Gemotions

The coffee shop buzzed with a Saturday morning energy, but for Daniel, the atmosphere was thick with a different kind of pressure. He'd come to escape the relentless gnawing anxiety, the feeling of being wound too tight, but the song, *his* song, was playing on the shop's speakers. A young woman, voice clear and strong, delivered the words with a confidence Daniel lacked, a life he desperately craved. He could feel the heat creeping up his neck, a flush of awkwardness and... something else. He got up abruptly, mumbling an apology for bumping into a table as he made for the door.