I'm not the kind to believe in fate. It doesn't seem logical that every choice I make has been pre-decided without my knowledge and is leading to one final destination. What's the point of even making decisions if I don't actually get to decide what happens with it? And what if I decide not to choose? Would my lack of choice already have been part of a plan? I could never tell you. I've resorted to just not considering the idea too much. But, every since he started showing up, I've been having a hard time denying the concept. I still remember the first time I saw him, the initial attraction...
~~~
The coffee shop was buzzing with usual customers on that Monday afternoon. A woman sat in the plush red chair by the window, staring at the feet of the people making their way through the crowd of L.A. Her phone vibrated on the table, immediately causing her to jerk her head away from the window. It was her boyfriend, Glen. Half an hour late, as usual. She muttered a quick thank you to the waitress who set down her coffee and picked up the phone.
"Seriously?" She hissed into the speaker, "Do you need me to fix your damn watch or can you figure it out on your own?"
"I know. I know," he said in a muffled tone, "Something came up at work and they shortened my lunch break so I'm not gonna have time to meet up today. But I really do promise tomorrow."
She sighed and looked down at the tiny swirls of cream as she stirred through gently. "You know I had to beg my boss to get time off to come here, right? He usually doesn't let me leave during the middle of my shift..."
"Oh, you know I'm sorry. I would've texted you earlier but I was in a meeting and my boss was sitting right next to me and you know how he is and this project he could take me off my position and-"
"Okay! Okay..." she interrupted curtly, "I'll see you at home." As she said those words, the man walked through the doors. He had dark brown hair pulled back in a messy bun and wore dark aviators. His look wasn't very unusual for the area, but she recognized him slightly and couldn't recall where from. She didn't give it too much thought at the moment, although it stayed on the back of her mind.
"I love you..." Greg whispered into the phone, awaiting a reply. "I need to hear it from you." She could just imagine the pouty face he'd be giving if he was here. He whimpered quietly like a dog, begging her to say the three words. A sigh of exasperation escaped her lips.
"I love you, too," she answered reluctantly.
"There we go," he chirped, "I'll see you at home." Just at that moment, the man took off the glasses. His bright blue eyes pierced through her. For a brief moment, there was a connection between their gazes, immediately broken as he turned around to order.
"Ok," She said breathily and hung up. She looked up to see if the man was still there, but he wasn't. Just a second before he'd been standing in that spot... she pushed it out of her head.
"I shouldn't be doing this," She kept telling herself. Not single. Not single. Not single. That voice in the back of her head kept ringing. This happened a lot. She'd been with Glen for 3 years now, and really did miss being single. She thought she was used to the feeling of being "taken" but a part of her really didn't want to be. She'd never bring any of this up with Glen, of course. She knew exactly how he'd try to fix it. He'd propose. And nothing freaked her out more than the idea of marriage, right now. So, she keep the sinful little urges to herself. Her phone vibrated again, but this time, it was her boss. She reluctantly answered it.
"Audrey. I need you to be back here in ten minutes. We have a big client coming in a few days, and I need help with the displays."
"Ok, I'll be there in a few minutes." She hung up and pushed in her chair, gulping the last of her coffee before tossing it and walking towards the door.
As she was about to push the handle, her gaze veered to the right. That man was being pulled into the ladies' restroom by some skinny blonde he was embracing. He looked at her one more time with a casual smirk before his face disappeared behind the wall. Well, at least that'd been settled.
