“Oh, I’ve heard it’s a lot of work.”
He gave me a half-smile, half-grimace. “Yeah, I now have a crippling addiction to coffee.”
“I’m not a fan of coffee myself. No matter how much sugar and flavour I add, it still tastes too bitter.”
Leo chuckled. “That used to be me.” He nodded towards the menu, which was written in artsy handwriting on wooden boards and hung on the back wall behind the counter. “What are you going to order then, if not coffee?”
“My go-to these days is a matcha latte.”
“I’ve never had one.”
I raised my brows. “Seriously?”
He nodded, lips twitching in amusement.
“You need to. I’m pretty sure there’s caffeine in them as well.”
“Probably not as much as a triple espresso,” Leo pointed out. “What are you studying?”
“Marketing.”
He nodded. “That’s cool.”
“I feel like you’re just being polite.”
“No, I’m not,” he protested. “C’mon, at least it’s not accounting.”
I laughed. “True. Or actuarial studies.”
Leo pretended to shiver. “Or worse,” — he lowered his voice to a stage whisper — “finance.”
The student standing in front of us turned around to give us a dirty look. His hair was short and styled with gel, and he wore a button-up shirt as well as a belt with a huge designer logo smack bang in the middle, gleaming silver.
Leo let out a tiny squeak, and I elbowed him before he could collapse into complete laughter. Despite his height and broad frame, he had an innocence, which reminded me of a little kid.
“Tell me about marketing,” he said. “Why’d you choose to study it?”
“Well, it’s practical,” I said. “But it’s also creative. I think it’s really fun to generate ideas for campaigns. Also, for a lot of our projects, they let you choose any brand you want, so you can personalise assignments, which makes them really fun to do.”
“What brands have you done?”
“A lot,” I said. “My first assignment was for a cat cafe —”
“You’re a cat person?”
“More of a dog person.” I had mentioned it in my LULL post, but he must’ve forgotten. “But I think it’d be impossible to have a dog cafe. Anyway, I’ve also done projects for sushi restaurants, clothing stores, and my last one was for dating apps.”
At the last point, something crossed his face.
“What, not a fan of them?” I asked.
“To be honest,” he said, leaning in conspiratorially. “I’ve never used one before.”
I took a tiny step back — not because his proximity bothered me, but because otherwise I couldn’t think straight. “Why are you saying it like it’s some awful sin?”
“I mean, everyone’s used them these days. But honestly, the idea of going on a date to meet a stranger freaks me out.”
“But —”
