His attention kept drifting back to me.
Every time I spoke, his eyes lingered just a little longer than usual. He nodded at my words, but there was a softness in the way he was looking at me, like I was the only thing that mattered in that moment. I’d ask him a question about a restaurant he loved, and he’d answer, but somehow, it always seemed like he was more interested in the way I laughed or smiled at his descriptions.
I was trying to focus on the conversation, but my heart kept fluttering every time his gaze shifted back to me. His hands were wrapped around his coffee cup, and I noticed how his fingers would lightly tap the edge whenever our eyes met. It was like there was an unspoken energy between us, growing with every passing minute.
At one point, he laughed at a story I was telling about this little taco truck I found once, but his laugh felt softer, more intimate. Like it wasn’t just about the joke, but something deeper. I caught him glancing at me again, his eyes almost studying my face, as if he was memorizing every expression. It made me feel something warm in my chest, like maybe he saw something in me that I hadn’t even realized I wanted him to see.
“You’re really into food, huh?” he teased, his smile wide, but his voice gentle.
“Guilty,” I grinned, but I could feel my cheeks flush a little, not because of the teasing, but because of how close he felt even though he hadn’t moved an inch.
We kept talking, but I could feel the mood shifting, softening. His hand was resting on the table now, fingers just a few inches away from mine. The space between us felt charged, like the smallest movement could change everything. He asked me if I had ever tried this new restaurant across town, but honestly, I barely heard him. My mind was too caught up in how he was leaning in just a little closer than before, how his voice had taken on this quiet, almost vulnerable tone.
Suddenly, there was a pause. We both went quiet at the same time, like neither of us knew what to say next. I looked up and caught his eyes again, and this time, neither of us looked away. My heart was pounding in my chest, but in the best way, like it knew something I hadn’t figured out yet.
“You okay?” he asked softly, his voice barely more than a whisper.
I nodded, biting my lip. “Yeah… just thinking.”
“About what?”
I hesitated, feeling a mix of nerves and excitement. “About how... you keep looking at me like that.”
His eyes widened for a second, like he hadn’t expected me to say it out loud. But then, instead of pulling back, he smiled. Not the teasing smile he’d been giving me all day, but something softer, more real. His hand inched a little closer to mine on the table.
“Maybe because you’re kind of hard to look away from,” he said, his voice steady, but I could hear the hint of nervousness behind it.
That made me laugh, but it wasn’t because I didn’t believe him. It was the kind of laugh you give when you’re caught off guard, when someone says exactly what you’d been hoping they would say all along.
For a moment, we just sat there, the conversation forgotten. The air between us felt different now—thicker, heavier with something unspoken that didn’t need words. Slowly, I let my fingers brush against his, and when he didn’t pull away, I felt a rush of warmth spread through me.
His eyes flicked down to where our hands were almost touching, and then back up to my face. “I’ve been wanting to tell you something,” he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper now.
My heart skipped a beat. “What’s that?”
He hesitated for just a moment, but then, with that same softness in his eyes, he said, “I think I like you more than just talking about food with you.”
I smiled, feeling my cheeks warm, and without saying anything else, I let my fingers curl around his. The connection felt right, like it had been waiting to happen all along.
“I think I feel the same way,” I said quietly.
For the rest of the afternoon, the café around us faded into the background, and the conversation shifted from favorite restaurants to something much sweeter—us. The way his hand fit into mine so naturally felt like the start of something we both had been too nervous to admit, but now it was out there, and it felt good.
And as the sun began to set, I realized that maybe, just maybe, this connection had been building all along, between cups of coffee and favorite meals, in the way his attention always seemed to drift back to me.
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