Drinking coffee was never my favorite thing. I have always been a tea person. I drink at least four cups of tea everyday, and I drink one huge mug full of tea every evening. Tea has always been my favorite drink. Even on fancy outings, I prefer to drink iced tea rather than drinking any soft drink. It’s not that I don’t drink coffee at all. But I don’t drink coffee until I’m in dire need of staying up at night. (Such occasions do no arise as often anymore since I left college.) Neither is it, some sort of hate or dislike. Somehow, I always found myself more comfortable with tea.
But someday, somehow, everyone faces transition. Transition from school to college. From one role to the other. Somewhere in life, you realize that some things should be changed. No, no, no ... if you think that happened to me, then you are wrong. I never realized that coffee is cooler than the tea, but I did drink it anyhow to keep him company without realizing that I had made a big mistake. Well, the way it happened was all a bit too innocent. Let me recall the exact details ...
It was dull Thursday. The day that says, it’s still not near the weekend. Thursday is the day that is the toughest to pass. You have this nagging feeling that you have to be in office for just another one day and then you can retire to the lounging bliss of weekend, but still you can’t stop the work, as the clock simply refuses to move ahead. I find Thursdays are the worst days of all the week and the slowest to pass. So, getting back to story. It was a Thursday. I was busy in office work, in a frenzy to finish the task at hand, as I was to go halfway across the town to attend some quality related training sessions. (What a wonderful bliss—making a dumb day duller.) First a quality related training and then half way across the city on top of it on a Thursday. Wow, what more can I ask from a blood sucking IT company of mine? So I was rushing through the day.
One thing that was good about being in my place was that I could call as many friends of mine as I wish. And I did exactly the same. I picked up the phone and dialed a friend. He had just woken up. (Unlike me, he has the liberty of waking up anytime that he wishes. He does not work in IT.) I mentioned I was going to his part of town and we decided to meet up. I was pretty sure that somehow, he’s gonna chicken out of the plan. Still, I was a bit happy about the prospect of meeting someone who is not really into the digits, timesheets, and documentations.
But I guess the goddess of mercy was smiling on me that day. The session was over before it even started and I was off the office two and a half hours before my normal office timings. I called him up and he was there in front of my office to pick me up within next ten minutes, which was a very good surprise. We had met after a long time and the sparks flew when we hitched up. Roads led us to the one single sensible place to catch up: the coffee bar. Little did I knew that this would end up messing me up so badly.
Clock ticked away and orders were placed. Minutes after minutes and orders after orders, we chatted on without realizing that coffee is not a friend of sanity. How many of us are regular coffee drinkers and are aware that if consumed in larger quantities, it actually is lethal? But sitting in the coffee bar, neither of us were thinking about the lethal nature of coffee. We were enjoying each other’s company and the effects of coffee were not noticeably visible. I don’t really know whether the coffee had any part in this or not, but we both realized that we two are very much alike and really like each other. Time passed by and caffeine dripped in blood; the zing created by caffeine was unavoidable. The euphoria was sensed and tongues slipped. All sorts of weird and unspeakable things were blurted out and the preciously kept secrets were spilled.
That was the time, when we decided to push off. My wristwatch was showing that I’m a bit too late to get home, and I started wondering how come mom had not yet called. When we actually got up, I realized that there was something amiss with me. The world around seemed hazy and the lighting at the area was suddenly of that from a photo shoot. All glassy and dim. My step was not steady and I felt very high. I looked at him and he looked to me like I’ve never seen him look before. 6 feet of height, fair complexion, dark hair, and those deep brown eyes. (The next day he told me that I too looked right out of the novels.) I could not help but wonder how come I never realized this before. There was enormous pull in the way he looked. He was his jovial self, commenting on the lighting and admitting that caffeine is making him fuzzy. I agreed.
It was hard not to hit anyone while walking. But we managed to get to the auto stand without much of a upheaval. Auto drivers in my part of the city as like their counterparts in any other place; they always refuse to go anywhere you want to go. It was hard to find an auto to get home. Finally, when I got the auto, I was so glad that he was there beside me. His strong hands holding me across my shoulders and his muscular body against me. I felt so safe. It took another few minutes for me to register that he was actually nudging at my neck trying to take in the body lotion that I apply. And when I turned to ask ,what is he trying to do, I found my lips sealed by those of his. That was the most tender touch I’ve had felt in a long time. I was taken in by the mesmerizing touch and the unstoppable force of pleasure. Before I could stop myself, I was taken over by the urge of responding, and then there was the start of a new affair—strange, and yet captivating ...