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The coffees he didn't like

"O centro do café." That's what the small coffee house was called. While most people preferred to name their coffee shops with beautiful French, Spanish, , German or even Chinese names; the owner of the one where Naina worked decided to go a slightly different way, and the old man ended up going for Protugese language. It was the official language of Brazil after all. The home to the richest flavours of coffee, the official coffee pot of the world, and his late wife's birth place. So why wouldn't he go for a bit unconventional course of action?

The moment Naina started working at the homely place as a barista, she knew how much her elderly employer loved and missed his long gone wife. "She was his world," that's what he always exclaimed, and then, as if a reflex mechanism, his eyes brimmed with unshed tears and unconditional love. She felt immense pity for him.

The coffee shop was dimly lit but the light filtering in through the windows was more than compensating. In the quiet and peaceful afternoons, as soon as Naina entered through the doorway for her shift, she always took a long, deep breath, inhaling the aroma of ground coffee and tea, earthy and rich, mixed in with the happy sound of chatter and laughter.

Everyday, she waits for the barista on duty, Kamya, to finish up for the day and meanwhile, runs her hand along the countertop. A chalkboard stands propped up against where the countertop meets the wall, displaying their menu and special offers for the particular day. There were five or six tables for four that matched the design of the counter top, brown plywood which was; two or three two seaters in the same design; and one longer one in the back that was large enough to easily seat ten or twelve. The walls were decked with 2 large framed paintings of Raja Ravi Verma, and the rest of the space was occupied by beautiful and deep quotes. To Naina, they seemed much more like her owner's effort in encouraging his staff and customers to put their trust in destiny and true love. She says so because one of them reads,

You don't find love, it finds you.
It's got a little bit to do with destiny,
fate and what's written in the stars.

This is all seemed like exceptional bulshit though.

Don't get her wrong. It's not like she didn't respect the old man and his love for his wife. Far from it. To put it simply, she failed to understand it. This revelation often earned her a surprised huff from her best friend and fellow barista Swati, but the latter only thought so because she was already engaged to a young man of her family's choice, and she liked him well enough. Understanding and expecting love from a person did came easily to Swati. But Naina liked to live in the real world, where young girls like her are often married off before they can start looking for the said wonderful person, and for middle class people like her, even a normal, respectable marriage seemed like a distant dream. There was no way her heart is ever going to beat for a person, consider him as "her world" and find itself putting all kinds efforts for him.

But marriage was based on duties and promises. And often, it was much easier to do things which people believed they were supposed and obliged to do, rather than what they loved to do. Same with coffee and her. See, she liked coffee fine. She didn't love it. She was more of a chai person herself. She wasn't in love with coffee. She just liked it. But she did love the fact about how it much it helped her family's financial condition and gave her something to do in her free time. And if she happened to love making it and serving it, then so what. She made a mean coffee, a perfect coffee. That's what mattered the most.

So, when famous buisness tycoon Sameer Maheshwari- the richest person in Gujrat- strode inside their coffee shop, it was surprisingly normal for Naina and unsurprisingly "the best day of their lives" for her fellow staff. It might have been a fangirl moment for Naina like it was for the others- no one is pointing towards Swati, who practically swooned upon having a closer look at him- had she recognised him. As soon as he entered the shop, he straightway went to the counter and had a closer look at the menu, but didn't pay attention to any of them, the staff members. He ordered her speciality, an Iced vanilla Latte, and pulled out his wallet and paid quickly. "Aapka naam kya hai?" Naina asked, sharpie poised above a paper cup. She however, failed to hear Swati and Rohit's surprised gasps.

The man (that's what he was in her head) seemed pretty surprised himself and raised one of his eyebrow as a mock gesture. Then, with his deep and irritating(ly beautiful- stop it brain cells) voice, he replied in a rather confident tone, "Sameer Maheshwari." Without waiting for a moment longer, he went over to sit at a nearby table and pulled out his phone, completely missing Naina's hilarious moment of self realisation.

So yeah it took her a while to recognise an important person, but as soon as she did, she was ecstatic. Maybe their little coffee shop would get some recognition for once. So, she makes the coffee, perfect as always, smiling good naturedly at Rohit's praises for "Naina didi's perfect vanilla Latte" and simultaneously ignoring Swati's elaborate description of Sameer's looks.

She finishes her perfect cup with a some crushed ice hands and nice hot chocolate sauce, and hands it over to the man. He again raised his eyebrow seeing her, but took the cup from her hand nonetheless. He took one sip and grimaced. And Naina- the perfect coffee maker and barista- failed to breathe or have a heart beat or anything because no one had ever grimaced before. No one had said anything less than "itni acchi coffee maine kabhi nahi pi" to her before. So, to say she was surprised would be a hideous understatement.

"Maine Vanilla Latte mangwayi thi," Mr. Maheshwari said, "Yeh kya bakwaas hai. Ek toh itni der wait karo, upar se duniya ki sabse bekaar coffee bhi piyo."

If the man hadn't said that last part while grimacing in the general direction of everything else, Naina might have considered ignoring him. But he did that and now, well, she was more than a little pissed.

"Excuse me?" was all Naina could manage.

The man just rolled his eyes, and promptly turned to leave, throwing the disposable coffee cup in the trash rather dramatically.

Okay that hurt. It hurt a lot.

That left her, angry, bewildered, more than a little disappointed and a whole hell of a lot determined.

---

"Swati yeh ameer log khud ko samajhte kya hai? Paisa hai toh kya kuch bhi karenge? Kal dekha nahi uss rakshas ko tune. Kaise coffee ka cup dustbin mein phekkar gaya. Bhagwan kare phirse yahaan par kabhi na aaye" Naina poured all her problems with life in Swati's sympathetic ears, which were promptly covered with ear buds by now.

But God neither listened, nor paid any attention to Naina.

To Naine's surprise and obvious irritation, Sameer Maheshwari returned the next day, waiting until Rohit was busy just so he could get a coffee from Naina. Well damn.

Last night Naina had spent all her time cursing Sameer Maheshwari and his exceptionally rude behaviour. On more than one occasion, she even considered throwing a round of curses at Maheshwari Industries as well, but refrained herself after considering the countless people who found their livelihood there. However, she didn't doubt her ability to make good coffee for a single moment, never has, probably never will.

"Kya chahiye aapko?" Naina all but snarled, masking her angee under a cheerful grin like the good polite employee she was, occasionally throwing smiles at her boss who was seated at the counter.

"Ek Coffee Milk ," the man said, throwing a rather suspicious smile at her, and without skipping a beat added, "Jise insaan bhi pee sake."

Naina stiffened visibly, hands clenching at her sides and through gritted teeth asked, "Usmein flavouring kaunsi chahiye?"

The man looked down at his phone, paying less than no particular attention to her, but Naina continued speaking and snarling in the general direction of basically everything, "Caramel, vanilla, hazelnut..."

He again took a good look at her, probably thinking about all the insults he was capable of throwing at her, before replying, "Ab vanilla flavour toh tumhein use karna aata nahi hai. Ek kaam karo caramel le aao"

Naina rolled her eyes, a frown taking over her facial features as she turned to make the best coffee ever. She started with a simple drinking glass that she pulled out of a small cooler behind the counter. After filling it most of the way with milk, she added a thick black syrup from a mason jar, stirring it with a long spoon.

She then set the ice crusted glass with a paper topped straw sticking out in front. It was like an iced coffee, but with less bitter hints and a smoother texture.

She gave the devil (that's what he is from now on) his drink in exchange for the money due and watched as the man took a sip, making sure she saw as his nose wrinkled up in disgust yet again. Naina's stomach dropped.

"Tumhare coffee shop par toh health advisory jaati kar deni chahiye." he excalimed incredulously, "Isse peekar toh pakka logo ko diabetes ho jayegi" he said, but left with the coffee anyways, this time making a dramatic exit without throwing Naina's entire life's hard work (okay that was probably a exaggeration) in the trash.

---

The third time the devil came in wasn't the day after the Coffee Milk incident, nor the day after that. It was exactly five days later, at almost the same time as before. He wasn't wearing a perfectly pressed shirt, trousers and waistcoat like the previous two times, but was instead decked out in a simple t-shirt and jeans, which were probably more expensive than her entire wardrobe. The way he tugged his sunglasses off his eyes and forced them into the tangle of hair atop his head did not make Naina's heart dance in delight. Not at all. That would be stupid.

On that particular day too, Naina found herself thanking a married couple who exclaimed about how she was spoiling their habit by always handing over the best coffee ever.

She made an extremely dramatic entrance in the kitchen space, (even better than the devil, or that's what she liked to claim) and turned to her best friend, sharing her irritation regarding Sameer's obviously pre-ruined taste buds with her. Swati however, seemed quiet fed up and replied in a rather angry tone,
"Yaar Naina aisa bhi toh so sakta hai ki use coffee beans se koi dikkat ho."

"Aisa ho hi nahi sakta. Sir ne hamesha ki tarah coffee Brazil se import karwayi thi. Tujhe toh pata hai na, chahein kharcha jitna bhi ho, unhein madam ke sheher ki special coffee beans hi pasand hai." Naina exclaimed, "aur agar usse iss coffee se koi dikkat hai na, toh main Chachiji ke do rupay walein sachet le aaungi. Doodh mein gholkar wahi pila dungi uss rakshas ko."

That particular day too, he waited until Naina wasn't busy and came up to her. Her mood dropped by a few degrees, her heart leaped and she found her breathing rather ragged.

"Aap kya lenge aaj?" Naina asked as the devil walked up to the counter. He seemed rather sad, his eyes sunken just that little bit, like he'd been awake all night and wasn't planning on sleeping any time soon. Like he had shed tears...? She kind of felt sorry for him, but then remembered the way he had reacted to her coffee that first day and any feelings other than intense hatred left in a heartbeat.

"Ab tumhein cold coffee toh banani aati nahi hai. Ek hot mocaccino dedo" He said, eyes scanning her yet again, and Naina flushed under his gaze.

He went over to sit at a nearby table and pulled out his phone, typing God-knows-what at a rather alarming speed. But Naina was on a mission. There was no way she was going to serve anything less than the best. Yeah, you heard it right. The best.

She turned to her spresso machine. The "traditional" Italian mocha drink involved simply layering a shot of espresso, cold cream and, finally melted chocolate on top– no mixing. Then you drink the espresso through a layer of cream and chocolate. That's what made it the best. And perfect like always.

She handed it over, but fighting off the indifference she was supposed to have for him, she lowered her eyes and enquired in a calm tone, "Aap theek ho?"

An unknown expression took hold of his beautiful features, but it was gone before she could place her finger on it. He shrugged uncomfortably and replied, "Woh kal mere Nanaji ki barsi thi"

"I am sorry" and she genuinely felt it this time. She placed her hand on his shoulder rather awkwardly, snatching it back 3 exact seconds later, "Aap pareshaan mat hoiye. Sab theek ho jayega."

"Thank you," he huffed and diverted his gaze away uncomfortably, taking his coffee and sipping. His mouth shrunk in disgust and he glared at Naina and his cup. The devil placed the money on his table and turned to leave.

He was about to exit the shop, but he halted at the last moment and turned in her direction, "Yeh bekaar coffee abhi bhi utni hi kharaab hai"

She seriously considered the usage of 2-ruppee-sachets and warm milk from next time.

---

The fourth time wasn't very pleasant either. He came exactly four days later, with a firm resolve to walk all over her dignity, or that's what Naina claimed.

"Naina Didi aapne kabhi yeh notice nahi kiya ki woh hamesha coffee aapke haath ki hi peete hai." As a matter of fact she had, but she refused to dwell on that, fought off the ever growing blush on her features and decided in favour of ignoring Rohit and his meaningless gossip.

"Ek black coffee." was all he said as he approached Naina. Though he still waited for her to be done with his current customer instead of going to Rohit. That happy curl happened again in the pit of her stomach and she couldn't help it. She didn't want to stop it anyway. Rakshas wasn't completely out of her bounds, he didn't end up on the front page of the newspapers that her family can barely afford, he didn't dislike the flavour of the one thing she loved making.

Obviously not. That would be stupid.

"Usmein caramel ya cream..."

"Black coffee Naina. Bilkul kadwi."

Yes. She heard it right. He had definitely muttered the word Naina.

Naina stared at him. She wasn't wearing a name tag, never has. The coffee shop was a small one and everyone knew everyone, so there wasn't really a need for name tags. No one in the shop wore them. She looked up slowly to see the devil staring intensely at her. As if he would swallow her up. (God please) "Maine toh aapko apna naam bataya hi nahi."

He just averted his gaze and shrugged, his sunglasses sliding back into place, masking his face from Naina's prying eyes. Oh well. Not like she cared.

Obviously not. That would be stupid.

So she made a bitter coffee. No sugar, no sweetener, no swirl of caramel or topping of whipped cream. Gave it to him plain and black. Just like his soul. Rakshas. The devil took a drink, as per usual. His nose again scrunched up and he made a close-to-gagging noise, but paid and left without another word.

---

The fifth time's a charm. Naina absolutely refused to believe it. The reason? The devil's fifth visit didn't go a lot better than the previous four ones. In fact, it might have gone much worse. No. It did go much worse.

He strode inside the shop, looking dashing as ever in his perfect and fitting three piece suit, smooth and silky hair, and sunglasses placed neatly over his eyes. This obviously differed from his previous visits since there wasn't a three piece ever. Waistcoat sure, but not this. Somehow, it gave him a rather dangerous and buisness-like look. Naina refused to admit it, but she might have swooned like the lovestruck woman she was.

It was just a comparison. She wasn't lovestruck.

Obviously not. That would be stupid.

He advanced towards her, looking like a film star and she obviously felt like a heroine, but there weren't any rose petals and no wind to blow her hair away and- stop it brain cells. Why do they always lose control whenever he is around? He gripped the counter and leaned a bit forward, smirking at her reddened cheeks and their growing proximity. If Naina had thought that her brain cells lose control around him, they practically fused at this.

She was about to ask him for his order, but her voice was cut off by Kamya's high pitched one, "Oh my God! Mujhe laga Swati mazaak kar rahi thi. Aap toh Sameer Maheshwari ho na?"

The devil retreated from his position and smiled cockily at Kamya, his features relaxed and playful, "Are waah! Pehchaan liya aapne mujhe. Chalo accha hai. Kuch logo ko toh naam puchna padd jaata hai." He said and raised his eyebrows at Naina.

But before she could reply to him, Kamya lunged forward and took Naina's spot. (not her place. She can't do that) She twisted her hair suggestively (disgustingly) and smiled coyly at the devil. "Koi bewakoof hi hoga, jo aapko nahi pehchaan paya," Sameer sent a smirk in Naina's direction, "kyuki aap jaisa toh koi ho hi nahi sakta"

On that particular moment, Naina prayed. She prayed with all her heart that a miracle cracked the floor of her coffee shop and swallowed up Kamya. Or that she got carried away in a deadly tsunami. Or she stopped existing altogether. Got lost in time and all. Anything could work. She wasn't that picky. Swati tu gayi chutti par?

But like she said earlier. God neither listened, nor paid any attention to Naina.

To her obvious irritation, Kamya kept throwing her suggestive looks at the devil and he kept giving her attention. His eyes lifted briefly from Kamya to meet hers, and she felt something shift. Hatred? Dislike? Revenge? Inferiority for her?

Nope.

It was playful. Definitely playful.

After being ignored for five painful minutes, Naina stormed into the kitchen area and wiped away the stinging in her eyes. Stupid devil and his charms. She hates him. Hates him with all her being.

Not really.

"Naina yaar Sameer ne ek Ristretto ka order diya hai," Kamya's voice rang in her ears. And she wondered if she should cut off Kamya's tongue. She wouldn't be able to flirt with Sameer then. God, why weren't there any other customers? Why was her boss absent? But. Most importany. What if they both were.....touching?

She cleared her head hastily and muttered exceptionally powerful curses at both of them. She then grabbed a mug from the counter and begin preparing the perfect coffee she is recognised for. (well not by him but whatever)

A Ristretto is nothing but a short shot of coffee, with about half the amount of water. Less bitter, but exhibits a more intense espresso character. Perfect for a lovely date. She considered making a second one for Kamya and finishing it with some nice juicy poison. Less known technique. Could work though.

She let out a long, deep breath and took the coffee. Exiting the kitchen, her eyes took in the empty coffee house and, the disgusting sight of Sameer and Kamya, sitting quiet close on a two seater. She slammed the cup at the counter, which earned her their attention. Her eyes widened in shock. She hastily exited the scene before she made a bigger fool of herself, but felt Sameer's gaze on her the entire time.

But, she was only gone physically. Her rabbit ears were exceptionally good at their job.

"Sorry. Woh yeh na aisi hi hai. Hamesha pagalo wali harkaten karti rehti hai." Kamya said.

"Are ismein tumhari koi galti thodi na hai. Koi baat nahi." Naina could hear the clattering of tea cup. He is about to take a sip!

"Chee yaar" Her heart dropped. She could practical hear the dislike and grimace in his voice. "Kitni bekaar hai yeh coffee."

"Arey aisa kya daal diya usne coffee mein." Kamya exclaimed. "Main doosri bana laati hoon Sameer."

"Nahi koi zaroorat nahi hai." He spoke. Every part of him indicated his hurry. Wow. Her coffee had left him running. Literally.

Without another word, he left.

---

The sixth time was a surprise. She hadn't seen the devil in a while and it was rubbing at her the wrong way. She never thought she'd want to see his face so bad. But she did.

The previous incident had left her a lot more disturbed that she thought it would. Kamya had complained about the incident to their boss, about how Naina's coffee wasn't up to mark anymore, but he was sympathetic and instructed Naina to work even harder. Yeh sab toh hota hi rehta hai. And the next time, if Sameer does come to the coffee house, she is supposed to ask the other baristas to take his order. That left her even more embarassed. Maybe she had messed up the old man's opportunity of getting recognised for once. Sameer Maheshwari was exceptionally well known after all.

She has seriously started doubting her ability now. Maybe the praises from the other people had been a pity gesture. Maybe her coffee was exceptionally bad after all. And there was something exceptionally wrong with her too. One look at Kamya and the devil got all flirtatious. One sip of Naina's coffee, and he left in a hurry.

The devil walked inside the coffee shop, dressed in his three piece suit yet again. He gave a quick scan to the coffee shop and his gaze met Naina's, but she diverted hers before she could read his. Or he could read hers. This was the first step towards cutting off all contacts.

But her luck wasn't with her. She doubted if it really existed.

The devil came to her and gazed straight into her eyes. She swallowed nervously and broke the glance as soon as she could. He frowned and leaned over the counter, pretending to read the menu. And Naina, following the fantastic plan she had hatched some days back, "Mission: Avoid the devil at all costs", continued to gaze at everyone but him.

"Ek iced Cortado" Looks like he had finally made up his mind.

"Okay sir. Kamya ek iced Cortado." She shouted over to her counterpart, and continued looking after the billing process, ignoring the dull ache in her chest. "Aapka bill hua...."

"Ek second. Maine order tumhein diya tha." he exclaimed, staring at her as if she was the stupid one.

"Ha aapne diya aur maine le liya." Naina replied with an air of indifference.

He clenched his teeth in irritation and studied her expression rather intently. Naina suddenly became hyper-aware of her surroundings. Why the hell is he looking at her like that?

"Mujhe tumse baat karni hai" he declared, and this time, Naina's expression was the completely-surprsied one. She considered saying Ab baat karne ko bacha hi kya hai, but that would have been too cliché.

"Excuse me?" was all she managed.

"Mujhe tumse baat karni hai." he repeated, "woh bhi abhi." The last portion came out more as a demand, and Naina found herself hypnotized, and she walked away, following him blindly. They ultimately ended up exiting the shop and standing a few meters away.

"Ab batao. Tumhari tabiyat kharaab hai kya? Aaj itna ajeeb sa behave kyu kar rahi ho." He inquired.

"Ajeeb sa main nahi, aap behave kar rahe ho. Jab aapko meri haath ki coffee pasand hi nahi hai, toh apne paise kharaab karne ka kya matlab hai." Naina replied incredulously.

"Toh iska matlab yeh thodi na hai ki tum mere liye coffee banana chodd dogi" Sameer said hotly.

Naina was beyond irritated now. She was angry, hurt, desperate, jealous- all at the very same time. Not a very good combination. Moreover, Sameer wasn't making any sense. So let's add confused to the above abstarct nouns. So before something very bad happened, she turned to leave, but Sameer caught her arm.

Everything stopped.

Literally everything halted on its track as soon as he touched her.

There was a distant buzzing in her ears, yeah that seemed like the noises from her surroundings; blood continued to rush to her head; every part, even her brain, suddenly started sweating profusely and her heart filled with warmth so profound that she thought it might even burst with pleasure.

"Naina please tum jao mat. Abhi bas do minute yahaan ruk jao" she turned to him, hypnotized. She wasn't capable of looking at anything other that his eyes. Not now, not ever.

"Ab batao ki problem kya hai?"

"Ki aapko meri coffee pasand nahi hai." Naina whined. "Sab log meri coffee ki itni taareef karte hai, lekin aap hamesha ganda sa muhh bana lete ho. Itni buri toh nahi banti hogi na. Pehle din toh aapne use dustbin mein phekk diya, mujhe kitna bura laga, lekin phir maine socha ki koi baat nahi shayad aapka taste hi alag hoga. Phir mujhe laga ki nahi. Uske baad aap phir se shop par aaye, aapne dusri coffee mangwayi, lekin woh bhi aapko pasand nahi aayi. Ek baar toh mujhe laga ki aapko Chachiji ke do rupay walein sachet ki coffee pasand aati hogi-" Sameer let out a surprised laugh, but didn't dare to interrupt her babbling. "-aur aap jab last time aaye the, phir toh aapne Kamya se dosti kar li, lekin mujhse toh baat bhi nahi ki." She finished but added hurriedly, "Matlab mujhe koi farak nahi pada"

"Matlab tumhein jalan ho rahi thi." Sameer spoke casually, as if he was predicting the weather forecast.

"Yeh aapki galat fami hai." She replied, trying her best to show indifference.

He let out a long, deep breath and took a few careful steps towards her. He stared straight into her orbs and declared softly, "Ab mujhe tumhari coffee pasand aaye ya na aaye, peeyunga toh main tumhare haath ki hi." To her, it seemed more like a demand. A very gratifying demand.

And Naina could swear it happened this way:
They entered the coffee shop, ignoring the stares from her fellow barsitas. She discarded Kamya's now-watery-mess of an Iced Cortado and immediately brewed a new one. She repeated over the process and ingredients in her mind, trying her best not to stare at her devil.

"Do shots espresso, 2 chammch steamed milk, ek chauthayi chamach vanilla syrup, thoda sa honey...." she kept on repeating, ignoring the winks he sent her way. She took her sweet time to perform some nice coffee art, a heart of course, and scribbled her number on his takeaway cup.

She handed over the cup to him, and his eyes shot up rather hilariously after having a close look at the coffee cup and the coffee art inside it. Naina couldn't help the sigh that overcame herself as she watched her world exit the coffee shop a few minutes later.

But people might wonder, Did Sameer like her coffee at the sixth time? Well some secrets are not to be revealed.





P.S I wrote this long back, but decided to post it now so that you all could have something to read. I don't know if you guys liked it or not.

P.P.S And I absolutely adore coffee. It's the best drink in the world. But unfortunately, one time, me, my husband, my brother and our friends completely destroyed a CCD. Well, we got banned there, but it was long back.  Even before we got engaged.

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