Jamie nervously tapped his fingers against the edge of the table. He gave a shy smile as he tried not to stare at Racheal, who sat opposite him in the small café. As soon as she walked in dressed in an all-black ensemble, her bright eyes widening as she saw him, he knew she was the one.
Racheal knew too. He was tall and slim, his coal-black hair a stark contrast against his pale skin. He had a mischievous glint in his eyes and a wry smile that never seemed to leave his face.
They waited breathlessly for one of them to break the silence.
“I suppose I was looking for someone to talk to.” he cleared his throat and gestured to the Almond milk latte he had ordered for her. “I hope you don’t mind. I remembered you telling me.”
Racheal nodded, looking down at the table. “I’m glad you did,” she said finally. “I know this is a bit forward. It’s just they don’t sell lemon drizzle here. I know it’s your favourite, I hope you don’t think it’s weird. But I baked you one” Racheal pulled out a little brown box with a chunky slice of lemon drizzle in it and pushed it along the table towards him.
They had both been on plenty of Tinder dates before, but this was different. Not just the instant attraction, but they had really listened to each other and made an effort.
She took a sip of her Latte, he took a bite of his Cake, and they lapsed into silence again, a nervous excitement bubbling up within them. Sometimes it didn’t take hours or months of getting to know someone. Sometimes you just knew. The last thing they had expected was to find themselves in the middle of an actual date.
Rachael looked up at him, an unreadable expression on her face. For a moment, Jamie remembered why he was really there.
Unbeknown to him, he pulled the exact same expression as Rachael.
Jamie watched her take another sip.
Rachael watched him take another bite.
Rachael decided she needed to know If he was feeling the same vibe, and she needed to know fast.
“I think I really like you.”
Jamie felt himself blushing, and he quickly averted his gaze, trying to hide his embarrassment.
He’d never been good at taking compliments.
“I feel the same” He took a deep breath. He was going to go for it
“I need to tell you something” he could feel her eyes on him.
“It’s just we don’t have much time. It’s work. It could really get in our way” Confusion stretched across Rachael’s face “Snap”, she said.
Silence started to stretch out between them again.
But there was no time for that. “Let me go first. I think I should,” said Rachael. “It wasn’t a coincidence we matched on Tinder.”
Jamie’s turn for a confused expression.
“I was paid to find you”, Jamie almost choked on his Cake.
Rachael thought how that would have been pretty convenient, actually.
“erm snap?” Said Jamie.
Their mouths went dry, and their hearts started to beat so hard it was almost audible.
“The Cake?” Jamie asked.
“The Latte?” Rachael asked in reply.
They both nodded as their chests tightened and the café started to dim.
“I have the antidote in my…” Jamie said before collapsing and smashing face-first into his lemon drizzle.
Well, that’s less convenient Rachael thought as her throat began to swell and her head went through her coffee cup like a bowling ball.