Read Between the Lines

Chapter 1: Getting in her nerves

That made her blinked. Once. Twice. Because she had. The girl covered it all, but she wasn't about to tell her that. She hate that she read through her as an open book. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, while the girl finally put her bag aside after having fished a book out of it. She even slammed the book on the table with a loud thud and a wide smirk and, unknowingly, gave her the perfect recovery.

She flashed her a wide smile and landed on the chair in front of her.

"Almost," she mused, tilting her head to one side. "You forgot to tell me whether you're from Tennessee or not."

The girl then rolled her eyes so dramatically that she had to stifle a laugh. "Cause I'm the only ten you see?"

Equally dramatically, she put her hand over her chest, gasping mockingly.

"Ouch! You hurt me. You think of me that I'm so insensitive as to rate women based on their appearance. That is so shallow. I'm disappointed."

"Then, my heart breaks for you," the girl replied in a flat voice, taking a sip of her coffee and opening her book, a clear signal that she had no intention of continuing this conversation. "I just assume the worst out of people hitting on me in coffee shops, you see."

She nearly flinched a bit at how close the girl hit to home. It was time to change tactic, she thought. Sure, she'd come over to her on her. But the girl was funny and interesting. And she was reading in a coffee shop. Usually, she went for easier girls, girls who could eat up her excuses about sneaking out the morning after and never calling back, girls she didn't have to actually try too hard for. But this one was a challenge. At this point, she would've usually stood up and walked away because the complex ones weren't worth the effort since she had no intention of sticking around too long. But for some reason that got the best of her, she didn't stand up. And surprisingly, she didn't walk away.

Her eyes caught sight of the title of the book the girl was reading. The Great Gatsby. Her eyebrows shot up a bit at the choice because not many fancied Fitzgerald. As far as she was concerned, she couldn't stand the guy. She was once forced herself to read The Great Gatsby once and she'd hated every second of it because it wasn't your usual reading choice. Now the  girl had just turned ten times more interesting, she thought.

"Who said I came over to hit on you?" She huffed. But of course, she had. She just didn't need to know that. And her plans had changed a bit along the way, not that her curiosity was officially piqued with that book. "Maybe I came over to discuss literature." She said with a smirk as she pointed at her book and the girl rolled her eyes on her again. It seemed to be her favorite activity to pass the time.

"I know who and what you are, Michelle Dee. You have a play girl reputation and I heard a lot about you in this campus. But that's an original line, I'll give you that," the girl pretended to look pensive. "It's surprising to think you can actually start a conversation about The Great Gatsby because you thought Leonardo DiCaprio was pretty cool in the movie."

She simply gaped at the girl.

Oh, so she's trying to insult me now? This was just precious. She thought.

She knew she didn't look like the most sensitive girl alive or like the greatest intellectual, and it was true that she'd indeed come over to hit on her, but now it was a bit personal. For some reason, she felt the need to prove herself to her. She felt like it was a huge first for her to care what a girl thought about her. She would've been a bit taken aback because she haven't been so insulted and outraged.

So she leaned forward, fixating her with with girl's gaze, enjoying the way her smugness faded away a bit under her intense stares.

"Jay Gatsby, not the one played by Leonardo DiCaprio, the original one, was pretty close to a creepy stalker and his obsession for Daisy was rather toxic and totally unhealthy. Daisy, on the other hand, was a spoiled brat who fell for Gatsby because he was a shiny new toy rather than out of real feelings. Not to mention her husband and the double standard of him being a cheater but losing his mind when he realized his wife had feelings for another dude. I really hate the whole propaganda of men being allowed to cheat and lie while women need to be saints who are required to forgive them always and to never step out of place. So no, I didn't watch the movie because I couldn't fathom what else they could bring to a story that has less depth than Harry Potter." She expressed as she leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest as the girl simply blinked at her.

And this is how you do it. Not pick them up. I never went to such lengths for that. I talk and make sure to impress them.

"Excuse me? Harry Potter has depth," were the first words the girl uttered after a few seconds of being complete silence and she was so surprised that she barked a laugh.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing... But yeah, sure. If that's what you think and so does The Lord of The Rings, but that's apples and oranges. Different targets. We're not comparing classical literature with children's books."

"Children's books?" The girl scoffed in disbelief and shook her head. "It is in the category of young adults in the bookstore. FYI, Voldemort was a murderer and Harry was a wonderful portrayal of PTSD."

The girl looked like she had more fight in her, but she was only now realizing that she'd been baited. Her eyes widened for a second as it registered she'd willingly engaged in this conversation and then narrowed suspiciously at her. Then after a while , she smiled at her, letting out a small chuckle. Then she extended her hand.

"I know you just say my name but I'm Michelle."

The girl eyed her hand with caution and it's her turn to roll her eyes.

"I'm not hitting on you, Brownie," she reassured her; she had, but now she was genuinely interested in picking her brain. Because let's say, the player was being played. "I'm just making small talk about literature choices. Promise." Then she raised her other hand in a promise gesture.

The girl unexpectedly cracked a smile and she blinked a little at the sight because her face looked so natural with a scowl on, it was like the smile lit up all of her features. And she realized this was a girl with layers. With depth. Way more that The Great Gatsby or Harry Potter and she wasn't used to that kind of encounter. It occurred to her that, if she hooked up with her like she usually did, she would just turn her into one of her disposable conquests whose names she forgot as soon as they were out the door. And to her utter shock, she felt like she didn't want that. But the alternative to that that could've guaranteed this wasn't the last she saw of her would've been dating. Committing.

Dating? Uugh! Just the thought made her shudder. She was stuck in that grey area of not wanting to let the girl slip now that she'd found someone with whom she actually had something in common, someone who challenged her, and moving forward toward shackling herself with the word relationship.

"Brownie? Do I look like a dog to you?" The girl responded irritated and raised an eyebrow at her and she laughed at that.

"I'm sorry. You didn't offer your name so I thought of something to call you. Then I noticed how beautifully brown your eyes are, so..." she explained and the girl put on a mocking full-on smiled but that knocked Michelle dumb as she slipped her tiny hand into hers. Her hand so warm that it ignited something inside her. She felt her body froze and as she leaned forward, she caught a whiff of her perfume. It smelled minty and refreshing, which she thought suited her perfectly and it captured all her senses.

For the briefest of seconds, they locked eyes and something inside her tried to warn her that she was making a big mistake and she needs to stop here, stand up and walk away before she gets trapped and find no way out. But how could she? She couldn't move. She couldn't even take her eyes off of the girl.

"Anntonia," the girl introduced herself, and that silenced the voice inside her head. She couldn't walk away anymore. It seems like there's a force that didn't go in her favor so might as well enjoy the grey area while she could and worry whatever the consequences this situation might bring later on.