sophia's morning

It felt wrong, right from the start.

As he made his way up the stairs to his room, he could only sigh. He didn’t see it coming, that one. Or maybe, deep down in his heart, he knew it was gonna happen sometime soon, but he was just too caught up in the whirlwind of sensations that he didn’t pay heed to the murmurings of his heart.

Opening the door to his room, the bed somehow looked inviting, and forbidding, at the same time. Maybe if he just lay down there for a while, he could perhaps sleep his heartache away. Or he could sleep and sleep, and never wake up.

Ah, Sophia.

He remembered the first time he saw her – she was with a group of friends, laughing that delicate, tinkling laugh that tugged at his heart and made it skip a beat. Nonchalantly flipping her black, curly hair away from her face, he knew he was in trouble. And moments later, when a guy came up to her, held her hand, and kissed her lightly on the mouth, he knew he was in deeper trouble.

But, fate must have determined that they should meet.

One lazy Sunday afternoon, when the idle winds of summer would not give him respite from the sweltering heat, he decided to meet up with friends at a nearby coffee shop.

Though he did not like coffee that much, “An iced tea would be nice,” he thought.

When he arrived at the coffee shop, his friends were already there, all cramped together around a small table, boisterous and rowdy, as usual.

“Hey, over here!” lanky Neil called out to him.

As he approached the table, he couldn’t help but be drawn to the girl sitting next to Neil. Black, curly hair paired with a sweet, sweet smile.

“I’m sure you already know Sophia?” Neil asked.

“No, I don’t think we’ve met,” was all he could muster as he held out his hand. “Ben.”

“Hello,” Sophia said in that charming way he knew would always be hers. And as their hands touched for a moment, he could only think of wiping away that sweet smile with his mouth.

(to be continued)