“Coffee isn’t good for the health in large amounts.”
“I think I’ll be fine; thanks.” I turned to leave but he stopped me with a hand on the door.
Before I could even ask what his problem was, he walked over to his crew, took some papers from them along with a jacket and stepped out of the office. He held the door open and I stared at him on confusion.
“My hands are getting tired,” he drawled, “Are we going for coffee or not?”
I had half a mind to refuse but judging by the amused look in his eyes; I would simply be giving him what he wanted. Instead, I huffed and walked past him. I didn’t thank him or acknowledge him for holding the door open for me. Instead, I walked over to the driver’s side of my car.
“I’m driving,” I told him, “That way when you piss me off; I can drive away and leave you stranded in the middle of the road.”
He held up his hand in mock surrender as the corner of his lips quirked up in amusement.
I ignored him throughout the drive. It was a petty action, I admit, but I didn’t care.
I would have loved to go to the bookstore café but it was too far away and I didn’t want to be out of the office too long. I ended up going to my usual coffee place.
I didn’t wait for Nathan to catch up as I made my way to the counter to place my order, thankfully there was no line. I had half a mind not to order for him but I decided to do the nice thing and order black coffee for him.
I was about to take out my card to pay when Nathan appeared and handed his card to the barista. She took it with a smile and swiped it before I could even speak. He thanked her and walked away from the counter to get a seat.
It took my brain a minute to catch up before I followed him.
“You didn’t have to pay,” I began as I sat opposite him, “Coffee was my idea.”
“It’s not a big deal; you can pretend I did it to spite you if it makes you feel better.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that, “Thank you.”
He looked up at me with a raised brow, “I didn’t realize that word existed in your vocabulary.”
“You could just say ‘you’re welcome’ like a normal person.” I mumbled.
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“Didn’t you want to talk about something?”
“Maybe I just wanted to get coffee with you,” I gave him a blank stare, “I was thinking of amending a part of our deal regarding this-,”
“No,”
“You haven’t even heard me out first,” he tried to reason and I scoffed, “I know you want to keep your personal life out of this, but I think a little bit of vulnerability will go a very long way. You come off as mechanical on a good day and uptight on a bad one.”
“Insulting me isn’t going to help your cause.”
“Just think about it. The only time I see even a tiny bit of emotion from you is when you’re talking about work. You shut down when it comes to everything else and it makes you seem like this unfeeling person. People love when they can relate to someone. They need to know that you are human just like they are.”
“Last I checked; I don’t have cyborg part so I’m definitely human.” He muttered something under his breath.
I knew he had a point, but I still wasn’t convinced. The last thing I want to do is put myself out there for people to hate. I’d rather they hate me without knowing me than actually hate me when they know me.
“I’m not asking you to make a choice now,” he said softly, “I’m just saying that you should think about it and maybe bring more of yourself to the table.”
I was saved from having to answer him when the barista called out my name. I hurried out of the seat to get our drinks and scones.
We ate in silence, our earlier conversation still hanging in the air over us. I caught him occasionally glance at me. It wasn’t like I was looking at him, I just caught him staring through the corner of my eye and after the second time, I glared at him.
Nathan finished before me but he sat silently and scrolled through his phone while he waited for me. As soon as I was done, he grabbed the cups and wrappers to recycle. It would have been rude of me to leave without him so I waited by the door.
