Timeless Thoughts

Somehow it was already half past 12 and both my best friends were strung across the couch practically dead, and I still had a buzz from the cold brew I had an hour earlier.

I could never fully admit that I had a slight coffee addiction, but my friends would say otherwise.

It's totally not serious.

Addy got a sugar high from the cookie dough--she managed to sneak past us--then passed out about 30 minutes ago. On the other hand, Sage bet she could stay up past 1 to watch a Harry Potter marathon, but couldn't even make it past 11:30.

The credits to Chamber of Secrets had just rolled on and my head was starting to spin and I felt a major headache coming on.

I’d usually take some ibuprofen and pass out, but seeing as the coffee buzz wasn't going to let down.

So I decided to take the other route.

Swim in the Clark Street beach.

When I pulled up to a parking lot next to the beach, I could see the trees being blown by the wind.

I had to throw on my brother's old football hoodie that I always keep in my 2008 vibe. The door got pushed by the wind a bit when I opened it.

Whenever I got so stressed or couldn't handle life, I could usually turn to the ocean.

The ocean has the deepest point on the earth and it's filled with tons of mysteries--either other sea creatures or different types of plants. No one knows what’s there, and no one can control it.

It's always been there for me when I needed it, especially when people leave.

So when I jumped in, the cool and calm waves soothed all the pent-up anxiety I'd been dealing with, right out of my body.

I could feel the hard rocks rub against my feet and goosebumps crawl up my neck.

It's seriously the most freeing thing ever.

If only it could be like this forever.

***

I plucked up my pool towel from my pile of items and pulled it around my shivering body. The grainy sand stuck to my feet as they squirm underneath it.

A vast breeze came through and I quickly slid my clothes on, being less than fully dry but not completely drenched in water.

Being a walking icicle I booked it to my car and immediately blasted the heat on. As I rubbed my hands together I decided I might as well go on a drive to let the buzz wear off, instead of getting frostbite sitting in my icebox.

Letting the car take over, I eventually ended up at a beaming coffee shop.

At Backlot Coffee they're known for their iced macchiatos and blueberry muffins. Probably not a good idea to get another coffee though unless I was gonna do an all-night, which is looking like a pretty pleasing option.

The above bell rang as I walked through the door and soon appeared a dazed-looking employee--definitely in need of a power nap--who walked over to the counter.

A gush of espresso blew past me when I walked more into the L-shaped shop, and I swear my knees almost went weak. The counter was only a few feet away from me with wooden table sets littered around the rest of the open space. It had a very old-fashioned aesthetic on hallucinogens.

50s posters were strung around the light grey walls with bright neon light-up signs casting a glowing shadow over everything, including the various hanging plants and gold-framed mirrors.

A group of older men dressed in worn-out fishing clothes and baseball hats occupied a table in the back corner. There was one lone to-go paper cup in the middle that they seemed to be passing around, taking sips from.

A very early morning fishing trip was coming very, very soon.

Another buff man took over space along the side window facing towards that door, focused on a thick book.

I fished out my miniature wallet from my hoodie pocket and looked up at the menu boards that hung above the fancy metal machines.

As soon as the barista asked me what I wanted to order, I just couldn’t hold back from ordering another coffee.

So I got a vanilla latte. I could at least think I was drinking in style.

As I stood off to the side to wait for my drink--which was pretty pointless considering this place was deserted--I curled the ends of my hoodie over my fists. The blowing AC made my random shivers even more frequent.

The corner of the counter pressed into my abdomen and I zoned out on a bread crumb, secretly wishing I would’ve ordered a chocolate croissant.

The barista slid my drink over the counter and I bear pawed it--my hands still covered in my hoodie--and sauntered over to a table in a corner by the front of the shop.

Once I sat down--on a very comfy padded french bistro chair--and set my drink down, I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped the excess of my sweater around them. I wrapped my palms over the abnormally large coffee mug, in an attempt to capture some of its warmth into my frostbitten hands, and rested it on the tops of my knees.

As I glimpsed across I caught two striking emerald eyes looking dead straight into my eyes.

“Have we gone into winter already?” he said, a bit amused, with a boyish grin.

In all reality, it wouldn't be such a shock if a blizzard came to visit Illinois right now. It was quite a bi-polar state. “Fortunately no, but the oceans a lot colder,” I said.

“Late-night ocean trips are the only thing that keeps me sane.” he entertained by patting his hand over his heart.

His laugh lines grew deeper as his charming smile grew with it.

He wrapped his hand around his maroon mug, which complimented his eyes in the most delicious way, and brought it up to his parted lips.

“Yeah, until you freeze your ass off, and then can't even start your car.”

“I suppose so-”

Before my mug could even hit my lips, my eyes drew as wide as a Tim Burton character, and the strong urge to throw my mug of steaming fancy espresso nearly took over me.

“There's a - look there's a - can you get that, that on the wall.” I blurted out as I yanked my hoodie up and over my legs, and darted to the other side of the shop.

My heart could not let me take my eyes off of the enormous creature - okay, maybe it wasn't enormous, but even a little one gave me the heebie-jeebies. So, I was enormously thankful when the man swiped it off of the wall and crushed the daddy longlegs spider guts with the sole of his shoe.

“All right, now all you owe me is a new right Nike shoe,” he said, tossing the napkin with smeared guts into the trashcan near me. “I will also take cash upfront.” He held out a palm.

I slapped his palm down, shrugging my shoulders, I released a heavy sigh. “Sorry, I can only give you an IOU and entertainment.”

“Man, I don’t think that’ll work for me.”

“How about I ask those fine fishers over there if they’ll take you with them on their trip?” I gestured my hands towards their table.

He walked back over to his table and hooked his book under his arm, and set his mug on the counter for finished drinks. “I will take you up on that IOU, personally I’m not big on fishing.”

Once I sat down and took a gulp of my beverage, I pulled my knee up to my chest and looked up the author Tolstoy for book covers.