CHAPTER 3: FAMILIAR TOO QUICKLY
1395 Words
By the third day, Elena started noticing him before she even saw him.
Which was ridiculous.
Completely ridiculous.
Still, around six-thirty that evening, while wiping down the counter and pretending to listen to Amelia complain about a customer who asked if almond milk was “emotionally healthier” than oat milk, Elena caught herself glancing toward the café door.
Just once.
Then again two minutes later.
Amelia noticed immediately.
“Oh, this is getting embarrassing.”
Elena frowned. “What is?”
“You.”
“I’m literally cleaning a counter.”
“You’ve looked at that door six times.”
“I have not.”
“Five, then.”
Elena rolled her eyes and turned away before Amelia could see the small smile threatening to appear.
This was stupid.
A man came into a café twice and suddenly her brain wanted to act like she was in some badly written romance movie.
She blamed exhaustion.
That felt safer.
The café door opened.
Cold air slipped inside along with the sound of traffic outside.
Elena looked up automatically.
And there he was.
Adrian stepped inside calmly, dark coat folded over one arm this time, his sleeves rolled slightly past his wrists like he’d come from somewhere more important than this.
Or maybe that was just how he always looked.
Important.
Not in an arrogant way.
Just… expensive. Controlled. Like his life made sense.
Unlike hers.
Amelia made a quiet noise beside her.
“Oh, he’s beautiful.”
Elena elbowed her immediately.
“Stop.”
“I’m serious.”
“You say that about every man with a jawline.”
“Not like this.”
Adrian’s eyes found Elena almost instantly.
Not dramatically.
Not intensely.
Just naturally, like he’d expected her to be there.
And somehow that felt more dangerous.
“You’re staring,” Amelia whispered.
“So are you.”
“Yeah, but I’m not the one he came here for.”
Elena opened her mouth to argue, then stopped.
Because unfortunately… Amelia might’ve been right.
Adrian walked toward his usual table near the window.
Usual.
God. He already had a usual table.
That realization shouldn’t have affected her as much as it did.
Marcus walked past them carrying cups.
“If your friend keeps coming in every night, I’m giving him a loyalty card.”
“He’s not my friend.”
“Mm-hm.”
Why was everyone suddenly irritating?
Elena grabbed a menu even though Adrian clearly didn’t need one and walked toward him.
“You know,” she said as she stopped at the table, “normal people usually wait to be seated.”
Adrian looked up slowly.
“Am I being kicked out?”
“Not yet.”
“That’s reassuring.”
There it was again.
That almost-smile.
It never fully appeared, but it lingered around his mouth like he was constantly deciding whether or not things amused him.
Elena crossed her arms lightly.
“You’re here again.”
“I am.”
“You don’t strike me as someone who spends this much time in cafés.”
“And what exactly do I strike you as?”
The annoying thing was that she didn’t actually know.
That was the problem.
Adrian wasn’t easy to place.
He didn’t act like businessmen she’d met before. Didn’t talk too much. Didn’t try to impress anyone. Didn’t even look at his phone constantly like every other person in the city.
He just… existed quietly.
Like he didn’t need attention because he already knew who he was.
“I don’t know yet,” she admitted before she could stop herself.
Something changed in his expression for a second.
Interest maybe.
“You say things very honestly,” he said.
“That’s usually what happens when people talk.”
“Not always.”
Elena looked down quickly, pretending to write something on her notepad.
“What do you want today?”
“You still choose for me.”
“That’s a terrible idea.”
“You haven’t poisoned me yet.”
She laughed before she could help it.
And this time Adrian smiled properly.
Not fully.
But enough.
Enough to make something uncomfortable shift low in her stomach.
Which was annoying.
Very annoying.
Because now she had to deal with the fact that he looked better when he smiled.
Great.
“I’ll be back,” she said quickly, turning away before her thoughts got worse.
---
“You laughed,” Amelia whispered aggressively the second Elena reached the counter.
“So?”
“So you never laugh at customers.”
“He said something funny.”
“He breathed.”
Elena ignored her and focused on making the coffee.
But her hands felt slightly off balance now.
Not shaky.
Just aware.
Aware that Adrian was sitting there.
Aware that he was probably watching her move around the café.
Aware that she was thinking about him more than she should.
It had only been three days.
Three.
That was nothing.
So why did this already feel familiar somehow?
---
When she brought the coffee over, Adrian had taken off his watch and placed it beside the cup.
Elena noticed it immediately.
Not because it looked flashy.
Because it didn’t.
Simple silver. Clean design.
The kind of expensive that didn’t need to prove itself.
“You look tired,” he said suddenly.
Elena blinked.
“That’s rude.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.”
She placed the cup down carefully.
“I’m choosing to be offended anyway.”
“You worked all day?”
“Class first. Then here.”
“And after this?”
“Sleep, hopefully.”
“Hopefully?”
“My upstairs neighbor thinks midnight is the perfect time to rearrange furniture.”
Adrian leaned back slightly in his chair.
“That sounds miserable.”
“It is miserable.”
“You should complain.”
“To who? Him?”
“Yes.”
Elena laughed softly.
“You really think people listen when you complain politely?”
“Not politely.”
That caught her attention.
She looked at him properly then.
“And how would you do it?”
A pause.
Then: “I wouldn’t ask twice.”
The calm way he said it made her stare for a second.
Not because it sounded threatening exactly.
Just confident.
Like he genuinely couldn’t imagine not being listened to.
“You’re kind of intimidating sometimes,” she admitted quietly.
Adrian looked surprised by that.
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“You say things like they’re facts.”
“And you say things like apologies.”
That shut her up for a second.
Because annoyingly enough… he wasn’t entirely wrong.
Elena looked away first.
Again.
She hated that he noticed things like that.
---
The café got busier for a while after that.
Elena threw herself into work just to stop thinking so much.
Orders. Drinks. Smiles. Movement.
Still, every time she looked toward the window, Adrian was there.
Not demanding attention.
Not interrupting her.
Just quietly existing in the same space.
And somehow that was becoming part of her evenings now.
Around closing time, the crowd finally thinned.
Elena collected empty cups from nearby tables before stopping beside his again.
“You know,” she said, “most people would’ve gotten tired of this café by now.”
“Maybe I like the atmosphere.”
“You mean the overpriced coffee?”
“That too.”
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
“You’re difficult to read.”
Adrian looked up at her.
“Maybe you’re trying too hard to.”
That answer stayed in her head longer than it should have.
Elena looked down at the empty chair across from him.
Then back at him again.
And before she could overthink it, she spoke.
“So what do you actually do?”
For the first time since meeting him, Adrian hesitated.
Just briefly.
But enough for her to notice.
“I work,” he said finally.
Elena stared at him.
“That sounded fake even to you.”
A small laugh escaped him.
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“And you avoid answering all of them.”
“Maybe I’ll answer eventually.”
Eventually.
Not no.
Not never.
And somehow that was worse.
Because suddenly Elena realized something she probably should’ve noticed earlier.
She was already waiting for tomorrow.
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