If we were having coffee together, I would dip into the hazy liquid and let it wash the star-struck gaze from my face. I would allow myself to soak you in more, your essence, your pet peeves, the way your smile radiates incandescence, and the way it can shoot rainbows even from empty cups.
If we were having coffee together, I would trade the double shot espresso for a glimpse of the luminosity which pervades your being and the way your eyes light up at the mere mention of chocolate cupcakes. I would save a bite of the same for you, from my share.
If we were having coffee together, I would save a glimpse of your perplexed smile when I crack a bad joke, into the deepest recesses of my memories. I would note the way you finger the rim of the mug as you sip the warm cappuccino, and blend your trademark warmth into the deepest parts of the drink. I would grin as you fidget, and reel in your thoughts with a shy grin.
If we were having coffee together, I would harbour a slight disdain at the fact that you smile more at the middle of the drink than at the beginning, so unlike me! I would let the difference sink in just enough to make me aware that our differences are juxtaposed with cozy comfortable silences and demure colours which sit on our skins and carves out a space which we can call our own. I would watch your eyes crinkle with merriment, and observe how the slight dimple on your left check has that extra edgy sparkle.
If we were having coffee together, I would discuss movies and books with you. I would talk about Amelie as a movie worth watching in all its French seamlessness and compare it to Chocolat’s loaded symbolism. I would show off the latest book I was reading, its pages earmarked and strewn with inside notes, its font easy on the eyes, and make slightly caustic remarks about said collection exploring life, literature, and politics, and how we create ourselves through art. I would intertwine my fingers with you when you reach out for the book, and let the edges of my consciousness jostle with yours as you feel the edges of my fingertips grow warm with the subtle variations of your all-permeating ardour.
If we were having coffee together, I would watch the sky’s incandescent blue contrast with the navy blue in your eyes, and realize how much I embody a preference for the latter, even as your blooming carnation smile unwinds a space in my heart’s candy-shaped offerings. Crisp cookies and fluffy bunnies would make their appearances on our shared Instagram account, whilst I watch you avoid messing the heart-shaped design the barista has carefully melded into your drink’s contours. I would mess it up for you whilst you tease me about the blush creeping in upon my cheeks and turning them a rosy red similar to the pattern on your flowery shirt.
If we were having coffee together, I would make pseudo-intellectual comments about how decaf is NOT a substitute for an elevated notion of the self. I would pester you with details on which coffee flavour is best suited to your rainbow essence, and would never allow your opinion to counter mine. I would sip from your cup and watch your eyes become bigger than mine as they locate my orbs with dainty precision.
Ah, that look of supercilious enjoyment, and I would savour it more than the hazelnut flavour which dances with the caffeinated substances.
If we were having coffee together, I would debate orange vs. yellow and pink vs. blue, and make a side remark about how all of them look perfect on your delicious frame. They would add inches to your wafer-thin figure and create sparkle in my eyes’ candid expressions.
If we were having coffee together, coffee would just be an excuse to exchange smiles with you and ferret out your extraordinary penchant of making me blush at the most inopportune of moments, the effect you have on me, and the way the breeze always seems to lift the corners of your mouth at all the right angles(is there a connection? Tell me there is)! Coffee would be the sweet intoxicant and you would be the substance which adds dewy magic to my day’s spendthrift hours. You, my love, would make coffee worthwhile.