Hope's Café

by Sana Abid

  I locked my office and said goodbye to my boss, Diane Lambert before heading down to the parking lot, grateful that it was Friday. It was the perfect day to go to Hope's Café for some quiet time.

  The law firm was a block away from the café, one of the many reasons why I decided to work there. It was a short walk but long enough to reflect over the day's events as you strolled under the shade and felt the wind caress you. Well, when it wasn't raining.

  Today heavy drops of rain fell from the sky flooding the concrete path under me. My white blouse clung onto my skin as I rushed to get to the café. My work shoes squeaked the entire way, and I nearly slipped each time there was a deep puddle in the way. Soaking wet, I pulled the café's door, the tiny bell bringing everyone's attention on me for a second before they went back to whatever they were doing.

  "Vivian!" Lisa waved. "Damn it, it rained out of nowhere!"

  "I know, right? So sorry for dripping all over the floor." She gave me a don't-worry- about- it smile. "Coffee?"

  "Yes, thanks." I smiled. Behind me, the door opened, and the bell chimed. "He's not here." It wasn't a question.

  Lisa raised a brow before she realized what I was talking about. I got a headshake. "Sorry." Her voice was restrained.

  "Eh, it's alright." I shrugged. It wasn't her fault I hadn't seen Jay in almost a year now. It was mine. If he wanted to see me, he knew where to find me. "You okay?"

  "Yeah." She pursed her lips. "Sit down. I'll be right back." Lisa nodded before going to the back to get coffee. For some reason, there was a subtle smile on her face. I dismissed it, thinking nothing more of it, and hopped on the stool nearly slipping because of how wet my hands were. Maybe I should ask for extra clothes how I was going to last time before Jay had dried me up in a blink of an eye.

  My heart broke at the sudden thought of Jay. It’s not like he wasn't on my mind 24/7, but the memory was sweet enough to warm me up from the inside. The day we met, he was sitting where I was today, I thought just as my phone vibrated, and I was sitting where the man in a dark blue shirt was sitting. I saw the man from my periphery, barely paying attention to him as I focused on the new message from Eva.

  I'm gonna cry if I have to eat another pudding cup.

  One more week, I replied with a blooming grin before shoving my phone back in my drenched purse.

  "Here you go." Lisa came back. "Careful, it's hot.

  "Thanks," I replied before picking it up anyway. The scent wrapped me around in a giant bear hug, and I closed my eyes feeling its comfort working my body. Lisa's footsteps faded as she went on to help another customer. The world became quiet around me, vanishing for a moment, so I was alone with my thoughts until someone broke me away from them.

  "What did I say about black coffee getting cold easily?" My eyes popped open like two buttons when a familiar voice rang in my ears.

  It couldn't be.

  I turned my head in the direction of it, tears pricking my eyes at the sight of the one I'd been waiting for all this time.

  "Jay." My lips quivered. I gaped at him. Was he really there? Or was he just a figment of my imagination, a mirage? My head drew a blank. There was so much I wanted to say, but I didn't know how to even begin. I continued to marvel at his presence, refusing to blink. What if I did and he went away?

  "Hi." He gave me a small smile that got my spine to tingle.

  "Wha..what…hi… hi." That was all I could manage to say, and he broke into a fruity laughter. It was indescribable, how good it felt to be able to hear him again. Again, surreal.

  "It's been a long time," he said softly.

  At the same time, I blurted out, "I missed you."

  His lips curled up. "I did too."

  "Then, why didn't you answer my calls?" My voice became a hush.

  A solemn expression set on his face as he folded his hands on the table, leaning on it. "I needed time. We needed time.. to figure things out."

  I licked my lips, nodding. "I'm sorry. About everything."

  "You were unfair to me. I almost lost you forever." He turned his head to look at me.

  "I'm sorry I said all that shit to you. You deserved better." A tear dropped, but I didn't care if anyone saw me crying. "I was selfish and stupid, and I was a coward like you said."

  Jay's face twisted in pain before his expression softened. "It tore me apart to say that to you. I didn't want to say any of those words to you. Kicking you out of my life was the hardest thing that I've ever done."

  "You had reasons," I said with my voice cracking. "I deserved it."

  "It wasn't to hurt you." He shook his head as if I was missing the point. "It was to make you understand that you just needed your own help to get better, not mine. Or books'. I realized my help meant nothing if you didn't want your own self to get better."

  I blinked. "So, you didn't hate me all this time? You weren't ignoring me because you were mad at me?"

  "I was mad." He chuckled, running a thumb across my wet cheek. "But not mad enough to hate you."

  "Did you think I'd come back?" My body stiffened under his touch, taking in the softness of it.

  "I had hope." His eyes twinkled.

  "I'm glad you did when I didn't." It hit me, why Jay named this place Hope's Café. "But I do, now."

  "I know." He smirked. "Lisa told me you come here every day."

  My face heated. "No… not true."

  "It is. I've seen it myself." He laughed and the blush reached my ears.

  "I missed you," I mumbled, looking at my coffee instead of his enticing eyes.

  "I missed you too, Viv." He grabbed my hands, pulling them to his lips.

  "And you forgive me?"

  "I do." I was over the moon. Jay forgave me.

  "Are you staying here?"

  "Why?" I amused him.

  "I know the perfect place we can go," I told him, quickly adding, "if you want to."

  "Look here, I'm not just any man you can exploit." He joked with the same temperament I had the day we met. "I won't be taking advantage of." I flashed him a toothy smile, jumping off the barstool, which he returned before grabbing my hand and leading the way to the stairs.

  "I can't believe you're here with me. And you went to see Eva every day? You never told me." I asked once we reached the library. My heart pounded when he turned around, a wolfish grin on his face.

  "I did. Our conversations were about you."

  "What did you tell her?"

  He shrugged. "I told her how much you're dealing with and how I'm trying to help because I don't want to lose you, and I love spending time with you."

  I became breathless. "You didn't have to do that."

  He smiled. "I was like your substitute. Filling in for you until you returned."

  "You're so sweet," I said with watery eyes. " I can't believe… I was so stupid. I can't express that enough."

  "Sshh," he told me, wrapping his arms around my waist. "It's alright. We're okay. Let's not talk about it anymore, okay?"

  I nodded, sniffling as I put my head up. "Are you going to dry me up?"

  "Don't worry about that," he said , coaxing. He took a step forward, closing the space between us. I swallowed as his hands ran up my neck. Cupping the side of my face, he lowered his head with an open invitation on his lips. My insides simmered in a pool of desire when I tasted his lips in my mouth, my hands gripping locks of his hair as I pushed myself closer to him. But it wasn't our bodies' heat that dried up the clothes on my back; it was his magic, the one where you blinked and—poof—things changed.

  "This is better than anything," I said with my hands over his shoulders.

  "I love you." He said it out of nowhere, sending a rush of adrenaline so fast to my head, I worried I was going to swoon—maybe faint.

  "W…what?" Jay loved me. Not hate. He loved me. I hid my face in his neck, smiling like a complete idiot.

  "Maybe if I told you earlier, right when I knew I did, it could've helped. But I was scared. I'm not anymore." I kept smiling,
unable to get his words out of my mind. His heart beat against my chest, loud; I heard it through the din of celebration up in my head.

  "Say something." He groaned, clearly frustrated when I didn't respond. He peeled me off him, both his hands on my shoulders. "Viv?"

  I blinked. "I'm sorry, I thought I was dreaming." He felt so dreamy. "Did you just say you love me? Is this real life?"

  "Ha-ha." He rolled his eyes. "You know it is."

  "Well," I said wrapping my arms around him, "then, I can say it."

  "Say what?"

  "I love you too. For real."

  Author's Note

  Hey guys, I just wanted to say thank you for reading this book. I appreciate it. I also want to thank my older sister, Alina, my younger sister, Laiba, and my best friend for being my first fans. You guys are great for proofreading and editing my book and for supporting me. This book was kind of hard on me. It made me mellow a lot of times because I had to face the truth about the hardships in life. I had to become the character, see the things she saw, feel the way she should be feeling. It was worth it all. Like my character, Vivian, I face hardships, and like her, I overcome them. That was the reason to write this book: to show that all of us face difficulties, but we all have the capability to overcome them.

  Remember, when you have nothing, you have hope.