Coffee Treat

After their meeting at the pool hall they did end up exchanging numbers and so forth, since they managed to agree to meeting up for coffee later. With that being now as Greg sent off a text to see if Ellie was availble. Wandering into the establishment and rubbing his hands some as it's rather windy outside. At least there isn't any rain today.

The cafe being rather busy, as might be typical at this time of day. A lot of people having finished work, or school, and needing a moment to relax or catch up with friends. Having people coming and going at a rather regular pace.

Finding a table Greg does move to sit down, sending off another text, saying where he's sitting. Waiting for her before he'll order though.

At some point Ellie will arrive; while she is no longer encumbered by an unwieldy and eye-destroying umbrella, she is precariously balanced a large shoulder bag as well as a couple of paper shopping bags that she can barely hold on to in her arms. It's fortunate that someone is just leaving and happens to hold the door open for her, to whom she mutters a quick thanks before entering the coffeehouse.

As far as the Black Sheep is concerned… well, she's definitely known here. She smiles at the familiar faces who work her, but not having any free hands to wave at them; instead, she spots Greg and makes her way over, where the shopping bags all but spill on to the table. "Sorry, sorry." She smiles to him apologetically. "I got held up at the bookstore because the machine… their credit card machine wasn't working. Whew."

Greg chuckles as he spots Ellie. All his own stuff having already been left at home, so he's luckily not carrying anything. Moving a bit to try and help her secure the shopping bags as they are set down. "Oh, no worries. You should have told me you were getting this much, I could had helped carry some." He suggests and just grins at her, shaking his head. "Got a lot of good things at least?" He asks, trying to shift the bags so there is some room for them both to sit, and also for the coffee to be set down once it arrives.

With his assistance the bags are stacked to one side of the table without immediate threat of falling, allowing Ellie to sigh a breath of relief while she takes an empty seat. "I didn't know there was a sale going on, it was a total surprise." She tells him, straightening up while she brushes her long hair back over her shoulders. "I picked up a bunch of medical journals…" And as she speaks, Ellie reaches for the top bag and pulls out exactly that, a big fat medical journal from 2013, to hold it up to Greg. "…like this one here? It has all the papers published at the 2013 Canadian NMA convention in Toronto…." Suddenly going quiet, she narrows her eyes at Greg. "…you don't care about this. Why am I boring you with this stuff? Sorry." The book is quickly put down, an embarrassed smile and blush both rise to her face. "So, uhm, coffee. This is my treat. What would you have?"

Greg smiles and does look to the book as she explains, chuckling though as she is apologizing. Shaking his head, "It's quite fine. I do enjoy learning about people and reading them, so I don't mind, promise." He assures her. Offering a reassuring smile to her. "I could go with a coconut latte." He offers to her, tilting his head, "Though if we come here again, next time is my treat." He suggests, a small grin given in her direction.

The 'reading people' comment gets a curious tilt of Ellie's head. "How do you usually 'read' people?" She asks, but doesn't push him for an answer while she gets up and heads for the counter to place the order. Coconut latte for him, a simple decaf for herself. Payments are made, but the coffees aren't ready yet, so she comes back and retakes her seat. "What was I asking? Oh, right, reading people." As the the next time being his treat, Ellie simply nods with a smile.

"Oh, just studying their behaviour, their choices, the way they do things. So on. You learn quite a bit when studying psychology." Greg admits and grins, leaving out any part about any other things, for now. His jacket being hung over his own chair as she goes to order. Leaving him in a long sleeve shirt, and a t-shirt underneath. A silver necklace can be seen at his neck, then going in under his shirt. Grinning a bit, "Like now, reading you. The fact that you seemed quite positive about there being a next time for coffee." He points out, a light playfulness to his tone.

Her gaze looks around the room for a bashful moment, and the earlier blush makes a reappearance. "Well, I mean, you're nice enough to want to buy me coffee… I wouldn't say no to that. It's not like, uhm, you're offering to buy me coffee because you accidentally destroyed my schedule or anything." Ellie ends it with a weak smile. Still, what he said does make sense, so she takes a moment to 'read' him in return, noting the shirt and the necklace he's wearing. Peering at it a bit, even. But before he can ask him about it, Ellie sits back and shakes herself out of it. "Oh, looks like the order is ready." She points out, and gets to her feet to fetch the two drinks.

Greg chuckles and nods, "That's good then. I don't mind the company either." He tells her in return. Raising a brow as she seems to be phasing out, as she stares. His shirt does give away that the necklace has something attached at the end of it, though the form is hard to judge from under the t-shirt. Before he get to say anything the order arrives. Letting her get them and watching her as she goes off, while making sure that no one tries to steal the bags.

See, Ellie is the kind of girl who doesn't seem to mind doing the legwork, and she happily returns with the two cups. Oh wait, since this is her treat, evidently she has decided to throw in a couple of blueberry muffins, too — which is balanced just as precariously on top of the two cups in her hands. "Can you… can you grab the muffins before I drop it in your lap or, I don't know, your schedule again?" She requests as she carefully rejoins the table.

Greg chuckles and does lean over to take the muffins as well. "Hey, if you drop anything on my lap, you are going to have to clean up." He tells her and just help her out. "Thanks. And now I feel bad that I didn't help out more." He offers along with a smile. "So, muffins as well? Damn, I really need to go all out then. Next time I mean." He suggests and winks to her. If needed he will take the coffees as well so she can reclaim her seat. Putting it all on the table for now. "This all looks great."

The brunette gives him a look of surprise at the suggestion of cleaning up his… lap, but it's quickly replaced by the bashful smile that seems to be permanently fixed on her face. Best not to comment on that, she decides. So she just retakes her seat and picks up her cup for a careful sip. "My sister's family owns this place, by the way." Ellie tells him. "So like, I know what are the best stuff to get. These, uhm, blueberry muffins are the greatest, because they don't… well they use only a little bit of sugar. Most of the sweetness are natural flavor of the blueberries." Informative, isn't she? But her gaze keeps shifting back to his necklace, and eventually she just has to ask. "What kind of necklace is that?"

Greg chuckles and shakes his head, "No need to worry, I'm just teasing." He tries to assure her. Though he does seem amused that she didn't go ahead and say no right away. Just grinning a bit at her. "Ah, yeah. You mentioned something about it." He offers as a reminder, nodding about how they make the muffins. Taking a taste. "Indeed, tastes quite good." He agrees. Raising a brow at her last question. "Something to remind me of home. Of my family." He explains. Taking a moment before deciding to show it to her. Which ends in a amethyst crystal. Simple but quite pretty still. Then putting it back. "Do you have something similar?" He asks with a small smile.

The amethyst crystal necklace makes her eyes go wide, if only for a few seconds. Her gaze moves from the crystal to Greg's face, especially after the necklace is put back under the shirt. "I…" She starts, but as usual Ellie backpedals. "…yes. Yes I do." Pursing her lips, she reaches into the collar of her sweater, and pulls out her own necklace, only hers has a big round piece of amber attached to it. "It's… a traditional fashion statement in Haven Point." She adds in a small deadpan.

Her reaction to his crystal does seemingly make his curious, and send ideas to him. Listening to her in turn. Greg does watch her and letting her pull out her necklace. "Ah, that so?" He asks, still smiling to her. Though still studying her rather curiously. "Is that all?" He asks, almost teasingly. "It's a nice one though." He tries to assure her. Keeping himself relatively calm, though being rather reckless he does lean over a bit. "Sure that there's not more to it?" He asks before sipping his coffee.

When he leans over, she leans back, moreso out of surprise than recoiling. That becomes clear when she breaks out into a little chuckle after the initial surprise passes, and the amber is shoved back down her sweater. "There is… uhm, there might be more." Ellie replies noncommittally, but watches him with renewed interest and curiosity. "So, I don't really know much about you, except for… I keep spilling stuff on you. Is your… I mean, do you have any family in town?"

Greg chuckles and grins, "Well, story for another time perhaps." He suggests as he leans back some. "Nope. My family is still in Providence, as far as I know. Though my younger brother is about to go to college, so not sure where he will end up. And my older sister I'm not quite certain what she has going on right now, I admit." He says and shrugs. "Though I have a mentor at the tattoo parlor. I was an apprentice for him, now I've got my own license. Though he is still teaching me a lot." He explains, sharing some about himself. "How about you, what hobbies are there outside of what you wish to study for?" He asks her. "And clearly you have family here."

Ellie does have this tendency to squint and peer whenever she finds something curious; she does that now when he speaks of being a tattoo artist. "You're studying psychology AND you do tattoos?" She sounds vaguely bewildered, followed by an amused grin. "Maybe like, if you combine the two, you can give advice AND a tattoo to your patients at the same time." As to his questions towards her, Ellie shrugs a shoulder. "I do. My dad's a doctor." /The/ doctor in Haven Point, in fact, but she doesn't say that. "My mom is a homemaker. My… I have a sister Lynette, her family owns this place. Some of my nephews and nieces work here sometimes, you might have… you probably seen them before." The hobby part though, makes her scratch the side of her head a little. "I don't have… I really don't have a lot of hobbies. Do you?"

Greg chuckles and nods, "Yeah, the only thing that complete the circle is if I'm a bartender as well." He offers in jest. Grinning at her. "But yeah, I figure that it could be interesting. Working on the doctorate, so we'll see what I will end up doing." As she goes on about her own family, he listens and nods. "Seems like they are all quite influential here then." Though about hobbies, he shrugs. "Tattooing and working with those kind of things. I do play around some with photoshop and stuff as well." He explains. "I am sure you do something fun outside of school and so on." He suggests and drinks some more. Tasting more muffin along with it. "Though I admit, this is quite fun as well. Hanging out with pretty girls I mean."

Yes, the pretty girl comment will most definitely bring another blush to her cheeks, and even a hurried sip of her decaf so she'll have something else to look at for a moment. Ellie does attempt to cover up her shyness, however, and offers in turn, "I hang out with pretty girls too; it's just not, uh, really a hobby for me." She flashes a quick smile at Greg, and takes a deep breath. "Seriously though, I do volunteer work at the hospital… and I'm not sure that counts as a hobby either. Not like tattoos, I guess." Beat. "So do you have one? Tattoo, I mean, not hobby."

Greg does seem to like seeing that blushing. Though as she tries to use her decaf to calm down, he grins a bit. "Ah, well. I hope I am more fun than them." He says with a wink. Leaning back a bit. "Perhaps not, though I am sure it is still fun. Do you read a lot?" He asks, gesturing to the bags. "Unless it's all just medical stuff?" He asks. Nodding about him having tattooes. "A few. This one my mentor made." Pulling down the shirt some at his neck and shoulder. A nicely done one, though only part if it visible. Then showing his forearm and having a blade with cherry blossoms around it. At the hilt it is shaped in a pyramid with an all-seeing eye. "I made this one. Family, education and dedication. The latter perhaps mainly for the tattooing." He explains about each part of it.

Although she is clearly the good girl type, who will probably never have a tattoo on her skin, Ellie does seem intrigued when Greg reveals his. She even leans forward to have a closer look, especially the pyramid one. "Illuminati? Knowledge." She wonders aloud, and turns her head to look at his face. "You did this? That's very good. How do you… can you actually do a tattoo on yourself? Isn't that hard?" The cup is carefully put back on the table, before she idly reaches up to tuck a lock of hair behind an ear. "I do. I mean, I do read… a lot. And not just medical stuff. I read everything from history books and biographies to science journals and romanc…." Abruptly, she cuts herself off, and peers sheepishly at Greg. "…can you pretend you didn't hear that last bit?"

Greg grins and shrugs about his tattoo. "More like insight, understanding. Though yes, partially knowledge." As for it being hard, he grins and nods. "Yeah. I got a little help and direction. Also my mentor helped keeping the arm still So I could work more easily." He explains to her. "But yes, kind of hard." Eyes widening a bit and brows raising at her last words. Narrowing his eyes. "Hmm… Maybe for now. Though it will be hard to not think about that now." He teases with a wink. "I admit that I've read more comics than regular novels. Art speaking more to me. Though there are some good ones."

"You know it's weird," Ellie notes with a furrow of her brows. "I've never actually read a comic book before." Beat. "No, that's actually not true. I used to read Peanuts when I was little. And, uhm, Winx Club and Powerpuff Girls… but you probably don't know what I'm talking about." She breaks out into an embarrassed chuckle at that. "You must read stuff like Spiderman and Superman, right?"

Greg chuckles and shrugs, "I know about them, though never read any. Though did see Powerpuff Girls once or twice when I was rather young. Especially having an older sister." He says and shugs. Though as for what he read, he nods. "Yup, among other things. I did like Frank Miller's things. Dark and rather skillful artistry." He suggests and smiles. "There's a lot to choose between." Shifting a bit. "Everyone has their own style, right?" He assures her, trying to ease her mind. Finishing the muffin and continuing with his coffee. "Seems like coffee and muffins are gone soon." He points out. Studying her reaction about that.

Huh, imagine that, Ellie hasn't taken a single bite of a muffin yet. "Oh. Do you want mine?" She asks after peering at the plate, and the untouched muffin that's meant to be hers. "I mean, I can always get more here. And I'm not really hungry anyway." She even nudges the plate in his direction. "Don't worry, like I said they use… they don't use a lot of sugar in their muffins, not like the big chain stores."

Greg grins and shrugs, "I don't mind. Though I am sure you'll get hungry in a little bit." He says, letting it stay there for now. Sipping his coffee instead. "Yeah, it's really tasty muffin, compared to most larger chain stores." He somewhat agrees with her. "If you want, I could help you carry the things home?" He suggests, seeing as it was quite a lot of stuff that she had. "I mean, not now. But when we finish up and so on." Taking a small piece of the muffin.

She bobs her head, clearly pleased that he likes the muffin. "Well, we could…" Rather than saying it, Ellie reaches for the muffin with both hands, and carefully breaks it in half - one of which is offered to him. "…here. I can't finish a whole muffin anyway." Assuming he accepts it, she licks at her fingers to clear off any stickiness, while she takes a bite off her half of the muffin. "And yeah, if you don't mind just… y'know, help me carry the books to my car. I'm parked a couple of blocks away, which isn't that far, I guess."

Greg hmms at her words, though as she offers the muffin he takes it happily. "Sounds good to me." He agrees. A small grin at the finger licking, "Tasty, isn't it?" He suggests and takes another bite. "I'd be happy to help." He agrees to help her out.

Speaking of cars. "Oh! Do you drive?" Ellie asks, a thought suddenly occurring to her. "I mean, do you need a ride home afterwards?" She watches him for his response, while taking another bite off the muffin.

Greg shakes his head, "Not right now. So, sure. You could give me a ride. Though perhaps I figured that way I could get to chat with you longer." He offers and grins at her. Letting his arms rest against the table as the coffee and muffin get finished. "Whenever you want to." He suggests, looking around. "So, do you know all of the ones working here?" He asks before looking back to her. "And your sister seem to be quite a lot older than you." He says, just trying to get to know her some more.

Ellie nods to that, and quickly finishes up the remaining bits of the muffin, washed down with the last of her decaf. "Prmmph mmph." She replies to his question, only to end up spitting out a few bits of muffin. Which brings a deep flush to her face as she hurriedly covers her mouth with both hands; picking up a napkin to wipe at her lips, she swallows and makes a face. "Sorry, sorry. My mom was right; don't talk with my mouth full." Duly embarrassed now, Ellie smiles weakly. "Uhm, I know most of the people here, and Lynette is… well she's fifty-three this year." So yes, quite a lot older. "Shall we go?"

Greg does let out a soft laugh as she ends up spitting some of it out. "She might be right." He agrees, shaking his head a bit. "But. At least I haven't run away, so you must be doing somethign right." He suggests and rises. Taking the bags and will nod to her. Not minding doing the lifting and letting her hold the door this time. "Ah, I see. Quite the difference." He agrees. "Let's go." Letting her lead the way.

Getting to her feet, Ellie gives him another embarrassed smile - it's kinda hard to live down such a social faux pas. Since he's getting her shopping bags of books, that just leaves her shoulder bag to deal with, which is pulled on to her right shoulder. Being the conscientious sort, Ellie even picks up the empty cups and plates, putting them on top of the garbage bin before leading the way to the door and opening it for Greg to go through. "Where do you live?" She remembers to ask, since she's going to drive him home.

Greg smiles back to her, trying to ease her mind some. Trying to not embarress her too much. As for where he lives, he shrugs, "The lofts, if you know where?" He offers, keeping up with her pace and wandering beside her. "Where do you live then? I mean, since you now know where I live." He offers and a small smirk is offered to her.

"Christy Avenue Lofts?" She double-checks — yes, Ellie is a lifetime local of Haven Point, so she knows most of the spots. And while she walks along, she spends a moment or two digging through her shoulder bag before a set of keys is fetched. "I live…" She gestures vaguely in an easterly direction with the hand that now holds the keys. "…east side of town. Amity Lane." Where all the old, established families are rooted, evidently. "It's a bit out of the way, but it's not too bad." There's a short pause as she considers. "You know, maybe we can… uhm, if you're okay with it, maybe talk about your stone next time."

Greg nods, "Yeah, exactly." He replies as she tries to clarify. Nodding about where she lives, "Ah, nice. Perhaps I'll drop by at some point." He suggests and just smiles. Once they do reach the car he will put the things inside. Nodding to her suggestion, "Sure. Though only fair for you to talk about yours as well, if so." He suggests and will join her into the car.

Yes, her car! It's a yellow 2013 VW New Beetle, so bright it's effectively a beacon in the middle of the street. She remotely unlocks it so he can put everything inside, then she'll hop in and start the engine. She stops to look his way, nodding after a momentary consideration. "Of course, yes. We totally should. Your treat next time, right?" At this point, Ellie pulls out into traffic, and heads down the street in a southernly direction, towards the Lofts.

Seeing how bright the car really is causes Greg to grin at the girl. Once inside he nods and studies her a bit, "Yup, my treat." He assures her. Letting her drive along towards his place. "So, what kind of music do you listen to?" He asks as he looks to her radio, and if it is turned to any specific station he will try to listen what kind there is. A bit of a grin directed to her.

"Oh, I don't have…. I listen to everything." She replies, only taking her eyes off the road towards her passenger when the car stops at a red light. Yet despite what she says, the radio — even though it's not turned on right now — is currently tuned to a station known to play mostly oldie songs. Ellie seems to notice Greg checking the radio, glancing between his eyes and the radio, and hurriedly tries to distract him. "What about… what do you listen to?"

Greg ahs and nods, though he does see what channel it is turned to. Smirking and turning that to her. Though not saying anything, instead just replying about himself. "Oh, well. It depends. Like what mood I'm in, if I am trying to make some specific tattoo I will listen to different things. Though I suppose quite a bit of rock, or balld styled songs. At times more classical." Shrugging. "As I sad, depends a bit on what kind of mood I want, or need, at the moment." He explains, "Though, oldies are nice as well." Unable to help himself.

It's kinda funny how many little quirks Ellie has, that she seems to not want people to find out about. And her preference for oldies appears to be one of them, so when he says it out loud, it brings another blush to her cheeks. "They're pretty nice." She tries to downplay it, stealing a glance at him without turning her head, now that the car is moving again. "I would've thought… don't tattoo artists listen to heavy metal music? Like the really, really loud kind?"

Greg grins at her trying to downplay oldies. "Agreed." Amused still. Though at her suggestion about tattoo artists, he laughs a bit. "That so? Well, I suppose it happens. Though I believe that a lot of difference in music is good. It affects each differently, and different styles evokes different thoughts and emotions." The psychologist in him coming out some. "Does that make sense?" He asks and smiles. Looking ahead to see how far they've come.

She does agree, and she bobs her head enthusiastically. "It totally makes sense. I don't…. I mean, I'm pretty clueless when it comes to music, but different music styles are like different kinds of books, right? You read different books when you want to learn different things." That's her analogy, anyway. "Except rap. I just… I don't get rap." She adds, and glances briefly over to Greg. "Sorry."

Greg nods, "Yup. Like most things. Just like specific images offering different feelings, or different tv-shows. Or even different smells and flavours can be good at different points." He goes on and smiles. "Books are a great analogy as well." As for rap, he laughs. "Well, it's about talking fast and also can allow you to train understanding of words or similar. Though it is quite different." He agrees, chuckling a bit. "Oh, no worries." He assures her. "Or what are you apologizing for now?" He asks, slightly curious.

She does apologize a lot, doesn't she? And she doesn't seem to realize it until he points it out. "Um. I don't know." She flashes another embarrassed smile. "I guess, maybe you do like rap and I don't want to offend you." She pauses to heave a sigh. "I know I sound like a dork sometimes." She adds self-depreciatingly, and another glance is spared his way. And as the car rounds a corner, the Lofts comes into view, and she'll slow down to pull into an empty parking space.

Greg smiles and shakes his head, "Oh, it's fine. Also, nothing wrong about sounding like a dork at times, I'd say at least." He offers. Seeing the lofts coming into view. As she pulls into the parking lot and soon enough parks he smiles over at her. "Thanks for the ride, and thanks for today." Opening the door and then, if she allows, leaning over to offer a kiss to her cheek before he pulls out of the car. "See you soon, alright?"

An unexpected kiss on the cheek! If she's been blushing frequently today, none of that compares to the fierce blush that suddenly turns her face bright red. Followed by a look of disbelief towards him afterwards, fortunately ending with an uncertain smile — and a nod. "Yeah… of course. See you soon." She replies bashfully, but will continue to watch Greg as he heads back to the building.

Greg does smile and meet hers, quite seeming glad to see that blush. Heading off and letting her watch him disappear as much as she wish. Heading to the building and heading inside. Giving a last wave towards her easily spotted car.

OOC Date: 2015.06.03
IC Date: 2014.10.12
Cast: ellie & greg

HP13: The Black Sheep Cafe

The Black Sheep Cafe is a relaxing spot among the many shops on 8th Street, offering a selection of fresh sandwiches and smoothies. The Cafe is recognizable from afar by its small outdoor seating area, enclosed in a wrought-iron fence. Four tables with pastel-colored umbrellas are available during the summer months, though during the winter the outdoor area is closed up. Floor-to-ceiling windows and a many-paned door open up to the inside, which is decorated simply with many subtle details. The floors are bamboo, but a long black rug leads up to the hostess stand, which usually just has a sign that reads 'PLEASE SEAT YOURSELF.'

The entire east side of the cafe is taken up by a long, stainless steel counter where customers can order from the menus hanging down behind the counter. The fare includes fresh sandwiches, a few desserts, and many different flavors of fruity and decadent smoothies. There are no booths; the tables are round mosaic-topped tables with matching chairs. The lighting is dim to match the laid back environment, and soft music from indie singers floats through the speakers in the background.

Outside, a chilly wind blows from the west, driving dark clouds before it and blotting out the stars in patches overhead. The air is clear and elsewhere they glitter brightly in the dark sapphire sky. Leaves on the ground rustle, unseen, stirred by the winds. Falling leaves blow past you, whirled around by the wind in the dark.
