Max took the same table at the window like she always did, admiring the gentleness of the weather and feeling a few sunrays on her cold skin. It was a quiet day, which brought her a sense of calm. She was immersed on her thoughts, not noticing when Matt arrived to her table.
"May I?" He asked with his distinctive kind tone, accidently scaring her.
"Fuck! A warning, Matthew. A fucking warning!" She turned to see him, just as he started laughing of her reaction.
"I'm sorry! I thought you saw me walk in," He sat in front of her, taking his coat off. He caught the tiny smile fixed on her face, admiring how her cheeks lifted just a little bit. He could count the amount of times that he had seen her smiling.
"God, I hate you," she said, handing him the cup of tea.
Matthew looked at her with a questioning grimace. He took a sip from his cup, getting even more confused by the fact that it was tea with honey. Just as he ordered it all the time.
"Thank you, Max," He said, taking out his wallet.
"Oh, don't worry about it. It's on me. Thank you for staying with me yesterday," Max replied, widening her smile.
He nodded, resting his arms on the table. "It's okay. Do you want to talk about it?"
Maxine sighed, and gave him a sad smile. "I think it was just stress. I guess I overwork a little bit too much sometimes." Her hands were holding the cup of coffee, and just when she lowered her sight, she noticed that Matt was doing the same with his cup of tea. Their fingers had been brushing during the hole conversation.
"Have you tried taking a break?" Matt said, deducting that her stress was due to the amount of things he had seen her finish since they met. He stretched his fingers absently, putting them closer to Max's hand.
"I can't really do that."
"Why?"
"Because if I do, I feel like I'm not doing enough," Max admitted.
"Rest is as important as everything else, Max."
She shook her head, and intertwined their hands.
"I can't. I have stuff to do."
"I know you do. You rant about them every time we speak on the phone," he reprimended, making her chuckle a little. "But you can't keep doing things this way."
His face was calm, and his tone was comprehensive. His eyes were warm with kindness, making her feel overwhelmed with trust.
"I don't know how to do things differently, Matt. It's always been this way."
He scanned her face, stoping on her freckles. She is extremely pretty, Matt though. "It's never late to start. I can help you."
"But, you don't have to," Max said, frowning.
"I don't. But I want to." He thightened his grip on her hand, reassuring his answer.
She then nodded, considering the option of doing something to take away the anxiety she managed to disguise as stress. "I'm sorry if I get too stubborn, tho."
He laughed again, remembering the amount of times they've argued for that exact same reason. "Trust me, my darling, I'm counting on it."
They finished their drinks with little amount of words. The comfortable ambience was interrupted by Matt's alarm.
"I should probably go. I have class in 20 minutes," Matt said.
"Oh. Yes, I should go, too." Max separated their hands slowly, noticing the size difference of them. He probably noticed it too, because he took her hand again, putting them together. The difference was almost ridiculous.
"Call me if you need anything," Matt said, taking his stuff.
"I will. Thanks for coming."
"Thanks for the tea." Matt offered her a sweet smile, before leaving the coffee shop.
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Of course he noticed, Max thought, rolling her eyes and smirking at her phone.
