A Quiet, Quaint Parisian Café

Under the soft glow of Parisian streetlights, Briar sat at a corner table in Café Merci, the quaint café she had visited so many times since moving to the city. The buzzing hum of chatter and the clinking of coffee cups around her felt comforting, but tonight, the usual peace felt like a distant memory.

It had been exactly three weeks since she last saw him—Theo. They had met in this same café, both seeking a possible refuge from the rain. Their comfortable shared smile that day had been the beginning of something neither of them had expected. They spent seemingly endless hours talking about everything and nothing, their connection instant and effortless.

But after that evening, he had vanished. No message and no explanation. Just the stone-cold silence.

Briar stirred her coffee absentmindedly, lost in thought. Her gaze wandered toward the door absentmindedly, almost expecting him to walk righy through it. But the bell above the door remained frozen, and the world continued to bustle around her, completely unchanged.

Then, as if on cue, the door opened wide. A cold breeze swept in, and in walked Theo, his dark eyes scanning the room until they finally landed on her. Her heart skipped a beat, and she almost dropped her cup.

He hesitated for a breath, then made his way toward her, his confident stride matching the quickening pace of her heartbeat.

“Briar” he said softly, his voice low and familiar, yet somehow distant. “May I sit?”

She nodded, completely unable to find her voice for a moment. The table between them felt like a meacing chasm. He pulled out the chair and sat down, (not truly needing a response) both of them in an awfully queasy silence.

Finally, Theo broke it. “I'm sorry but I owe you an explanation.”

Briar’s lips parted slightly, her fingers quickly tightening around her coffee cup. She truly wasn’t sure what she expected, but this moment felt more surreal than most.

“Please,” she whispered, leaning forward.

“I—” Theo paused, collecting all of his thoughts. “I truly never meant to hurt you. I was frightened, Briar. I was frightened of how quickly I felt something actually real. It took me by complete surprise, and I… I ran. But in all truth I couldn’t stop thinking about you every day, every moment.”

Briar’s eyes softened, the hurt she had carried for weeks beginning to fade.

“I never wanted you to think I didn’t even care,” he continued. “I was scared of getting too close, of losing myself in something I wasn’t sure I could handle. But I have realized… I can’t live in fear.”

A small, hesitant smile tugged at the corner of Briar’s lips. “Theo, I… I didn’t understand. But I think I really get it now.”

He reached across the table, gently brushing his large fingers against her small ones. His touch sent a wave of warmth through her, and for the first time in weeks, Briar felt her heart find its rhythm again.

“I was just waiting for the right moment to come back to you,” he whispered. Briar's eyes met his, and for a fleeting moment, the café, the world, and all its noise faded away. It was just the two of them, and in that space, everything felt right again in that moment.

“I am so glad you came back,” she whispered in a barely audible voice.

With that, Theo leaned in, his lips brushing hers softly, a promise of something new, something hopeful. And as they pulled away, almost like static electricity abd both knew that this time, they wouldn’t let fear keep them apart.

The Parisian café remained bustling, the world turning, but in that moment, Briar and Theo’s hearts beat as one, and that was all that mattered