Don't Be Afraid To Love

Chapter 13

I woke up at the sound of my alarm, cursing it for waking me up from such a sweet dream.

When I turned off the alarm I saw a notification on the screen. I unlocked the phone and there were two unread messages. I smiled when I saw they were both from Robert.

"Hope you got home safe," the first one said.

And: "Thank you again. And I hope you're not too tired after last night."

I laughed out loud reading them because, taken out of context, the last one would imply a totally different thing.

Am evil smirk appeared at the corner of my lips as I thought of a great reply to Robert's texts.

"I am, actually. But we can fix that. You owe me a coffee, as I recall," I texted him.

I waited for his reply as I got ready for work. When I saw I wasn't getting a reply to my text, I thought maybe I shouldn't have written that. Perhaps it was too straightforward. Or maybe he just didn't see it.

I started my car, and when I was halfway to work, my phone beeped. I looked at the screen, and there was a message.

"In half an hour, at the park, west entrance, is it okay with you?" Robert texted me.

Somehow, I thought of that as a cold, business-like reply, like it was something he felt obligated to do. Despite that, I replied shortly - Okay - and then I changed my route from my workplace to the jogging park.

My schedule was pretty flexible, as long as I worked the same amount of hours every month. I usually went to work at 9 every morning, though, in order to check my agenda and plan the rest of the day. But one morning wasn't going to be a problem if I got a little later than usual at the office.

I arrived at the park and left my car at the west entrance like Robert's text said, but he wasn't there yet. I was expecting to see him on his bicycle and wearing his sports clothes, so I kept searching with my gaze for a blue bicycle.

It was chilly and windy that morning, so I got back into my car to wait there. The truth was that I had arrived earlier than I was supposed to, so it wasn't like he was late.

A few minutes later, I looked through my rear view mirror and saw a big car parking right behind me, flashing me twice. It took me a few seconds to realize it was Robert's dark, mean-looking Kuga.

I smiled and got out of the car, and he exited his SUV at the same time.

"Morning," I greeted him.

"Hey," he said and produced out of his car two cups of coffee.

"I hope I didn't bother you or anything by sending you that text," I said.

"Don't worry about it. It's the least I can do," Robert said.

I didn't realize it was the same brand of coffee I used to drink until he handed the cup to me, and when I took a sip, it was the exact same flavor I always bought from Victor at the gas station.

"Oh my God, you remembered!" I said excited and smiled widely. I was so glad Robert recalled what my favorite coffee was, I swear to God, I felt like kissing him.

He let out a charming smile. I wrapped my hands around the warm cup, and looking at his gorgeous green eyes, I didn't even feel the cold weather anymore.

"Hey, Andreya is very excited about her new haircut. She said she tried to sleep all night in the same position so that she wouldn't ruin it," Robert told me, leaning onto the hood of his car.

"Awww, sweet girl!"

"I was just dropping her off at the kindergarten when you texted me."

"I see. Won't you be late for work, though? I mean, I don't want to--"