Changes

Chapter 8

Coffee, I need coffee.

That was the first thought I had when I woke up on that Saturday morning. I groaned and got off the couch where I had been binging my favourite show the night before. My body was covered in popcorn.

I sighed and shuffled to the kitchen.

Coffee beans, where are the coffee beans.

The bag that usually contained the beans was empty.

I groaned again.

"To the coffeeshop it is then," I muttered to myself.

I went upstairs and took a quick shower. After dressing myself I walked downstairs again to get my bag. I was about to walk out of the door when I saw Daniels book on the coffee table.

Should I bring it with me?

I nodded to myself and put the book into the bag and walked outside.

A quick ten minutes later I arrived at the local coffeeshop and went inside to order a latte. After a few minutes waiting my order was ready.

"Thank you," I said to the barista who had handed me my coffee. A groan almost escaped my mouth after taking the first sip.

I spotted an empty seat by the window and sat down. I took another sip and grabbed Daniels book out of my bag.

The book had clearly been read before: it had some bumped corners and a few pages had been dog-eared, but it was clean and complete.

I opened the book and started reading.

*An hour later*

I emptied my second cup of coffee and got up to get my third, but not before I dog-eared the page that I was reading.

"You want another one?" the barista asked.

"Yes please."

While I was waiting for my coffee, the door opened. The shop had been pretty empty at the time so I looked up. A girl walked in with a boy behind her. The boy seemed familiar. I squinted my eyes.

Is that-?
Would you look at that, he's back at it again.

"Here you go," the barista gave me my coffee. "That'll be 2,99."

I kept staring at Eric.

The barista cleared her throat.

I turned my head back to the woman.
"What?" it took me a few seconds to realise why she meant. "Oh yeah right."

I quickly gave her the money and walked back to my seat. As I sat down I noticed that Eric and the girl were now seated at a table.

Eric was listening to the girl who was with him, she was talking away. While he was nodding to what she was saying, he slowly moved his hand to girl's hand and briefly touched her hand.

Come on girl. See through his facade.

The girl stopped talking and looked down.

I could see the faint red blush appearing on her cheeks.

Aaaand he got another one.

I rolled my eyes, opened Daniels book and continued reading.

"After observing the man for weeks I noticed a pattern. When he had succeeded to make the woman laugh he would proceed to make light physical contact: touch the woman's knee or graze her arm. This had almost always the same outcome. The woman would turn a shade of red."

I took a sip.

"The man would start whispering things into the woman's ear. If the woman hadn't slapped him in the seconds after, but turned an even deeper shade of red, he would continue whispering while making more physical contact: thigh or back."

I stopped reading after hearing a gasp. It was the girl. She had gasped at something Eric had whispered into her ear.

I had just moved my gaze back to the book when I realised something.

Wait a minute!
Whispering things into her ears?

I searched the part that I had read before.

"The man would start whispering things into the woman's ear. If the woman hadn't slapped him in the seconds after, but turned an even deeper shade of red, he would continue whispering while making more physical contact: neck, back or thigh."

But Eric hasn't made more physical contact.

I turned to the couple again.

Eric's hand was now lightly touching the girl's neck. His finger started to go down her spine.

My eyes widened.

Nope, scratch that.

Eric read the book.