Love and latte

Lucy hesitated, then she stretched out her hand too. He held her and lifted her up with ease. She was surprised how large and firm his hands were. She thought Jonathan was taking her to the cafeteria in school, but he led her past the college gate.

“Where are we going?” Lucy asked, as she tried to walk as fast as him.

“Somewhere you don’t know, somewhere where we don’t get to see fake smiles and inflated prices “

He took her to a small coffee shop not too far from school. She was surprised she had never seen or heard about it. There was a big sign post with the inscription “Love and Latte”. The place was old and rustic. It smelled like baked beans and wood. Jonathan didn’t ask her what she wanted, he just ordered two medium sized coffees and led her to a table with two worn out chairs.

He sat opposite her and pulled out a sketchbook from his bag and started drawing.

“You are not going to ask why I was crying?” Lucy asked as she sipped her hot coffee.

“Okay, why were you crying over a guy who treats you like sh*t?” Jonathan did not look up, he kept drawing. “Oh yeah, I already know. Because you think it’ll make him pity you and come back or change. People don’t change Lucy. He already showed you who he is “

Lucy felt uneasy. “That’s not it, he is just under a lot of pressure. His father’s business…”

“Stop” Jonathan finally raised his head to look at her. “Let’s talk about something more… interesting “ he said. “So if you weren’t stuck with Adrian, if you didn’t have to get married to him to save you dad’s business, what would you like to do”

Lucy froze, she had never really thought of a life without Adrian. So she started thinking. “ ummm… I think…. I would like to travel round the world, and yeah, write stories too, romantic stories. “

For the next three hours, Lucy forgot about Adrian, school and everything else. Jonathan had a way to make her think of herself. They argued about her favorite books and authors, and anytime she won a point, Jonathan would reward her with a smile and a nod… something Adrian hadn’t done in forever.

“You’re not exactly how I thought you were.” Lucy said as the day started getting dark.

“People have different perceptions of people I guess”. Jonathan said “you see me as a rude scholarship student and I see you as a girl who doesn’t know how tough she is “

He stood up. "I have to get to a shift. I’ll walk you back to the school gate."

As they walked back to school, Lucy felt lighter, she felt happy. She picked up her phone but didn’t see any missed calls or text from Adrian, but she didn’t let it bother her.

She headed back to her dorm where Zoe was already waiting for her. Zoe was already in bed but she jumped up the moment she saw Lucy.

"Oh, Lucy where have you been? I’ve been really worried!" Zoe pulled Lucy into a tight hug. "I heard what happened after class. People were talking about Adrian being... well, a bit of a jerk. Are you okay?"

Lucy took off her shoes and sat on her bed as she talked to Zoe. "He was more than a jerk, Zoe. He told me our engagement is just a business deal. He said he doesn't have emotions for me anymore."

Zoe immediately became angry. "That pig. How could he say that to you? You're his queen, Lucy. He’s probably just scared of the commitment. I’ll keep an eye on him for you, okay? I’ll make sure he isn't doing anything stupid."

"Thank you, Zoe," Lucy said, resting her head on her friend's shoulder. "I don't know what I'd do without you. You're the only person who truly stays by my side."

Zoe smiled, but her eyes remained on her phone as it buzzed in her lap. "Always, Eliana. Friends like us... we're for life."

Eliana drifted off to sleep that night feeling comforted, unaware that the very person holding her had just received a text from Adrian that read : I'm at the hotel bar. Hurry up.