With You

Chapter Three

The coffee shop on the corner of Seventh and Willow had become Aliya's refuge on days when the quiet of her apartment was too much. There was something about the murmur of conversation, the hum of the espresso machine, and the faint smell of roasting beans that settled her nerves. It made the constant noise in her mind easier to manage. She sat by the window, her laptop open, fingers posed over the keys but unmoving. She wasn't getting much work done. Her thoughts were scattered, pulled in too many directions. A few tables aside, a couple laughed softly, heads bent close together. Aliya glanced over at them, a flicker of something unreadable crossing her face.

"You're staring," Elena whispered, her voice tinged with amusement.

Aliya blinked and looked back at her screen. "I'm not staring. I was just - "

"Observing? Wondering what that kind of connection feels like?" Elena's words were sharper now, as if testing Aliya's patience. "You could have that, you know. If you tried."

Aliya let out a deep breath, leaning back in her chair. "It's not that simple. I don't need that kind of distraction right now."

"Or maybe you're just scared." Her voice softer, Elena continued. "You're not as detached as you think you are, Aliya. I know you."

Of course she did. Elena always knew. Even when Aliya tried to bury certain thoughts, longings she wanted to forget, Elena would dig them up, dragging them into the light. It was infuriating and consoling all at once, to have someone who saw her so clearly, even when she wasn't sure she saw herself.

She clicked idly through her client's emails, trying to shake the feeling that Elena's words had planted inside her. Aliya hadn't thought much about romantic relationships. It wasn't that she didn't want one - on the contrary, there were times when she had to endure the sickening feeling of loneliness, the desire for someone who wasn't just a voice in her head.

But Elena had always been there, filling the spaces where those longings lived. It was easier to rely on her, and to let her lead when needed. It had worked for years, and she had convinced herself it was enough.

"Stop thinking about that," Elena uttered, pulling Aliya from her spiraling thoughts. "Why don't you focus on your work instead of brooding over things you can't control?"

Aliya smiled faintly. "I'm not brooding."

"You are." Elena's voice carried a teasing undertone. "But I'm used to it."

Chuckling, Aliya finally let her fingers move across the keyboard, but she barely made it though a paragraph before the bell above the café door jingled. Her attention shifted automatically as a new customer entered.

At first, there was nothing special about him. A man in his late twenties, maybe early thirties, with a casual, relaxed posture. He wore a dark jacket, the collar slightly upturned, and his hair was tousled in a way that suggested he hadn't put much thought into styling it. His eyes scanned the room for and empty seat, and when they briefly landed on Aliya, he smiled - a soft, fleeting thing.

Aliya blinked, feeling a strange flutter in her chest.

"Interesting," Elena mused. "He noticed you."

Aliya frowned, focusing back on her screen. "So what?"

"So, you don't usually get that reaction from strangers."

Aliya rolled her eyes, though she couldn't deny the subtle buzz of electricity lingering after their brief eye contact. She wasn't used to people noticing her in that way - the way he did so directly, although effortlessly.