I was sitting at a coffee shop in London on a rainy day, drinking a cup of tea by myself and reading. This guy walked by, and caught my eye a little bit, but I was too focused on my book to really notice. Then someone asked if the seat across from me was taken. Assuming they were going to take the seat for their table I said, “no” without looking up. When I eventually turned the page of my book, I realized there was someone sitting across from me…
At first I freaked out a little bit. What was this person doing sitting with me? I slowly looked up to see who it was.
My gaze was met by an attractive, 20 something year-old guy. At this point, I was still on edge because you never know who you are going to meet in a foreign country, nevertheless, a coffee shop in London. He saw that I finally noticed him and said, “hi” with an adorable British accent. I said, “hi” back and then he responded, “I couldn’t help coming over here because of your beauty, and you reading that book makes you so much sexier”. I turned red… and the line worked on me.
We started small talking after I recovered from my blush. I was straight up and told him, “I’m visiting for a week and not interested in hooking up”. He said he wasn’t expecting anything, but he’s a guy… so of course he was.
We ended up talking at this coffee shop for a few hours and it was amazing. The conversation flowed perfectly, and I felt like we were close friends, not strangers. I truly felt a connection and had those butterflies in my stomach. I thought to myself, “This might be real or it might just be me over thinking the situation”.
Once I looked at my phone for the first time in what seemed an eternity, I realized I had to meet up with the other girls who I was traveling with. I turned to him and said, “It was nice meeting you but I have to go meet my friends”. I could tell he was disappointed, but I didn’t know if this was really happening. How do you ever really know…? But I had a feeling I could trust him. He asked if he could have my number or add me on Facebook. I wanted our story to be cute and exciting and not the typical guy-meets-girl kind. So I said no. I know, so bold! I told him if we were meant to see each other again then meet at the London Eye tomorrow at 4 pm. Wait there for an hour, if the other doesn’t show it wasn’t meant to be.
I was freaking out on the inside after I left. I was trying not to think about what had just happened but you know how that works. When I met up with my friends after, I told them everything. They were surprised and excited for me, but their excitement came with caution. They wanted the best for me, but all of them have seen the movie “Taken”… no other explanation needed. I couldn’t sleep that night; I was up, wide-awake thinking about everything… hoping he was thinking about me too, and imagining what could happen. I wouldn’t let any of my emotion show because I told myself not to get my hopes up.
The next day came and I was so anxious. The other four girls were doing touristy things again so I started the day off by myself. Later, I met up with my two English friends, but didn’t tell them what happened because I didn’t want to jinx the day or fate. We had a great day, just going around the city and exploring, but I couldn’t help checking the time every 10 minutes. The possibility of what could happen was haunting me.
At dinner I lost track of time. Looking back it probably was probably best because I was on the borderline of being labeled as “obsessed”. My friends had to catch their train home, so we parted ways. This was the moment of truth. I didn’t let myself look at the time and I caught the tube to the London Eye. I got off and made my way there with a relaxed façade. However, I was dying on the inside… anxious, nervous, and excited, with those butterflies in my stomach. When I got to the eye, I checked the time and it was 5:30…. I almost started crying. All the anticipation built up for this one moment to be let down by the clock. I told myself that it wasn’t meant to be, all the while holding back tears. Just then I felt eyes on me.
I turned around and there he was, looking right at me… He walked closer and we just stared at each other. I can’t even explain the feeling; words don’t give emotion like this justice. It felt like we stood there looking into each other’s soul for an hour, but it was probably only 2 minutes.
He said the first words. “I had a feeling I should wait”. I looked down and had this girlish smile on my face. He then grabbed me by my hand and started leading me down the street. All my nerves had gone away, all I felt was comfort and excitement. I wanted to learn everything about him! We spent the evening just walking and talking.
His name is Sebastian, he is from London, goes to the London School of Economics, he has a younger sister, his parents have been madly in love for 27 years, and I could go on and tell you his whole life story. I felt so comfortable with him, I shared everything; even my deepest secrets. I am glad I did and felt I could, I need someone who would love me for exactly who I am.
During our walk, I felt everyone’s eyes on us, which was probably my imagination but I wanted them to be. I wanted to show off what I had, and what I had longed for. We sat and talked and ate. We could have talked forever and never gotten bored.
The girls and I had play tickets for 7:30, so he walked me to the theater. I can’t put into words all the feelings rushing through me! When we got to the theater we stopped and gazed into each other’s eyes. I could have stood there for the rest of the night looking at him, my 6’5” handsome man. All of a sudden it was 7:29 and I had to go into the theater… He leaned down and gave me a kiss! It was a nice, gentle touch of his lips to mine, but passionate. There was a rush that filled my body, like nothing I have ever experienced before and I didn’t want it to stop or go away. But I had to go inside. During our day together, I had given him my British number because I was satisfied that this was meant to be; this was our story.
The amazing week continued. I was leaving in a few days and wanted to see Seb as much as I could. We talked about our relationship but didn’t define it. It had only been a couple of days but an intense, magical time. We were trying to enjoy our time together and not worry about it ending so soon. I like to be in the moment so I tried not to think about the end.
When all was said and done, we decided to end it. I might see him again if I ever return to London, or if we are ever in the same place at the same time. I hate how it ended, but it will always be a beautiful romance between us. I will always have that week; we will always have that week. I knew it was going to be hard for the next few days or maybe even the next few weeks, but I knew l would never forget that passionate week we spent together.
Then, I felt this grogginess, followed by a darkness. Light is the only thing I could see for a second. I awakened to the real world, and realized it had only been a dream. So I closed my eyes and went back to dreaming.