Joshua had just finished his part-time job and was about to close the café when he saw a familiar silhouette approaching the door. He didn't know why, but instead of closing the door, he left it open and simply flipped the sign to "closed" before heading back to the bar to wait for his late customer.
He was in a good mood, he had received a bag of New Year's gifts from his boss, and everything was going smoothly in his life. At this point, nothing could dampen his spirits, but when Iris walked past the door, the joy in his eyes darkened as he saw the sadness in her eyes. He was not the type to let other people's emotions affect him, but he was surprised to find that was not the case with Iris. He felt the need to wash away that sadness and replace it with her beautiful smile.
The second thing that struck Joshua was how lightly she was dressed, even though it was really cold that evening. She wore only a knee-length black coat over a light dress, her black, long, wavy hair cascading down and a little damp from the cold. He frowned at the sight of her pale figure and quickly made her another macchiato. After serving her, he took his coat and wrapped her in it before sitting down in front of her and looking at her silently, as if trying to figure out what was making her so sad.
The tables in the café were small, they were usually for couples. So when two people sat there, face to face, it always felt like they were close or a couple. And from the way they looked at each other at that moment, anyone could misjudge the situation. There were not many people who dared to get that close to Iris, but at that moment, Joshua felt the need to accompany her and sat there with curious eyes...
It was an evening when families should be reunited, but here she was sitting alone in a small café, far from the Harper group. It was clear she was there because of him, but he doubted his macchiato was so good that she had come all this way for it. He wondered why she wanted to be with him, of all people, at that moment, but he decided to stay there and keep her company...
"Is my drink comforting enough?" asked Joshua with a smile, trying to cheer her up.
Iris raised her head and looked at Joshua. She knew he had a beautiful smile, but at that moment it was more than that, it made the pain in her heart disappear. "Your smile is much more comforting," Iris returned Joshua's smile, looking into his eyes as she slowly approached him.
"I guess I should be glad that my smile can cheer you up..." added Joshua, feeling his heart warming up at the sight of Iris' sweet smile. Her closeness made his heartbeat go crazy. They were so close that he could feel her hot breath on his face. All he wanted at that moment was to take her little face in his hand and kiss those cherry red lips!
He swallowed and clenched his fist under the table to suppress the pounding of his heart and his growing desire. While his eyes were still fixed on her lips.
Iris felt his gaze on her, and as she looked at him, she noticed that Joshua was looking at her with a rather interesting look. She raised her eyebrows in slight surprise. With those sultry eyes, she could already guess what was going on in his head, because she felt the same thing! He was attracted to her!
"So, is this our fourth meeting?" Iris broke the silence that was between them.
Joshua was a little confused by her statement because he only remembered three meetings with her.
"The second time I saw you were in the library... You were so engrossed in your book that you did not even lift your head when I walked past you!"
"I guess I was too busy to pay attention to what was going on around me..."
Hearing that, Iris just nodded and continued drinking her sweet drink. "Since it's your third time, what do you think about me?"
"I... I don't really have an opinion about it, I don't really know you..." Joshua averted his gaze and looked at the window, not knowing what to say... He couldn't possibly say that he was mesmerized by her eyes or wanted to taste her lips or even explore her beautiful body.
"Well... You are not wrong, we have actually barely spoken... But do you at least have an impression of me, even physical?" She asked, slightly brushing his hands.
Joshua shivered a little at her touch and caught her slender fingers in his hands, making a stop to her teasing "tell me yours first..."
"For me, you did have a long-lasting impression on me, first, your strong and muscular back impressed me, then you turned around and your sweet and inviting smile was breathtaking and warm, it made me forget my problems. When I saw your sexy, calloused hands, I was even more attracted to you. I think I like men who work hard, and your hands are a testament to that. And finally, your deep blue eyes are really beautiful, I just want them to look at me!"
Joshua was surprised to hear how Iris felt when she looked at him. As someone who was rarely shy, his ears turned slightly red at that moment, and the small smile he was trying hard to hide was visible on his face... Unconsciously he looked at his hands and wondered what was so sexy about them.
Iris liked the way his body responded, and she wanted to see to what extent he could be honest about the attraction between them. "So, what about me?" she asked again, moving even closer.
Joshua cleared his voice; he knew exactly what game she wanted to play! And since he was a good player, he decided to play along. He found women who could engage in such conversation without flinching enticing! If his interest was already piqued when they met before, now he was even more interested.
Joshua was someone who valued the present moment. If he met a girl and they hit it off enough to want to talk for more than a few minutes in a real conversation, he was intrigued and willing to pursue the conversation. But with Iris, he had to be careful not to take the game too far and lose his sanity in the process.
"Well, the first time I saw you I thought you were beautiful, you had that sad look in your eyes, but still I could not take my eyes off you, even though I felt you were totally out of my league! The second time I thought you were the most charming girl I have ever met. You were so confident, graceful, and effortlessly sexy back at the club, your domineering aura impressed me. I had a hard time calming down that night if you know what I mean..." Joshua moved even closer to Iris, their lips almost touching!
This time, Iris was the one who pulled back. She had not expected him to actually play along. She felt her breath catch and her cheeks heat up. Her lips desperately wanted to be touched slowly by Joshua's. But all the courage she had earlier in teasing him faded as he came even closer, but this time to her ears and whispered, "Do you want me to go on?"
"Yes," Iris answered shyly with a slight tremor in response to the hot breath Joshua left on her neck. She was losing this flirt game, it was clear the young man was an expert in the subject.
Joshua pulled back with a sly smile and leaned on his chair to put some distance between them. "Today I feel that despite your cold demeanour you are a friendly and cool person, you are not a snob like those rich people at your club, and your smile makes me feel that you are an open person. But you are also someone with hidden scars that sometimes make you sad and maybe lonely."
Iris's eyes got a little wide, surprised that he was paying attention enough to even decipher that she was lonely. She looked at Joshua with a broad smile, "Well, finally, it seems you know quite a lot, isn't it?!"