“Your pronunciation was amazing. You sounded like you've ordered that drink before.” Frankie smiled brightly back as he took the seat across from her. He’d been in coffee houses like this multiple times so they’d lost some of their novelty to him but he was more excited seeing her reaction to being here. She was so cute but she also seemed a little nervous, to him.
"Thank you," She hummed happily, looking around and watching as other customers ordered or sat around and talked. It was new, to see so many humans in one place, all chatting and dressed in outfits much less suited to a forest than what she was used to. It was curious, and yet, she almost liked it. "I'll have to come back here if I like the drinks…this is a nice place," She said, looking at him excitedly.
“You’re welcome.” Frankie smiled warmly at her as he watched her reaction to just being here. He knew Selina wasn't able to come out very often but her expression made the whole shop feel new to him. With her bright-eyed excitement, he could imagine her tail wagging cutely at the experience. Though he quickly blushed at the mental image. “I… I’d be happy to take you back here sometime. If we’re able to.” he agreed. “I hope you like your drink too. This place actually has a lot of different kinds of drinks and some specialty drinks that are only available during certain times of the year.” he told her, apart of him almost wishing he could take her back here so she could try them.
Her eyes lit up at the mention of new drinks and she looked to him, leaning on the table with her elbows, "I would love to come back, I want to try all of the drinks here, I'm sure I'll like at least one of them." She was sure she would have to find some way to pay Frankie back for his kindness, especially if she wanted to try more of their drinks, but she was much more focused on imagining what other drinks they would have around the year.
Frankie almost chuckled at her wide-eyed expression, finding it adorable, as he nodded. “I’m sure you will. But first, let's see what you think of the hazelnut one you ordered.” he said, choosing to focus more on the here and now rather than the future since he was only staying for the summer and wouldn't be here to see her reaction to the seasonal holiday flavors. He looked up and raised a brow when he saw the same male barista who had rung them up, walking up to their table. Normally, they just called the customer's name when their drinks were ready so they could pick them up.
The other man smiled as he set down the drinks and pastries. “Thought I’d save you the trip.” he said, turning Selina’s cup so that the name “Marcus” and a phone number were facing her. “Enjoy.” he winked at her again before walking away.
(boop)
(Ah, I have no excuse for how late this response is…but here it is)
Selina had already forgotten that Frankie was only around for the summer, and she couldn't help but imagine how he would react to her excitement about new flavors. Looking up at him, she noticed the barista out of the corner of her eye and turned to look at him, sporting the same bright smile as before. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to her, and she just assumed they always brought the items to the customers.
"Thank you!" She happily said, looking at her cup with excitement, noticing his writing on the side. Picking it up, she studied it before she looked to Frankie, still as excited as ever, "Look, he wrote his name and number, do you think he wants to be friends?"
(I’m just glad you replied. I was starting to worry if this was going to die or if something had happened to you.)
When she showed him her cup and what was written, Frankie felt something strange in his chest. Hot and sharp but ultimately familiar… He hadn't really been jealous of much before but this almost made him see red. The thought of going over to this Marcus and punching him square in the face was very tempting and gave a vague sense of satisfaction… But hearing her innocent question at the situation made him smile softly as he started to wonder how her packmates flirted with each other. “Uhh, actually, that's not what that means, Selina.” he told her, feeling his face heat up. “He’s, uhhh… He’s flirting with you. Giving a girl your number means that you think she's attractive and want to… maybe go on a date with her. … Or sometimes, more that a date.” he admitted definitely embarrassed by the last addition he mentioned.
Selina held her smile, listening to Frankie's explanation before shaking her head and turning the cup to look at the number that was written, "What a strange way to flirt, giving someone your number. Is that how all people show their interest?" Looking back up at him, she thought for a moment before asking, "A date is when you spend time with someone, isn't it? I think that's what the ranger said a date was."
She wasn't sure why Frankie seemed so flustered by her question, but she was happy that he had explained it to her. Marcus seemed nice, and he was attractive, but she also thought Frankie was. If she could figure out more about flirting, she would have to try her hand at it, maybe she could ask one of them on a date of her own.
“No, not all people do that. Some are bolder and will ask you face to face or… Uhh, there's a lot of ways to show that you're interested in someone.” he told her, shrugging slightly as he took a sip of his coffee. ”Yeah. That's more or less what a date is though the intent is also important. It could be romantic and wanting to be in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship or it could be just a “Hey, let's get to know each other” kind of thing. Depending on how the date goes, you could see that person again.” Frankie looked back at her, and felt obligated to tell her one more thing about human males and dating. “Though there is one other type of person when it comes to the intent and… They don't always care about the date itself. They mostly look forward to… something that can happen after the date but it doesn't always have to.” he explained, blushing darkly.
(Hello?)
(Hi! I'm back with hopefully enough motivation for a long while!)
Selina nodded, taking a small sip of her drink while she listened to his explanation. All of it made sense, and his last words reminded her of something similar that the ranger had mentioned about humans. "Does going on a date mean that both people want to…" She trailed off, trying to think of what the ranger had called it, "Get laid? Even if it doesn't happen?" That's what he had called it. She wondered if that was what Frankie was trying to say. "Can you ask anyone on a date?"
(Yay! I was starting to think that you had forgotten about this.)
Frankie's eyes widened as he nearly choked on his drink, not having expected her to use that term. Though he had to admit that he was relieved that she was more familiar with the situation than he was anticipating. “Sorry.” he apologized quickly as he recovered. “Uhh… Not every time. It can mean that but it doesn't always have to mean that.” he assured her, nodding a little. “It could mean one person more than the other wants to or that both people want to. Sometimes, though, going on a date can also mean that someone thinks you're… interesting in one way or another and would like to get to know you better.” he added as he set his cup down. “Yeah, you can ask just about anyone on a date.” he answered with a light chuckle. “The trick is whether or not the person you ask will say yes.”
(I haven't forgotten, I've just been really busy with school and sports starting up)
Selina nodded as he spoke, a soft smile on her face. She liked to learn more, and it was funny to see Frankie's reaction when she brought up a new question. "Is there any way to know if the person will say yes? Or do you just have to guess what their response will be?" Sipping at her drink, she tried to imagine what Frankie would say if she asked him on a date. Or what Marcus would say if she showed interest in getting to know him. "What would your response be if I asked you on a date?"
(It's ok. I knew that school was most likely started by now so there's no pressure.)(from here at least…)
Frankie smiled a little back as he managed to talk about this more normally… Until he heard her last question. “Uhh, no. Not usually. There are times when some people can tell but… I've only had that happen when I was dating. And that wasn't very often with… my last girlfriend.” he admitted with a somewhat remorseful shrug. “With someone new, you kinda just have to go out on a limb and hope they say yes.” He felt his face turning red as he cleared his throat to answer her last question. “Ummm… If you were to ask me out? Well… I-I’d be honored. You're an incredible person and… very pretty.” he added softly before taking another drink of his coffee. Though a more confident, slightly more witty part of him wanted to say that technically they could call this a date…
Taking another long drink, she smiled playfully when she saw his face get red. Selina knew enough about humans that it meant Frankie was embarrassed, but she wondered if being asked out was an embarrassing topic. "Would you say yes if I asked you out? Or if I asked you for help figuring out how to ask Marcus out?" Sipping on her drink, she could tell that the cup was growing empty, and she was hoping there was enough for her to enjoy for at least a few minutes.
Frankie was honestly relieved that he hadn't taken another sip of coffee before she asked those questions as he was sure he would have choked. But he couldn't do anything about how bright red his ears were burning. “Are… Are you actually asking me out or is this just hypothetical?” he asked back, wanting to be sure. If she was really asking him, he would probably die happy. If she was asking him for help to ask Marcus out… on a date… He wasn't sure if he would be able to control himself.
She shrugged, "I'm not sure, you mentioned a girlfriend, and I completely respect if you are taken. I suppose it depends." Selina didn't want to ruin any happy relationships that Frankie had, and though he said last girlfriend, she wasn't sure if there was currently one or if he was single. Tipping back her cup, she polished off the last of her coffee, setting the cup down almost dissappointedly. The drink was amazing, and she wanted more, but she figured coffee was a treat, and that she should wait to get more.
“Ex. Ex-girlfriend.” he clarified quickly. “Linda and I haven't been in a relationship for months. She's… She's reached out to me a couple of times but I don't… She wasn't right for me. We didn't have a good relationship so I had to break it off.” Frankie explained, his tone growing somewhat somber towards the end. He didn't want to say that Linda had been a bad person but she had been passive-aggressive and left him hanging more than once. “I wouldn't be surprised if I was just a rebound for her. Or a way to make someone else jealous.” he added softly.
Selina listened to him without interruptions, nodding along to show that she was indeed listening. "I don't know much about human relationships other than what the ranger taught our pack, but even I know that being in a realtionship should be for more than making someone else jealous." She wanted to mention that she wouldn't be like Linda, but she didn't, instead just thinking silently for a moment.
Frankie nodded, sighing softly as he fiddled with his empty cup. “Yeah. Normally they are. Linda was… just that kind of a person. I wouldn't say that she was a bad person. We just weren't… She wasn't right for me.” he explained. I didn't feel right with her. “I don't really know how else to explain it. Umm, you mentioned that finding the right one for… you was like playing hot and cold. Well, Linda was definitely a cold for me.”
She nodded, knowing what the feeling was like. There were some people that being with would always feel wrong, some that would feel right before turning wrong and some that just…clicked. Selina wanted to tell him that she felt right around Frankie, but she decided instead to keep her feelings to herself. "Sometimes people that seem right for us aren't, I think this Linda was like that for you. They aren't always bad people, they just aren't right for you."
Frankie gave a small smile, glad that Selina seemed to understand. And truthfully he felt… right spending time with her. It just seemed so natural and he could easily spend his whole trip with just her and be happy. “That’s a good way to put it. And accurate, I admit.” he nodded. “Honestly, that's part of the reason why I came out here. I needed a reminder of what was important to me. Linda hated camping and didn't care about nature the way I do.” he explained before shaking his head. “Sorry. Sorry. I didn't mean to bring the day down. I’ll stop talking about her. Umm, did you like your first coffee?” he asked trying to change the conversation.
"I really liked it!" She said, going with the change of conversation smoothly. She nodded eagerly, a bright smile on her face, "It was really hot at first, but it tasted amazing. If I get the chance I want to try some of the other kinds." Selina glanced at her empty cup with a soft smile, wondering if she was gaining more energy just from the excitement of trying something new or if it was the coffee alone that was giving her energy. "How was your coffee?"
Frankie nodded and gave a small grateful smile at her accepting his transition. He didn't want to burden her with his past problems. “Mine was good. But I'm not usually too picky. As long as it doesn't taste burnt.” he added with a soft chuckle. “You know they also have iced coffee’s if the heat is too much.” he told her, even though he was sure that one coffee would be enough for both of them since he could already feel the familiar buzz of caffeine. “Do you want to take your muffin to go?”