The Three-Month Rule

Chapter 1 - The Interview

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Chapter one

Allegra and Lucy walked up the slope to 'The Little One Coffee Shop' in Belsize Park.

"Who are we meeting again?" Allegra asked as they sat down at a four-seater table at the window overlooking the road.

"That would ruin the surprise," Lucy replied, winking at her friend as she sat down beside her.

"Right. And why is it a surprise?" Allegra challenged.

"Because it amuses me," Lucy smiled back, shrugging.

Allegra rolled her eyes "so awkward."

"You'll thank me later," Lucy promised confidently.

Allegra looked around the cafe, at strangers sipping their coffees, reading newspapers, going about their lives, and she wondered to herself if their mystery guest was already here in secret.

"Should I grab some drinks?" she asked, breaking the unawkward silence.

Lucy glanced at her watch and frowned, worry slowly taking over her body, "he's a little late."

Allegra smirked, "so it's a 'he'?". Suddenly realising that her friend was worrying, she turned her smirk into a reassuring smile. "I'm sure he will be here soon."

"What if he doesn't come?" Lucy threw, staring at Allegra.

"Stop panicking. What drink do you want?"

"Can I have an Earl Grey?"

"You're addicted," Allegra laughed as she stood up. She turned towards the counter and stopped, turning on her heel, "should I order the mystery guest anything?"

"I don't know what he likes..." Lucy moaned, burying her head in her hands.

"Don't worry, I'll grab him something when he gets here."

Allegra walked up to the counter and ordered two earl grey teas - one for Lucy and one for herself. She paid, thanked the server and briefly eyed up the delicious cakes they had on sale. She bit her lip, temptation swallowing her, but remembered the diet she was on. If she wanted to lose weight by September, she had to stick to it, and she'd already broken her rules 6 times in the last 2 weeks. She shook her head in an attempt to shake off her cravings and turned around, teas in her hands.

She froze.

Sitting beside her best friend was Tom Hiddleston. She stared, subconsciously watching Lucy and Tom conversing, laughter interrupting their exchanges every now and then.

Suddenly, Lucy turned and looked at Allegra, who was still stood at the counter with the two teas in her hands, the queue behind her building up impatiently, the servers behind the till staring with her.

"Allie?" Lucy spat, but it didn't break Allegra's trance.

She walked up to the table slowly, almost zombie-like, without breaking eye contact with Tom.

"Can you still blink?" Lucy asked.

Ignoring her, Allegra placed the teas on the table but spilt them everywhere. Lucy immediately started mopping up the tea as Tom stood, holding out his hand for her to shake.

"Good morning," he smiled warmly through his beard. "So sorry I'm late, my dog chewed my car key, so I had to walk. I'm Tom."

Without breaking eye contact, Allegra took his hand and he firmly but softly shook it. As their skin came into contact, Allegra managed to blink.