The Bookish Love Affair #8 (Free Short Story)

On Saturday, Daniela got off at the Chiado subway station and went to Brasileira for a coffee. It was still a few minutes before the scheduled time and she didn’t want to arrive early. After Florinda and Augusto told her that Pedro had shown up on the train and invited her to meet him, Daniela had been very indecisive. On the one hand she wanted to meet Pedro, but on the other hand she was afraid that the rendezvous would be a disappointment, but then she thought that she had nothing to lose. If she didn’t like him, she wouldn’t see him again and the matter would be settled.

At four o’clock sharp, Daniela paid the bill, got up and walked calmly to the door of the bookstore. The place he had chosen for the meeting couldn’t have been more perfect: the oldest bookstore in the world, in a charming part of Lisbon. Daniela looked at the bookstore’s window display; romance, poetry, travel books… There was a bit of everything. Daniela immediately felt like going in and exploring the bookstore, but stayed outside so that he could see her when he arrived.

Time went by and there was no sign of Pedro. Daniela hated being late and hated being kept waiting. It seemed disrespectful of him to invite her and then to make her wait. Twenty minutes had passed and Daniela thought it was time to leave. His lack of punctuality was not a good omen. When she was ready to return to the subway station, she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was a strong hand, a male hand. A shiver ran through her body.

“Hi Daniela!”

Daniela turned around and felt her heart soar.

“Hello,” she murmured, in shock.

“I missed you.”

Daniela was mesmerized by his green eyes and felt her legs give way. She stood still, unable to articulate a word, while he looked at her with those penetrating eyes.

“Would you like to go for a cup of coffee?” he said, taking her hands.

His hands were big and strong, and Daniela couldn’t help but remember those hands embracing her. The invitation was tempting, but the hurt was greater.

“Leave me alone, Rafael,” she said, releasing her hands from his.

He was still beautiful and charming, she thought, but she would never forgive him for his betrayal.

“Meeting you here is a sign. It was fate that brought us together again.”

Daniela felt tears welling up and pulled away from him. She didn’t want him to see her crying.

“Daniela, wait!” he asked, in a soft voice.

Daniela turned around. He ran his hand through his hair and smiled. She still loved him, he thought. Daniela walked up to him and faced him.

“You behaved like a bastard, Rafael. You cheated on me with my best friend and I will never forgive you.”

Rafael felt a thud, as if she had slapped him. He hadn’t expected that reaction.

“I’m sorry, it was a mistake. I’m truly sorry!” he said, caressing her face with one hand. “I’ve always loved you.”

“Take your hands off me!” Daniela pushed him away. “You never loved me! And you probably didn’t love Sofia either. The only person you love is yourself. If we cross paths again, don’t even dare to speak to me.”

Daniela turned her back on him and hurried to the subway station. She wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. Rafael realized that there was no point in following her.

While waiting for the next train to arrive, tears started streaming down her face. Daniela didn’t know if she was crying because she had bumped into Rafael or because Pedro hadn’t shown up. All she knew was that she would never cry for another man again. She was tired of being fooled. She took the paper with Pedro’s phone number from her pocket, tore it into small pieces and threw it in the nearest trash can.

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This is the eighth chapter of my short story “The Bookish Love Affair” that I’m publishing here on the blog. It’s a sweet romantic comedy about two strangers on two different trains who share the love for books.