chapter two : Rough start ||
1298 Words
Ashton’s POV
I had been in Coventry for a few months.
Long enough to know the streets, the shortcuts, the places worth going and the ones better left alone.
Sunday afternoons had always been made for coffee.
Even back in Seattle, I had a habit of finding somewhere decent, ordering a cup, and watching the world move around me.
That afternoon, it was Bean & Bryn.
It was packed.
I scanned the room before choosing a table near the back.
Students. Couples. Workers enjoying their day off. Too many conversations, too many eyes
I was used to the eyes.
They followed me more often than not.
The waitress was no different.
Blonde. Pretty.
The sort of pretty that had probably gotten her out of more trouble than she deserved.
She approached me
“Can I get you something?”
“Coffee.”
“Just coffee?”
“That's enough.”
She smiled again.
Her eyes travelled over me before returning to my face.
Interesting.
She leaned against the table.
“You're not very friendly.
I watched her walk away.
She knew exactly what she was doing.
She returned with my coffee.
“Anything else?”
I looked at her.
“No.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
She didn't move.
I raised an eyebrow.
She smiled.
“Come with me.”
I should have said no.
what's wrong with being a little swayed.
moreso public space is the best place to be undone
The corridor was quieter than the café.
She turned toward me, her fingers catching the front of my coat.
Then she brought her mouth into mine ,she had a sweet sense , most likely a vanilla scent I could swear she was standing on her toes , cause she was straining to hold my nape
I bent and she started moving into the way to the restroom
I let her.
For a few seconds, nothing else mattered.
Until footsteps sounded behind us.
She pulled away.
I turned.
The girl stood at the end of the corridor.
Young.
uh, she must be a fresh student , you could tell them by the look
Her eyes moved between us.
I stared at her.
she had spoilt everything I moved away from the hot Blondie
and left ... that was not the first time , I was caught in the mood but I had a feeling this wasn't going to go well
Then disappeared.
I exhaled slowly.
My mood soured almost instantly.
Not because of the girl.
Because the moment was ruined.
the book I was supposed to read can't be delayed
Quiet.
Empty.
And, most importantly, nobody there would be trying to sell me a smile.
I stepped outside.
The cold air hit my face.
I welcomed it.
Then headed toward campus.
The library was almost exactly how I wanted it.
Still.
Muted.
People buried beneath their books, pretending the world didn't exist beyond the pages in front of them.
I walked farther inside, scanning the room without thinking.
Then I saw her.
The shirt.
The same colour I'd noticed at the café.
My eyes settled on the girl sitting several tables away.
She looked young, unmistakably new to the place. Her hair fell past her shoulders in soft, slightly untamed strands, framing a face that was prettier than she seemed to realise. Her eyes were large and watchful, the kind that missed very little, and there was a faint crease between her brows from whatever she was reading. She wore a simple shirt beneath a dark jacket, fitted jeans and worn trainers—nothing deliberately striking, yet somehow she stood out among the polished students around her. Her posture was straight, shoulders squared, one leg tucked beneath her chair as she leaned over the open book. There was something almost contradictory about her: a soft face paired with a stubborn set to her jaw, an ordinary outfit carried with the quiet certainty of someone who didn't need permission to take up space.
She looked harmless.
She wasn't.
Her eyes found mine.
She looked away.
I didn't.
A few minutes later, she stood.
And walked straight toward me.
Of course.
“You.”
I closed my book.
“That's usually how conversations begin when someone has forgotten my name.”
“I don't know your name.”
“Then we're already off to a terrible start.”
Her jaw tightened.
“You were at the café.”
“So?”
“You were in the bathroom corridor.”
“I was.”
“With that woman.”
I leaned back.
“You've been keeping track.”
“I happened to see you.”
“Then you should have kept walking.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You're rude.”
“Why?”
“Because you were in a women's bathroom.”
I stood.
She didn't move.
Neither did I
“And you're irritating.”
She stepped closer.
“So you admit you were wrong?”
I laughed once.
“You really don't know when to stop.”
“Neither do you.”
I moved forward.
She stepped back.
Then again.
Until the bookshelf stopped her.
I planted one hand against the shelf beside her, blocking the easiest path past me without touching her.
Her eyes lifted to mine.
She didn't flinch.
“You've got a lot of courage,” I said.
“I've got no reason to be scared of you.”
“That's because you don't know me.”
“And I don't want to.”
“Then stop following me around.”
“I didn't follow you.”
“Yet here you are.”
She glared at me.
“Maybe I came here to study.”
“Then study.”
“You're the one standing in my way.”
I glanced behind me.
Then back at her.
“You could have walked around.”
“So could you.”
Neither of us moved.
Her expression hardened.
“You're insufferable.”
“And you're incapable of minding your own business.”
“Maybe someone should teach you some manners.”
A humourless smile touched my mouth.
“Maybe someone should teach you when to shut up.”
you replied bluntly
till hovering on her , she was a small person , everybody was to me but she was particularly small in her shape
" you seem to be very mad at the scene at the bathroom
it is idea you mad at the idea or wished it was you in my arms
I would take it for the latter
how about we make your dream come thought Bunny
Her eyes flashed.
my hand was holding her small waist , travelling it way up to
trapping the bug bump that appears to be on a chest , holding it in my hands , slightly squeezing it like I was taking a measurement,
her eyes were on me all the way , she didn't alter a word not try to obstrust what we had going on
taking that as a consent confirmation
I moved my fingers down the shirt , uh lace I whispered
she wasn't breathing, she was standing soo still
Then I suddenly stepped aside.
“Go.”
She brushed past me, looking embarrassed
No apology.
Not even a glance back.
I watched her disappear between the shelves.
Still angry.
what the f**k was wrong with me ?
I knew this could bring a big penalty on the field
she was too cute to not touch
My eyes remained on the empty space where she'd disappeared.
Something about her bothered me.
Not her attitude.
That was easy enough to understand.
It was the feeling that I'd seen her before today.
And if that feeling was right, then the café hadn't been a coincidence after all.
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