Coffee and a Love Story (fiction)

James was the first to arrive at the coffee shop. He certainly wanted to leave an impression of being a gentleman. He was constantly checking his face from his phone's reflection, fixing his hair from time to time, and flattening his fanciest suit with his hands while waiting for Inez.

James was courting Inez, and they'd been dating for months. Everything started two months ago in the cafe near the university . Since the cafe was peaceful, clean, had a good ambiance, and was in close proximity to the university, it was a perfect place to study and do school work for students just like them.

They'd been sharing glances and smiles for years in the cafe, but everything changed. One day, two months ago, the shop was filled because of the heavy rain. Inez came and ordered, but there were no tables left. Without any choice, she had to sit with James because he was alone at one table.

Recalling from his memory, after Inez finished her cup of Americano and a piece of bagel, she left hurriedly because of class. Due to her hasty movements, her wallet was dropped, which James saw and kept. The wallet contains a few hundred peso bills, an ATM card, and IDs, as checked by James. He later texted the phone number on the ID. Then they started texting. And texting turned into dating.

Inez was a huge coffee lover, and so was James. So their dates are composed of discovering new local coffee shops, trying trendy coffee recipes online in their homes, and traveling to farms to buy fresh medium-roasted coffee. Recently, they tried making Dalgona coffee and they went to a province to buy coffee made from palm civet dung.

Three minutes later, James was struck as he saw a beautiful girl in an elegant white dress with her hair flowing as she walked. Meeting Inez was not new to James. Yet, every moment he saw her, his world stopped.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," she said.

"It's okay, I'm just three minutes early."

They went to the counter to order. Inez ordered an espresso and James chose the same. They paired it with blueberry cheesecake and glazed donuts.

The two were eating when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hi, James." It's August, his ex-girlfriend, together with her boyfriend. "And it's my boyfriend, Stephen."

"Meet Inez, my... friend," he smiled while introducing his girl. Then they shook hands.

August noticed something.

"Oh, you're drinking coffee. As far as I remember, you hated coffee because it tastes like medicine and bitter gourd. We didn't even have a coffee date, and you're a tea person," August said. She continued, "Anyway, good bye. We just saw you and wanted to say hi. Enjoy! "

August and Stephen waved to the two and walked towards their table to eat.

"What did she say?" asked Inez. "So you lied to me about liking coffee?"

"I'm sorry," he replied.

"What a strange coffee lover. A fake one. "

"Please forgive me. I just did it so we could have something to spend time on and get closer with you." He held her hand on the table. "It was a lie at first. Later on, I learned to love coffee, especially when I'm with you. There's no bitter coffee as long as we have sweet moments. "

Actually, Inez was not mad. She was touched that he was willing to drink something he hated for her sake. This proves he really loves her.

"I have something to tell you too."

"What is it?" he asked.

"I meant to drop my wallet at the time we shared tables, so you can contact me. So we can talk," she replied. "I had a crush on you for so long."

He had a big smile painted on his face, and he felt thousands of butterflies in his stomach. He couldn't believe what he heard.

Before he had a chance to talk, she started to speak first. "There's more I want to tell you."

"What? It's just a prank or joke. If yes, you got me. "

"No, silly. You have had a glaze of donuts on the side of your lips for a long time, "then she laughed. "Let me wipe it."

She walks closer to him. As their distance was getting closer, James' butterflies multiplied.

Inez leaned closer. And she removed the glaze on his lips with a passionate kiss. James was shocked. His face turned red and he felt his stomach was starting to explode from all these butterflies. But it was not the most exciting part yet.

She hugged him and said, "We're now officially boyfriend and girlfriend."