The Kiss

He rested his head against the pillar and shut his eyes. The tears kept streaming down his face and he didn’t try and stop them. He felt numb at that moment as he felt his body leaning more and more on the pillar. He had seen enough. 

To see her kiss some other man with that kind of passion had broken his heart. He always felt they had something going between them. He always felt that current, that vibe. But he was rudely awakened from his illusion that day. 

That kiss changed everything. 

He didn’t know how we would react with her from now on. They had been so close as friends, as confidantes. They were two people who shared almost everything with one another. And yet this came as a shock to him. He was already planning their future together and had steadied himself to express his feelings for her. He found it hard to say these things but he’d realised that the time had come to verbalise what he felt for all these years. 

And now…there was nothing to say. Nothing !!!

That night he got a message from her on his phone. It was their routine to send each other goodnight messages. He unlocked his phone to read the message: Goodnight sweetie. Need to talk. Let’s meet at the cafe tomorrow evening after work. He replied with a goodnight message and a smiley. Both seemed forced. 

He spent the whole day being restless and irritable. He kept fumbling with his things at work. He had a client presentation to make which he handed over to a colleague citing a bad headache. He just couldn’t focus on anything the whole day. He skipped lunch and drank more coffee than he was used to drinking. Soon he began to feel sick in the stomach with the amount of black coffee he’d consumed. 

He reached the cafe first. He had hardly done any work at the office and left sharp at 5. His colleagues were surprised to see him like this. It was most unusual. But he didn’t care. He sat at the cafe waiting for her, his mind jammed with a million thoughts which raced inside jostling with one another. He ordered yet another cup of black coffee as he waited for her. 

It was about an hour later that she arrived at the cafe. She looked hassled, harrowed and yet she seemed to glow. Her beautiful oval face shone despite her tiredness. She sat on the chair next to him and not opposite him, like they usually did. She put her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulders. He could smell her sweet perfume as she nestled into him. She didn’t speak for some time. He sat like a statue not knowing whether he should hug her or not. He didn’t know what to expect next. 

I feel so refreshed now, she finally broke the silence. It’s been a tiring day and I needed this. 

He didn’t know what to say so he gently placed his hand on her head, stroking her softly. 

Hard day eh? He tried to make some conversation. 

Hard, yes. But ultimately  satisfying one, she said, her head still on his shoulders. She then abruptly got up from her chair and went and sat on the chair opposite, facing him. Like they always used to. He felt some sense of familiarity with this at least. 

You know the audition I was talking about for the last few weeks? I nailed it and I’ve been offered the part in the tele film. Main lead !!! Can you believe it???? Her voice was excited as she reached out her hands across the table to hold his and squeeze them. Her eyes were twinkling like they always did when she was happy. She seemed to have a halo around her so joyous and glowing she was. 

Audition? What audition? Ohh that one…he was stumbling with his words, still trying to gather in and process all the information. 

Yes you know the one about the married guy having an affair and his wife finding out and planning revenge? That thriller love story I told you about. I was hesitating because it had one kissing scene. But then I realised as an actress I had to be professional. We did a rehearsal yesterday and it went very well. They liked me and I am in. Her hands were gripping his even tighter now as she spoke. 

Her green tea, his black coffee and those cheese straws lay untouched  that evening as he just refused to let go of her hand. He kept holding them tighter as he kept looking into her eyes and rediscovered that love he always felt was there. And then for a brief while he felt he’d lost it forever. But now he knew it was his misreading that made it feel so. 

He kept looking at her that evening in their familiar cafe and found himself falling even more in love with her. 

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