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...
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. . .
Having Emily at my door on a Saturday noon wasn't expected.
Although Emily and I went to the same school and lived in the same neighbourhood, I never accustomed to her overly cheerful self. In fact, her unexplained happiness often made me cringe. She often came off to me as childish. Not surprising as she grew up in a perfect family with seemingly zero struggles, except the confidence issues she once opened up to me about.
"Hey!" she chirped with a big smile once I opened the door.
She wore a floral dress that draped to her knees, hair tight up in a ponytail, a baby pink purse and light makeup she absolutely didn't need. My friend certainly had a taste when it came to looks, but maybe not the persona. They broke up anyway.
"Hey, Emily." I widened the door, tried to smile, and she stepped in carefully. "What brings you to my place?" I asked, not bothering to mask any possible annoyance.
She sat down elegantly, cleared her throat and answered, "To make peace."
I sat opposite her and gave her a look. I didn't have a specific reply to her yet. She needed to explain more.
"I know you don't exactly like me because of what happened between me and Noah, but I want to tell you, Cassandra, everything happens for a reason."
I raised my eyebrows. "Okay?"
She sighed. "You're hard to deal with for me, but I still came to say what I have because even though Noah's my ex now, I care about him, and you're an important person in his life—the closest one around."
"Exes aren't meant to stay close, Emily. If I were you, I'd buy my own teabags and cut ties with him."
She flinched. "Eh, I know I acted childish for a while."
All the time, I wanted to butt in.
"But I'm genuinely over it now. I have someone in my life who's helping me move on now." She blushed. Apparently she came to rub that to my face. "And although I don't like to go into the details of our breakup for the sake of our privacy, I don't want you to hate me. I don't want to feel uncomfortable if we ever stumble upon each other."
"Look, Emily, I don't hate you if that concerns you. My friend is okay now without you, so I'm okay too."
Her fists tightened with my harsh words even though she seemingly tried to compose herself. I wasn't harsh from any hatred; that was me being straightforward as ever, and she knew it and came for it.
She looked up to me and said with an unnecessary smile, "Well, fine then. I guess it's settled."
/
"She actually looked serious about moving on. In the end, you're the only one caught behind." I giggled.
He rolled his eyes. "I'm not... I'm just in this phase of my life wherein I discover what I want and value morals."
My eyebrows rose. "Big words from a small brain."
He made a face to mimic me, but right after, it felt as if his mood took a drastic switch of emotions. His casual smile was washed off his pretty face. I wasn't sure whether it was Emily's or my words my fault, but either way, a twinge of guilt built a lump in my throat at his condition. I really needed to stop mentioning his ex, I guessed.
From my purse, I heard my phone ringing. I internally prayed it wouldn't be my boss calling for an emergency backup in the café on my day off...
'Blake,' the screen flashed.
"Who's it?" Noah pried from the kitchen while he prepared us something to eat.
"Just mum. I'll go out for a bit to talk to her," I lied. I didn't want to be interrogated about my bond with Blake by anyone yet.
"Hey," I answered once I had my privacy.
"Cassie, hey!" he chirped.
I had a big smile stretch over my lips over his excitement. It felt great to know someone felt happy talking to me.
"What's up?" he asked.
I giggled. "Not much. Just at my friend's. How about you?"
"Home alone, but I thought I could invite you to this gig being held soon. Jazz music. Would you like to go with me?"
I liked the idea but was anxious about it. I calculated the consequences in my head and came to the result nothing wrong would happen if I kept my rationality awake, so I accepted. I also liked spending time with him.
A little fun wouldn't have hurt anyone, right?
"Yes, sure! What time?"
"Tomorrow, eight in the evening. I'll come pick you up."
. . .
I'm excited to unfold the plot! it's starting to get so close to the climax.
Emily will serve this story so much, so don't be held back by her yet :)
i can say this is the first one of my works that I feel comfortable to publish publicly. I'm often very insecure about my writing ehe. it took me so much willpower to believe in its potential and finish it.
your opinions help me a lot! make sure to drop a comment here and there ♡
