The Unexpected Curve
I had just hit send on another report when my phone rang, not a text, but an actual call.
My brows lifted. The name on the screen caught me off guard.
Adrian.
A name I hadn't heard in months.
A name that once meant something, but now only stirred a memory of unfinished conversations, of things left unsaid.
I hesitated. My thumb hovered over the green button. My heart ticked faster, not in excitement, but in that sharp way that old wounds sometimes tap on the door when life is finally moving on.
I answered, my voice measured. "Hello?"
"Ella," came the familiar voice. Smooth. Unbothered. Still too sure of itself. "Hey. It's been a while."
"Yes. It has." I sat back slowly in my chair, suddenly aware of how quickly the warmth from earlier had shifted.
"I just… I heard through Sophie that you're doing well. And I wanted to say I'm glad.
Also, I was going through some things and I found few of your old sketches from that trip to the UK. Remember?"
I did. I remembered the trip. I remembered how it ended, too, me standing by the hotel door,
his silence, the cold wall that fell between us. I'd moved past it, or so I thought.
"I remember," I replied quietly.
There was a pause. "Look… I don't know what I'm trying to say, exactly. but Maybe I miss how we used to talk. Maybe I wanted to see if we could catch up."
I didn't respond immediately. My thoughts raced. My phone buzzed again, this time a message from Joe.
The contrast between the two men, the two energies, could not have been sharper.
Joe:
Just passed your office building. Thought about crashing your lunch break with coffee and a kiss. 😉 Want me to?
I stared at Joe's message, my heart immediately lifting. My thumb lingered over it, warmth rushing back into my chest. And that was my answer.
I brought the phone back to my ear. "Adrian, I appreciate the call. Really. But I've moved on.
I'm… seeing someone. And he makes me laugh every day. He shows up, even when I don't ask. He's… something else."
Adrian was quiet. Then finally, "I get it. I just thought I'd try. Take care, Ella."
"You too," I said, ending the call with calm finality.
The moment I hung up, I leaned back, letting out a long breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.
Then, without hesitating, I typed my reply to Joe:
Ella 💫
Coffee and a kiss sound like exactly what I need right now. "Come distract me".
And just like that, the weight of the past faded.
Not every unexpected moment had to break you. Some just reminded you of how far you've come… and how much sweeter it is to choose what truly matters.
Lunch, Laughter, and Lightness:
The sun had reached its highest point when Joe's car pulled up in front of my office.
He leaned against the hood, coffee tray in one hand, brown paper bag in the other, looking far too confident for someone delivering lunch.
He wore a casual navy shirt with the sleeves rolled just enough to show his forearms, the very ones I may or may not have dreamt about last night.
Through the office window, I spotted him and nearly choked on my bottled water.
"Girl, is that your man?" one of her coworkers asked, peeking over my shoulder.
I laughed, playfully swatting the girl. "Mind your business."
But my heart was already racing.
I took a moment to smooth my dress, touched up my lip balm, and then headed downstairs, pretending not to feel all the eyes on me as I walked out like I wasn't about to swoon.
"Delivery for the prettiest distraction in the building," Joe said as soon as I stepped outside.
I raised a brow. "Flirting during work hours? Bold move."
"I'm a bold man," he replied, handing me a hot cup with exactly how I liked it, oat milk, a hint of vanilla, and just enough froth.
"You work hard. You deserve a mid-day moment."
I opened the bag and laughed. "Plantain chips and puff-puffs? You're trying to bribe me with street snacks?"
"And it's working, isn't it?" he teased.
We sat on a bench just outside my office under a shady spot, our knees brushing every so often, the kind of casual contact that sparked little tingles up my spine.
He kept stealing pieces of my snack, and I kept slapping his hand, but never seriously enough to stop him.
"Did you have meetings this morning?" he asked, chewing on a chip.
"Mmhmm," I replied, sipping my coffee. "But nothing as distracting as you texting me about how I looked curled up in your arms."
Joe grinned. "It's true. You looked like the most peaceful thing in the world. I didn't want to move."
I blushed and rolled my eyes, trying not to show how giddy I was.
"I had a weird call today, though," I admitted after a beat.
Joe's brows lifted. "Weird how?"
"An ex. Nothing serious, just… popped up out of nowhere."
Joe studied me for a second. Not possessive. Not insecure. Just curious.
"And how did you handle it?"
"I told him I was seeing someone who makes me laugh daily and brings me coffee during lunch breaks."
Joe leaned in slowly, voice low. "Did you tell him this someone also plans to steal a kiss before going back to work?"
I laughed and stood. "I think that part's better shown, not told."
I tilted my face toward him just as he stepped in, and in the middle of the sidewalk, under the sun and the buzz of lunch hour, Joe kissed me like no one else existed.
Not too much. Not too little.
Just enough to remind me, I was wanted. "That I was chosen.
That moment, light, silly, sweet was ours.
The kiss lingered even after their lips parted, the kind of kiss that echoed in silence, soft and tender, but heavy with meaning.
My breath came in slow, careful pulls as I leaned my forehead against Joe's, eyes still closed, like I wasn't ready to break the moment.
Neither of us spoke for a while. The world outside the office continued a distant car horn, Joe's thumb gently caressed the curve of my cheek, and my hand remained pressed to his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heart beneath my fingertips.
It beat wildly.
"I wasn't planning that," I whispered, my voice unsure but not regretful.
Joe smiled faintly. But I've wanted it."
I looked up at him "with a faint smile."
His eyes held mine. "Since the first time you laughed around me like I mattered, I've wanted to."
I couldn't help the warmth that crept into my chest. My walls didn't fall easily, not when it comes to emotions I couldn't name.
I'd built my life around caution, choosing when to open doors and when to leave them shut.
But with Joe, it felt like the door had quietly opened itself.
He looked at me then not with intensity, not with seduction, but with something far more disarming. Vulnerability.
"I know we come from different places," he said softly. "And I know we're still figuring this out.
But what I feel when I'm around you… It's not something I can fake or walk away from easily."
I exhaled slowly. I wasn't used to this emotional clarity. This man who didn't play games, who flirted with purpose, and kissed like he was trying to memorize me.
I tried to piece together what was happening in my heart, but it was all tangled desire, fear, longing, and an aching curiosity for more.
The truth was, I didn't fully know what this could become. But something inside me, something quiet and honest, wanted to find out.
"I'm not running," I said finally. "I just need time… to feel everything properly. To be sure of it."
Joe nodded. "I'll take time over silence."
A small smile tugged at my lips. "So you'll wait?"
He leaned in, brushing a featherlight kiss on my temple. "I'll be right here."
We stayed like that, wrapped in the soft hush of connection, two people from different spaces in life,
Different jobs, different histories, but for a moment, perfectly in sync. No labels, no expectations.
Just one honest moment built from everything unspoken between us.
And though we didn't say it out loud, something had changed. Our hearts were no longer walking side by side.
We were beginning to walk toward each other.
As I pulled back, breathless and smiling, I whispered, "This is becoming a problem."
"What is?"
"You," I said. "Being this irresistible."
Joe chuckled, slinging an arm over my shoulder as we walked back toward the entrance.
"You've only seen the weekday version of me. Wait till another weekend."
I rolled my eyes. "That sounds like a threat."
He leaned in, brushing my ear. "It's a promise."