As I took my usual seat in the café, I didn’t expect anything out of the ordinary. It was Wednesday morning, and I had an hour to kill before I had to be at work. I opened up a book and sipped gingerly at my coffee, as I do every morning, and slowly lost myself in the labyrinth of letters on the pages before me. It was some time before I felt as if I was being watched.
I looked up slowly, glancing around the room almost nervously. The café was relatively empty; the usual elderly couple sat in the far back, another young woman like me sat near the door, myself by the window, and a small group of men had just recently walked in. They were all standing by the counter, waiting for their orders and joking with each other. None of them could have been any older than their early twenties, which explained the boyish way they messed around. I shook my head and frowned, about to turn back to my book, when I suddenly realized that one of them was staring at me. He looked away almost immediately when our eyes connected, but I could still see him looking at me through the corner of his eye.
I wasn’t quite as anxious as he, and took the time to study him for a moment. He was tall, very tall. My eyes first glanced over his leather jacket, and then traveled slowly down his impossibly long, thin legs. Come to think of it, his entire body was thin. His arms were almost spindly, I noticed, as he reached over the counter to grab the cup of coffee that the cashier was handing him. Finally, as he turned completely away from me, I noticed his hair. It was simply a mess of dark golden curls on his head, which would have seemed unkempt if it didn’t suit him so perfectly.
The rest of the boys received their coffee, and a few of them waved to the others as they left the café. Only three of them stayed behind and took a seat not too far from mine, and one of them was Mr. Leather Jacket. I had realized by now that he seemed to be much more comfortably dressed than the rest of them, all of whom seemed to be on their way to work. Mr. Leather Jacket, however, didn’t seem to be in any particular hurry.
I was still watching him when he suddenly glanced my way again. I panicked then, for whatever reason, and quickly looked back down at my book. I held it up a little, trying to hide my face with the covers. As soon as I was hidden from his view, I wondered why I was hiding at all. It wasn’t like I even knew this guy. He had literally just walked into the café. What if he wasn’t even looking at me in the first place? He could have just been glancing around and our eyes connected in some strange, perfect moment. Nevertheless, I couldn’t stop myself from peeking once more over the top of the book. She was just turning away, and I sighed in relief.
I finally forced myself to go back to my book and simply ignore him. I wasn’t looking for anything at the moment anyways I had just gotten out of a not-so-great relationship, and the last thing I needed was another jerk to come spilling into my life. Sorry, Mr. Leather Jacket, but you’ll have to look elsewhere. I eventually lost myself in the book again, unable to come back to Earth until I realized that my coffee was gone. I glanced at the clock to see that I still had another hour and a half until I had to be to work, so I got up and bought myself another coffee. I had left my book on the table, but was very surprised to see Mr. Leather Jacket getting up from his table and staring intently at the book as I returned with my coffee. I glanced at him as I passed by, and then set down my coffee on my table. Just before I could sit down, however, I heard someone clear their throat behind me. “Erm, excuse me,” said a soft, deep voice.
I turned around quickly to see him standing very close to me, his two friends abandoned at their table. My eyes connected immediately with two bright blue ones, the corners of which were crinkled slightly by the smile on his face. “Um, hi,” I whispered, nervously tucking my hair behind my ear. I was suddenly a little leery of this strange man who was standing right inside my personal space bubble. He smiled kindly, noticing my apprehension, and shifted himself a little further back.
