This Love

Chapter Forty- Ruined Dates and Childhood Homes

Chapter Forty- Ruined Dates and Childhood Homes

"Would you like to go on a date with me?" Mr. Rivera blurted out in the middle of Shakespeare and Hamlet. We were discussing how to grade his students' movie review of Hamlet when all of a sudden I caught him staring at me.

His eyes were begging me to say yes. I didn't have the heart to tell him no. Besides it was just one date. What could possibly wrong?

It wasn't like Mr. Madrid and I had come to an agreement few nights ago. We were far from that. He was stubborn as a coffee stain on a white shirt.

After he helped himself with the food in the house, I asked him to leave peacefully before my friends arrive. It was inappropriate for me to let my trespassing ex-boyfriend stay in our home. The man was challenging as ever but he obliged after I did some pleading. We accomplished nothing that night. We still ran in circles. It was tiring. I'm getting fed up with all this shit.

"Sure." I agreed.

"Dinner, tomorrow night?"

"Dinner sounds great."

*****

Sean and I agreed to meet in front of Cafe Ris. It was the first time I heard about the place. I was extremely glad about it. I wasn't ready for another trip down memory lane. When we came inside, I expected a regular coffee shop. It wasn't just a cafe rather a huge coffee bookshop. It had two floors of tall shelves of thousands of reading materials and a variety of tables, armchairs and couches.

I was taking in the welcoming and exciting ambiance of the place as Sean described Cafe Ris. Apparently, it was known for throwing events like book club readings, theater acts and live jazz music. They offered exclusively  homegrown Philippine highland coffee and served different kinds of food from pastries to pastas.

There was a microphone and podium at the center of the first floor. I was right when I guessed it was a reading event they were having tonight. It was a poem reading by a diverse group of people. Young, old, men and women were all gathered to share their own piece. Even their themes vary. One girl talked about first love and first heartbreak which I could relate very well. Another reader named Penelope shared her piece about tragedy and lost. Not all of their poems were sad. There was this guy, Hanz who wrote about surviving cancer and a woman in her forties sharing her thoughts about how beautiful life is. There was even LeAnn, Sean's bookworm student. He came to know about the place because of LeAnn.

The experience was refreshing. It gave me new perspectives to ponder on. I never thought I'd enjoy listening to poems. They made me think outside the box and listen between the lines.

"Thank you. This place is wonderful." I told Sean as we stood in front of the cafe. He was a breath of fresh air. Being with him felt light. He was simple, smart and funny. He was just so easy to talk to. It as nice to be someone who wasn't so intense everytime.

"You're welcome." he replied and made me face him. His eyes were glued to mine as he said, "I really wanna kiss you right now."

"Sean, I-." He cut me off with his soft warm lips. I didn't make any attempts to stop or push him away. For a second I hoped I'd feel the same way when I'm with Mr. Madrid. I didn't. The kiss felt strange. There was no spark. It didn't feel right.

"Stay away from my girl!" someone growled and pushed Sean away from me with a punch. Maybe I was in shock but I swear I heard the sounds of bones breaking. I was just not sure if it was from Sean'face or Mr. Madrid's knuckles.

Sean was taken aback and he almost lost his balance. His hand flew to his nose which was now bleeding. Mr. Madrid was about to throw another punch when I yelled for him to stop. He was panting when he turned to me. His eyes were dark and filled with rage. It was almost terrifying.