Thirty minutes later, I push open the door of the coffee shop. All sorts of aromas hit me all at once and I take a deep breath, enjoying the mixture of scents.
Is Keith already here? God, I didn't see him for so long that I am getting nervous at the mere thought of seeing him. What if I act weird? Will he still be okay with us being friends?
I scan the café and my gaze lands on one of the tables near the windows. The man turns around and a massive grin spreads across his face.
Keith... He is here.
My heart skips a beat. He looks the same, except he is more handsome now. He is still the same guy I played with as a child and told all my secrets to.
The same guy I originally mistook for a girl and confessed to.
The same guy who loved having long hair but cut it, saying that will stop me from falling in love.
I walk over to his table with a nervous smile.
"Hey, Keith."
Keith stands up and pulls me into a big hug.
"Cecil! Missed you, dude!"
I freeze. The hug... it feels different. Is it because of all the muscles he gained during the years?
Keith notices and pulls back, leaving me standing completely frozen. "Cecil... are you okay?"
His voice pulls me back into reality and I smile. "Yeah... it's just weird to see you after all the years, Keith."
He frowns. "Is it? I don't think I changed so much..." He sits down and I follow his lead.
"Your personality is the same but otherwise, you're like a completely different person."
I let my eyes look on those perfectly sculpted muscles, making him look like a Greek God.
His blonde hair is longer now, brushing against his collarbones and glittering each time he moves, as if the strands were golden instead.
I lean back with a casual smile as all the nervousness from before disappears. "So, Keith, what's new?"
He laughs, not even bothered when other people look our way. "Still in uni, though I am two years ahead of you!"
I grin. "Yeah, I know. Guess I can never be first in that."
Keith chuckles. "You'll definitely catch up!"
I nod and he smiles proudly. "So... what are you studying?" I ask, genuinely curious.
"Computer Science actually." He answers as his eyes sparkle with happiness.
"Whoa, really? That's so cool, Keith! I definitely didn't expect that."
"You know me, Cecil. I always loved tech stuff."
As the conversation continues, I learn more about Keith's uni life and everything that happened to him until now.
"Oh... Naomi's coming here too. She just wants to borrow some notes since she was sick last week." Keith mentions casually, leaving me wondering who this Naomi is.
Is Naomi a friend of his? And why the hell do I have this weird feeling in the chest? There is no way I am jealous that he has a female friend... right?
"Oh, okay," I say as casually as possible, though I don't think he believes me. "When is she coming here?"
"A few minutes probably. She wrote she will be here soon, so..."
Just as he finishes his sentence, a girl with curly brown hair walks in, smiling like it's the best day of her life.
We both stand up and Naomi notices us immediately. That's when I notice she is wearing heels.
How come she can walk so fast without falling in them? Do all women have some hidden superpowers we don't know about?
"Hi there, Naomi." Keith greets her with a smile and my chest tightens.
Please, tell me I am just overthinking and they are nothing more than friends.
Naomi gasps dramatically. "OMG, hi."
She passes Keith and hugs me, completely ignoring the fact that she came to meet him, not me.
"Why didn't you tell me you had such a Cutie as a friend?" She asks Keith while pouting.
He laughs but I can see his eyes darken.
He is not possessive of her, right? I really hope that I just got mistaken cause I am not sure how I feel about that at all...
"Exactly the reason why I didn't tell you, Naomi." He replies while looking at her.
That's when it clicks. I am jealous that Keith is possessive of his friend?
I shake my head, ignoring all the scenarios my mind is creating, and smile at her. "Hi. You must be Naomi, right? I am Cecil."
She grins as she let's me go. "Yeah. Nice to meet you Cecil."
Keith looks at me and I smile. "I'll go grab some drinks... be right back."
I sit down and Naomi sits opposite me, completely oblivious that it was originally Keith's seat.
She passes me a piece of paper with a smile. "Here's my number... and my mum's."
I take the paper and stare at the two phone numbers written on it. Her mum's... Does she mean Nalani? I noticed they looked alike but I never expected that she is her daughter.
Naomi winks. "I knew the moment you looked at me that you were already suspecting something. It's better to say the truth than hide it."
I wasn't originally thinking about that but she is not entirely wrong. How did she know?
I am about to ask her that when Keith returns with the drinks. He looks at me and passes me a cup of tea. "Thanks." "No need to thank me, Cecil." He sits down next to me and I take a sip of the tea.
He then looks at Naomi. "The cashier told me you already ordered. Are you in hurry?"
Naomi nods. "Yeah. I should get going." She looks at me for a brief moment before looking back at Keith. "Thank you for letting me meet Cecil."
Keith smiles at her but the smile doesn't reach his eyes. "Here are the notes. Please give them back before the next lesson."
Naomi takes the notes from him and grins. "Thanks, Keith! You're a life saver."
She looks at me one last time because walking towards the cashier and taking her bubble tea from him.
I watch as she walks out of the café before turning back to Keith.
He is starting at me but not saying anything. Then he bursts out laughing. "You should've seen your face! Naomi is something else, right?"
I laugh. "Yeah... she is definitely something else." She is literally the daughter of Nalani and Keith probably doesn't know at all...