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tonksiefea · 3 days

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How I know You|| Original Fantasy Romance

So this is Chapter 1 of a story I've been working on. It's currently 17 Chapters and counting but I'm hitting that point in my process where I want to delete everything and never touch a computer again so I figured I'd got some reasonable people to tell me I'm right! LOL I kid! Thank you to @soinspiredbyyou Who kindly encouraged me to post it Summary: Raziel "Rae" Marsh is an anxious newly published author who moved to a mountain town to escape her loving but overbearing parents. Things get a little complicated when a Fantasy Writer meets a Forest Ranger who starts making her books seem a little more realistic than Fairy Stories ever should.

Chapter 1

“No. Mom, I'm fine. I promise, I’m doing great. You and dad do not need to come get me. I'm an adult. Yes, I’m eating, no I’m not dating anyone, yes the book tour went fine and the new house is beautiful. I even found a coffee shop to work in.” Raziel, who would not share her full name under penalty of death and instead preferred Rae, loved her mother. She really did.

Rae got a lot of things from her mother. Her red hair, her green eyes, her freckles, her talent for language, and most of all her overwhelming anxiety and worry for the slightest change to her life.

What she did not get from her mother was the woman’s constant insistence that she find a husband, settle down, and start pumping out children like she needed to single handedly re-populate the earth. That part she could do without.

It was part of the reason Rae had taken the money from her first successful fantasy book, touted to be the next “Chronicles of Narnia”, and moved to a secluded mountain town in Colorado where the population fluctuated between triple and quadruple digits depending on the season. She much preferred the quiet town life to anything else and she was finally able to live her dream of a quiet secluded life as a hermit writer.

“Mom, I gotta go! I’m walking into the cafe. I’ll call you when I get home. No, mom I’m going to write. I can't spend my whole time talking on the phone. Because, mother, it’s rude.” Rae rolled her eyes as her mother launched into another tangent that would take forever. “Goodbye Mom. I love you.” She sighed and hung up instantly feeling a surge of overwhelming guilt for hanging up.

She knew her mom meant well and she loved talking to her but right now Rae just needed some quiet. She needed to delve into the world of her imagination and ignore reality for a good three hours or so with a mug of cinnamon coffee so big people would confuse it for a bowl.

She took a deep breath of the silence and looked down the streets seeing the one or two off-season tourists that wandered through the town for hiking. Summer was about to end but kids were going back to school and this little town was nearly abandoned. Even most of the locals either lived off the land, or worked in larger cities just down the mountain. Somehow, without her mother’s voice in her ear, anxiety started to well up in her. Something else too.

For the past year, any time she was alone, she got this feeling but any time she tried to pin it down it ran away. She was sick of trying to chase a ghost but she couldn’t quite bring herself to give up on it either. Something in her soul said this feeling was important and that she had to solve the puzzle. She was pretty sick of the urgent feeling in her stomach and right now was not the time. Anxiety she could handle, the other thing could wait.

Rae walked into the door of the tiny, eclectic, coffee shop and looked around. She had found it the day before, relieved to find a place that wasn’t a chain. If anyone knew how anxious she always was they would have assumed she was the type to order everything on an app and use self checkout. Except there was a certain charm, in her opinion, about having the sort of social anonymity of having a place she was considered a quirky regular. A place where the barista knew her order and the check out guy knew how to bag her eggs just the way she liked. The sort of pseudo social bond that made it so someone would notice if you went missing but you were still a little bit of an enigma. It was part of why she'd picked such a small town. She wanted that place where everyone sort of knew each other.

Rae walked up to see the same woman from yesterday behind the counter wiping it down and humming to herself. “Hey! Welcome back! So I guess the coffee wasn’t too bad then?” The woman greeted, warmly. She had a sort of spirit about her that Rae hadn’t found at the cafe near her parent’s house in the giant suburb where nothing really felt local, even the local shops. She loved Burbank, but she was thrilled to be rid of it.

“I loved it, actually. Had to come back and try another one.” Her tone was friendly and she was proud of herself for being able to sound confident even if she didn’t feel it with ehr stomach bubbling and twisting and her heart beating a bit too fast.

“You want the Honey Nut latte again then?” The woman asked, turning to the computer.

“Actually I was looking at the Cinnamon vanilla cappuccino.” She admitted. Rae had a huge soft spot for cinnamon. She loved the sweet and spicy mix. It felt sort of fantastical, like the sort of thing a fairy should drink.

“Oh! Good choice! It’s one of my favorites. Biggest cup I can find?” the barista asked, quoting yesterday. Rae was surprised but she supposed in a small town like this new people always stuck out. Not to mention she was the crazy red head with the coffee addiction that spent half her day writing in the back corner and muttering to herself while she wobbled the table. That probably helped make her memorable.

“Please and thank you!” She said brightly as she pulled out her card to pay. The Barista was quick to process the purchase and say they’d call her name when it was ready and Rae nodded turning to the room to get to work when she was stopped short.

She looked at her table. Her table, she had quickly decided, was perfect.It had a slight wobble to fidget with when thinking and just enough light that she could see but not too much in the sun as to need to take off her sweater and she could angle her computer just so in order to not get glare. Yes, her perfect little table was another part of the charm and allure of this place. Except right now, her table had a man sitting at it.

There were plenty of other tables, that wasn’t the problem. The thing was Rae was a creature of habit if nothing else. She liked normal and same and comfortable. She didn’t just want any table she wanted her table.

She was the kind of person that was one mental breakdown away from having the same outfit in 12 colors just because it was comfortable. Finding a new table once she picked one took time, it took effort. Yes, she’d only had that table once but it was her table! Now her choices were go find a new one: torture! Or talk to the man and ask if he could move: torture!

“Iced Cinnamon honey Latte for Liam!” was called next to her and the man stood up. She quickly averted her eyes to look at the menu pretending she was busy. As soon as he was engaged with the Barista she quickly slipped to the table into the same seat she had been in the day before, thankfully not the one the man had been in, and opened her computer.

“I suppose I don’t mind a little company.” A voice drawled over her. It was deep, and sounded like it was amused, and absolutely terrifying. She looked up to see warm chestnut eyes and a beard and shaggy brown hair and sun tanned skin. He was taller than her but not by much. Other than looking a bit ragged he was just a normal, average guy. So why did she get the instantaneous need to flee? Oh yeah, because she stole his table.

“Oh umm Sorry?” She asked, she tried her best to sound innocent and confused. Maybe if she could play it off well enough he’d just give up and move. It was her favorite table after all.

Mistakes were clearly made when he sat down in the same seat he had left. “My table.” The statement was simple and plain and was accompanied with a rather self satisfied looking smirk.

“No one was here when I sat down so–” Rae started powering up her laptop and pulling out notebooks hoping it would be enough to stake her claim and scare him off. That was until the man pointed to a black bag resting on the seat next to his. “Oh. I must have missed that. Sorry I can–” She started to get up with tense shoulders and probably too perfect posture.

“There’s plenty of space. I mean the table is meant for like seven people.” It was an exaggeration, but not by much. The big, round table had been useful because she had been able to spread out her notebooks and books and still had about half a table left for cups and plates. “Besides, looks like I won’t be here half as long as you will.” He mused.

He gave a slow look over her bag of books and papers and pens and highlighters, it always looked near to bursting at the seams. His look had her blushing from embarrassment. Then his eyes slowly moving over her face like he was drinking in her appearance. His look had her flicking her eyes shyly down to her keyboard and suddenly feeling very warm in her comfy knit sweater.

“Thank you. It’s just that this is the perfect table. It’s the right distance from the window to get light but not be too warm or reflect on my screen and it’s got a little wobble that I can play with when I’m thinking.” She explained in a rush. Why was she telling him this? Why did she want to tell this guy everything she’d ever thought?

She fought the urge to look back up to the chocolate eyes of the man in front of her. She did not do relationships. She had knocked aside every single person who had even looked her way for as long as she could remember. This guy wasn’t even her type! Sure he was handsome in his own way, and he had a great voice but she wanted something else. She just wasn’t really sure what that was.

“Good to know I have good taste.” He said with a tone that had her looking up in panic. It sounded so weighty. Was he complimenting her? That was very daring. “In tables.” He clarified like he could read her mind.

“Right.” She said, nodding and trying to remind herself to breathe. There was no way she was letting this guy get to her. She was just a nervous person. So why was this guy so disarming? Why was he terrifying in a totally different way from every other human she’d ever met? Why did she want to know more about him? “You do. So umm… do you–”

“Cinnamon Vanilla Cappuccino for Rae!” The barista called. Rae nearly tipped her chair over when she shot up like a bottle rocket.

“That’s me!” She called. The Barista, thankfully, just smiled warmly and motioned to her with the coffee. Right she had to go over and get it. “Be right back. Can you watch my stuff?” She asked the mystery man as she, much more carefully, picked her way around her bag and towards the counter.

She felt so stupid. Genuinely, she felt like an idiot. She had just made a total fool of herself and her anxiety was flaring like crazy. Her heart was pounding a thousand miles a second and her palms were sweating and her stomach was even a little nauseous. She took the coffee and the Barista smiled kindly.

“He’s the last new guy, moved in about a year ago. Nice guy but I’ve never seen him talk to the same person that long.” The barista commented. What was that supposed to mean? Was she special?

“Oh. Yeah well I tried to steal his table so...” Rae trailed off awkwardly. Maybe she should just go home and never leave her house again. She took a sip of her coffee and comfort washed over her body. “Wow.” She breathed for the first time in what seemed like forever. “This is great!” she complimented savoring the sweet and spicy flavor that made her feel magical.

“Told you! It’s my favorite. Enjoy.” The Barista turned in a way that clearly dismissed her.

Ok, so she couldn’t leave until she finished her coffee now. She looked around the empty cafe, empty except for her table that had the guy at it. She tried to pick another place to work but every single one just had too many glaring issues. That one really was her perfect table. So she just had to deal with the guy. Besides, something in her told her that if she moved the guy would just follow. A traitorous part of her loved the idea too.

She moved back to her seat and nodded a greeting to the guy sitting there. “Thanks.” She said putting her coffee down and moving to sit.

“That’ll be 20 dollars.” the guy said with an impish smile that made her stomach flip uncomfortably and had her flopping into the seat she had just been trying to sit gracefully in.

She was a scared wreck 99% of the time but the other 1% of her personality was all redhead. Instantly her face flared red and rage boiled in her blood. “Excuse me?!” She asked, her chin cocked down and teeth clenched almost as tight as her fists.

Instantly his hands raised in surrender but his face was entirely covered in a smug smile. “Joking.” He assured with a wave of his hands to draw attention to his surrender. “Good to know you’re a fighter though.” He commented, taking a self satisfied sip of his own drink.

A fighter? She was not a fighter! She was a runner and a hider or a freezer at best. His words soothed her somehow though. It was like he was seeing someone completely different than who she was but for some reason she really wanted to be that person. “I just couldn’t believe you thought your services were worth 20 bucks.” She countered. “Maybe Five…cents” Was she teasing him? She was pretty sure she was teasing him. Where had she learned to tease random men in coffee shops?

“Ouch.” He said covering his heart like he’d been wounded but his smile was impossible to miss. It lit his face with an impossibly enchanting glow. She couldn’t take her eyes off the way his eyes crinkled in the corners or the way his laugh lines framed his lips. She ripped her eyes forcefully to her coffee and took a long drink of the soothing cinnamon. She hoped the drink would bring some much needed reality to her boggled mind. “I’d be happy to show you just what my services are worth.” He offered and she caught sight of him wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

A laugh caught Rae by the throat and she nearly choked on her coffee as she snorted. Coffee assaulted the back of her throat and splashed all over her computer screen from her coughing. Oh God she looked like an idiot. “Sorry.” She choked out as she put down her cup and desperately tried to get her breathing and hacking under control.

She looked up to see an empty seat where he had been. He was gone. She tried to insist to herself that she wasn’t sad or upset or anything even remotely like it. She was glad that she had her table to herself. The problem was that inexplicable feeling was instantly back. It was like an itch inside of her ear so deep there was no way to scratch it. She hadn’t realized but for those brief moments talking to this strange man, it had been gone. Now that he was missing it was back. She didn’t know what to make of that. It was like her skin was crawling, looking for something. Her eyes darted around the shop, without her permission, to see where he went.

“Don’t go dying on me, now.” His voice pulled her instantly to look next to her. “I know I’m funny but even I’m not that funny.” He joked offering her a napkin. She tried not to feel relieved seeing his face there smiling like he was hilarious. She reached up taking the napkin and wiped her face as he sauntered back to his seat and dropped himself haphazardly into it.

“It just took me by surprise.” She insisted, not sure what to do with herself. Why was she so relaxed with this guy around? Why had it felt so cold when she had thought he left?

All this was a lot to think about and she was supposed to be writing. She winced as soon as she looked at her screen and saw it covered in drips of coffee. That was going to be gross to write through all day. She wiped the screen but it just wiped streaks of cream and sugar across the surface.

“Everything ok there, kid?” His voice called for her attention again. Somehow the nickname, which should have been demeaning, didn’t set her anger ablaze again. It seemed so casual, almost natural. Not that the man in front of her could possibly be too much older than she was. She was in her mid thirties and would probably pin him at around forty, maybe younger.

She sighed in frustration at the streaks on her screen needing to be careful of the LCD screen but there was no amount of wiping that would fix this mess. “Fine it just– my screen is a mess now. So it looks like I won’t get any writing done. My publisher will love that.” She sighed, closing her screen probably a touch harder than she should have.

“Publisher?” He asked with a tilted head. He didn’t really look surprised, which surprised her. She could say he looked vaguely curious, but even that was too strong a word for the expression he was portraying.

“Yeah I um,I guess you could say I’m a writer. Or at least I wrote a book and it got published so, write.” She said instantly, self conscious. This was the part that always felt awkward and wrong. Plus it got two reactions, half the people were so excited they instantly wanted to be her best friend and get a free copy, the other half were patronizing and passed the words off as her bragging. “Now I’m supposed to write the follow up.” She explained awkwardly. “It’s supposed to be a series.” She was babbling again. “About fairies.” She finished.

God why couldn’t she have written about something so much cooler? Why wasn’t she writing about dragons or werewolves or even bigfoot! Why was it fairies? He would think she was twelve. Why the hell did she care what he thought?

“Fairies are cool.” His voice was so casual she couldn’t stop herself from looking up with what she was sure was a stupid, hopeful face.

“Yeah. I mean, I’m not talking like two inches tall with butterfly wings or anything. They’re more like elemental forces. They’re mostly warriors and guardians. It’s not as dumb as it sounds, I swear.” She tried desperately to defend her book and let out an awkward laugh. She was trying not to give into the overwhelming shame and embarrassment she currently felt.

She never talked about her novels to anyone that wasn’t her mother or her publisher. Even her dad hadn’t actually heard much about her book. She’d given him a copy of the first round of printing but it was still sitting untouched next to his armchair in California. This stranger actually looked interested though. Not even complimentary, not amused and mocking. He was just passively curious.

“What’s it called? I’d love to read it.” He said, taking a slow sip of his iced drink. Why was he drinking an iced coffee? It may not be fall yet but the colder weather had already stolen into the mountains enough that she needed a sweater.

“I have a spare copy at home. Maybe I could bring it to you tomorrow?” She offered.

“I can’t be here tomorrow.” Why was she disappointed by that? She nodded, refusing to let her face fall but either she wasn’t as good at hiding her emotions as she wanted to be, or he was more perceptive than average. “I work on call in the ranger outpost up in the national park. I’m on three days off two. But I’ll be here Friday? Maybe I can pick it up then?” he offered. “Buy you lunch to pay you back for it?” He looked hopeful. That was a surprise. The look in his eyes made it seem like he was holding his breath as much as she was.

“Sounds good. I’ll be here.” She agreed with a shy smile. Had she just agreed to a date? Three days from now she had agreed to a date! Maybe it wasn’t a date. Maybe he was just being nice.

“It’s a date.” He commented with a smirk. Ok so definitely a date.

“Yeah!” She shouldn’t be this excited. She was never this excited. She hated dating. Ever since she got dumped at her ninth grade ball for the class siren by the local captain of the jousting team. ‘Real life terms Raziel!’ she chastised herself. She wrote too much. It was the ninth grade semi-formal and the head cheerleader and the captain of the football team, whom she’d had no business dating anyway.

Her mom always warned her about getting too stuck in her stories. They were always telling her if she wasn’t careful she’d never come out.

“You want me to see what I can do with that screen?” The man’s voice shocked her out of her self-reflection.

“Huh?” Rae shook her head blinking away the voices fighting behind her eyes and flashes of wings and gossamer.

The man nodded his head to her closed computer. “Your computer screen. I might be able to clean it off.” He offered. “Can’t let you get behind because of my attempted murder.” He joked.

She laughed even though it wasn’t a good joke and nodded. “Sure.” she said, opening the lid. “All yours.” He took a napkin and pulled a bottle of water out of his satchel pouring a bit onto the end and ran it lightly over the screen.

Rae watched in awe as the streaks cleared up and dried like he’d used one of her screen clothes instead of a napkin and water. “My hero!” She said with a smile looking over to see his brown eyes right next to her. He was close enough to her she could smell woods and smoke and see little lines decorating his face and disappearing into the thick hair of his beard. It was an alluring image to be sure. Almost made her forget to breathe.

“Liam.” His voice was deep and so sexy and horribly distracting. Clearly she was quiet long enough that he felt the need to clarify. “That's my name. Liam.” That woke her up.

“Right! Sorry! Rae.” She introduced in a rush.

“Short for…?” He prompted.

“Something horrible.” She informed flatly.

“It can't be that bad.” He insisted with a smile.

“It really is.”

“What Rachel? Rainbow? Ray of sunshine? Raymond?”

“Raziel.” She burst out if only to stop his insane guesses. She stopped short, her eyes going huge when she realized she had just said her most hated name to a total stranger.

“Hm interesting.” Was all he said. “See ya Friday, Raziel.” He said her name quietly with an impish smile. It was like he was keeping her name a little secret between them. Somehow it didn't sound quite so horrid coming from him which really was a magical thing for him to manage.

“See you Friday, Liam.” She couldn't fight the smile. Her phone started to buzz and she looked down seeing her mom's contact and huffed. Her mother could not know about this. That was not happening. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to stop thinking about it but just the image of her mother learning about the coffee shop forest ranger felt like a threat. A threat she didn’t have time to unpack right now. Those chocolate eyes and the feelings behind them would be unfolded at a later date. For now she had other beasts to battle.

“Hi mom!”

#original Fiction #How I know you #Working title #This is the book based on an Aidelly Fic I plan to write. So you should absolutely picture Bryce Dallas Howard and Sam Rockwell here.

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