Pandora's Box

Chapter 20

Spring, 2016
Monet's Coffee and Cakes
Chicago

After she had left, a large part of Rhys's life had been spent in avoidance. He buried himself in work to avoid returning home to see just how empty his apartment can be after he had gotten rid of anything and everything that would remind him of Pandora. Anthony had been stubborn, and had swung by to dump everything that Pandora had left in his apartment in a box, which now sat on the topmost shelf in his wardrobe, collecting dust. He often got himself drunk, especially around the time of what would've been their yearly anniversaries. Anthony always made sure he was on hand. He was the best friend Rhys could ask for, yet even after two years, he felt hollow. He could laugh, he could smile, he could even joke, but Anthony could see none of it was genuine.

Yet if Anthony could see him right now, Rhys could bet that his best friend would be surprised. Because while he could close his eyes to things he didn't want to see, nothing would've been able to close his heart to things he didn't want to feel. And the fact of the matter was that even after 2 years of avoiding seeing her, of consciously not mentioning or hearing her name or anything to do with her, Rhys Jarett was still very much in love with Pandora Talbott.

His eyes surreptitiously darted to her the whole time they took the 5 minute stroll to the quaint coffee shop Kya had brought them to once. It was a welcome cool air that greeted them as they entered, the bell ringing to signal their arrival. Their eyes were met with the navy blue and white theme, with black metal chairs and wooden tables where patrons could seat themselves. At the counter, a brunette stood smiling with an apron, and right next to her was a display counter where cakes, sandwiches and pies stood awaiting selection.

Next to him, he felt Pandora turn to look at him, and he met her gaze only to see her brow raised with amusement. "I never knew guys like you would frequent coffee shops like this. It's quite.. dainty." It was a streak of cheekiness in her voice that Rhys had missed quite abit, and a pang of reminiscent hit his chest, as he saw the spark of laughter in her blue eyes.

It had been 2 years since he had seen them.

Feigning offense, Rhys daintily placed his palms on his chest, giving an outraged look. "Are you sexist now, Miss Talbott? That guys can't enjoy a dainty cup of joe and some pretty, petite cakes?"

Pandora burst out laughing, much to his amusement. "I don't- You're horrid." she finally glared at him good-naturedly, sticking her tongue out at him. "How did you find out about this place though? It's not exactly on the boulevard." 

Which was true actually. Monet's was quite out of the way, and compared to the bustling street that was a 5 minute walk away, the alley in which the dainty blue coffeehouse was located seemed almost deserted, with patrons who seemed like usuals seated around their tables. Rhys shrugged, approaching the counter. "A colleague introduced me, and I never pass up a good cup of black coffee, so I come back pretty often."

10 minutes later, the two of them were seated at a table by the window, two cups of black coffee steaming as Rhys bit into his salted beef sandwich, smiling when he saw Pandora's eyes close in bliss as she bit into her own. "Told you they have to-die-for egg sandwiches."

"How can someone make eggs taste so good? Their just eggs!" Pandora replied incredulously, staring at her sandwich in amazement. Rhys chuckled, shrugging. The whole time, he was unable to tear his eyes away from her, the way the light hit and made her blonde hair almost seem like it was glowing, the way her eyes sparkled as she happily ate her sandwich. Pandora had always been happiest when her tastebuds was tantalized. It was why a large portions of their dates involved cafe crawls, and Rhys always went to wherever Pandora wanted. Whatever she wanted, he would fulfil.