Lori sat down in the chair and put her leg up on the one next to her and sighed. Eggs, toast, sausage, and coffee; the breakfast of champions. She sipped her coffee as a guy she'd vaguely registered as part of the welcome group that morning sat down across the round table from her.
"You're in the English welcome group, right?" he asked before sipping his cup.
Lori stared over the rim of her mug, surprised he just walked over and sat down like it was nothing. Like they'd known each other for months. She had assumed she'd meet up with Toni for breakfast once her roommate's orientation meeting broke up, but this worked, too.
He had medium brown hair that did this cute flip away from his forehead and green eyes, and looked like he was ready to play basketball with the Celtics jersey he wore. He sure looked like he could play basketball, no problem. He was lean, not skinny but not bulky, kind of that awkward in between. It looked good on him. On anyone else, it would have been awkward, gangly maybe. Lori couldn't help but admire how he pulled it off. He was kinda cute, for sure. Heat crawled up her neck, and she cleared her throat, taking another swallow of coffee.
"Dylan," he said, catching her attention again. "Name's Dylan. We're in the same group. I just needed coffee before I could say anything."
"If we're in the same group, then you know I'm from the English one." She grinned and reached for her mug. "Lori, but you knew that, too."
"Yes, yes, I did." He paused and chuckled. "So, are you an introvert and need to get away from people? Is that why you were asking if there was a safe time to do so?"
Lori shook her head and put down her mug. "No, but yes…in a manner. There are things I need to take care of."
"School hasn't even started yet, and you're taking care of things?" he asked, chuckling again.
"I'm a very busy woman." Lori smiled. "Are you going to eat anything, or is coffee your lifeblood?"
"You got it. Poke a hole in me and coffee will come out, not blood. Who needs blood anyway?" To make his point he drew a line down his arm, like he was tracing a vein, then picked up his mug and pretended to tap into a vein. "Coffee is life."
Lori nodded and raised her mug as well. "Yes, yes it is." She sipped her drink and smiled. "So, you don’t talk until you get your coffee? Is that why you didn't say hello at the meeting?"
"Instant human, just add coffee." He grinned and finished his mug. “Feed two to three times a day.”
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