My Best Friend, My Beast

Cafe Tales

[Nadia’s POV]

The dull ache in my head had now become sharp. I shielded my eyes from the sun which seemed too bright to this morning. I had remained awake the rest of the night, not because of the nightmare this time. My mind was busy making scenarios that would take place in the cafe, and that’s how I watched the sunrise.

I let out a sigh, digging my hands further into my hoodie pockets. I frowned when I realized that yet again I was meeting Derek, looking like I was going grocery shopping rather than a cafe. It was his hoodie, to be honest, a worn-out light brown one that I had borrowed some years ago and then it never left my closet. I had paired it with blag jeans and managed to dab on some makeup, especially to hide the dark circles, and tie my dull brown hair into an almost neat fishtail to at least look like I hadn’t been making dreadful conclusions the whole night.

I scuffed my yellowed pair of sneakers [I now termed them as beige sneakers, but who was I kidding?] and fiddled with the strap of my crossbody bag as I waited for the signal to turn green. Once it did, I crossed the street along with a throng of corporate men and women.

I walked into the small cafe from which Derek’s office was a few minute's walking distance, but I rather meet him there than go and visit him there.

The cafe’s owner, Mark, smiled at me in greeting as I walked in.

The cafe was almost full, but I managed to find a corner table for two. The quaint cafe was tastefully decorated and the heady smell of coffee and freshly baked goods was already soothing my headache.

Fishing my phone out of my bag, and texted him that I had arrived.

“Usual?” Lana, a middle-aged waitress asked. I gazed up from my phone and nodded with a smile.

“Mr. Handsome coming over too?” She winked like this was a date.

I nodded again, smiling wryly. I was not sure why she hadn’t gotten the memo by now. We were not lovers, or soon-to-be lovers because that was never happening. It was some kind of miracle that.

She gave me a knowing look before waltzing away to another customer.

I scrolled through social media on my phone while I waited for the order and Derek. So far he hadn’t replied. The hum of conversations, the sound of grinding of the coffee beans, and other miscellaneous sounds were acting like an ASMR sound for me. I felt my eyelids turn heavy. I tried to keep them open, but after a point, I decided to just f**k it and just nap a little.

I pillowed my head on my folded arms and closed my eyes. The table was at the far corner so not a lot of people would think of me as a weird woman napping early in the morning. And if Derek didn’t come by the time I woke up, I’d just leave.

The thought almost tugged at my heart, but I stomped on that feeling and let myself get lost in oblivion.

~~~~

The subtle sounds made me aware that I was not in my room, and then like a bolt of lightning, I remembered that I was indeed not in my room but in the cafe. Oh f**k! I sat upright like someone had touched me with an electric wire.

And there on the opposite seat, Derek was lounging. He had forgone his suit jacket. By the looks, he was wearing the rich brown trousers.

His black hair was neatly styled. He was a clean-shave guy but this morning, there was a hint of the stubble, which did not make him look bad at all.

The first two buttons of his crisp white shirt were open, giving a peek of the huge tattoo that he had gotten on his 20th birthday and had the gall to show me.

I ripped my gaze away from the sliver skin before my ogling became obvious. I glanced at him, and there it was… that soft expression which I had often caught him wearing. I ignored the way my heart fluttered at that.

“When did you arrive?” I asked, my voice sounding croaky. I rubbed my eyes before picking out a tissue from my bag and wiping my face.

He made a show of checking his very expensive watch. Then looked up and let his lips curl into a delicious smile. “I have been sitting here for the past 20 minutes, waiting for you to finish your beauty sleep.”

I scowled at him although I knew that my ears were probably red with embarrassment. “You should have woken me up, dumbass.”

He leaned against the seat and shook his head. “It’s okay.”

“Yeah, he even stopped me waking you up and asked me to take back the orders,” Lana suddenly appeared from somewhere, cutting in through the conversation as she placed two mugs of steaming coffee, milk for me and black for Derek, and two plates of freshly baked croissants and cookies.

I shot another glare at Derek before giving Lana a grateful nod. “Thanks.”

She winked again, giving me a knowing grin. “Anytime.”

I opted to not comment on that.

After she was gone, I asked, “So you were…”

“Let’s have breakfast first okay? I have not eaten,” he cut in, giving me a wan smile. There was something in his gaze that was so fleeting that I could have as well imagined it.

I looked at him wryly before complying with his request. I took a sip of the coffee before taking a bite of the cookies. We ate in silence for some time.

“Now?” I asked, unable to deal with my apprehension any longer. I had barely touched the croissant.

He, on the other hand, was flagging down a new waiter in the cafe and ordering some more items on the menu. A few crumbs stuck onto the edges of his mouth, and like a habit, I leaned forward and wiped it off before realizing what I was doing.

Shit. I froze, and he did too. His cerulean eyes met my honey-brown ones, intense while my fingers continued touching his skin.

My best friend’s biggest plus point was his beautiful eyes. Those eyes were always my weakness and it was no different now.

With immense self-restraint, I moved and went back to my seat. I looked away and murmured. “Sorry.”

I could feel his intense gaze on me.

‘Why do you keep embarrassing yourself?’ I scolded myself. He was about to tell me something big, and here I was trying to be lovey-dovey with him.

The tension was temporarily dispelled by the waiter’s arrival with new dishes. He served it and waltzed away. The cafe, I noticed, had become slightly less crowded now. As usual, some people were trying to get a sneak peek of Derek.

“My parents,” Derek began, drawing my attention to him. I turned to look at him, but his gaze was fixed on the empty coffee mug. I clenched my hands as I waited for him to tell me.

“They are pressurizing me to get married,” he added, looking up. His lips were downturned as he said it.

The words made my ears ring, my heartbeat spiked up. I felt a searing pain in my chest and tried to breathe through that pain.

This was what I had been fearing. I knew I had no right to keep him to myself forever. He would have to eventually get married and start a family. Yet… yet I wanted to be selfish. I wanted him to be with me even though we are from two different walks of life.

He never said anything outright about us getting together and neither did I, but I always dared to hope. Well, that’s how our traitorous heart operates.

“So—”

“I… need to go to the washroom.” I stood up suddenly, feeling disoriented. He frowned, his gaze lacing with concern.

“Are you okay?” He asked, making a move to stand up.

Am I okay? Definitely not, but I forced a smile. “Yes. Girl problem.”

He furrowed his eyebrows and sat down again, nodding.

I didn’t run although I wanted to, my steps were purposeful as I made my way to the washroom, aware of Derek’s gaze on me.

I just needed a little more time. A little more.

~*~