Again and again.

Coffee

It was a normal day at the college, reviewing my notes at the café. Sipping cheap coffee and doing my best not to spill it on my books. As I raise my arm to check the time on my watch, i hit one of my notebooks and it falls to the floor.

"4:45 and damn i'm clumsy."

I mutter to myself as i bend down to pick up my notes on physics. 

As I place the notebook back on the table, I see a girl looking staring at me from another table. She quickly notices my gaze and she averts hers in return. I check myself anxiously in case i might've had something on me that caught her attention.

After confirming that there is indeed nothing strange on me i look at her again and i catch her gaze again. She stares into my eyes and i stare into hers. This kind of event only happens in movies and books so i make the most out of it and try to look cool while keeping her gaze locked in mine.

"Sir."

"SIR!"

"Oh, sorry... what is it?"

"You spilled coffee on your lap and i thought you would want a towel. So i brought you one."

"Now that you mention it. My lap does feel cool."

"Good thing the coffee went cold before it spilled on me!"

I say to myself while i let out a nervous laugh.

I take a quick glimpse at the girl  while wiping my lap and she laughs at me. Finally feeling the delayed feeling of shame i have brought unto myself, i laugh too.

I return the towel to the waitress and thank her for it. I also ordered another coffee for myself albeit this time, a little more expensive than what i'd usually buy in futile attempts to impress the girl. I face the girl again and she notices my action. She lets out a very subtle smile while I let out a very big grin. She laughs at my facial expression and i also laugh at myself for being this rattled by our staring contest of an interaction.

"Here's your coffee sir."

"Thanks"

I stir my coffee and sip. And then when i came back to stare at her she was gone. I look around the cafe to find out where she could've gone only to find out that it was fruitless. 

"*sigh* I wish I could've had her name and number.."

"Riley. The number is a secret though"

As I hear those words i immediately look behind me to see her standing behind me. She gives off a small smile and sits opposite to my chair. 

"You're Lucas, right?"

"Ah, yes. But how did you find out?"

"Its written on your notebook."

"Oh."

"So, Lucas. How do you like my sister's coffee?"

"What do you mean by sister's coffee?"

"We run this little cafe. And my sister really wants to know how you feel about her coffee but she is too shy to ask you."

"But why me?"

"Well, aren't you a regular customer here?"

"I do spend all my free time here to drink coffee and study."

She puts her face close to my ear and whispers

"I think you might be the guy she has a crush on."

"What are you talking about even."

"My sister mentioned to me about how a regular customer of ours might have stolen her heart due to his constant consumption of her coffee. Could that be you?"