Coffee Boy (Dallas Liu FF)

2

We ended up grabbing a bench outside and digging into our pizza in comfortable silence. "So, are you new around here?" I ventured, curious about the guy beside me. He nodded. "Just moved here for work," he replied. "Oh, cool! What do you do and how long are you staying?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation flowing. He seemed a bit hesitant, playing with his pizza box. "Nothing too exciting, just a bit of a boot camp thing for now. I'll be around for about 8 months," he explained. "Sounds interesting. Traveling a lot for work?" I prodded further. He shook his head dismissively. "Not really," he waved off, clearly not wanting to delve into work talk.

I couldn't help but tease, "So, are you secretly a stripper?" I mean, he has the body for it. He burst into laughter, denying the stripper theory. "Nope, not a stripper, unfortunately. But I promise, one day I'll spill the beans," he chuckled. "Secret agent then?" I suggested playfully. He grinned, shaking his head. "I'm not really allowed to talk about it yet... but I'll let you in on the secret eventually, I promise. But enough about me. Where do you work?" he asked, shifting the focus. "I'm at the bookshop down the street. Just trying to save up for some travel adventures before settling into a serious job," I explained. He smiled. "Maybe I'll drop by sometime", he suggested. That got me grinning.

***

Hours flew by as we chatted away, and I was startled when I finally glanced at the time. "It's 2 am!" I said in surprise. "Guess time flies when you're having fun. Come on, let me walk you home," he said. "You just want to know where I live so you can stalk me," I replied with a grin. "Yes. That is the only reason. I don't care about you going home alone in the middle of the night. I just want to stalk you," he joked and shook his head. "No really. You don't need to bring me home," I replied. "Don't be ridiculous. I would feel bad if you had to walk home alone," he answered. We slowly started walking in the direction of my flat. "Do you live alone?" he asked. He had his hands buried in the pockets of his leather jacket. I shook my head. "I have a roommate. Her name is Sophie. She actually texted me where I'm at about an hour ago. We in fact wanted to watch a show together tonight," I explained. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to spoil your plans," he replied guiltily. I shook my head. "She'll understand. Besides... I really enjoyed tonight," I mumbled. I felt the warmth rush to my face. He turned his head to look at me. " I loved it too," he replied with a grin. "Do you live nearby?" I asked and finally came to a halt in front of my building complex.

He nodded. "About a block from here. I have a roommate too. His name is Ian," he replied. I bit my lower lip. "You should text me when you get home so I know you're still alive," I said, looking up at him. "Oh don't worry. I'm tough," he replied and continued to look at me. There was silence for a moment. "Did you just like... reject me or did you not get what I meant?" I asked. "Huh? Why would I reject you?" he asked, confused. "I wanted to give you my phone number, silly," I said and laughed. I could see him blushing even in the dark. "Sorry," he said embarrassed and dug his mobile phone out of his pocket, "I'm not talking to girls that often." I grinned and tapped my number into his mobile. "You are not talking to girls that often?" I asked, surprised. I didn't dare look up from his mobile phone. "Why are you so surprised?" he asked, confused. "Do you have a mirror?" I asked. He chuckled. "Well then I guess you have like a queue of guys waiting," he said. I felt my cheeks turn red again. "Not really," I replied and handed him back his mobile phone. He grinned sheepishly at me. "I'll text you," he finally said. I nodded resolutely, then turned round and unlocked the front door. He stood outside the house until the door had fallen back into the lock.

***

"Where the hell have you been?" Sophie asked angrily as soon as I walked in the door. "Jesus, why are you still awake?" I asked, putting my bag down. "Uhm... maybe because we wanted to watch The Bachelor?" she said reproachfully. "Yeah, sorry about that. I kinda got lost in time," I mumbled. "What did you do anyway?" Sophie asked as I took off my shoes. "Metaboy," I muttered, a little embarrassed. "What?" she asked. "I met a boy," I replied a little louder. "A boy?! Is this his hoodie?" she asked in shock. "Oh, crap! I forgot to give it back. Anyways, first he poured coffee over me and after work he bought me pizza and we talked. I forgot the time. Again, I'm sorry," I explained and walked to my room. Sophie followed me. "Wait a minute I need details!" she said, "What's his name? how old is he? What does he do? Is he hot?" I laughed quietly. "His name is Dallas, he is 20, he did not tell me what he did for work and he is indeed very hot," I replied. My mobile phone vibrated.

Unknown Number
I'm home. Sleep well

Unknown Number
It's Dallas by the way.

I looked at my phone and smiled. "He texted you didn't he?" Sophie asked.I couldn't help but smile at Sophie's knowing look and  nodded. "He's really nice you know," I replied. "You know him one day, how can you already have a crush?" Sophie asked, shaking her head in disbelief as she walked out of my room. "I'm not having a crush!" I defended, trying to downplay any romantic notions. "Mh-mh if you don't have a crush, then I'm Ariana Grande," she simply replied and finally disappeared into her own room. I replied to Dallas's text, feeling a warm flutter in my chest.

Cara
You're alive, that's nice

Cara
Sleep well too 😴