From-Here-On

Reggie dropped into a seat at the Java Lava's counter. "Double shot. Straight up." Phil raised an eyebrow. "You know that order here is only going to get you espresso, yes?" "I know. At this point, I'll take any mind altering substance you can sling me. Caffeine will do." Phil grinned and started racking up the espresso machine. "You should try a short black slammer." Reggie brushed her fingers through her hair. "What's that?" "One second." She watched as Phil went to work, lining up her short black, another of the same, and two flat whites, before grabbing a bar of chocolate, from which he broke off two squares, and two sachets of sugar. Fin

From Here On: House Hunting Acepilot 8 - * - * - 8 "Are we leaving or what?" Lor bit her lip and stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. She knew that this stall would not last long - her boyfriend knew that she didn't wear make-up, and he had already braided her hair, so there was a limited array of things that could be taking her so long. "In a minute. I'm just..." she stared at the bench in front of her, trying to think of anything she might be doing, "putting in my contacts," she offered, fixated on a bottle of saline solution. There was dead silence from the living room for a moment. "I'm the one who wears contacts," he reminded her. "

Phil didn't want to get up, particularly. A quick glance at the alarm clock confirmed that it was creeping on to six a.m., but not quite there yet. He should have still had four and a half minutes of blissful, lazy sleep to enjoy. But he was awake now. The noise that had broken his unconsciousness repeated itself – slightly louder, this time. He groaned at the realisation of what it was, and the fact that the half of the bed next to him was empty. "Don't drag it," he called out, loudly. "You'll leave big marks on the floor, and I would rather like to get our deposit back on this place." The noise ceased. "You keep moving it. It's not in