100 reasons to love our lives

Coffee for lovers

Nico

”It should be right around here“, Will said, looking around attentively.

He was unusually fidgety today, as if this would be our first date and not our millionth - or something like that. Of course he had times were I had to lead the actions, because he was cuddly, playful, sleepy or something else too adorable, but today his behavior went to the next level. On top of all that dependent behavior, he was also nervous, as if he was afraid to let me down.

Which, as Celine had recommended our next dating location, was not at all in his control.

Celine was another... strange new person in this supposedly boring mortal life. Will spoke of her as if she was the misunderstood, but wonderful angel just waiting for someone to recognize and befriend her. Which maybe was right, but the first time I had seen her, she had started a fight with the freakishly huge basketball player in our names, and that definitely didn't put her on the list of people to like.

Still, my boyfriend defended her, and therefore I had to be nice to her. Something about the rumors over her didn't sit right to me; because they were so horrible, maybe. Did all women have to fight against such blind accusations just because they weren't staying with the guy who was treating them badly? I always thought that was an outdated mindset from my childhood, but apparently, it still was around in these times.

”There it is. May the experiment start“, Will suddenly called, pulling me back into reality.
He took my hand and slightly leaned against me.
That was even more strange than everything else he did this afternoon.

”Okay, what's up?“, I asked, locking eye contact with my boyfriend. ”What's bothering you?“

William's shoulders sank down as he sighed. ”Do you remember our date at that snob restaurant?“
As I nodded, he explained: ”It's just... I don't want our date to be ruined because of some homophobes without any other hobbies than bothering gay couples.“
”We always have that risk, sunshine“, I said, trying to sound reassuring. ”There's always the chance of someone antagonizing us in public. That's the disadvantage of being outed and an official couple.“
”You're not helping“, Will said, but I shushed him, keeping on talking: ”What I want to say is that it's not your fault when someone else ruins our date. Even when you are the one planning it.“
Now, he smiled a little. ”That helped“, he meant and then turned to a little coffee shop.

It was strangely... natural in the middle of that big city.
Masses of flowers bloomed on the table vases and around the windows. Ivy grew on the walls, only leaving place for the name tag of the shop. "Well, Celine has an excellent taste for beauty", William said, and I had to agree. "Let's see if the shop is as nice as it looks", I suggested, and still holding hands, we stepped through the ivy-covered door.

Men in suits stared at us as if we were aliens. Women in suits ignored us and stared at their displays instead.
Nervously I cleared my throat. Were they staring like that because we were gay or because we weren't here to work? Why would Celine recommend a place covered in businesspeople as a dating location?

”Hello, you!“, a middle-aged woman chirped happily. ”A table for two?“

”Yes, please“, I said and she smiled at us, thousands of freckles on her face glistening like sand in the sunlight. ”Follow me, young men.“
We did hesitantly. The chubby little woman led us to a little table in the background, away from the working people. ”Here you go!“, she said. ”I will be back in a few minutes, taking your orders.“