They met up early morning at the coffee shop, which was the same place when they first started to make the relationship agreement with each other. The shop was empty, as usual, except for a few people who came to relax with their cup of coffee.

Casey sat with his Americano coffee, and Snow tried out a drink, which was a Caffe Latte with Caramel. As she was sipping into it, she expelled out a delighted sigh and stated that caramel was tasty for her.

"How did you sleep last night?" Snow asked first thing.

"Fine," Casey replied.

"I'm not a coffee drinker like you, but it tastes nice and perks you right up in the morning," Snow said, her eyes widened for emphasis.

Instead of telling her that because her drink had more milk to make it sweeter, he said, "I drink for that reason."

"It's nice that we get to eat breakfast like this for a little bit of change." She made it sound like she wasn't tired, but she probably was since her tone was a little dull than it would normally.

"Don't get used to it."

"I won't."

"So, how are you feeling now?" she asked concernedly.

"I'm tired... because it's morning," he remarked.

She shook her head in amusement. "Okay, I feel you, but like really, are you okay?" Her eyes looked in all seriousness.

Casey sighed. "I'm fine. I don't know. I'm still... not used to it." He tilted his head.

She knew that he meant that he wasn't used to doing things with her, and frankly, she couldn't blame him. In trying to keep up with the relationship between them, he thought that he might have brought her down with him. Snow didn't deserve that. She didn't need to stick around with someone like him, but she did. Casey got to give her credit for the patience so far. He hadn't heard her complain about it.

How did she do it?

"That's fine. It's still early, and we still have many more days to go. It's all right to feel what you feel," Snow convinced and nodded to him. "I get it."

"Did someone ever tell you that you are too good for your own good?" he observed as he couldn't believe it.

"No?" she said, confused.

The waiter came to their table with breakfast as he placed their plates in front of them. He told them to enjoy before he stalked off. Snow glanced at her omelet sandwich with ham and cheese curiously, desiring to eat it at this second.

When Casey was going to pick up the fork, his phone on the table alerted him with the text notification sound. He eyed at his phone then moved his gaze to Snow, to which she told him, "Don't mind me," as she put in a piece of her food to her mouth. He glanced at his phone, tapping on the screen, and Raquel's name had popped up.

The last that he had heard of her, she told him that right now, she would appreciate it if she could just have some space. He didn't like it, but he wanted to respect her wishes. She mentioned that she hoped he's not missing out on his meals. One thing about her was that she was looking out for his health. Just matter-of-fact, he's having breakfast in which he replied to her, and another message came in, saying it's great.

So, she still cares, Casey thought.

"Who's that?" He looked to Snow, who's chewing her food across the table innocently.

"Oh, it's her, my former girlfriend," he said shortly.

"Oh..." Her voice sounded shocked. "I see... what did she want?"

"She likes that I'm eating." Casey picked up the fork and pierced through the lettuce, bringing it up to his mouth.

"Wow, that sounds nice. Are you talking to her again?" she asked, her eyebrows moving up in a display of curiousness.

"Not yet, she's... not ready for that, I supposed." His previous girlfriend wasn't ready for them to talk things out yet, so he was left wondering when they would.

It was silent for a couple of minutes as they munched on their breakfast and nothing but the sound of the speakers playing out music through the cafe. Casey wondered so much if there was something he should do than to just do nothing, but nothing was the only option for now. It created this space he didn't want with her, but he wanted to be that guy who was willing to do that much for her and wait for her until she collected herself.

Snow broke the silence. "I know you may be reluctant, but I don't want to feel like a stranger outside of your personal relationship." She bit the inside of her cheek, struggling for words to come out. It was something that she felt she didn't want to say, but she forced herself. "I want to know a little bit about her. That way, I get to know you."

She painted a guilty look on her. "Could I?"

Because of that look on her face, he was beginning to hate it. He tried his hardest to purposely wanting to avoid anything involved going deeper with his personal affair. He wasn't great with feelings, and just sharing them with another person would make him want to vomit. But maybe that's why it was killing him. He was crazy for her, and he didn't have anyone to share his problem with.

As much as he preferred to keep it to himself, he had to make this current practice relationship work out so that he could improve.

"Okay, you can ask a few questions," Casey said finally.

From the moment that he said that, her eyes had the look of I didn't expect this. She wasn't expecting him to say anything about his previous girlfriend any time soon, but Snow looked like she was ready to ask him what she had in mind.

"What's her name?" she said, leaning her elbows on the table.

"Raquel," he said to her.

"What a pretty name. She must be pretty."

"She is."

He missed that pretty face of hers. Her oval face of cool ivory with a rebel rose colored tint to her cheeks. Her mysterious dark brown downturned eyes that were dark chocolate but under a peek of light the fawn shade emerged, giving him the forest of trees. A nose firmly set in place and the soft cheeks he longed to have again in his hand. Whenever she stretched her lips to a smile, he couldn't forget her pearly white teeth that smiled for him. She was the perfect woman.

"How did you two meet?" Snow asked, hopefully.

"It takes back four years ago," Casey informed, and she nodded attentively.

Casey was sixteen years old at the time. He was at the movie theaters with his former friend, Ty Conway. Somehow, his friend had gotten him to ditch his fifth-period class on a Thursday when they were supposed to be at school. It took so much annoying pestering from him. They had to see this movie. They were talking about it for weeks now. Casey told him off that they could see it another time, but Ty just wouldn't let it get past him.

After getting their tickets from the counter and checked out by the ticket taker, the two of them stopped by outside the movie door. They were nonchalantly chatting about the movie and the parts of it, guessing on the ideas that could happen in the scenes.

Throughout their discussion, Casey and Ty were making predictions about what's more likely to happen near the ending. It went back and forth as they argued who would be more right.

To settle this once and for all, Ty was the one to propose a bet between them. Whoever was more likely correct on how the movie would end, the winner not only would get to gloat about it but also he could dare the loser to do anything right after the movie ends. Casey agreed on it.

They were watching the movie, and towards the end, Casey was met with defeat when he was wrong and that Ty was right. Casey and Ty left the theater room and out to the main lobby as Ty gloated about how he knew it was just going to happen. Casey just wanted to get over it with this dare and moved on so he could just go home.

Ty stood with his arms folded on his chest, thinking to himself. When his eyes found a girl who exited out of the girls' restroom, he looked at Casey wickedly and asked him if he has gone inside a girls' restroom. He said no, and Ty dared him to go inside the girls' restroom; for at least five minutes. Casey thought Ty was insane, telling him to think of something else. Ty looked around and pointed out there weren't many people around. Still, Casey thought it was wrong to do that.

Ty called him a chicken for not doing it. Casey said it's not right to do that, but Ty was just going on about how afraid Casey was and that he was chickening out. After having enough of being teased, he said he would do it. Ty nodded, offering to be on the lookout in case any employee were to spot him.

Casey gruffed. He wasn't excited to poke his presence where he shouldn't. First, he surveyed the lobby again. There was one person at the snack counter talking to the employee and a man across the room, but he was sitting down on the bench, and he looked lost in his thoughts. It was clear to him that no one was paying attention, so he walked to the door of the girls' restroom.

Luckily, the place was empty. He glanced at the widening, large mirror, the faucets, the stalls, and just how clean the surrounding was. The cleanliness was adequate than the men's restroom.

Maybe he could do it. If this keeps up for five minutes, he could walk out and not be seen by anyone.

Casey waited around for three minutes, and he was still by himself. The silence was nice in here, like there's nothing else going on outside, the place somehow giving him a strange feeling. And he was unaware when a female walked in, her eyebrows raised in shock when he turned his attention to her.

She had long black hair featuring the red color at the ends of her hair. She was wearing off the shoulder black blouse in long sleeves with buttons on the front, and it revealed a bit of her tummy. Her ripped jeans were doing her a favor, shaping her curves nicely.

The unknownst beauty had walked herself in, not preparing for a guy like Casey to be standing in a place like this.

"This is the girls' bathroom, you know?" she mentioned.

"I know," he said.

He told her the truth that he was doing this for a dare that his friend had made him do. She was cool enough to understand that reasoning. He assured her that he would be out of here in no time.

They began talking about the movies they were watching. She was two doors down from the movie he was watching. 

Their interaction cut short when the entrance to the door was about to open, and Casey quickly ran to a stall, shutting the door and locking himself in. He heard two girls' voices and the faucet water running. He could manage to peek through the small gap as the girl was right nearby as she leaned her body at the stall he was in.

She whispered to him that she'd never thought to cover for a guy.

He never thought he would have to be here either, but here he was. Through their low whispers to each other, he was feeling something.

Girls have been going in and out for some time, but when the coast was clear, she told him he could come out now. Casey thanked her and left the restroom peacefully. Ty was there as he inquisitively looked at him, saying he had been in there longer than five minutes. Casey said he got held up, but it was all good now.

Soon that girl walked out of the restroom, and when he looked at her, she was stunning. It had felt as if the lightning struck the earth and then onto him, and he went paralyzed.

Ty curiously looked where Casey looked. He asked what it was about, and Casey told him that she helped him out. Ty thought he should ask for her number before she would get away.

Thanks to his pushing words, Casey went up to that girl, thanking her again back there. She said it was no problem.

He was nervous. He had never really talked to a girl, especially not ones who looked like her. Was it the eyeshadows that she applied on that made her eyes more sexier? Or the eyelashes? He had never pay attention to other girls and their facial features, but it was different with her somehow. 

They got to introduce themselves, and he thought Raquel was really something. He had asked her if she went to school, and she went to a community college. She was nineteen. Casey didn't care if she was a little older than him, in fact, that intrigued him much more.

They had a smooth sailing conversation, and in the end, he did ask for her number. He didn't know what it was, but he wanted to get to know her better.

Casey would revisit that day just to see her again for the first time.

"Oh," Snow said. She thought it was an unusual first meet, but then again, love could happen at any strange place.

Thinking back about that memory made him miss Raquel even more.

Snow placed a small, solacing smile to her lips. "I'm glad you're telling me this."

She took a sip of her drink, but now warm in her hand. "I hope you get to talk to her soon."

Casey spooked with his eyes, moving his eyebrows along in reaction after what he felt like he was giving a long explanation, but it happened within minutes. He took a bite of his salad, chewing while pondering in his thoughts. It was the first he talked about Raquel, and he couldn't quite put a name to what he was feeling.

He just knew he was going to be thinking about her for the rest of the day, and about their relationship, and what it had meant to him. Waiting for the days until they could face each other once more.

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What do you think about how Casey and Raquel first meet? Was it kinda unusual? I aimed for that. It was also in my head for a long time. I finally got that out!

I was kinda excited getting into it, because the details are just... hopefully spicy 🌚

This is also the first step for Casey to share details with someone else, so this is a good first step for him. Hopefully, it's going towards the right direction. If he can give himself a little bit like this, who knows what could happen in the future later chapters. 

Please vote and comment as it means the world to me!