Few minutes ago when he entered the café.

⏪

Mike took the bouquet and proceeded toward the table, Elizabeth was sitting but before he could reach the table, he observed it was nothing like he left few hours ago.

Whole floor was covered under a layer or white and red heart shaped baloons. At the corner, a table was decorated with baby pink satin cloth, a small figure of cupid was placed at the center of it. Coffee had been served in nice set of crockery.

Mike got bit surprised, he paced back as quietly as he could and turned to uncle Jeff with questions on his face. He raised an eyebrow at him. For which in reply, Uncle Jeff just gestured outside.

Mike looked in same direction to find uncle Jeff was indicating at Max only who was heading toward their vehicle.

"Max!??" Mike exclaimed aloud to find that it all was set by Max only.

"Hey Mike! Hi ." She stood up quickly as his voice fell on her ear.

"Hey! Hi Elizabeth." Mike had to turn toward her and reply but quickly he gave a confused look to uncle Jeff. As he was still unable to get how and why Max had arranged those decor.

Uncle Jeff gave him a blank look and gestured toward Elizabeth as sign to attend the girl who must had been waiting for him.

Unwillingly Mike had to walk ahead and greet the girl with bouqet in his hand. He presented it while placing rest of gifts on table.

"Hi... I.. I am sorry to keep you waiting like this." Mike said pulling the chair for her.

"No it's perfectly fine. Actually I was a bit excited to see you. I know, I may sound crazy but You don't have any idea how many girls having crush on you at college." She accepted her crush on him indirectly with a sheepish laughter.

"Is it? Then I might be blind." He replied sipping water from glass.

"Are you kidding me? You really don't know about Rebecca? Marry? Or Ruth?" She raised her eyebrows in bewilderment.

"Now who are these girls?" He inquired seriously this time.

"Well. I am shocked! Seriously! As I heard Rebecca spent a kind of time with you. But later Max kicked her for that and after that no girl dared to gaze at you." She explained her words with calm tone and drew back her hands from table as if got scared of touching him.

"What?" There was no limit of wonder for Mike at these rumours. He couldn't help but laughed out loud clapping on the table.

"Oh God! So that was her name!" He hardly uttered between his hysterical laughter.

"You know her. Don't you? So it was right. I wonder What Max will do with me? But if She is ... why She asked me to meet you?" She wondered heaving a deep sigh.

"Am sorry for this laughter but You won't believe anything like this never happened.
Yeah once a girl tried to get cozy with me when I went to change after our soccer practice. Now I am getting to know her name was Rebecca." He said suppressing his laughter.

"That mean Max didn't thrashed her?"

"No! Never. She don't even know about this incident. I mean it's so embarrassing." Mike made a sorry face at her disappointment.
"Oh yeah when I pushed that girl off from me, the same moment got call from Max and when I turned after the call She was nowhere. That mean She ran away because of Max not my denial!" This was greater surprise for Mike as all these years he never knew, Max has such terror among girls around him.

"Oh! M! G! I ... I actually came here almost scared of her but now it seems like those were just rumours." She exclaimed initially then took deep breath of relief and blushed at him.

The way she looked at him. It made Mike a bit conscious and back at the moment. For a moment he actually forgot the situation and enjoyed his own imagination of Max thrashing that girl with her snikers.

"Rumours? Like?" Mike said a bit consciously, he always knew there were talks about him and Max. Which kind of talks? now he actually wanted to hear.

"Ahm.. Rumours like... 'You are crazy about Max.'
'One can easy find you both gazing at each other with silly smiles.'
And on top of all were that You both are a couple from long time , even few says you have a Son too."

Mike was just listening it all calmly and for his own surprise he didn't laugh on any of it. Even he felt amused as if it all were reward for him, for his love, for his wait, for his patience.

"Actually each of the rumour is not false." He said holding his hands together on table , with fix gaze on it.

"Ahm.. yeah You guys are damn close friends so its fine to have a few rumours." She laughed a bit, nervously while her fingers roam over the carry bag Mike had placed on table.

"What's there in it?" She tried to divert the conversation away from Max.

As her fingers trailed over the bag his eyes got glued to it while his lips were glued into a straight line with no expressions at all.

"Ahm... is it for me?" She touched at his hand for some reply.

The touch of her skin on his bare skin worked dramatically on him. At once he withdrew his hands from table with a jolt as if she was some Scorpio, about to stung him.

"What happened? " She withdrew her hands too At once, seeing his reaction.
"I said anything wrong?" She added.

"Umm.. nothing." He tried hard to find words and closed his eyes, as his eyes got closed Max appeared infront of him, in his arms. He inhaled deep and felt her essence as if She loves in his skin only.

"Uh! Whom am lying?" He said a bit louder this time and quickly opened his eyes to look at Elizabeth.

"I'm sorry Elizabeth." He added, "I know am sounding like a perfect Idiot, who called a girl on date that too through his best friend. Eventually who is rumoured as my Girlfriend!" He air quoted last word and took a deep breath.

"It's fine. At least now I know the truth." She smiled and was about to say something further but her words were cut short by Mike.

"No you don't know the truth but you should know. You should know that I ..." he started to say something but paused and took a deep breath , "You were right. May all of the rumours are not true but fact is Fact. I can't move over my first love. And that's only Max. I love her since we met, the moment I saw her, I got to know her. I fell for her."

She looked stunned at him. Tear started to form in her eyes.

"Look am really very sorry for all this. I really admire you as a human, as a girl, as a scholar. Even I had praised you many times and somehow Max too admired You. She took my admiration as Love." He placed his hand on her hand lightly to console with regret as She was gazing at him with wide open eyes full of tears.

"I really didn't want to hurt You. Even I thought to give it a try. I thought to try and move on in life with You but after seeing you, Sorry I just realised. You deserves Love. Not just a try to compansate for false trials to love you." He looked down with feel of guilt.

"Thanks." She took a deep breath and said taking his palm in her hand. "Thanks for being so honest. Actually the thing is, You don't need to be feel guilty or anything like that." She wiped her tear off with back of another hand and added, "because as I said, I knew it. Even we all know it. That You belongs to Max only."

"What?" Mike got bit confused at her reaction as he was expecting a punch or atleast few abuses for wasting Her time.

"Yeah, I, even everyone knows, You both are made for each other. God knows why I came here. May be I was too selfish that I ignored Her emotions blindly."

Elizabeth took her purse from table and turned to leave.

"Wait please. What do you mean by you were selfish? And who's emotions you talking about?" Mike inquired curiously.

"I know it means nothing but I love you." She poured her heart out without any hesitation, looking straight in his eyes.
" When Max met me and said that You wanna meet me, I was so overjoyed that I blindly overlooked the hurt in her eyes." She confessed with a low gaze.

"What? Max was hurt. Why?" He got bit confused.

"Don't tell me, you don't know the reason. If you really don't then go to her. Tell her whatever you feel for her. You will get answers for all your queries." She smiled at him and took step ahead to cover the distance between them. Before He could get she kept her left hand on his right shoulder and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"All the Best Mike. If She turns you down ever, never forget: am there for You." She said with a mischievous smile before turning away from him.

"Thanks for the offer but may I know it's validity? " He said with the same mischeviousness, wiping his cheek where she kissed.

She stopped for a while before pulling the door, took a deep breath to stabilise her emotions and looked back over shoulder, "A year or Two may be. Till I find my true love." And She chuckle a bit.

"Umm.." He put his hands in pockets and acted like deciding something then continued, " then I think you should start finding him. Because even if She turns me down again and again, I will keep loving Max Only." He winked at her with last words of his statement.

They both shared a smile. As She left Mike looked up at Mr. And Mrs. Jeff, who were enjoying whole scene from behind their counter.

Mr. Jeff raised a thumb up for his deed to which Mrs. Jeff laughed a bit.

🕧🕛🕐🕜

At present scenario

⏭

"Are you ok Mike?" Max asked hugging him.

"Yeah, am good." He replied with a pleasant smile, "but by the speed of getting rejections like this. I feel, you have to accept me someday." He added as he had felt the warmth in her hug.

"Who knows? May be Someday." She replied with a smile hugging him the same way.