Post by Lindsey on Jun 3, 2007 15:11:44 GMT -5
This is a long scene, but hopefully everyone will like it--Apolo's in it now! Thanks for all the comments from before, guys, and please give me feedback on this one, too... *~ Lindsey
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The rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee intermingled with the sticky sweet scent of pastries greeted Grace as she pushed open the door to Mocha Joe’s. Some no-name band was playing ethereal-sounding music in the corner, while underdressed people milled about, sipping coffee that was served in real mugs, not disposable containers like Starbucks. Like she’d told the limo driver, this was the common folks’ coffee shop. There were no fancy names to the coffee varieties, no plush couches and chairs to lounge around in, and definitely no high-speed internet to browse on. People were here to visit with each other and drink some genuinely good coffee in the dimly-lit cafe. Grace ordered her favorite blend and sat down on a wooden stool that was a little lower to the ground than she would have hoped for, but it really was one of the only seats left in the place.
Grace spied a copy of the day’s newspaper sitting on an endtable a few feet away. After she picked up her coffee mug from the counter, she walked over to pick it up. Granted, she was supposed to be meeting people here, but everyone seemed to be occupied already. Might as well get caught up on the news while I’m here.
As she picked up the paper, she glanced over to the corner where the live band was playing and noticed a familiar face—the limo driver. He was standing, watching the group playing, his hand on the back of a chair at a table for two. Seated at the table were an attractive young woman and a young man, and Grace immediately wondered which of the two—or both—were rich enough to ride in a limousine. Grace didn’t think the woman, although she was dressed professionally, looked important enough, and she couldn’t see the young man’s face because his back was turned to her. Her reporter’s nosy instinct urged her to walk over and see who it was, but she fought against it. She returned to her seat and sat down.
Grace had made it a habit to read all the articles of the reporters she admired. A teacher in college had once told her a good writer was a good reader. She got so engrossed in reading one particular report on an embezzlement scandal in one of the city’s top accounting corporations that she didn’t even notice when someone came over and stood directly over her.
“Ahem.”
Grace’s eyes darted up to see who’d cleared his throat. It was the limo driver.
“Following us?”
“Uh, no—I—” Grace stammered, looking up at him.
“I don’t blame you,” the driver said an amiable smile. “I figured you’d come, actually. Who doesn’t want to catch a glimpse of Seattle’s most famous dancer.”
“Most famous dancer?”
“Apolo knew nobody here would recognize him,” he continued. “He’s got some interview and they needed some place out of the way to meet, you know?”
Grace nodded, not letting on that she had been completely unaware of his client’s identity, but she was looking past the limo driver to the couple at the table where he’d just been. That guy is Apolo Ohno? she wondered in disbelief.
“So you’re a fan?”
“Well, no—I—”
“It’s okay,” the limo driver kept on talking without giving her a chance to respond. “He’s used to people following him, trying to get his autograph or a picture with him. He’s always really nice about it. I mean, some people do some really outlandish things, you know?”
Grace felt a little irritated. She didn’t want to be put in a class as “one of his fans.” She wasn’t following him—she hadn’t even know it was him. In fact, she could care less if she even saw his face.
“You’re just like anybody else out there, so don’t feel too bad.” The limo driver was still talking. “I hope I didn’t embarrass you by coming over here and everything. If you’d like, I can introduce you to him. You can get a nice autograph or picture. You brought your camera, right? He’s always really nice to his fangirls, you know.”
Grace stood up suddenly from her low vantage point on the short-legged stool to look the young man in the eye. “Now just a minute. I’m not one of his fangirls, or whatever you want to call it. In fact, until you came over here, I had no clue who that was sitting over there in the corner, so you can just get the idea that I was following him out of your mind. I don’t want an introduction and I don’t want his autograph, either.”
The look of surprise that had come over the young limo driver’s face as she made her speech was quickly replaced by a quirky smile. “Oh,” he said. “Well, in that case…why did you come here?”
“Because I live right around the corner and I wanted some coffee!” Grace exclaimed. “Isn’t that why most people go to coffee shops?”
The limo driver stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Well, that might be one reason.”
Grace tried to keep her stern expression, but his answer was so simple, she couldn’t help but laugh a little.
“Is there something wrong over here?”
Grace heard a voice behind the driver, and although she couldn’t see them behind the driver, she realized Apolo and the young woman had come over to see what the commotion was about.
“Um, no,” the driver responded over his shoulder. “Everything’s all right.”
“Are you hitting on girls again, Jake?” Apolo laughed. He smacked Jake on the arm, and Jake stepped aside to reveal Apolo and the young woman.
Grace’s heart skipped a beat in spite of herself. She’d never been this close to a celebrity before. To her surprise, Apolo looked as good-looking in person as he had on television. For some reason, she’d always assumed hair and makeup artists made celebrities look gorgeous on television, while in reality they looked like normal human beings. Apolo, on the other hand, looked both completely natural and completely attractive at the same time.
“Sorry about that,” Apolo said, extending his hand out to her and smiling. “Jake thinks every girl in the building is either after me or him. I’m Apolo.”
Grace shook his warm, inviting hand but couldn’t for the life of her think of something intelligent to say. His introduction seemed out of place. She knew who he was. On top of that, her nervousness frustrated her.
There was an awkward silence as the four of them took each other in. Limo driver Jake seemed to think the situation was slightly hilarious, Apolo wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, Grace wanted to get out of the coffee shop, and the young woman who had been interviewing Apolo at the table looked intrigued.
“So are you this friendly with all your female admirers?” she asked him. “You just go up to them and introduce yourself?”
“I’m not one of his female admirers,” Grace jumped in, her quickness to respond startling herself.
Apolo looked at her quizzically, and the young woman turned up her nose. “Well, I beg your pardon. I certainly didn’t mean to offend you.”
Grace blushed but didn’t want to. “You didn’t offend me. I was just accused of stalking Apolo just now, and I wanted to make sure everyone knew I’m just your average coffee drinker. I didn’t mean to create an awkward situation.”
“You didn’t create an awkward situation,” Apolo responded and paused. “It was Jake who created an awkward situation.”
The tension finally eased as they all laughed a little, even the other young woman, who Grace thought seemed a tad snooty.
Apolo set his mug down on the counter. “Well, we were just finishing up here anyway, weren’t we, Elizabeth?”
The young woman turned and smiled at him. “Yes, and thank you again for taking the time to talk with me.”
Grace’s ears perked up at those words, and she remembered the woman had been there to interview Apolo for something.
“Would you mind my asking what organization you’re with?” she asked.
“I don’t see why it would matter to you, honey,” the woman turned back to her, giving her a look Grace took as patronizing. “But for the record, I’m from the Seattle Star.”
Well, well, the Seattle Star! The Seattle Star was the primary competition for the Seattle Daily News, the newspaper Grace worked for. Grace wondered if anyone on their news staff had lined up an appointment with Apolo.
“You’ll be seeing my article on the front page of the Sunday edition this week,” the reporter told Apolo, slipping a notebook into her satchel and then shaking his hand. “Again, thank you for the interview.”
“Oh, you’re welcome,” Apolo said. “Anytime.”
“I’ll see you later, too, cutie,” she said, winking at Jake and turning and walking out the door.
Grace watched the two men’s eyes follow the young woman as she walked away. Her crisp black business suit was a little too tight around her hips, Grace thought, and both her stilettos and her hemline looked to be a little on the high side. Meh. Whatever floats her boat, Grace dismissed it.
“Whoosh,” Apolo let out a breath of air, turning and leaning on the counter once she was out of sight. “I could do interviews like that all day.”
“Tell me about it,” Jake said, his back now towards Grace.
Both of them seemed to have forgotten that she was even there, so Grace quietly set down her mug on the countertop and hoped to make a silent getaway through the side door. To her horror, as she stepped backwards, she tripped over the short stool she’d been sitting on earlier and fell with a crash to the ground. Well aware that most in the shop had seen her fall, Grace tried to collect herself before attempting to stand back up.
“Are you hurt?” she heard someone asking, and she looked up into a set of deep brown eyes—Apolo’s.
Just my pride, Grace thought, steamed. “They don’t call me ‘Grace’ for nothing,” she tried to laugh.
“So that’s your name. Grace,” he said, softly enough for only the two of them to hear. He extended his hand to her and helped her up.
“Thanks,” she said quietly. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t apologize to me—” Apolo started to say as he brushed himself off. But Grace didn’t hear him. She had already left the place as fast as she could.
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The rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee intermingled with the sticky sweet scent of pastries greeted Grace as she pushed open the door to Mocha Joe’s. Some no-name band was playing ethereal-sounding music in the corner, while underdressed people milled about, sipping coffee that was served in real mugs, not disposable containers like Starbucks. Like she’d told the limo driver, this was the common folks’ coffee shop. There were no fancy names to the coffee varieties, no plush couches and chairs to lounge around in, and definitely no high-speed internet to browse on. People were here to visit with each other and drink some genuinely good coffee in the dimly-lit cafe. Grace ordered her favorite blend and sat down on a wooden stool that was a little lower to the ground than she would have hoped for, but it really was one of the only seats left in the place.
Grace spied a copy of the day’s newspaper sitting on an endtable a few feet away. After she picked up her coffee mug from the counter, she walked over to pick it up. Granted, she was supposed to be meeting people here, but everyone seemed to be occupied already. Might as well get caught up on the news while I’m here.
As she picked up the paper, she glanced over to the corner where the live band was playing and noticed a familiar face—the limo driver. He was standing, watching the group playing, his hand on the back of a chair at a table for two. Seated at the table were an attractive young woman and a young man, and Grace immediately wondered which of the two—or both—were rich enough to ride in a limousine. Grace didn’t think the woman, although she was dressed professionally, looked important enough, and she couldn’t see the young man’s face because his back was turned to her. Her reporter’s nosy instinct urged her to walk over and see who it was, but she fought against it. She returned to her seat and sat down.
Grace had made it a habit to read all the articles of the reporters she admired. A teacher in college had once told her a good writer was a good reader. She got so engrossed in reading one particular report on an embezzlement scandal in one of the city’s top accounting corporations that she didn’t even notice when someone came over and stood directly over her.
“Ahem.”
Grace’s eyes darted up to see who’d cleared his throat. It was the limo driver.
“Following us?”
“Uh, no—I—” Grace stammered, looking up at him.
“I don’t blame you,” the driver said an amiable smile. “I figured you’d come, actually. Who doesn’t want to catch a glimpse of Seattle’s most famous dancer.”
“Most famous dancer?”
“Apolo knew nobody here would recognize him,” he continued. “He’s got some interview and they needed some place out of the way to meet, you know?”
Grace nodded, not letting on that she had been completely unaware of his client’s identity, but she was looking past the limo driver to the couple at the table where he’d just been. That guy is Apolo Ohno? she wondered in disbelief.
“So you’re a fan?”
“Well, no—I—”
“It’s okay,” the limo driver kept on talking without giving her a chance to respond. “He’s used to people following him, trying to get his autograph or a picture with him. He’s always really nice about it. I mean, some people do some really outlandish things, you know?”
Grace felt a little irritated. She didn’t want to be put in a class as “one of his fans.” She wasn’t following him—she hadn’t even know it was him. In fact, she could care less if she even saw his face.
“You’re just like anybody else out there, so don’t feel too bad.” The limo driver was still talking. “I hope I didn’t embarrass you by coming over here and everything. If you’d like, I can introduce you to him. You can get a nice autograph or picture. You brought your camera, right? He’s always really nice to his fangirls, you know.”
Grace stood up suddenly from her low vantage point on the short-legged stool to look the young man in the eye. “Now just a minute. I’m not one of his fangirls, or whatever you want to call it. In fact, until you came over here, I had no clue who that was sitting over there in the corner, so you can just get the idea that I was following him out of your mind. I don’t want an introduction and I don’t want his autograph, either.”
The look of surprise that had come over the young limo driver’s face as she made her speech was quickly replaced by a quirky smile. “Oh,” he said. “Well, in that case…why did you come here?”
“Because I live right around the corner and I wanted some coffee!” Grace exclaimed. “Isn’t that why most people go to coffee shops?”
The limo driver stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Well, that might be one reason.”
Grace tried to keep her stern expression, but his answer was so simple, she couldn’t help but laugh a little.
“Is there something wrong over here?”
Grace heard a voice behind the driver, and although she couldn’t see them behind the driver, she realized Apolo and the young woman had come over to see what the commotion was about.
“Um, no,” the driver responded over his shoulder. “Everything’s all right.”
“Are you hitting on girls again, Jake?” Apolo laughed. He smacked Jake on the arm, and Jake stepped aside to reveal Apolo and the young woman.
Grace’s heart skipped a beat in spite of herself. She’d never been this close to a celebrity before. To her surprise, Apolo looked as good-looking in person as he had on television. For some reason, she’d always assumed hair and makeup artists made celebrities look gorgeous on television, while in reality they looked like normal human beings. Apolo, on the other hand, looked both completely natural and completely attractive at the same time.
“Sorry about that,” Apolo said, extending his hand out to her and smiling. “Jake thinks every girl in the building is either after me or him. I’m Apolo.”
Grace shook his warm, inviting hand but couldn’t for the life of her think of something intelligent to say. His introduction seemed out of place. She knew who he was. On top of that, her nervousness frustrated her.
There was an awkward silence as the four of them took each other in. Limo driver Jake seemed to think the situation was slightly hilarious, Apolo wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, Grace wanted to get out of the coffee shop, and the young woman who had been interviewing Apolo at the table looked intrigued.
“So are you this friendly with all your female admirers?” she asked him. “You just go up to them and introduce yourself?”
“I’m not one of his female admirers,” Grace jumped in, her quickness to respond startling herself.
Apolo looked at her quizzically, and the young woman turned up her nose. “Well, I beg your pardon. I certainly didn’t mean to offend you.”
Grace blushed but didn’t want to. “You didn’t offend me. I was just accused of stalking Apolo just now, and I wanted to make sure everyone knew I’m just your average coffee drinker. I didn’t mean to create an awkward situation.”
“You didn’t create an awkward situation,” Apolo responded and paused. “It was Jake who created an awkward situation.”
The tension finally eased as they all laughed a little, even the other young woman, who Grace thought seemed a tad snooty.
Apolo set his mug down on the counter. “Well, we were just finishing up here anyway, weren’t we, Elizabeth?”
The young woman turned and smiled at him. “Yes, and thank you again for taking the time to talk with me.”
Grace’s ears perked up at those words, and she remembered the woman had been there to interview Apolo for something.
“Would you mind my asking what organization you’re with?” she asked.
“I don’t see why it would matter to you, honey,” the woman turned back to her, giving her a look Grace took as patronizing. “But for the record, I’m from the Seattle Star.”
Well, well, the Seattle Star! The Seattle Star was the primary competition for the Seattle Daily News, the newspaper Grace worked for. Grace wondered if anyone on their news staff had lined up an appointment with Apolo.
“You’ll be seeing my article on the front page of the Sunday edition this week,” the reporter told Apolo, slipping a notebook into her satchel and then shaking his hand. “Again, thank you for the interview.”
“Oh, you’re welcome,” Apolo said. “Anytime.”
“I’ll see you later, too, cutie,” she said, winking at Jake and turning and walking out the door.
Grace watched the two men’s eyes follow the young woman as she walked away. Her crisp black business suit was a little too tight around her hips, Grace thought, and both her stilettos and her hemline looked to be a little on the high side. Meh. Whatever floats her boat, Grace dismissed it.
“Whoosh,” Apolo let out a breath of air, turning and leaning on the counter once she was out of sight. “I could do interviews like that all day.”
“Tell me about it,” Jake said, his back now towards Grace.
Both of them seemed to have forgotten that she was even there, so Grace quietly set down her mug on the countertop and hoped to make a silent getaway through the side door. To her horror, as she stepped backwards, she tripped over the short stool she’d been sitting on earlier and fell with a crash to the ground. Well aware that most in the shop had seen her fall, Grace tried to collect herself before attempting to stand back up.
“Are you hurt?” she heard someone asking, and she looked up into a set of deep brown eyes—Apolo’s.
Just my pride, Grace thought, steamed. “They don’t call me ‘Grace’ for nothing,” she tried to laugh.
“So that’s your name. Grace,” he said, softly enough for only the two of them to hear. He extended his hand to her and helped her up.
“Thanks,” she said quietly. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t apologize to me—” Apolo started to say as he brushed himself off. But Grace didn’t hear him. She had already left the place as fast as she could.
