COFFEE DATE

 In the break of dawn of August 1st is the onset of a long and magical journey I never knew would change my life. 

 

I got up from my queen-sized bed, 5 A.M., with my head still whirling from sleep. I was so thrilled because it was the first day of my sophomore year in college as a psychology student. I stopped at my bedroom mirror to do a quick fix before going downstairs for breakfast that my mother had prepared beforehand. 

 

Mom never disappoints when serving breakfast. Her food’s always consistent and never innocent of flavor. 

 

“Thank you, mom. They look delicious,” I said in delight. 

 

I noticed something unusual in mom’s face today. She looks like she’s under the weather with the blowing of her nose and pale skin so I suggested her to take a day off. 

 

“Mom, you should just go back to bed. You’ve been working so tirelessly that you forgot to take a rest,” I uttered. 

 

She could stop being a workaholic if she isn’t a single parent, which isn’t the case. 

 

“This is nothing but a miniscule cold, baby,” she replied. 

 

I nod in disagreement and coerced her to ease off, which I long for her to follow. Mom’s working as a web developer in a celebrated company for a nudging one year. 

 

Basically, mom had a brand-new car that she won on their company’s Christmas raffle that I can use for daily transportation since my campus is kilometers away. 

 

I drove my way to school with my salmon pink backpack sitting beside me crammed with school materials and a scribble of grocery list that mom instructed me to procure after class. 

 

And as I hung right on the next traffic light, Liam, the most popular guy in MSU, sitting by at a cat café apprehended my sight. He usually has his morning coffee staple there alone perusing musical compositions spread-eagled on the table. 

 

He wore an army green sweater propitious for the chilly, overcast day, and a reading glasses that accentuates his high-bridged nose. 

 

A lot of rumors spread about Liam that he came from a well-known family and they owned multitude of construction firms, which was never corroborated. 

 

I started to had a crush on him when he performed on the English Exposition, as an intermission number, wherein, he serenaded the whole school with his acoustic guitar, soul-stirring voice, and handsome face. 

 

Anyway, I never had the chance to talk to him personally. We crossed paths at hallways, cafeteria, and even at the local malls but we never had any formal interactions, at all. 

 

I arrived at MSU one hour before my first class to meet some former classmates and familiarize ourselves with the classroom's whereabouts.   

 

As we snaked down the Arts and Science building, I saw Liam, with his magnetic eyes, coming our way. 

 

Should I say hi to assert my presence or just cross paths again as a total stranger? 

 

Then, there it goes. My weak heart let him slipped through my fingers again. He walked past by me like I wasn’t even there. I wish he would turn his head back to have a glimpse of me but he never did. But the aromatic smell of his august perfume remained in my mind for the rest of the day. 

 

The day went just fine when a rainstorm made the city soaking wet. The trees drenched in raindrops and people garbled with protective waterproof suits. 

 

It’s just like my 19th birthday a year ago. Blake and Ashton, my two lovey-dovey precious best friends, decided to surprise me on a secret birthday celebration at Langley's Beach. 

 

They’ve blindfolded me in a car ride until we’ve reached the proximate of celebrations venue. I can hear some waves crashing, salt air pressing down on me, and my bare feet buried the fine scalding sand. 

 

Ashton lightning-fast unfastened the plaid kerchief wrapped around my eyes and the breathtaking, sunny beach filled my vision. 

 

Wine bottles on ice, seafood snacks, strawberries dipped in chocolate fondue, and chocolate cake spread across the picnic cloth hoping it would not get smeared with a grain of sand. 

 

Then, the fair skies turned into an angry, somber firmament.   

 

We ran into Ashton’s Kia Sorento to seek shelter. It was memorable, fun, and lovely as the rain kissed the beach’s scorching sand and how damped wet, we were laughing hysterically inside the car.   

 

It is definitely a memory worth cherishing. 

 

As I was reminiscing, I observed some guy in his lemon-yellow jacket who seems to have trouble starting his car. 

 

Without hesitation, I ran into him with my inefficacious umbrella against the force of a heavy rain. 

 

I, clueless on the person’s identity, tapped him on the back; And little did I know, that this rain will bring windfall. 

 

It is no other than Liam! 

 

He stared at me with his piercing deep blue-eyes and irresistible full lips that’s undeniably a work of art. 

 

There is no backing up this time. I made the first move, so I have to say something before anything gets really awkward. 

 

“What’s the problem?” I asked shyly squinting in the storming downpour. 

 

“My car won’t start,” he replied. 

 

So, I did a little examination on the engine and made a hypothetical opinion since I have a car-savvy streak in my veins. 

 

“I think a jump-start would bring the desirable outcome,” I said. 

 

He amazingly agreed to it and luckily, it’s a win-win situation for the both of us. He got his car working up again and I made a great first impression. 

 

“Not bad for a psychology student,” he said with an impressed face. 

 

My passion for cars paid off.   

 

“If it works for you, I would like to repay my debt with a warm cup of coffee,” he offered. 

 

I’m screaming internally as if he’s asking me out for a coffee date. My heart’s beating erratically and as an opportunist, all I could say is yes. 

 

So, we drove right where Liam mostly buy his coffee, at Frankfurt's café.   

 

It is not your typical café where you’ll just have chitchat with your plus one. It is teeming with different breeds of well-groomed cats loafing around, minding their own business. 

 

“So, do you like cats?” I asked. 

 

He smiled at me enthusiastically with a little bit of timidity. 

 

“Yes. Cats are powerful creatures and they live way longer than dogs,” he said. 

 

“You say?” I replied. 

 

“They have nine lives and they’re considered old-time regals,” he said. 

 

Wouldn’t this day get any better. For I believe in the luck that rain gives, as much as Liam believes in the mysticism of cats. 

 

Liam, who’s my crush, for the longest time, sit with me at a café with milling eclectic breeds of cat and warm drinks to offset the bleak weather. 

 

“Isn’t this heaven on earth?” uttered Liam while sipping espresso on a ceramic mug. 

 

“You’ll find a place that can warm your soul on a chilly day, without worrying about anything else,” he added yawning. 

 

Overall, I would rate the café’s interior with a nine out of ten. A perfect score if not of the unnecessary cat ears fixed on the baristas head. 

 

A Siamese jumped on Liam’s lap and gently sprawled, resting its stubby tails on his knees. 

 

“He looks fond of you,” I said. 

 

“He’s the most affable out of them all. I remember when I first set foot here, he approached me while I’m studying for midterms. As a visitor to his humble abode, I let him make my lap his nestle room,” he replied. 

 

My admiration for him grew even taller as I watched him caressed the cat and sipped his coffee like a prestige gentleman in a high society. 

 

We pleased ourselves throughout the whole afternoon, where Liam ordered a two stodgy croissant on the cake display. 

 

It was 7:02 in the evening, when the traffic outside the window gradually increases and the rain petered out but the freezing temperature perdured in the air long after. 

 

I withdrew, in my backpack, my favorite candlelight cardigan, with a piece of paper glued to it. 

 

It’s the grocery list that mom had ordered me to cross out after school. I completely forgot about it. 

 

“Liam, this is such a nice gesture, but I have to go,” I said. 

 

I hurriedly stood up from my seat and before I could turn my heels on him, he grabbed my wrist on the spur of the moment. 

 

“Wait!” Liam sputtered. 

 

My heart skipped and my cheeks unhelpfully turned red in the contact. 

 

He didn't just encircle his veiny hands on my wrist. He also stroked his fingers on it like testing its texture. 

 

“I didn’t even get to know your name since you knew mine,” he said with his eyes locked into mine. 

 

A word never escaped form my tremulous lips for a second. I tried to sustain my composure and, did twist my wrist from his sensual grip. 

 

“I’m Se.... Serena Brooks,” I said stammering. 

 

I speed walked out of the café with my hands placed on my echoing chest. I relieved myself inside the car by taking deep breathes and telling myself to calm down over and over again. I screamed inside the car and haphazardly blew my horn that made me jump on my seat. 

 

The throbbing of my chest lasted even after I got home.