My Firsts With You

Chapter 8

AUTHOR'S POV

Martin and Kenneth stood while watching Rachel as she left with Claire. In Kenneth's mind, he couldn't believe that Rachel, his best childhood friend, did not offer to share her umbrella with him and just looked at her with disbelief in his eyes. On the other hand, Martin turned to his friend, Kenneth, who was still watching the rain.

"You want to share?" Martin asked as he offered his umbrella to Kenneth. Kenneth smiled at Martin and put his bag over his head as he got ready to run. "You're not gonna run to your car, aren't you?" Martin asked, worried that his friend might actually run in the rain. "Nah, I'm running to Rachel. I won't let her have the umbrella to herself," Kenneth answered and smiled at his friend as he started to run in the rain, catching up to Rachel and Claire.

RACHEL'S POV

Claire and I were walking peacefully until I heard running behind us. "I got you!" Kenneth yelled over the rain and I swear, my eardrums almost popped. From beside me, I saw Claire jump a little from the shock, but what shocked me the most was when Kenneth put an arm around my shoulder to prevent himself from soaking more. Why am I shocked? And strangely, why am I frozen?!

"You okay? You look stiff. Wait, are you sick now?!" Kenneth said, but he did not ask in worry. He asked in concern that he might get sick too. What an a**hole. "Just shut up," I mumbled and continued walking. His arm around my shoulder is one thing, but why is my heart beating fast?! Why am I nervous?!

"Oh, my father's here," Claire said and bid goodbye to us. I sadly watched her walk farther and closer to her father's car. Claire's father is a bit protective so he insisted on taking her to school and back home to make sure that his daughter was safe. I wish my dad is the same. "There's my baby! And it's soaking wet!" Kenneth exclaimed as we looked at his car and finally, he took off his arm. "Obviously, it's raining and the car can't hold an umbrella over itself," I stated the obvious while giving him the 'are you serious?' look. He just looked at me and I swear I felt that my heart skipped a beat! What is wrong with me?!

"Let's just go," he said and dragged me to his car. I seriously don't know why I'm feeling this way, but all I can say is, this is f**king weird. I let him enter the car first so that he wouldn't soak his "baby" more, as if he wasn't soaking. I walked to the other side of the car and entered as well. I am feeling awkward right now and I am confused why.

"Should we go somewhere first? I feel like drinking hot coffee on this rainy day," he suggested as he started his car. "You don't drink coffee," I plainly said and opened my phone to see a text message from my mom asking if I'm doing fine since it was raining. I replied to her that I was fine and closed my phone to notice that we were actually on our way. "You drink coffee, so it's fine," Kenneth stated while focusing on the road. O...kay? Since when is it fine for him to drink coffee? I couldn't even convince him before!

"Are things with Sabrina good?" I started before I feel more awkward. My heart is still beating fast for an unknown reason! This is frustrating! "Yeah, it's good. I think we're going on another date next week after the musical play," he answered and I just nodded in understanding. Now that makes me uncomfortable. Why? "That's amazing. You can dress nicely on your next date. I won't challenge you again," I said and chuckled a bit awkwardly at the end. Silence took over again and I decided to let it be. I think I was just surprised and my heart is still beating fast because of it.

== COFFEE SHOP ==

We arrived at this popular coffee shop in the city (not Starbucks) and the interior design is exactly what I like. The concept of this coffee's interior design is minimalist with shades of brown or nude as its color scheme. The scent of the coffee beans immediately met my nose and I instantly felt calm. Yeah, the aroma of coffee beans and warm coffee heals my soul and I could smell it all day.

We went inside and sat down at a table near the window where I could see the view of passing cars and people walking on the streets of Chicago. Kenneth knows I love sitting by the window because I want to see the view outside rather than the view of people eating or drinking. It's satisfying to see the view outside and the rain makes it perfect. I love rainy days and just like coffee, it makes me relax everything from my physical body to my mental health.

"Can I take your order, ma'am? Sir?" the waitress asked as she handed out two menus. I think she's a working student, probably in college. When I see people like her, I wonder what earning money that way feels like. I mean, I basically have everything, especially money, but some people work hard to earn it, and sometimes, I want to try it too. I wanna try earning my OWN money rather than the money that my parents gave me.

"I'll take one grande hot latte and a strawberry cake," I ordered after scanning their menu once. I always order latte so I only looked at their desserts. I looked at Kenneth who looked lost while scanning the menu. "Just order a latte as well. You might order an Americano which you don't like," I said and he is still looking at the menu. "What's wrong with an Americano?" he innocently asked without leaving his eyes off the menu. We could have just gone to a burger shop or something if he doesn't even know what to order in a coffee shop. "Nothing's wrong with an americano, it's just you and I'm telling you, you won't like it. It's only espresso and water. You know espresso, right?" I explained to Kenneth and he raised his eyebrows.

"What's latte then?" he then asked. "Also espresso, but with milk this time," I answered and his face brightened. "That's great. Is it bitter?" he asked while looking at me intently. A quick update, my heart is very calm now, fortunately. "For me, it's not that bitter, but maybe a bit. It depends on what kind of bitter you know," I replied. Do you know what kind of coffee he drinks? Those 3-in-1 instant coffees. He doesn't know what he's missing. "Look, just order that strawberry latte so we can get over this, okay? I'm starving for coffee now," I rushed him, but he is still thinking. Ugh.

"Does it have strawberries?" he stupidly asked. Really? He's asking me that kind of question? "Of course. It wouldn't be called a STRAWBERRY latte if it doesn't have any sort of strawberry," I replied, emphasizing the word 'strawberry'. Why is he being stupid now? He is smart, okay? He is smart ACADEMICALLY but is super lazy to do school work. "Okay, uh, I'll take one grande iced strawberry latte and a chocolate lava cake," he finally ordered, and the waitress informed us to wait a few minutes after jotting down our orders.

"How could you go to a coffee shop if you don't even know any of the drinks?" I frustratingly asked and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I just wanted to try since you go to a coffee shop with Jessica often," he replied. Or maybe he thinks the coffees here are the same as those 3-in-1 coffees he drinks every night. Yeah, he drinks them to keep him up ALL NIGHT. Another fun fact, Jessica and I love coffee. Originally, it was only Jessica, but she influenced me and now I love drinking coffee as well, that we often go to different coffee shops to try their drinks and choose which coffee shop makes the best specific coffee drink.

After 20 minutes of waiting, our order finally arrived. Their latte art is amazing and perfect, and the aroma of their latte is perfect, exactly my style. As for their cake slices, they are big and thick. I could see the layers that were perfectly made and even the cakes had minimal designs which made them aesthetic in my eyes. I need to capture these. "You're taking pictures?" Kenneth asked as he took a sip of his iced strawberry latte and he raised his eyebrows in satisfaction. "I take pictures every time we go to a coffee shop. Also, this art needs to be captured and posted," I said while concentrating on taking photos. "This is delicious. I love the balance between the milk, espresso, and strawberry," he remarked and took a bite of his chocolate lava cake which also looks perfect as the chocolate flows after being cut.

"You wanna try this strawberry cake? As long as you give me some of that chocolate lava cake," I suggested to him and he pretended to think for a while. "Why not?" he sliced a part of his dessert for me and I did the same, cutting the right amount of strawberry cake for Kenneth. I don't really share my food, but since he's my childhood friend, he's an exception then.

We continued eating our cakes and drinking our coffees while having a conversation from time to time. When silence came upon us, my mind unconsciously went back to what happened earlier in school. I think I know why I felt nervous when he put his arm around me. I've always imagined myself in the rain, sharing an umbrella with someone I like and it's because I think it gives a romantic feeling. Kenneth knows that because we randomly talked about it when we were 16 and we don't forget about things we have told each other. I know he still remembers that, but why did he do it? Did he not even think that I asked him to share an umbrella with Martin because of that? And my heart even skipped a beat!

END OF CHAPTER 8