It happened over whiskey

Chapter 6

Amber’s POV:

“Hey”, Ryan said looking at me with a smile plastered on his face. “H…hello”, I said while I looked at him shyly.

“Umm…were you running away from here without even meeting me?”, he asked while scratching his right eyebrow with his index finger. “Yeah…I mean no. I just wanted to meet a friend outside to exchange some notes and then I was gonna come back here to meet you”, I said while becoming a stuttering mess in front of him.

“Stop lying, Amber. You start stuttering when you lie and this is a tried and tested theory. Were you shy to meet me?”, Ryan asked with a smirk on his face. I fake laughed as if it was funny and said, “Why will I be shy? It isn’t that I like you or something to run away from you just so that I don’t end up doing something that makes it clear in front of you.”

I said all this in a hurry without even realizing that what I said wasn’t something to be revealed. Ryan raised an eyebrow at my words and chuckled softly before raising his hands in the air as a sign of defeat.

“Okay! You win. You weren’t shy but you just decided to ignore me because you probably feared giving me the hints that you like me”, he said while folding his hands. I glared at him in a vain attempt to hide my embarrassment and said, “How you wish!”

I was about to leave when Ryan said almost immediately, “Hey listen. Will you like to have some coffee with me?” I turned around with my mouth wide open unable to believe what he just said.

He raised an eyebrow at me, probably waiting for my answer but I just looked at him stupidly. He waved his hand in front of my face snapping me from my thoughts.

“Umm…did you just ask me out for a coffee?”, I asked again. “Yes. As a friend?”, Ryan said while rolling his eyes trying to make any sense of his words.

I just nodded realizing that I wasn’t dreaming and that Ryan really wanted to have coffee with me. We walked together to the cafe near the college campus.

As soon as we reached the cafe, I earned glares from the students sitting there. I was a bit uncomfortable to see them talking about me and this caused me to be unusually quiet.

Ryan saw me getting nervous and said while placing his hand on the small of my back, “Ignore them. People talk and it’s okay. You go and grab a seat whiIe I bring coffees for the both of us. Okay?” His touch sent shivers across my spine.

I tried to control the blush that seemed to be spreading on my face faster than any news across high school. He looked at me with utmost understanding and his words just made me feel a whole lot better.

I grabbed a seat in the corner of the café to avoid any more glares from anyone around. My eyes trailed to the counter where Ryan stood patiently for his order.

He turned around to look at me and on seeing a smile on my face, he just smiled bigger at me. Is this the same Ryan who is standing in a queue for coffee when I am sure that he has never done it before?

He probably has 50 servants at his place who would roam around him for even tying his shoelaces. I was pulled out from my thoughts when my nostrils were hit by the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.

“How did you know that I drink black coffee?”, I asked him while taking a sip of my coffee. “I didn’t, honestly. The barista probably knows you because as soon as I gave my order and thought what I should order for you, she just smiled at me and handed me two black coffees”, Ryan said while taking a seat in front of me.

I acknowledged his words and with a smile on my face I said, “Yes. I come here every morning to get my morning coffee. I can’t be totally active for the day without this.” Ryan hummed and said casually, “Yes! I seriously don’t know why many people don’t prefer black coffee when it is actually the best. Even Khloe prefers a cappuccino over black coffee.”