'A lot can happen over a coffee'
The coasters, the menu, the banners had the same promotional message.
My eyes scanned the bustling coffee-book shop to see what all happens over 'coffee'.
Teenagers singing "happy birthday" and smudging the cake on the birthday girl's face.
A couple on the corner table sipped their drink from a single straw.
'How Romantic!'
My single self sighed looking at them.
Moving to another couple who were most likely arguing over something and looked pissed off with each other.
'Thank God!'
My single self sighed in relief. I smiled looking at the empty seat opposite to me. 'You are your best company', I believed firmly.

"Awwww!!" A collective sound shifted my focus on a small group. A Man, standing-sitting on the table with a mobile in his hand, wearing spectacles was grinning at the response. He was probably reading something and the fairly young maidens "awed" at some quote or line.
I was sure it was romance, which as defined in books, DOES NOT exist. I don't even know where those ideas generate. A happily-ever-after is but a myth. I have often felt these books should be banned. Young kids read them, fantasise that kinda relation but when reality hits, it hits hard and leaves them shattered.

"Penny for your thoughts, Miss."

A voice brought me out of my analysis.

"Sorry?" I questioned the man standing in front of me.

"You were staring at me continuously. I... I... kind of got conscious." He replied with a smirk and slight sarcasm in his tone.

"I must have zoned out. Sorry. Please continue with your...eh... mobile?" I tried hard to frame my sentence without fumbling. I felt so flustered.

"Oh! The session is over. Do you mind if I sit with you? I could use you as a company before my next session starts." The man did not even wait for my answer and pulled a chair, making himself comfortable.

"Um... I was looking for some 'me time'." I told him politely. I didn't need company and definitely did not want to "entertain" him.

"'Me-time'? In a hundred per cent occupied cafe?" He questioned with a lop-sided grin.

Was he mocking me? I had no comeback. I never have.

"By the way, I am Eric Segal." He forwarded his hand introducing himself.

I scoffed. Eric Segal! Really? The man was probably in his thirties. Using such a typical line?

"But I am no Jane Austen." I ignored his hand. I could, maybe, sometimes, be witty.

He laughed richly. That did catch my attention. I examined him. He was not a Greek-God, like in books where the male lead is devilishly handsome. He was okay. Average height, basic features, wore a casual shirt and pant.
"Wow! That's the first time, you observed a man so closely after your divorce." My heart commented making me conscious.

"Either you have a habit of zoning out or you like checking me out." His remark caught me off guard.

Damn! What is wrong with me?

"I am sorry. As I said, I enjoy my own company so, I was just talking to myself, you must have come in my... let's say, view?" I retorted. Amazing! Where was this witty side of me when my jerk husband taunted me, for years?

"Haha! You are epigrammatic. I will be honest, when I looked around the cafe, to choose a seat for myself, I saw you and thought let's cheer up this sad soul here. Clearly, you are not because you are amusing me. Apologies for judging you."

I could not decipher whether he was appreciating me or making fun of me. My confusion got cleared when he said, "I was appreciating you."

"Can he read minds?" I thought.

"No! I don't read minds. But, you are loud enough for a daydreamer. Hahaha!"

Oh! God! This was so embarrassing. But somehow, I didn't feel agitated. That's rare. I don't take jokes aimed at me lightly and get offended easily. I saw a small smile grace my face.

"Miss, No Jane, if you are free for the next twenty minutes, would you like to attend my next book-reading session?" His eyes had a request, hope and apprehension.

"Book reading? You were reading something on your phone? You read e-books?" I wanted to know what session I was asked to attend.

"No! I am a writer on Wattpad. My story just crossed ten million reads and my readers wanted me to do a special reading session for them. Wattpad is a..."

"Place famous for erotica and smut." I completed his sentence with a smirk on my face. I didn't want to be rude but that is what my friend told me.

"You, are definitely attending the session. This misconception of yours needs to be cleared, ASAP."

He didn't get offended rather sat calmly. If I were him, I would lash out at someone who commented bad about a place I worked.

"I am sorry! But I have no intention to hear erotica." I declined politely and genuinely this time. I am 35, divorced for a year, single, and listening to erotica in a busy cafe was a bad idea.

"It's love-story set in the nineties. The era which was a witness to extreme restrictions and extreme rebellions. You belong to that era. Didn't you have a huge crush on someone, back then? Did you not dodge the X-ray scans of the neighbours for one sight of that special someone?"

I was intrigued by his words. A memory flashed my mind as he mentioned about that special someone. I did have a huge crush on a senior. I remember walking through the corridor just for his glimpse. Spending time near the water cooler even though my bottle was full. Talking a bit loud if he was around to catch his attention. Bribing his bus kids to find where he lived.

"No Jane, where are you lost? Reminiscing about that special someone?"

His eyes were mischievous.

"Was I that loud, again?" I am doomed if I said that out loud.

"Hahaha! No! You were not. But, your shy smile and twinkling eyes gave your thoughts. You are an open book. Readable but mysterious."

I swear if I were twenty I would have fallen in this colourful bait. I am mature and smart now.

"You know your charms won't work on me. So, save them for those silly under twenty." I was not giving in. Not now, not ever.

"You think I am charming?"

My cheeks heated up at his question. We are not teenagers. He was clearly flirting and I am not encouraging it.

"Um... I am running late. May be some other time, if we meet, I will listen to your story." I wanted to leave the place. The man was intimidating my emotions.

"This is that other time."

_______________________________________________________________
Dear Readers
Will the protagonist stay or will she leave?
Do you think they have a prior connection?
Find out in the next chapter.
Happy Reading.
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