Accidental Love Song

As I walked over to Frank, he looked up, and smiled, flashing his perfect teeth. My heart fluttered a tiny bit, and I grinned back. He got up from the table, and began walking towards me. I was greatly surprised, but enjoyed it nonetheless, when he pulled me into a soft hug. He also kissed my cheek, which was beginning to burn a dark shade of red.

“Hey Nessa! Um, I didn’t know what you wanted exactly, so I just got a cookie for us to share, and left the drink up to you… If that’s alright…” He said, signifying a rather large double chocolate chunk cookie, sitting on the table, with a bite already taken out of it.

I giggled a reply, “Yeah, that’s great. Let me just get my drink.” He smiled again, and walked with me up to the counter. There were about 4 people in front of us, in line. I looked thoughtfully at the menu, chewing my lip lightly, trying to decide what I wanted. I had my eyebrows furrowed, as I usually do when I’m concentrating. I raised them, however, when I heard a small chuckle from beside. Frank was looking at me, and smiling.

“What?” I questioned smiling back. He laughed and shook his head, before he replied.

“It’s just, you’re kinda really cute when you’re thinking; you chew your lip, and look like you’re concentrating really hard. Like I said, it’s cute.” He smirked.

I blushed slightly, and chuckled nervously. “Thanks?” I answered, [or rather questioned] raising one of my brows. I moved forward in line, to the register, and realized that I had been distracted by Frank enough that I still didn’t know what I was ordering. I quickly scanned the menu again; ignoring the irritated look on the cashier’s face, and chose a simple vanilla iced late’. The cashier, whose name was apparently Eric, rolled his eyes, and got to preparing my order. As he was doing that, I reached into my purse to grab the money to pay. I heard a scoff from beside me, and before I could even put the cash on the counter, Frank had already paid the cashier for my drink.

I blinked a couple of times, as my cheeks continued to blush wildly. “Thanks…” I mumbled sincerely, not meeting his eyes. I hated taking ‘charity’. It just wasn’t my style. If it had been anyone else, I would have argued that I pay, until I won. But, somehow, I knew that I wouldn’t win with Frank. He was too much the gentleman type.

-

I was almost done sipping my late’ and there were crumbs scattered across our table, the remnants of our long-ago finished cookie. We had been talking, laughing, and exchanging little anecdotes for a while. Now, though, there was a comfortable silence surrounding our table, as we were both left to our own thoughts. I took a quick glance at my watch to see what time it was. The little digits read as 2:48 pm. I chuckled at how virtually 3 and a half hours felt more like 30 minutes. Hadn’t I just walked in? Or maybe I just bought my coffee… When exactly did we finish that cookie? I pondered these thoughts, until they were disrupted by the honey quality of Frank’s soft voice.

“Whatcha you thinking about, Ness?” he questioned, smiling slightly, and gazing directly into my eyes.

I stared back, admiring the little flecks of green and brown that adorned his beautiful hazel orbs. I pursed my lips absentmindedly, as I thought of just how to answer him. “Time. You. Us. Joy. Life. Everything.” I listed off, looking around the room as I did so. I couldn’t really find an answer, so I simply told him exactly what was running through my mind.

He breathed a soft chuckle, and stared at me. He had a very contemplative look on his face, and I could tell he was studying me. I became slightly self conscious, and would still not meet his eyes. Instead, I opted for draining the rest of my drink. It was silent for a few moments, before he smiled at me, and offered to throw away all of our trash. I was thankful for that; it gave me a chance to go to the bathroom and freshen up. I grabbed my purse and proceeded to the restroom. So far, this date, I guess you could call it, was going really well. There weren’t very many awkward moments; just comfortable ones.

I got back to the table, and smiled at Frank as he looked up from his phone. He had an uneasy look on his face; did I do something wrong? Had the date not gone as well as I’d hoped? My face creased in confusion, and I cocked my head to the side, silently hoping I hadn’t messed this whole thing up.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” I asked anxiously. He seemed very agitated… He sighed, before pursing his lips and answering.

“I… Have to go. I’m sorry… One of my friend’s needs my help. Got in a little trouble…” he said vaguely, his eyes kind of distant, as if he had already moved on from our date, and to his own problems, in his mind. I nodded once, still troubled by his sudden change in behavior.

“I really am sorry,” he apologized again, his face softening, as he met my eyes, “I really enjoyed going out with you… You’re really incredible, and, truth be told, I would love to do this again. Maybe… Like a movie? Then dinner, sometime?” he questioned, gathering his belongings. He was more composed now, but I could still tell he wanted to leave, to do whatever he needed to do.

I was a little taken aback, but pleased, that he had called me incredible. Nonetheless, I relaxed, and agreed eagerly. He said he would call me later, but had to go. He hugged me for the second time, and gave me another kiss on the cheek, before hastily leaving the coffee shop and making his way out of the mall.
I smiled after him, picked up my purse, and followed suit. I hopped in my white Nisan, and drove home, the radio playing softly in the background.