The First Coffee

It was one of those Melbourne days where the heat stayed on your skin.

Thirty-five degrees. And somehow… I was more nervous than uncomfortable. The first time

I saw him… the light was behind him. And I remember thinking — he’s glowing.

Not in a dramatic way. Just… real. We talked for hours.

About nothing. About everything. And somehow, it felt like time forgot us.

I didn’t want to leave. And for the first time in a long time…

I said what I wanted. Can I… kiss you? Seconds stretched.

Like a dream I didn’t want to wake up from. Five times in