A barista in a café stumbles over a black-haired artist often ordering the same: a cup of plain black coffee.
When she ventures to enter his life, who makes her heart flutter like no other, life slaps back with a "not too fast". She discovers his s...
❝Watch carefully the magic that occurs when you give a person enough comfort to just be themselves.❞
01
MEETING 会
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. . .
Starting my morning shift with the fresh aroma of coffee highlighted my every day.
I loved the smell of freshly roasted coffee beans even though I wasn't a dedicated drinker. The black, smooth liquid pouring into cups and drawing smiles on customers faces was therapeutical to me-and most likely my colleagues, who loved working as much.
Accompanied with the joy of being a barista, there was an aura that pulled me to the lonely customer who occupied the table by the windows every morning. My eyes would steal a glance of him and his drawing notebook - which seemed to win a drawing every day- at any chance they could despite the busy mornings of my workplace.
Although my workmates would continuously tease me about my abnormal interest in him, and I was most likely into him, I wasn't held back from doing it. I didn't like him only at the first glance either. I wasn't a cliché lady pulled straight from a YA novel, I believed at least.
It was most likely me being sucked into the mystery of his usual order. He was one of the few customers who owed to order a pitch-black, sugar-free coffee every damn morning... who likes to start their morning bitterly that much?
In my moment of appreciation, my co-worker and friend interrupted, "One day, this behaviour of yours will get you in awkward situations, Cassandra." He smirked while wiping the moisture off a cup with a white towel.
"I actually can't wait for him to notice it. It's been a week I have been observing him. I'm really curious to have a conversation."
As if my murmurs were his call, he looked my way. I wasn't fast enough to look away, so we -fortunately, may I add- had our first eye contact.
He blinked, and his lips formed the slightest 'O' shape, whereas my expression was as blank as my exam papers in high school days. Shortly after, his pierced lips actually... smiled! For a mere second, my brain cells were on a panic party, but I ended up smiling back. Not too wide, not too narrow-just enough to be considered as polite.
I couldn't stare for too long, however. I didn't want him to see the blush creep its way through my neck to my face... That would be a little embarrassing, and we didn't want that on our first encounter, did we?
What I didn't expect that day was to see him in the café for longer than usual. He stayed for more than just the bitter cup of coffee for at most thirty minutes.
To pass by him while walking to the door to have my break outside was something I never did or thought I would do. I have never been that close to him -only from the roasting station, I watched him murmur his order to the cashier every morning.
But we experience new things every day, don't we? It was about time I got closer.
I took my apron and cap off in haste as my body pushed open the little doors out of the station. With steady steps, I was out of the glass doors. The sun rays hit me as hard as they usually do in summer, something that managed to annoy my pale skin as much every time.
I leaned back on the outdoor pistachio-green wall of the café. I pulled out my cigarette pack from my pocket, took one out and hugged it between my lips. To my dismay, the damn lighter was out of business.
"Darn it," I cussed under my breath.
"I can help with that." I heard an unexpected voice say from my side.
My confused expression faced him, and the cigarette naturally fell from between my lips as my facial muscles took a drastic change.
He stood there with all his glory. Black hair pulled back neatly and green eyes complimented by the sun rays. He was at least one foot taller than me and huge enough to block the sun rays from hitting my eyes as I looked up at him.
He cleared his throat. "Ummm, hey... sorry to interrupt. Took my way out for a cig too. Need a lighter?"
. . .
hi there! finally published my first book on wp :)))
i opt to make the few first chapters short for the reader's comfort, so i hope that's good for most. this book is pre written, so updates will be frequent. i hope you enjoy!
what are your initial thoughts on the characters? what do you expect to happen later?
please don't forget to vote and comment! it motivates me a lot ♡ xx
