Caffeine

“What do you think of this one?” You showed Brian a picture of a cute yellow hoodie you were thinking of buying from an online shop.

He looked up from his laptop, threw a quick glance at your phone before muttering, “Nice.” He took a sip on his coffee before going back to typing on his laptop,  finishing an urgent project due tomorrow.

Annoyed with his lack of enthusiasm, you pulled your phone back and went to the restroom for the third time in the last two hours. You were supposed to watch a movie tonight but his boss called him last minute, asking him to do something urgent. He told you it would be quick so he brought you to his office and asked you to wait for a few minutes. It’s been two freaking hours!

He’s been ignoring you for two hours—just like he always does when he’s working. It’s both a blessing and a curse that he’s too passionate. When he puts his mind to one thing, you can never make him lose focus. You love it when he’s focused on you, but when it’s on other things, you can’t help but feel jealous.

You stomped back to his office and slumped on your seat beside him. “I’m leaving.”

He suddenly looked up at you, confused at your sudden change of mood. “Five more minutes.”

“You’ve been telling me that since two hours ago, Bri.” You rolled your eyes at him as you fixed your things in your bag, preparing to leave.

He suddenly held your arm to so stop you from standing up. He sighed, “I’m sorry, okay? Just  a little bit more. I promise.” His tired eyes were begging you not to leave.

“I’m not mad. I’m just tired, too, and I just want to go home.” You pulled your arm away from him, picking your bag up and standing up to leave. You could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he looked up at you, contemplating on what he should do.

You smiled as you swiped your hand on his face when you saw his forehead etched with worry. A habit both of you formed to wipe away each other’s worries. “It’s okay, Bri. Make it up to me tomorrow, okay?”

He caught your hand before you could pull it away and held it upon his cheek. “I’m sorry,” he pouted against your hand before softly kissing your palm. You felt your heart flutter as you felt his lips warm your hand.

You pulled your hand a bit and pinched his cheek playfully. “Stop acting cute!”

“Aw!” Brian flinched away as you laughed at his red cheek. He didn’t let go of your hand as he stood up and pulled you closer. He held your face in both hands and dropped a peck on your lips. “I’ll take you home.”

“You don’t have to. Just finish whatever—”

He gave you another peck to stop you from talking. “I’ll finish it and you’ll wait for me.”

You glared at him as you tried to pull away from his hold. “Bri—”

This time, it wasn’t just a peck. He tilted his head properly as he kissed you softly, you couldn’t help but close your eyes and kiss him back. He knows exactly how he can have his way with you.

His lips would always taste like coffee—one of the reasons why you always give in to his kisses. You love coffee but you have long stopped drinking it since you got sick and your doctor directly prohibited you from drinking it. The first few months was hard. You’d always go to this coffee shop to at least smell caffeine while you sip on your tea. That was where you first met him two years ago—he would always be in that same corner in the cafe with his laptop.

One day, the café was so packed with students, you had no choice but to seat on his usual spot. He wasn’t there yet. He looked so lost when he arrived and saw his seat taken, but you quickly apologized and asked to share the table with him.

“You could just ignore me and carry on with your work,” You said awkwardly as he set his laptop up in front of you, his coffee on the side. The smell was heavenly.

“I doubt I could finish though,” he leaned back on his seat as he sipped on his coffee. You could see his playful eyes above his laptop screen.

“I’m sorry, I’ll be quick with my drink. I know this is your spot.”

“No, that’s fine.” He put his cup of coffee on the table, folded his laptop and set it aside. “The thing with me is, I can only focus on one thing at a time. And I don’t really feel like working today.” He cutely scrunched his nose as he smiled at you.

You ended up talking about a lot of random things until the day was over. He said his name was Brian, he was a freelance artist, he was in a band, and he loves coffee. The next day, you went to the café a bit later. It wasn’t as crowded as the day before and there were a lot of seats available, but you saw him in his usual spot, two cups of coffee were in his table. As soon as he saw you, he called you over and asked you to seat with him.

“I bought you coffee.” He smiled.

“Thank you but I can’t really drink coffee anymore,” you whined as the scent of coffee filled you. You told him about your condition and he laughed at your current coping mechanism.

“I’ll just leave that by your side then.”

“You can still drink it. It would be a waste not to,” you sighed.

“I fully intend to.” He chuckled, taking a sip on his cup.

You were so jealous of that cup… of him drinking the cup of coffee, rather. You laughed to yourself, mentally berating your thoughts. “How did you know I’ll be here today, though?”

“You’re not the only one who’s a regular here. I’ve always noticed you since I saw you two weeks ago stealing a few coffee beans and putting it in your pocket.”

Your eyes widened as you bit your lips in embarrassment. “You saw that?!”

“Now I know why. Your secret is safe with me.” He winked at you and laughed at your reaction.

From that day on, you’d always sit with him in the café. Sometimes you’d talk about a lot of things. Sometimes you’d just sit there quietly as he worked. But he would always buy two cups of coffee and place one across you.

He was walking you home one day when you whined about missing coffee and forgetting how it tasted like. It has been so long since you had a cup. You were walking a few steps ahead of him in a narrow alley near your house when he suddenly pulled you back and leaned you on the wall.

“Do you want to remember?” he asked.

“W-what?” you looked up at him, startled. Your heart beating fast as he leaned his face closer to yours. You can definitely smell coffee in his breath.

“Coffee,” he muttered, his eyes drifting down to your lips, before meeting your eyes again.

You met his eyes gazing at you tenderly. You felt lost. “I—"

“I can be your caffeine,” he whispered before he kissed you. Of course, he tasted like coffee.