatural things, although I don’t think that’s the right word for it.” She looked up at the moon as if it would give her the answer.

  “What do you mean by supernatural?” Justin inquired, a little confused by her choice of words.

  “I mean like… true love… luck… karma… all those things that couldn’t really exist if we lived in a purely scientific world,” Brooke explained. She gazed into his eyes and in that moment, she felt another tingle running through her skin as she considered the possibility of love at first sight. Was she already in love with Justin or was she simply jumping into things way too quickly?

  “Hmm… I think I agree. Karma has definitely worked in my favor before,” Justin observed as he leaned back, his eyes settling on the maze of stars, high overhead.

  “Oh yeah? How so?” Brooke laid back in her seat, settling her small frame into the cushions as she also gazed up at the sky.

  “Well, at the lab, another student tried to sabotage my work because I was getting close to achieving positive results, and it looked like I was going to make a breakthrough. He did end up setting me back in the end, but his own colony was contaminated, and all of his data became useless. So yeah, I definitely think that karma can bite back,” Justin answered.

  “Do you like working at Berkeley?” Brooke inquired as she rested her hands on her stomach. “I don’t know if I want to stay in California. I was born and raised here, but I feel like I should go out and explore the world. Then again, the Bay is so nice… I don’t know if I can leave.”

  Brooke sighed. She’d put off thinking about her life beyond graduation for too long. It was hard to imagine leaving yet…

  “You have to make a decision soon, do
n’t you?” Justin leaned toward her, but as he did so, the boat rocked a little harder than usual, and he fell forward, landing between her and the side of the boat. It was a tight squeeze, but at least he didn’t land on top of her!

  “S…S…Sorry!” he stuttered when he realized how close they were all of a sudden. His heart felt like it would jump out of his chest. He tried getting up but just managed to tip the boat more.

  “Careful!” Brooke squeaked and then reached out to steady him. “Here, let me move over and give you more room.”

  She scooted over slightly, making some space for him. Justin regained his balance and readjusted himself so that he was lying next to her. He focused on the stars, refusing to look at her. He was simply too embarrassed for being such a klutz.

  Justin remained quiet for a few moments and Brooke felt the need to fill the silence. “But to answer your question, yes. The results come in soon, and if I don’t get accepted by the Aquarium of the Bay, then I’m probably going to go out to the East Coast. New England most likely.” She paused. “At least, I’ll finally be able to see proper snow, not the slushy stuff you see in the mountains in California. I’m sure my future kids will appreciate that one day. It’s not like I had any snow days growing up.”

  “If you moved you plan on staying out there for good?” Justin asked, his voice a little downcast. He had hopes of staying in California and establishing a family after graduating. If Brooke left… that meant his days with her were numbered and he didn’t want to say goodbye to her just yet. He hoped she’d get that job at the Aquarium. He had a feeling that if she left, he’d be losing something very special.

  “I think so. I want to settle in one spot and not move around. I have a cousin in the military, and he and his wife move around all the time. His wife hates that because it’s so hard on the kids,” Brooke said.

  Justin heard the longing in her voice, and before he could stop himself, he blurted out, “It sounds like you love kids. How many kids do you want?” He could feel his ears turn red as he realized what kind of a question he had just posed.

  Brooke didn’t hesitate. “I want four, maybe five, possibly six. I’m not sure yet, but certainly not more than half a dozen.”

  “Wow… that’s a lot.” Justin couldn’t imagine a family that large. It was just him and his sister, Emily.

  “Yep! I want a big family. I’m an only child, and it sucks sometimes, so I want my children to have a lot of siblings.”

  “I see. I’ve always wanted two. A boy and a girl,” Justin replied, feeling slightly overwhelmed. Five sounded like a lot of kids. He wasn’t sure he could handle that many. He shook himself. This is ridiculous. We are on a first date. I’m not proposing, so what does it matter?

  “That’s good, too,” Brooke smiled at him. She noticed that her hand was just inches apart from Justin’s. She felt the urge to hold his hand but hesitated. Nerves prickled along her skin, twisting her stomach into knots which was odd; she wasn’t usually this anxious around guys.

  Silence settled between them. The only sound that could be heard was the gentle whoosh of the water, lapping around the hull of the boat. It was calming, and Brooke found herself nodding off, her eyes slowly closing as they became heavy. Justin looked over at her, admiring her smooth complexion and beautiful face. He could feel his heart strings tug against his chest, wanting to tether to her, but he felt like it was still too soon to make a move. Besides, he didn’t know how to make a move in the first place. There was a reason why he’d been single all of his life.

  Suddenly, a sharp eek eek sound broke the silence. Brooke’s ears seemed to twitch as she bolted upright. “What was that?” Before she knew what was going on, she had her arms around Justin, holding onto him for protection.

  Justin felt his whole body tense up at the sudden intimacy. His face heated and his heart skipped a beat as he felt her press into him. “I… I…”

  Justin wanted to say something, but the words were lodged in his throat, making him stutter. He cursed his nervousness and pointed out to the water, where various dolphins circled the boat.

  A young calf swam up to the boat and bobbed its head. It let out a loud eeeekkkk. Brooke let go of Justin and went to investigate. She leaned over the railing and rubbed her hand against the snout of the wild dolphin. The calf let out a high pitched squeal and leaned into Brooke’s hand. A wide grin spread across her face. It’s so cute!

  Justin watched her for a moment before joining her. The dolphins continued to squeak and splash in the water. The youngest of them was still vying for Brooke’s attention.

  “We should join them. They seem friendly enough,” Brooke said and began taking her shoes off.

  Justin was completely taken back. “Are you crazy? The water has to be freezing.”

  Brooke winked at him and taunted, “You’re going to let a little cold water stop you from swimming with dolphins?”

  Justin watched Brooke peel off her second sock and gulped. Is she really going to strip and jump in the water? He wasn’t sure what he thought about that and looked away. He didn’t trust himself not to stare if she did strip. “But… we don’t have bathing suits,” Justin said, grasping at straws.

  Before he could say anything else, he heard a loud splash. To his surprise, when he turned around, Brooke was already in the water swimming in her clothes with the dolphins swarming around her. She placed her hands around one dolphin’s fin, and it started to tow her around the boat.

  “Come on Justin!” She called out to him, a giant smile on her face as her wet hair clung to her head. “The water’s great.”

  Justin hesitated. The water had to be cold, but when he heard another bout of Brooke’s giggles, he knew he couldn’t deny her. He tossed his shoes into the bottom of the boat and emptied his pockets before diving into the water. His stroke was steady and sure because he’d been on his high school’s swim team. Justin swam with a water polo stroke, his head above the water and his arms reaching out. He kept Brooke in his sites, but before he could reach her, a dolphin intercepted him, pressing its snout against Justin’s chest and pushing him back.

  Justin tried to swim around him, but the stubborn dolphin herded him like a sheep dog corralling a lost sheep. It pushed and prodded until he was forced to hold on to the dolphin to keep himself afloat. As soon as he did, the dolphin started to swim full speed away from the boat.

  “Hey!” he yelled at the dolphin, who didn’t listen.

  This animal was completely absurd, but he let himself be carried away yelling back to Brooke, “Help! I’m being kidnapped by a dolphin.”

  Hysterical giggles met his ears, and Justin looked over his shoulder to see Brooke struggling to swim and laugh at the same time. Justin laughed with her. As she was wiping away her laugh-induced tears, the dolphin turned around and brought him back to her. Justin let go, swimming closer to Brooke.

  They looked at each other, and their laughter abruptly stopped, eyes transfixed on one another. They moved closer together and reached for one another. Their hands met and intertwined, each finding a perfect fit.

  As they held hands under the water, the pod of dolphins eeked loudly, their squeals echoing through the night. Soon enough, the animals were on their way, disappearing into the darkness. Brooke watched them go, grateful she got to experience such a magical moment, especially with someone like Justin. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze before she gathered her courage and planted a small kiss on his cheek.

  Chapter Five

  Justin’s body filled with happiness as he felt the softness of her lips on his cheek. He couldn’t believe that a woman this beautiful would bother to kiss someone like him. “I…” He was going to say something, but he wasn’t quick enough. Brooke began to swim back to the boat.

  She hoisted herself up, her clothes dripping in a puddle on the deck of the boat. Brooke began to wring some of the water out, but it was useless. A strong breeze swept across the boat, and she started to shiver. Wrapping her arms around her body,
she huddled down toward the bottom of the boat.

  The second Justin stepped onto the boat he noticed Brooke shaking. He quickly made it to the front deck and grabbed his hoodie. He knew he would be cold without it, but held it out to the girl. “Take it,” he offered.

  “Are you sure, won’t you be cold?” she asked, a concerned look on her face as she noticed his thin t-shirt.

  “No. It’s fine.”

  Brooke seemed skeptical.

  “Really. I promise.” He offered her a smile, hoping it would convince her. As the wind picked up, he tensed his muscles, locking them into place so that he didn’t shiver.

  Brooke studied him for a minute longer before tossing on the hoodie. She smiled at its warmth. Cuddling into it, she could smell his scent: a mixture of soap, mint, and cologne. It was nice.

  The corners of her mouth turned up. “Thank you,” she whispered, giving him a hug of appreciation.

  “What for?” Justin asked, a little confused.

  “For a wonderful date. I had a lot of fun today,” she admitted.

  As their eyes locked, it felt like the entire world seemed to stop for a moment. Nothing else seemed to exist. Nothing else mattered. Brooke felt her blood racing through her veins as she got closer to Justin. Overwhelming feelings swirled inside of her, making her dizzy. She just couldn’t sort out all of her churning emotions. She felt so much for the cute, slightly awkward, grad student standing in front of her. Deep inside her heart, she thought she felt the first stirrings of love.

  “Oh… well, I’m glad you had a good time. Usually, I mess up on first dates and girls end up hating me,” Justin blurted out, much to his own embarrassment. “Not that I try or anything…” he added, hoping it would clear things up.

  Brooke laughed. “I had a great time.” She kissed his cheek again. “It’s getting late, though, maybe we should get back to the mainland,” Brooke suggested as she picked up her phone, looking at the time. It was nearly two in the morning.