Sip by Sip

Chapter One: For Now

    He was the embodiment of an expresso.

    She was the embodiment of a mocha. With marshmallows.

    He sat alone, at a table near the back, out of the way of everyone else. He was unnoticed.

    Unnoticed by all but her. She saw him, tucked away in the corner with his coffee in one hand and phone in the other, and she knew. He was what she was looking for.

    So she made her way to where he sat. He didn't glance up, because he barely recognized that she was there. But after she stood there for long enough, nearly five minutes in polite silence, he finally did. His dark eyes met her bright ones, and she smiled.

    He thought her smile was sweet. She thought his eyes were beautiful. He saw the innocence in her expression, and she saw that he was sitting alone. She asked,

    "Is this seat taken?"

    and he heard only innocence in her tone. He also realized that there were several empty tables so early in the morning, and that she had no reason to sit with him. But he was polite and had nothing against the bright young girl, so he merely nodded his permission and let his gaze follow her as she sat down.

    She took out a book and placed it on the table. He watched her flip open to a page before returning his eyes to his phone.

    Ten minutes passed in a slightly uncomfortable silence between the two strangers. They took turns stealing glances of each other, her peaking over the top of her book and him lifting his eyes from the screen. This continued until she shut her book, folding her hands together on the table as she leaned forward to meet his eyes.

    "This is weird, isn't it," she laughed nervously.

    "Well, yeah," he like the sound of her laugh, and her eyes straight stained to speak words that hadn't yet left her mouth.

    "Is there anything I can do to fix that? And please don't ask me to leave. Not yet."

    "You could tell me why you chose to sit here."

    She paused for a moment, unsure of how to reply. She knew why, and she probably could explain as well, but she remained unsure.

    "That's complicated. I want to get away from complicated," she attempted to explain, and he understood. He felt the same way; his life was complicated and this coffee shop was simple. He'd like to keep things simple.

    "We can start with names."

    She ached to claim that names were too personal. The words sat at the tip of her tongue, and she knew she wished to speak freely with him. But she had never spoken freely before, and wasn't sure how. She shook her head.

    The next words that left his mouth, though a bit sarcastic, finally made up her mind. He was the one she needed. He was the one who she was searching for, because fifteen minutes with him had brought her to realize that he thought unlike her. She believed wholly that in the moment he uttered those words he could read her mind. And it was just two little words. 

    "Too personal?"

    When she looked to meet his eyes, he was smiling.

    "Yeah," she replied, a smile forming to match his. "For now."