James looked through the window to the bleak winter day outside. It was a stark contrast to the warm break room where he was having his lunch. He started bringing a prepacked lunch instead of going to the cafeteria a month ago to save some money and continued doing so because of her. Lily.
She didn’t know. She didn’t know how he started timing his lunch breaks to go at the same time as her after accidentally sharing the table with her one Tuesday, even though they were from different departments. “Such a happy coincidence!”, she once said. She didn’t know how her bright laugh warmed him from the inside out. She didn’t know how he longed to hear her stories about the most mundane thing, because she always spoke with such an eagerness that a trip to the supermarket sounded like an adventure. She didn’t know how her green eyes sparkled when she spoke with passion about what she wanted to do with her future, or how cute she looked when she absently played with her long brown hair.
She particularly didn’t know how nervous he was right now.
“Lily”, he said while she ate a spoonful of soup.
She looked at him and cocked her head to the side, showing she was listening.
“I was thinking, hum…” This was harder than he thought. He took a small breath, trying to steady his voice and his trembling hands.
“You were thinking?”, she asked, trying hard not to curl her lips into a smile.
“Yeah, I was thinking.” The worst she could do is simply saying no. No big deal. He could go back to eating in the cafeteria. “Are you free this Saturday?”
She considered his question around another spoonful of soup. And then another. God, she was obviously trying to find a way of letting him down gently. She was so nice.
“I am not”, she finally said. “But I’m free Sunday. How do you feel about pancakes?”
He couldn’t contain his sudden smile.
“I love pancakes”, he said. I might love you, he thought.








