The Coffee Date (3): Obscure

“I’m gonna have a short escape around your place. Can we catch up on Thursday?” Flo texted him, hoping he would take some time.

Arn read the text and immediately checked the notes on his calendar. “I’m not sure about that date, but I’ll manage,”

“Of course, tell me as soon as you can assure the date, okay?” she tapped on the icon, and something felt wrong. “Your agenda, I mean,”

“LoL. Sure,” Arn laughed, reading the correction. “Just send me the address to pick you up,”

.

Arn saw her crossing the street with all the excitement on her face. “So, where do we go, Ma’am?” he asked as he handed her the helmet.

“I only have one place in mind, but do you have anywhere else to go?” she asked back.

“Actually, yes,” Arn watched her setting up her helmet. “My friend just opened her new café, but she just told me she could be there around 7. Do you mind if we meet her there? It’s been a while since the last time I met her,”

“That would be perfect! But of course, if you don’t mind driving me to see the sea, which is kinda far from here?” she started to set another plan in her head.

“I guess that’s okay; we’ll make it in time,”

*

“Can you smell that?” Flo couldn’t hide her smile at all.

“Saltwater, a huge amount,”

“Rude!” she laughed as Arn widened his steps to catch her up.

“That’s the smell of the afternoon sea meeting the sky just before the rain,” she spoke the thought. Their afternoon ride was in a pretty rush since the sky got darker. “And here we are at the edge of everything the world is all about,”

“We are,” he whispered, keeping her figure just right at the edge of his sight.

“The sky suits you,” she said.

“What is it about?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because it doesn’t hide things like the land or sea?” she turned her head to find him looking at the waves. “You always speak things clearly as they are,”

He smiled, knowing she was not entirely right this time, but there she thought.

*

“You made it!” somebody walked right to Arn as they stepped in the place. They thought they would never get to the place since it was dark already and the road was bumpy that they were not sure going the right way.

Arn introduced her to Flo after he greeted her. Tav, Flo repeated that name many times in her head, trying not to lose it.

After Flo insisted to Tav and Arn that she would pay the bill without any discounts, they ordered. They headed to the outer seat, where they separated themselves from the other customers having their own space.

Flo was glad she could catch up with Arn and Tav’s conversation. Tav told them about how she built and managed her place, along with the actual concept since it’s a bit hidden.

“I’m sorry, but I just wanna make sure,” Tav was about to change the topic. “Are you guys…?”

Arn cut the question and laughed, “No, no, we’re not,”

Flo smiled as she recalled her own words that early afternoon by the shore.

*

“The street lights around this place must be the actual issue we have here,” Flo said to herself as she was having trouble looking at the turns. They were once again trapped in the strange dark road.

“Are we now in the woods?!” Flo rechecked the map in her phone in a panic.

“You are the one seeing the map, Flo,” Arn slightly laughed. He stopped and offered to check the map himself. “We’re on the right way,”

“Can we turn around? I’m not sure about this road,”

“Okay, we’re gonna go back, and I’ll take straight a bit further,” Arn gave back her phone. “It’s okay, I’ll take you home safe,” he could sense the panic coming from her.

“Arn, I hate to say this, but do you mind if I hold on to you?”

“Sure,” he answered. He could hear Flo murmuring ‘thanks’ just before he felt her hand on his shoulder. They rode along a different road possible. Flo kept checking at her phone to make sure she didn’t miss any turns.

It was almost 10.30 when they finally saw some street lights that worked adequately. “Finally, we’re safe!” Flo was relieved as she heard Arn slightly chuckled. She hesitantly released her grip on Arn’s shoulder, “Thank you,”

“Anytime,”

They were going on the street in silence when Flo suddenly had the urge to ask, “I... have a question about earlier,”

“Shoot,”

Flo looked at Arn from the rearview mirror. She just had a glimpse and turned her eyes back to the street, “No, never mind, it’s nothing,”

“It is?”

“It is,”

---

I hope you don’t mind if I tell you I don’t like the sea as you do,

and that you’re wrong about me being the sky;

because the sky suits you better in the world of mine.

I never thought I would hate the truth the moment I said it, but I did.

And if one day we had the chance to be asked the same question,

I would take you to the right edge, where

you can hold on to me anytime you want, anytime you need, without asking.

I will never mind.