The falling raindrops made merry-sounding melodies as they crash upon the asphalt and fiberglass shade outside my local Starbucks outlet. My shoulders and back almost got drenched because it suddenly poured the moment I step out of my car, as though some Chinese deity decided to play a silly prank and waited for me before pouring down a giant bucketful of water from above the clouds.

Close to shivering, I pushed the glass door open and headed toward the counter. The only reason I would ever go to Starbucks these days was so that I’d be able to sit in a comfy sofa and enjoy a nice hot drink while I sink myself in a good book. In my hands on that grey, wet day was Dan Brown’s Digital Fortress, with a name card sticking out from the side - a lazy man’s bookmark.

As I approached the counter, I turned and looked out to see that the sudden drizzle had raged into a storm. I couldn’t help but notice that there were only a few people inside. A couple was having a quiet conversation over some cake and a lone man sat near a wall with his iBook open, probably working on something as I see a couple of documents on the chair next to his.

“Hi, good afternoon!” said a voice behind my head, snapping my face forward.

“Ah, hello.” I replied, surprised to be greeted by cute young lady. She wore a white turtleneck behind her black barista apron, which neatly framed her slender, average build. Turtlenecks have this weird effect on me; it always draws my eyesight towards the wearer’s neck,… which would usually make me scroll lower so I could appreciate another subject of beauty.

*cough*

The barista wore her long wavy hair in a ponytail tucked nicely behind a black Starbucks cap, perfectly accentuating her Chinese characteristics. Her warm smile completely made me forget that I had just escaped a crazy downpour outside.

“Can I get you anything, sir?” she asked, promptly bringing me back out of my 500-millisecond daze. Figuring that I should not be dallying, I checked the overhead menu for something hot to drink. I absent-mindedly placed the book on the counter, face-down, and the spine towards me.

“Uhh,…let me see. I’ll have a grande signature hot chocolate,… and that’s it.” I said, thinking that it would be the best thing to be had during a cold rainy day. “With cream, sir?” she asked, her smile stubbornly refusing to leave her lips. “No cream, thank you,” I replied, and found myself smiling in return. My order was registered with a beep in just a few keystrokes.

“One grande signature hot chocolate with no cream. Would you like anything else, sir? A piece of cake or pastry, perhaps?” she offered.

“No thanks.” I said, reaching down to my wallet.

And then, it happened.

“Excuse me, is that a Dan Brown novel?” she asked me, apparently unable to hold back her curiosity. I could see that her eyes kept darting between the register, my face, and the book that was unintentionally hiding its identity from her.

“Ah, yes. Yes it is. Digital Fortress.” I said, carefully observing her as I flipped the book over. “Wanna have a look?”

“Can I? Oh, thank you!” she said, almost jumping with joy. Slowly, but with much excitement, she picked up the book and read some random pages hoping to find a synopsis or testimony.

Leaning forward with elbows on the counter, I asked her, “I suppose you’ve read The Da Vinci Code, then?”

“Yeah, that and Angels and Demons. I bought both of them,” she said, her eyes still fixated on the book.

“I see. I’ve read neither of the two.”

I lied. Half-lied, technically speaking. I actually have read Angels and Demons, but not Da Vinci.

“He writes good books,” she said, finally setting the book down.

“I’ll be done with this one in a day or two. I can lend it to you if you like,” I said, throwing out the nylon line after baiting the hook.

“Really? That’s-”

“…not going to happen for free. There’s a catch,” I said, using all my strength to hold back from giving her a big wide smile lest I risk myself looking like a big doofus. “…I’ll lend this to you on a few conditions.”

It was a gamble for me at that point. Adrenaline suddenly decided to take a reverse bungee ride inside my head and it got even harder to stay calm.

“Hmm.. conditions, eh?” she said. She looked right into my eyes with a skeptic’s smile on her face. “Okay, let’s hear them.”

“Alright, then. I’ll lend you Digital Fortress if you would exchange it for Da Vinci Code and your phone number. How’s that?”

She paused for a moment, probably thinking that I was just kidding. I had a weird feeling that she was testing me because it was as though she was forcing me to break eye contact with her, which I didn’t because I took that accusing stare as a challenge. My heart raced like a hamster on crack as I waited, hoping that the fish would bite.

“Haha, okay. That’s fair enough, give me a call when you’re done with that. We’ll swap books over lunch, perhaps?” she said.

“You definitely know the right words to say.” I replied, handing her the payment for my drink, while attempting to contain my smile…which I embarrassingly failed to do.

“As do you, haha. Have a seat, I’ll bring you your chocolate in a while.”

Her ponytail swept an elegant arc across the air as she turned and proceeded to make the drink. I found a nice comfortable corner and lavished my ‘win’ for a few seconds before I continued to find out the fate of Susan Fletcher. The storm had calmed, but it was still raining quite heavily outside.

My cute barista came a while later with a mug of steaming hot chocolate and placed it on the table in front me, with a small note peeking out from under the mug. “Enjoy your drink.” she said, once again flashing her gorgeous smile. I was then rewarded with the privilege of observing a nice, firm derrière make pleasant motions in the air as her legs navigated around the cafe and back to the counter. I knew rainy days would always return some good karma to me.

So, did we have lunch and exchange books, then? Well, wouldn’t you like to know.