Page 68 of Give Me Forever

Chapter Seventeen

Avery

Despite loving theloft, I was getting cabin fever. The thought of staying in all day, every day, slowly started to stress me out. I liked having my private space and alone time, but I missed interacting with people, even just a little bit.

I researched coworking locations around the city, but most of them wanted some sort of agreement, either monthly or weekly. That wasn't what I was looking for. I wanted something flexible where I would wake up every morning and see if I wanted to go in or not. In the end, it seemed coffee shops were still my best option.

I invested in a pair of great noise-canceling earphones to take with me in case things got too loud. I liked people, but I didn't like the noise. It interrupted my creative flow.

I went to a coffee shop two blocks away from Alana's gallery. She promised to drop by after work. The second I stepped inside, I knew this place would ignite my creative juices. They had long tables made out of wood with benches on one side, but those looked a bit uncomfortable. On the other side, they had armchairs and low coffee tables. I opted to sit there. I could hold my sketch pad on my legs, and when I started working on administrative tasks, I could do the same with my laptop.

I ordered a coffee with skim milk and a bagel for breakfast. There were a few others here already. I couldn't tell if they were creative types or not, though no one was wearing a suit.

I was already feeling much more energetic than at the loft. On the plus side, it wasn't loud, since it wasn't too crowded yet. I did my best creative work in the morning, so my plan was to start with a few sketches for my upcoming collection.

I’d woken up yesterday with a completely new vision, and I was excited to start working on it.

Since I couldn’t secure a contract with a factory, I could offer handmade jewelry. This, of course, was another business model altogether, so I was going back to the drawing board. But I was excited. We’d had craft courses for jewelry in college, so I knew the nuts and bolts, but I still had a lot to learn.

I had a good feeling about doing everything by myself. It meant I was in charge. If I could perform every part of my business, then I wasn't depending on anyone.

As I took out my sketch pad, my phone beeped with a message.

Sam: Hey, I just woke up, and you’re not home. Where did you go?

One of the reasons I felt uncomfortable in the loft this past week was because I didn't know how to be around Sam. Granted, our schedules still didn't intersect much, but on the few mornings we'd both been home, things had been awkward. I figured it would be easier if I wasn't in the way. On the days when he had a shift, he was normally out of the house before I woke up and came back when I was already asleep.

I texted him back quickly.

Avery: I wanted a change of scenery, so I came to Kuzco Coffee Shop. It's great.

I snapped a picture, sending it to him.

Now, why had I done that? He hadn't asked for it.

Sam: That looks good. Are you going to spend the whole day there?

Avery: That's the plan. Fingers crossed, I get to be creative.

Sam: Fingers crossed.

I waited a few seconds more, curious if he’d say anything else, but he didn't. I felt awfully disappointed, but I’d come here with a goal, which was five sketches. I worked best in sprints, so I put the phone on the table in front of me and started the countdown while I began working on the first piece.

As usual, when I had the sketch pad in one hand and a pencil in the other one, the line simply flowed. I never knew where my inspiration came from. I figured it was a combination of all the things I saw and experienced in my day-to-day life. I liked to first sketch everything with a simple pencil so I wouldn't interrupt my flow by searching for colors. If I was happy with a sketch in black-and-white, I would redo it in color. I took a layered approach to everything. It was as if my mind couldn't come up with all the details at the same time.

Thankfully, no one interrupted me by calling or messaging. Alana and Sam were the only people I texted with regularity, and they both knew I didn't like to receive messages in the morning.

Before long, I lost myself in my sketches, as usual. After lunch, I worked on six orders I got on Fiverr for logo designs.

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