Spine

He was tall, pale and dark-haired, with a strong nose and a striking pair of blue-green eyes. His arms had been carved from marble, it seemed, and his legs could go on forever. When he rubbed his forehead exasperatedly and glanced over, Ayden realised that he was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Caught in his stare, Ayden looked down abashedly, and returned to cutting up his mess of a muffin, far too distracted by thoughts of the man in line. He wondered if he was still looking at him now, as he cut his muffin into pathetic little pieces, no longer hungry.

He glanced over at his coffee, sneaking a look at the man again. He was looking at his watch and tapping his foot. His face wrinkled up into an oblivious aggravation, before smoothing itself out again. Ayden smiled. He wished the girl a few turns before him in the queue would never make up her mind on which flavour iced coffee she wanted. Just watching him standing there was enough.

With a sigh, Ayden realised that if he didn’t get a move on, he’d be late for work. He shoved what was left of the poor muffin into his mouth, and drowned the pieces in coffee. Picking up his backpack, he stood up and took a last chance to look at the man in line.

He’d caught him. He was looking at Ayden, that much was clear. Taking a chance, Ayden threw him a tentative smile and left the café, feeling the butterflies swell in swarms inside his stomach.

His faith in romance was not crushed. Despite the fact that they would most probably never cross paths again, hopes were high once more.