Heartbeats & Ink

Sofia

I practically ran to the office of Vougette Media after Dante called me, his voice filled with urgency. As I approached his door, I straightened my clothes and tried to calm my racing heart. I knocked once and heard a muffled "come in."

"Hi Sofia, how are you?" Dante greeted me with a warm smile that put me at ease.

"I'm doing well, thanks for asking. How about you?"

"Can't complain," he chuckled. "So let's get straight to the point - I loved your script for our next short film. It exceeded my expectations in terms of clarity and dialogue delivery. But..." He paused, and I braced myself for the thing I knew was coming.

"But what?" I asked tentatively.

"Well, as we discussed, we wanted this film to have a heated passion that reflects today's generation. While your script has passion, it's missing that extra spark... do you know what I mean?"

I did know what he meant, but I had no idea how to incorporate those scenes into my story. My lack of experience in that area was apparent, and I felt a wave of anxiety wash over me.

"I understand. I'll try to add more of it," I managed to say, trying to sound confident despite my doubts.

"Is everything okay? You seem a bit tense," Dante observed kindly.

"Oh no, everything's fine! I'll definitely make the necessary changes," I reassured him with a forced smile. After a little discussion I departed from there and went straight to my apartment to get ready for my gym session that day.

Heart racing, I bounded up the gym's stairs, eager to see him again. But as I reached the last step, my excitement began to dwindle and unease settled in. Memories of our awkward encounter at the cafe flooded back to me. I took a deep breath when I saw him sitting alone on a nearby bench. My heart fluttered at the sight of him, but I tried to play it cool and ignored him as I headed towards the cardio machines.

After a few minutes of running, I noticed him approaching me out of the corner of my eye. I pretended not to notice, hoping he would just use the restroom and leave me alone. But instead, he came up to me and greeted me with a smile. "Hey, how are you?" he asked.

Feeling self-conscious under his gaze, I replied with a simple "I'm okay." We stood there in an awkward silence until he finally broke it by asking about "Dante," a name that made my stomach turn. He must have seen my reaction because he quickly added, if i am dating him to which i replied that we are just coworkers and Dante is my manager at Voguette Media. He then complimented my writing skills and asked for my contact number mentioning if I could help his friend's younger sister who wanted to pursue writing as well.

Trying to hide the butterflies in my stomach, I gave him my number and excused myself to go change. As soon as I was out of view, I let out a squeal of excitement before heading back to finish my workout.

Once I returned to my PG, I anxiously waited for his text, replaying our conversation over and over again in my head.

Right when I was in the middle of cooking dinner, my phone pinged with a message notification. My heart leaped into my throat as I read the message from Adrian. It was a simple "Hey, it's Adrian from the gym. This is my number :)" with a smiley face at the end. My hands trembled with excitement as I quickly saved his number and replied with a cheerful "Hey Adrian, it's Sofia!

The conversation flowed effortlessly as we exchanged messages throughout the evening. We talked about our favourite books, movies, and I shared snippets of my writing. It felt like we had known each other for ages, and I couldn't stop smiling at my phone like a lovesick teenager.

As the clock struck midnight, Adrian sent me a message that made my heart skip a beat. "Would you like to grab coffee together tomorrow morning?" he asked. I hesitated for a moment,

but the thrill of spending more time with Adrian overrode any doubt or hesitation in my mind. With a racing heart, I replied, "I would love to. How about we meet at that cozy cafe ?" Within seconds, his reply came, confirming the plan. Excitement bubbled inside me, making it hard to focus on anything else for the rest of the night.

The next morning, I found myself waking up before my alarm even had a chance to ring. The anticipation of seeing Adrian again filled me with a renewed energy as I got ready for our coffee date.

As I rummaged through my closet, I thought of him and his masculine style. Wanting to make a good first impression, I chose a white and pink floral printed dress that accentuated my curves in all the right places. I pinned back my hair with delicate pink bows and added matching earrings for a touch of femininity. I wanted to look put-together without seeming like I was trying too hard.