10. Couple Discount
1673 Words
Molly
The drive to the café is calm and quiet in the best way. Charles says it is not far, and he is right. Outside my window the whole town looks like someone sprinkled powdered sugar over it. Snowbanks, glowing windows, kids in bright winter clothes. Families holding hands, dragging sleds, carrying steaming cups of coffee. It is nice. Warm. Festive.
A little too wholesome for the mess happening inside my head, but whatever.
When we pull into the café parking lot, Lily gasps softly. “It’s beautiful,” she whispers.
She’s right. The café looks like a glass box glowing from the inside, the kind of place where Pinterest moms would take aesthetic photos. Charles kills the engine and we get out. I follow him, trying not to stare at how the cold doesn’t seem to affect him at all. Seriously…who wears just a T-shirt in this weather? Who is he, a mutant?
“We are eating with the humans,” Lily suddenly whispers.
I freeze halfway. “The what?”
Humans? What does that even mean?
Charles looks a bit awkward. “She says that sometimes,” he says quietly. “Don’t mind her.”
Lily giggles behind him. I cannot help smiling. I reach out and ruffle her hair gently. “You are something else, Lily.”
She beams like I just called her a princess.
Charles watches the two of us, eyes warm. It is the kind of look that hits low in my stomach before I can stop it.
Inside, the café is packed. Families squeeze together in booths, laughing and sharing plates. A young woman at the counter lights up as soon as she sees us.
“Good morning. Table for three?”
“Yes,” Charles answers, voice deep enough to warm my body more than my jacket.
She leads us to a small table by the window. Charles pulls out my chair before I can reach it. My stomach does that ridiculous little flip and I pretend it is the cold.
“Thanks,” I say.
He nods. His eyes linger a little longer than necessary. Then he helps Lily with her seat, gentle and steady.
We barely sit before the waitress drops menus in front of us.
And then she drops the bomb.
“You two get the couples discount today.”
I choke on absolutely nothing. “Cou-what?”
She smiles at us. “Holiday special. Ten percent off for couples.”
Heat shoots straight up my neck. I open my mouth to fix it, but Charles is faster.
“Yes. We will take it.”
My head snaps toward him. He leans in, voice low enough to brush my ear.
“Remember. We are acting like a couple.”
Right. The fake dating thing. Totally normal. Nothing to panic about at all.
I smile at the waitress. Or try. It probably looks like my face is cramping. And Lily is watching us intently.
Kill me.
We order French toast because Lily begs for it, fries because I have no self control, and coffee because I need something to hold on to before I spiral into the floor.
When the waitress leaves, I can breathe again.
Charles decides to sit beside me instead of across. My eyes betray me immediately. His arm rests behind my chair. His t-shirt stretches over muscle and warmth and all kinds of trouble. The smell of him drifts toward me. Clean. Warm. Seductive.
I dragged my gaze away before I embarrassed myself, but he saw. I know he saw.
The corner of his mouth curves up slowly. He does not comment. He does not tease. He just looks pleased with himself.
The waitress returns with our food, and we dig in instantly. Lily shares bits of her French toast with Snow, who's sitting on her lap.
Every so often, I feel Charles’s gaze move to me while I eat. It is not creepy. It is more like he is quietly admiring me, which is somehow worse because my body reacts like a dripping faucet.
“This is really good,” I say, mostly to give myself something to focus on besides this seducer.
“It is,” Charles says softly. He watches Lily laugh as Snow tries to lick syrup off her fingers. A small smile curves on his mouth. The gentle kind. The kind that takes me apart from the inside.
Everything is perfect until Snow decides to stir up trouble. She jumps at Lily’s cup. Hot chocolate spills everywhere.
“Oh no,” Lily gasps.
“Snow, what have you done?” I scold, pulling napkins toward Lily.
Charles is already standing. He adjusts Lily’s chair and checks her sleeves like a professional crisis manager. “Come on. We will clean you up.”
She nods and lets him guide her away. Snow trots after them with absolutely no remorse.
Which leaves me alone.
For exactly two minutes.
And apparently that is all the time the universe needs to mess with me.
A guy with tall shoulders, a sharp jawline and eyebrows that look far too sure of themselves walks toward my table. He stops in front of me and gives me a smile that looks practiced.
“Hey,” he says. “Sorry to bother you. I just saw you from across the room. You are really lovely.”
Oh wonderful.
I blink. “Thank you?”
He reaches out a hand. “I’m Daniel.”
“Molly,” I say as we shake hands. His grip is warm. His smile is warm. Hmm.
“So are you here with anyone?” he asks while glancing around, probably checking if I have backup or something.
I open my mouth to answer.
But someone else answers first.
“Yes,” a deep voice says behind him. “She is here with me.”
Charles.
Standing close enough that the heat from his body touches my back. His jaw looks locked in place. His shoulders are rigid. His eyes are fixed on Daniel like he is deciding whether to break him or just throw him into the snow.
Daniel turns. “Oh. I didn’t realize…”
“You can go,” Charles says. There is no friendliness. Not even a drop.
Daniel blinks, nods and retreats so fast he may as well leave a dust trail behind him.
I stare at Charles. “Wow.”
He looks completely unbothered. “I don’t like the way he looked at you.”
“You kind of scared him.”
“I didn’t scare him.”
He absolutely did. I swear the table shook.
He sits down beside me again. His hand brushes my arm, maybe accidentally, maybe not. Warmth spreads up my skin instantly.
This is fine. Completely fine. Except for my pulse, which has decided to train for a marathon, and the warm pull low between my thighs that has no business showing up in a public café. I must be losing it, because I am definitely getting wet over Charles acting like a possessive boyfriend. Wonderful. Amber will laugh at me badly.
We finish eating, and I wipe my hands with a napkin before turning to Lily. “Did you enjoy it?”
“Yes,” she says with a bright smile. Her cheeks are flushed from excitement. “Snow enjoyed it too.”
Snow gives one sharp bark in agreement, and I can’t help laughing. When I glance at Charles, he is watching us again with that soft, almost tender smile that messes with my breathing.
We stand, and Charles steps closer so he can take care of the bill. His hand brushes Lily’s shoulder, gentle and sure, before he walks off. Lily and I wait near the entrance with Snow curled comfortably in her arms. The whole place hums with laughter and clinking plates. It should feel safe and ordinary.
Instead, the air shifts. The hairs on my neck rise, slow and deliberate. Someone is watching me. I straighten and scan the room without moving too obviously. Everyone is busy with their food and conversations. Nothing appears wrong, but the feeling does not fade.
I turn more quickly this time, and that is when I catch the man in black heading out the door. His hood is up, his shoulders are high, and his movements are too fast to be casual. My mouth opens to call out, but my phone buzzes violently in my pocket and breaks my focus.
I pull it out and freeze.
Mike.
Why would he message me now?
I unlock the screen without thinking.
Mike: Your mom has been calling you but you are not picking. You know how urgent this is. We are on our way to Josh’s apartment.
Cold shoots through my body. My mind blanks for a full second.
WHAT!
If my mom goes there, she will know everything. She will know Josh and I are done. She will explode at me. She will probably make sure my soul leaves my body before she kicks me out of the house.
“Oh God.” My hand tightens around the phone.
I text Mike back as fast as I can, telling him not to go…that we weren't at the apartment. But that is not enough. I need to call her. I need to stop this.
“Molly?”
Charles’s voice comes from right in front of me. It is deep and steady, but laced with concern. I look up and he is close enough that I can feel the warmth from his body. His brows are drawn together, and his jaw is tight as he studies my face.
“Molly, are you alright?”
I swallow, but the answer sticks in my throat. No, I am not alright. My chest feels tight, my thoughts are running wild, and suddenly the café feels too small and too warm.
“I need to call her,” I manage. My voice is thin. I lift the phone slightly. “My mom.”
- Writer
