The summer sun wasn’t messing around. 35 degrees and it was scorching hot at 3 pm, but there was no way that was stopping me from meeting Elena. We both work online for No-BS Marketplace, an Australian SEO link-building company. We’d only ever connected through work chats, her being my editor in the past. Unlike most editors, Elena always gave kind feedback, something I genuinely appreciate.

So there we were at Starbucks, finally face-to-face over coffee for the first time! It didn’t feel weird at all – two and a half hours flew by just talking like we’d known each other forever. We talked about so many things and discovered a lot about each other.

I might have done most of the talking; okay, I definitely did most of the talking. Way too excited to meet someone who I work with. It’d been over ten years since I’d had a chat like this with someone in my field. Work friends just drift apart sometimes, I guess, like ice cream melting under the summer sun.

I spilled my guts a little, maybe a bit much for a first meeting, but with her, it just felt easy. No overthinking, just a connection that clicked. My throat even hurts a little from all the “chika,” mostly from me, for sure. Sorry, Elena!

I didn’t want the time to end, but it was getting late. We hugged each other, said our goodbyes and made a promise that it’s something that we’ll make sure to happen again. The hug was so cathartic, and I know that I have a friend I’ll treasure forever.

Thanks, besh, for sharing your time with me! Till our next meet-up!