I walk into the coffee shop, heading straight to the counter where I see Aurelia. "Aurelia," I say, catching her attention.

"Hi, Lucian," she greets me with a smile, and I can't help but think this is the perfect way to start my day.

"It's going to be $5.25," she says. I hand her six dollars and drop the change into the tip jar.

"How's your morning been so far?" I ask.

"Pretty good," she replies, smiling again.

"It wasn't as busy as usual today. How about you? Ready for work?"

"Oh yeah, just coffee and work, you know."

She hands me my coffee, "Here you go."

"Thank you," I say, meeting her eyes for a moment— surprising myself—eye contact is difficult for me when it comes to her. As I turn to leave too flustered to say anything else, she calls out, "Oh, Lucian?"

"Yes?" I reply, turning back to her.

"Do you think it's okay if I come by the bookstore during my lunch break? We could have lunch together?" Her voice wobbles slightly, revealing her nerves. It's kind of adorable.

"Of course," I say, handing her my phone. "Here, do you want my number? You can text me whenever you're ready, and we can eat here, at the bookstore, or wherever u want."

She puts her number in and says, "Maybe we can go to the park nearby?"

"Yeah, that's fine with me," I agree. "So, I'll see you later."

"See you later, Lucian."

With that, I head out and make my way to the bookstore, eager to get on break already.

- - -

Aurelia's POV:

It's time for my break, and I'm so nervous I don't know what to do. I was so shocked when he asked me to take my break with him yesterday. That means he likes me, right? Even though he said we're just friends... ugh, I don't know anymore. Whatever, I'm going to make him like me anyway. I even packed a lunch for him today because he wanted to try my cooking. I might've gone a little overboard, but it's fine.

"I'm going on my break," I call out to Jake, my coworker.

"Okay," he replies from the back.

I step out of the coffee shop and shoot Lucian a text, letting him know I'm on my way to the bookstore. He reads it but doesn't reply. I walk in and spot him immediately—he's already looking at me with a slight smile on his face. As he starts walking toward me, I can't help but stare. This man is actually so beautiful, wtf. He's standing in front of me now, and I probably look like I've never seen a human before.

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"Hi, Lucian," I greet him.

"Aurelia," he says in reply, and for some reason, hearing him say my name gives me butterflies. Actually, it happens every time he says my name.

"You ready to go?" I ask.

"Yeah," he says. I hand him one of the lunch boxes, and he looks at it, then at me. "Is this for me?" he asks.

"yes, you wanted to try my cooking right? And I'm guessing you don't eat lunch on your breaks."

He stares at me for a second before smiling. Is he blushing? he has to like me, right? Am I being delusional?

"Thank you, Aurelia," he says. "That's very nice of you. I usually just have a snack or two, but this is way better. Do you want to walk to the park? or I can drive us there."

"Oh, do you mind if we walk? the weather is so nice today,"

He smiles at me again. "yeah, whatever you want."

I'm definitely going to take advantage of that, just kidding, but seriously, is he even real?

"The sky is so pretty," I said pointing up. "And the trees are so green, everything just goes together perfectly, like a painting--but better."

He looks at me for a minute before looking ahead. "yeah, it really is," he says.

We keep walking until we reach the park. Instinctively, I grab his hand to show him my secret spot. "Look, come on, I have a spot for us," I tell him, leading him by the hand. He's awfully quiet, but I don't mind assuming he's just taking in our surroundings. I lead us to a bench that overlooks the whole park, but it's far enough from everyone else and has flowers growing all around. I finally turn to look at him and--oh my god, is he blushing? His face and ears are all red, and he's staring at our hands. He has to like me, right?

"Are you okay?" I ask, just in case I'm being delusional again.

"Uh, yes...um, it's beautiful," he stammers, avoiding eye contact.

"Here, let's sit," I say, sitting down. His face is less red now, and I've let go of his hand, his hands are so big and gentle feeling.

His voice pulls me out of my thoughts when he asks, "So, what did you make?"

"I made us some rice with curry and vegetables on the side, I bought some mango juice for us too. open it," I tell him, pointing to the food with my eyes.

He does and the smell hits him immediately. "Mmm, it smells good," he says with a contented smile.

"Try it," I urge wanting to see his reaction before I eat my food, and he takes a bite.

"Mmm, this tastes even better than it smells," he says, smiling and taking another bite. "I might want lunch every day now,"

he jokes.

"I'll make you lunch every day, then," I say, laughing and taking a bite of my own food.

He asks me about my day, and I start rambling about the shop and different customers. He just sits there, eating and listening to me, which feels so nice. I have a habit of rambling, so people usually tune me out but he takes in everything I say in important or not. I stop talking when I realize he's just staring at me with a slight smile on his face, which is making me flustered.

"What?" I ask him. "Is there something on my face?" I ask wiping imaginary food from my mouth.

"No," he replies, chuckling. " You just look beautiful," he says.

I look at him, eyes wide. "Oh... thank you," I smile. It feels nice coming from him---he doesn't seem like the type to just hand out compliments.

We spend the rest of the time just eating and talking--- well, mostly me talking and him listening. Eventually, we decided to head back.

"Thank you for the food," he says when we're in front of the coffee shop. "I appreciate it, and it was really good."

"No problem," I say, taking the box from him. "I'll make you something different tomorrow if you don't mind eating with me again."

"Yeah, of course," he replies. "I have to get going now," he says then bends down a little placing a gentle kiss on my forehead. "Have a good day rest of your day okay. Bye, Aurelia."

In a daze, I tell him, "Bye, Lucian."