Wine.

Pepsi pulled hard on the brass handle of the glass door, fighting the insistent wind that seemed to want her to remain outdoors. As she stepped into the small cafe, she noticed a nook housing a single table and chair at the end of the bar. Above the table was a wide window, providing a perfect panorama of the entire town square. Perfect for her. She awkwardly wove herself in and out of the seating of the room, careful not to bump any unsuspecting heads with the back side of her bag. Plunking herself and begrudged carry along of Physics texts onto the table, she took a deep breath and did a quick scan of the view she had so intentionally sought out. Nothing. Instead of reaching for her school work, Pepsi opened up the drink menu. She had to laugh at herself. She knew nothing about wine, but to be sitting across from a shelf stacked with copper pots and vintage books while drinking anything but a cappuccino or glass of red seemed wrong. Since it was too late for caffeine, she felt obligated to order a glass. Was it the romantic in her, or the familiar character flaw of vanity?

After asking for and receiving her order of wine that would "not cause her cheeks to pucker", Pepsi sat back down and took a sip. She stifled a grimace, feeling the exact sensation she had sought to avoid. Perhaps it had labeled her as a wet blanket up to this point in her college career, but alcohol of any kind that didn't have an umbrella sitting on its rim, was something that she had avoided. She laughed at herself again, and the twelve dollars she had just dished out for something that she had no desire for whatsoever.

Ping.

Pepsi glanced down in response to her alit phone. "I'm here!" it read. She smiled and tapped her response, "Me too."

"Where?"

Pepsi looked out the window again. She spotted what she was searching for sitting patiently on a bench in the center of the plaza. He was wearing her favorite olive green button up and a beanie. She laughed, this time at him. He didn't like to wear hats, but she had told him recently she liked the way he looked in them. This location had become their designated meeting spot. It was a four hour round trip for both of them, but to be together for one hour out of the week? Worth it, for sure.