Chapter 3 3

The trance that the girl had fallen into, as a victim of the impression of almost falling, was not broken until the boy spoke.

"Be careful. If you wanted the book so badly, you should have asked Mario to help you bring it down instead of risking yourself falling. You could hurt yourself," the boy said in a serious tone.

"I-I'm sorry. I just didn't want to bother anyone," the embarrassed girl said.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am."

"What about the foot? Now, I won't be able to dance."

"Do you dance?"

"No, but if I wanted to, I couldn't, thanks to you," the boy attempted to lighten the mood, but it seemed he only embarrassed Jeanne even more. She looked down with guilt for having stepped on him, and upon noticing this, the boy laughed a little and spoke again, avoiding the weight of the embarrassment from continuing to burden the girl.

"Let's do something. You invite me for a coffee, and I'll forget about the foot."

Although it seemed like a fair deal, Jeanne's heart filled with sadness because she could have used that money to buy some books or maybe some sweets afterward, so she just clung to the book in her hands and sighed, nodding. As always, she could only take one book and reread it once she finished it, waiting for the next visit to buy a new one.

Upon arriving at the counter, Jeanne placed the book on the counter, and the boy, whose name she still didn't know, placed one on his and paid Mario for both books, all under the astonished gaze of the girl, who wanted to debate about it but the boy spoke before she could even make a sound.

"You invite me for coffee, so I'll invite you for a book. It's only fair," he said with a smile on his face.

After paying for the books, the two went to a cafe that was just across the street, and they approached to make their order. It wasn't until then that Jeanne noticed she was holding the hand of that stranger.

"Can I order for you?" the boy smiled.

"We have a couples' menu," the person taking their order said.

The word "couples" finally snapped Jeanne out of her trance, and she let go of the boy's hand at the same time as her cheeks turned red. She had never been on a date, never even had her first kiss, and this boy was the only man outside of her circle with whom she had any contact. She didn't know why, but she had always been rejected by everyone as if being close to her generated danger.

The boy ordered a pair of whipped cream and chocolate coffees, his favorite kind, though no one knew it. He couldn't help but think what a coincidence it was that they both liked sweet coffee and frequented the same bookstore.

As the coffee arrived, the boy pulled out a book from his bag and handed it to her, but was interrupted by a phone call. Jeanne watched him leave to answer the call and noticed a man shouting at another man outside the café, which made her skin crawl.

She was so focused on the commotion outside that she didn't notice when the boy returned and touched her shoulder, startling her. "Sorry if I scared you," he said in a neutral tone.

"It's okay, I was just distracted. Is everything alright?" she asked, referring to his phone call.

"Yeah, it's just work. It's hard to catch a break," he replied.

"I'm sorry I'm taking up your time. Let me pay for the coffee so we can leave," she offered, attempting to stand up from her seat.

"No, you finish your coffee. It would be a tragedy to waste it. Don't you think? Or is it too sweet for you? Sorry, I forgot that some people don't like their coffee sweet."

"Don't worry, this is my favorite coffee. I love sweet things, even though I can't have them very often," she admitted.

"Are you diabetic?" the boy asked, concerned about the sugar content in her coffee.

"Oh no, it's not that. Money is just something I have to be careful with, so it's hard to buy them," she explained.

"I understand," the boy said, checking the time on his phone. "Sorry, I really have to go."

With that, he gathered his things and left the café without even giving her his name or number. Jeanne felt disappointed but also intrigued. She wanted to see him again, to talk about books, or maybe just have a friend with a beautiful and warm smile.

A bit more time passed in the place, watching people walk by and enjoying her favorite drink. Time passed slowly and pleasantly, and when she finished her drink, she went to pay. But as soon as she reached the counter, the person who had taken her order informed her that her mystery favorite had paid and added an order for a slice of strawberry cream cake to go, which was to be delivered to the girl once she left the store.

Jeanne's heart filled with great happiness, quickly replaced by melancholy.

That boy had given her so much that day and she didn't even know his name. She took the cake and the book and left the cafe, walking a couple of blocks until the rain started pouring down heavily, causing the girl to run to her house, trying to cover the cake box and her book so they wouldn't get ruined. Unknowingly, a car was following her again, this time with an angry Evan inside.

The man's gaze was no longer as calm as it was in the morning when he thought his plan would succeed. Now he just wanted to know what kind of relationship those two people had and how close it was, for that guy to dare touch her things. He wanted to offer to drive Jeanne home, but Cheng persuaded him not to, as it would be strange and it was better to first gather more information about the bookstore guy to act better. They would also have to investigate the girl more to give his boss more than just a bookstore, as they didn't even know why she went to the building where she had come from before the bookstore.