Chapter Six - Coffee
966 Words
The café was small, warm, and almost empty.
Elena noticed that immediately.
It wasn't the kind of place where someone went to be seen. No loud music. No crowded tables. Just soft lighting, quiet conversations, and the smell of freshly brewed coffee.
Nathan held the door open for her.
“After you.”
She walked in.
“Do you come here often?”
“Sometimes.”
“With colleagues?”
He looked at her.
“No.”
Elena raised an eyebrow.
“Then why bring me here?”
“Because I like it.”
She smiled.
“Convenient answer.”
“I wasn't trying to impress you.”
“Really?”
“No.”
“That's disappointing.”
Nathan laughed.
“I thought you wanted me to take my time.”
“I do.”
“Then I suppose I have time to impress you later.”
Elena felt warmth creep into her cheeks.
She quickly looked at the menu.
“I'm getting coffee.”
“You're holding the menu upside down.”
She froze.
Nathan was trying not to laugh.
She turned it around.
“Shut up.”
He laughed properly this time.
And Elena found herself laughing too.
Something about being with him outside the office felt different.
Easier.
She wasn't his colleague here.
He wasn't the man who gave her campaign briefs or checked deadlines.
They were simply two people sitting across from each other.
And Elena liked it.
More than she wanted to admit.
---
“What do you usually order?” Nathan asked.
“Vanilla latte.”
“Predictable.”
She gasped.
“Excuse me?”
“It's sweet.”
“So?”
“You seem like someone who would choose something sweet.”
She studied him.
“You've been analyzing me?”
“Not analyzing.”
“Then what?”
“Paying attention.”
Her smile faded slightly.
There it was again.
That word.
Attention.
She wasn't used to being noticed in small ways.
Nathan noticed everything.
The way she took her coffee.
The fact that she hated overly sweet pastries.
The little habit she had of tapping her fingers against the table when she was thinking.
He remembered things she mentioned once and forgot she'd said.
It was unsettling.
But not in a bad way.
“What about you?” she asked.
“Black coffee.”
She laughed.
“Of course.”
“What does that mean?”
“You look like someone who drinks black coffee.”
He leaned back.
“What do I look like?”
Elena paused.
She had walked directly into that one.
“Serious.”
“I'm not serious.”
“You are.”
“Only at work.”
“Hmm.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Nathan smiled.
“You're judging me.”
“Maybe.”
Their drinks arrived.
Elena took a sip.
Nathan watched her.
She noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Why are you looking at me?”
“Because you're smiling.”
She looked down.
“I am not.”
“You are.”
“Maybe I like the coffee.”
“Maybe.”
She rolled her eyes.
---
The conversation gradually moved away from work.
They talked about music.
Movies.
Travel.
Food.
Nathan told her he hated crowded tourist attractions but loved quiet places where he could walk for hours without a plan.
Elena told him she had a habit of taking pictures of pretty buildings even when she had nowhere to post them.
“You're a designer,” he said.
“Yes.”
“So you notice things other people don't.”
“Maybe.”
He nodded.
“I like that.”
“What?”
“The way you see things.”
Elena stared at him.
Nathan didn't seem to realize how easily he said things that could make a woman's heart misbehave.
She looked away.
“You flirt too much.”
“I haven't flirted.”
She laughed.
“That was flirting.”
“That was honesty.”
“That's worse.”
“Why?”
“Because I can't argue with honesty.”
Nathan smiled.
“Exactly.”
---
When they finally left the café, it was almost nine.
They walked side by side toward Elena's building.
Nathan didn't touch her.
Didn't try to hold her hand.
Didn't make any move that would force the moment into something it wasn't.
Elena appreciated that.
At her building, she stopped.
“Thank you.”
“For coffee?”
“For tonight.”
Nathan nodded.
“I enjoyed it.”
“So did I.”
A small silence settled between them.
Then Nathan said, “I'd like to do this again.”
Elena smiled.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“Don't get too excited.”
“I'll try.”
She laughed.
Nathan looked at her for a moment.
“Goodnight, Elena.”
“Goodnight.”
She turned toward the entrance.
“Elena.”
She looked back.
Nathan's expression was softer now.
“I meant what I said.”
“About what?”
“Take your time.”
Her smile disappeared.
He continued.
“I don't want you to feel pressured because I like you.”
Her heart thudded.
“You really do?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
No games.
Just yes.
Elena swallowed.
Nathan took a small step backward.
“Goodnight.”
He walked away.
Elena stood there, watching him.
For the first time, she wasn't wondering whether Nathan was serious.
She knew he was.
And somehow, that scared her more than uncertainty ever had.
Because now she had something real to lose.
She went upstairs.
Closed her apartment door.
Leaned against it.
And smiled.
A quiet, helpless smile.
Maybe falling wasn't the problem.
Maybe the problem was that she was beginning to want to.
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