Coffee and Croissants

Chapter 3

On Saturday night, one night later, Blair headed out for drinks with Noah, a fellow American who was an assistant professor in Comparative Literature and English.

Noah had a not so thinly veiled interest in her since their first encounter. He had ran into her at the campus cafe and noted her East Coast accent since he was from Pennsylvania and had family in New York. They bonded over things they missed back home. Like summers spent at the Hamptons or just the simple opportunity to order a meal in English not French. Though she was fluent in French, sometimes the lack of her native language made her homesick.

They met again when she interviewed him for a profile in the magazine. Meeting for a two hour interview and then corresponding over email as she wrote the piece. Once the profile was published, he asked her to go out for dinner with him and she relucted to say yes. She had been determined to focus on her studies and not get into relationship. She told him that particular month was really busy for her but he didn't relent. He asked her to go out with him the following month, stating he didn't mind waiting, and she acquiesced.

The date had been nice. He was undoubtedly handsome, he looked like he could be a model for GQ or for fragrances. Plus, he was incredibly intelligent and they shared lively discussion. But there wasn't the life-changing spark she had felt with Dan. Maybe it could grow, though she reasoned as she continued to see him. She had a genuine friendship with him which held the potential to turn into a healthy relationship. Instead of heartbreak.

It had been almost two months since their first date. She had gone to stay at her father's chateau in the countryside for a few weeks which had stalled their relationship. She had just returned the day before the mixer, she hadn't even seen him yet. She had to admit she was thankful for the reprieve because she wasn't ready to put a label on it yet. They weren't even exclusive yet, or at least she didn't think so.  They certainly hadn't had the "what are we talk" much to Blair's relief.

She knew if they did, then the relationship could progress into saying "I love you." Something she feared he might already be feeling and knew she was not able to say back to him.

At the bar, Noah set down a gin and tonic in front of her. He swiveled his stool to face her.

"So what happened last night? I haven't seen you in weeks and when we are finally going to spend some time together, you didn't show up. I saw you leave though in a hurry." Noah's eyes were inquisitive.

Shit, she thought. He saw me? She had completely forgotten she was supposed to meet up with him after seeing Dan.

"Oh, I realized I had forgotten to order a book for one of my classes so I had to rush to the bookstore to buy it. I am so sorry, I totally blanked on texting you."

"That's okay... I just was worried about you. You looked... so pale and sort of frightened. Like you had seen a ghost or something." He gave a slight chuckle. "Didn't realize you took book buying so seriously."

"I just felt a bit overwhelmed with the start of my last semester and everything." She said smoothly.

He nodded. "That's understandable... I missed you though."

She smiled and took his hand, hoping that was enough to get her out of saying "I miss you too."

"So tell me about your plans for this semester. What's it going to look like?" She changed the topic quickly so she didn't have to think about the encounter anymore.

The night went on and the mixer wasn't brought up again. But it still loomed in the back of her mind. When he asked her to come back to his place she declined. He told her he make her crepes for breakfast but still, she said no. He looked defeated but she told him that she wanted to rest up this weekend and outline her thesis. It seemed to satisfy him. So she ended the night with a chaste kiss all the while thinking of another man.