Page 7 of His Coveted Obsession

“I could’ve gotten it.”

He smiled brightly and rolled on the balls of his feet. “I think you should get the special treatment.”

“Aren’t you busy?”

“Nope, the line has died down.”

Huh? Usually, people were repelled or put off by my personality when I wasn’t wearing my mask, but Thomas didn’t seem to care, or more likely, he didn’t notice.

He set my drink and treat down on the small table and just stood there, looking at me.

“What?” I asked.

“Can I… hug you? As a thanks, I mean.”

“No.”

His smile dropped, but it was fleeting before he beamed again. “It’s okay.”

“It’s nothing personal. I don’t let people hug me other than a select few.”

“Oh, that’s cool. Not everyone likes to be touched. That’s why I asked first.”

I went back to my phone, but he still stood there, so I looked up at him and raised a brow. “What?”

“I’m Thomas.”

I didn’t ask, but I stayed polite. “I know. Thank you.”

He sat down next to me, still smiling. People rarely wanted to talk to me, let alone smile. I intentionally gave off the ‘do not talk to me’ vibe, being highly introverted, but Thomas was undaunted.

I lifted my drink to sip it when I saw the pink heart next to my name. I raised a brow and showed him my cup. “A heart?”

He smiled brightly, those dimples popping. “I’m just really grateful to you.”

I said nothing and continued scrolling on my phone.

“Do you work around here?”

“Yes, I work a block away.”

I sipped my chai, and it was perfect.

“I made the tea myself. Do you like it?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Does that mean you’ll come back?”

While I was good at observing people and had learned about body language, along with facial expressions, I hadn’t had any prior exposure to someone genuinely interested in getting to know me. Was he hitting on me? Or was he just chatty?

“Yes, it’s close by. I’ve been here before.”

“I’m new to the mornings. Usually, I work in the afternoons, but since I started community college, I needed to shift my hours.”

“Okay.”

“I want to be a nurse. What do you do?”

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