Blessed

I laugh. "Did you just use a line?" I ask.

"Yes," Thomas says. "I did. No good?"

I shake my head. "Ordinary men use lines."

"And I’m not ordinary?" he asks with the ghost of a smile lingering around his lips.

I shake my head. "You’re not."

Thomas nods and shifts in his seat, sipping the coffee he bought.

"You choose your words carefully," he says.

"Why use many words when only a few will do?"

Thomas smiles. "Did you just use a line?" he asks, mimicking me. I shake my head.

He has a beautiful smile. It spreads slowly across his face. It makes me feel like it's because of me. I know the tactic.

"I'm doing recommended reading for my course, if you must know," I say. "I’m studying psychology."

Thomas nods. "That explains why you’re a fan of Freud."

"I’m not a fan of Freud. He’s the father of psychology, the first person to really analyze the relationship between the conscious and subconscious mind. Saying I’m a fan suggests there are those who have an aversion to him."

Thomas’s eyes are on me, and they're intense. "Aren’t there?" he asks.

I shake my head. "That’s like saying you’re a fan or a hater of Florence Nightingale when today’s healthcare is largely due to her efforts. It’s not something people disagree with."

"But healthcare doesn’t suggest who you are. Psychology does."

I narrow my eyes at him. "I think your ‘aversion’ isn’t for Freud. It’s for anyone who might tell you who you should or shouldn’t be."

Thomas sips his coffee. I'm starting to think he’s only come into the coffee shop to stare at me, and he’s only joined me to pick a fight.

"You’re very observant, Miss Shoemaker."

"Nicole, please."

"Nicole," Thomas says. I like the way he rounds his lips to say my name, and I like the way it sounds in his mouth. He says it like it isn't just an ordinary name but something exotic.

"What do you do?" I ask.

"I just finished my MBA at Columbia. This summer, I'm a free man."

"This is the second time you’ve mentioned freedom," I say.

"Are you counting my words? Freedom isn’t noticed enough these days."

I chuckle. "We’re the freest country in the world. We have rights and equality and choices. If that’s not free, what is?"

Thomas nods slowly. His eyes are on his coffee cup now. He turns it around and around.

"Choices," he says. I wait for him to carry on talking and finish the sentence he started.

He doesn't.

I closes the book I'm reading.