I Found Love In The Most Unexpected Place

Have you ever fallen in love when you least expected to? Or have you fallen in love in a place that you least expected to? Well, my case was the latter. And I’m more than happy to free you from your curiosity of wanting to know what on earth does it even mean.

I’d always dreamed of doing my masters in another country. And, after my undergraduate studies, I applied for an MBA in the most prestigious Cardiff University. I would like to think that Cardiff and I were destined to happen and hence I managed to get a seat there. My parent’s joy knew no bounds and my joy was at another level of happy high. Soon, I set off to the UK for pursuing my MBA in my dream university.

Don’t we all know how expensive living in the UK is? Though I had done my math well about all my expenses, I was still falling short of some money for my own expenses. I’d planned to travel the surrounding countries every semester break, which only meant one thing— save more or earn some money. Therefore, I decided to take up a counter-waiter job at a coffee shop in the suburbs where I lived. And isn’t it in the Indian blood to link the kinds of jobs to the social status of a person? Honestly, I felt a bit weird and out of place during my first week working at the coffee shop. Then, again, like how it’s in the Indian blood to be able to adjust to any alien place, I ended up feeling at home at work too.

So my work at the coffee shop was to take orders at the counters and make my customers laugh. Five months passed by in a jiffy trying to manage college and work, life had become hectic and all I could think of was the summer break which was right around the corner now. But one fine evening, all of it changed when a handsome man walked in and made me smile instead. His name was Nick, an American who had come over to the UK for studies just like me.

Something about him attracted me and I figured that he too was attracted to me. How did I figure that? Because from the next day onwards, every single day, he’d come to the coffee shop and order the same drink— a double shot espresso for himself and a chocolate chip cookie which he always gave me to eat.

I’d heard of people bonding over coffee but here Nick and I were bonding over coffee orders (yep! I know it’s weird). He kept doing this for two months straight. We never met outside the coffee shop nor did we exchange numbers. Finally, one fine day when I came for out of the coffee shop and left for work, I heard someone call my name, it was Nick! He stood almost 500 meters away, signaling me to head towards him. He said he wanted to take me out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. We both had confessed our love for Chinese food earlier. I didn’t think twice and agreed instantly to you out with him. We walked to a nearby locality called Chinatown where one could devour the best of Chinese dishes (street style). We spoke about our dreams, our ambitions, our families and also about our ex-partners that night. After dinner, he dropped me off and waved me a good night. (I know you guys are disappointed that how could the dinner not end on a romantic note, but guess what, it didn’t!)

The Summer Break

I wanted to visit Paris and watch the Eiffel Tower glitter at night— it was the first thing I ever wrote down on my bucket list of “must-do-in-this-life”. And after all the juggling with college and work, I definitely did manage to save quite a lot to enjoy my solo trip to Paris. When I told Nick about this, he said he wanted to tag along with me. My heart said a yes to him, but at the back of my head, I’m thinking no, it’s my solo trip, my dream solo trip! Anyway, I put my thoughts to rest and told him he that he could join.

And even before I knew it, I was in my dream city, Paris, with Nick beside me. We both were avid travelers and explored all the streets of the city. Finally, the time had come, for me to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle. I stood there in awe with teary eyes gazing at the tower, like a little girl seeing a Disney movie come alive.

Just then, I turned back to see Nick on his knees, he had a Swiss Chocolate in his hand (my favorite chocolate) and he said, “I Love You.” My joy knew no bounds. I never felt so overwhelmed in my life. That was the start of my love story. An unexpected one, at an unexpected place.

Do you know of any love story like mine? Leave your answers in the comments below.

Note: The names have been changed to protect the identity of the people.

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