A year. It had been a whole effing year.
She was surprised to find herself seated in the coffee shop of a swanky hotel, reading a book and having a Zen moment. A year ago she didn’t even think she’d actually be content to sit alone like this—much less be alive.
Carlisle took a sip of her now-lukewarm tea as she looked out the large glass windows that reached from floor to ceiling. She returned to Tagaytay every now and then with her family since this was her mother’s hometown, but she never actually stayed away from the matriarchal house and enjoyed being a tourist by herself. Until now.
And quite frankly, she was enjoying it.
After resting her eyes, she looked down at her open page. But she wasn’t be able to go back to reading just yet, not when she heard someone clear his throat and address her.
“Mind if I sit here?”
She looked up to see the voice coming from a tall, lanky guy with glasses. And cute. Very cute. But what really surprised her was the shock of blue hair that covered his head. So surprised that she could only answer with a confused frown.
“Um,” he began again, pushing the wire-frame glasses up his nose. “Would you mind if I sit here? Every other table is taken and it seemed you didn’t have any company.” He gestured to the seat across her place at the table.
She looked around the room quickly, and indeed the hotel cafe had become full. She must have been too engrossed with her book to notice that the other guests had already filled the space.
“Of course.” She nodded, gesturing to the empty chair. There was something pleasant about his mouth when he spoke, about how his eyes squinted when he asked his question. He seemed harmless enough. But before her guest could actually take a seat, her curiosity got the best of her.
“Are you a cosplayer?” she asked. She felt herself go pale as soon as the words had left her. Surely she could’ve waited for him to sit down before asking that intrusive question.
“It’s the hair, isn’t it?” He cringed as soon as he sat down. “It’s my little sister’s failed science experiment, a side effect. Long story. Now I have to live with it.”
In spite of herself, she laughed, her voice carrying over the din of the shop. She cleared her throat quickly, a hand over her mouth before looking back up at him. “Little sisters: can’t live with them, can’t live without them,” she said, amused.
“You have a younger sister, too?” he asked, curious. Other people who asked to share seats from strangers normally turned their bodies away to keep some privacy. Not him; he sat there facing her.
“Yes.” She surprised herself that she supplied a straightforward answer to a stranger. “And she’s a bundle of energy all her own.” She grinned at him.
“Ah,” was all he could comment as he sat there, suddenly looking awkward before he turned his head to look around elsewhere in the room.
“Sorry, I won’t keep you. You seem to be waiting for someone?” she asked, already closing the book she’d been reading and picking up her bag from the floor.
“No, please.” His reply was quick, gesturing for her to stay. “I’m just actually waiting for my aforementioned sister so I can pick her up. She said she’d be out already but it’s already been thirty minutes and I wanted to sit—” he looked up at her meekly, “and find someone to talk to.”
She laughed haughtily. “I assure you, I am terrible company. I’m just going to bore you.”
“You haven’t been boring so far,” he muttered, before looking down at the menu she had discarded to his side of the table earlier.
She shook her head as she put down the book. “Well, then. What conference is your sister in anyway?” She found herself oddly interested in this guy. Sure, he had weird light blue hair, but he was also kind of charming.
Oh please, Carlisle, you shouldn’t even be entertaining the thought of flirting with him!
“The Young Scientists Conference,” he answered, his young and not-so-deep voice bringing her back from her thoughts.
She couldn’t help but grin at him, especially with what he revealed earlier. “So she’s basically here with people at least half a mind as hers?”
“Unfortunately.” He grinned wryly.
“Does she have a case study of her own?”
“Very much so,” he replied.
“With what she did with your hair, I’m surprised you’re still doing her favors.”
He shrugged, before grinning widely. "Little sisters, am I right?"
Her heart almost skipped a beat when he did. His eyes crinkled when he grinned, his smile arrestingly captivating. She cleared her throat, trying hard not to let herself get too interested. “Well, we can’t have everything now, can we?”
He was poised to speak when the table slightly shook. It was her phone, and it was flashing a message from her friend.
Cas! Finally free. Where do we eat dinner? Tired of hotel food.
She looked up at him regretfully. “I’m sorry I have to leave you, but my friend’s waiting,” she apologized, picking up her bag and stashing her phone and book into it a bit too hastily.
“Oh. Uh, okay,” he simply said, surprised. “Sure. Thank you for sharing your table.”
She shook her head. “It was no problem at all.” She hesitated a bit, but stood up anyway, giving him a nod before turning away.
Carlisle, seriously, what were you thinking? You shouldn’t be thinking about things like that. Not when—
“Ma’am?” A server’s question stopped her in her tracks. That was when she realized she had been walking too quickly and almost bumped into the guy. Did she look like she was trying to run away?
“Sorry,” she muttered an apology. She grinned nervously, hoping no one—especially not a cute blue-haired guy—saw her near-collision. She saw that she was already at the cafe entrance. Apparently she had been speed-walking to get away that she hadn’t really been paying attention to her surroundings.
“No problem, ma’am. Do you need anything?”
“N-no, not really,” she answered. Thinking quickly, she slipped her hand into one of her bag’s side pockets and took out a card case. Fumbling, she got one of her cards—severely outdated, but the same contact details nonetheless—and dropped it in the mailing list fishbowl. “Just thought I’d leave this here,” she giggled nervously to recover.
Smooth.
Shut up.
The server smiled back politely as Carlisle turned her heels to go, trying to escape further humiliation by pretending to be busy and calling her friend’s number. Well, she really was dialing Marty, but that wasn’t the point, was it?
“Cas!” She heard her friend greet her before she could even press call. She looked up to see Marty crossing the lobby, looking awfully exhausted. “Dinner is so much welcome right now.”
“Are you sure, Marty?” Carlisle asked after hugging her. “You look like hell,” she added in a hush, afraid Marty’s colleagues would hear her comment. It was because of Marty that she could stay in the hotel free of charge, sharing her room while her friend organized another conference in another part of the property. How else would she be able to stay in a swanky hotel such as this?
The idea came about when Carlisle was looking for a vacation. After her epic breakup with her longtime boyfriend, she threw herself into non-stop work for a year, taking on a regular job and a part-time one. It was the only thing she could think of to distract herself from the emotional turmoil inside. She forged on, and she did well in her job, impressing both bosses. But as all things taken in excess, she burned out, and she had to take a leave from herself. She quit the regular job, and asked for a break from her part-time one. Now here she was, still recovering but getting better with every moment she spent breathing the crisp Tagaytay air.
At least, that’s what she wanted to believe.
“Do you just want to sit in our room and call for room service?”
“No! Dinner outside. Please!” Her friend linked arms with her and practically dragged her out towards the hotel doors.