HEARTS ON HOLD

Nina Calloway had exactly three goals for the summer: avoid drama, avoid people, and avoid any form of falling in love. All three were going great until the new boy walked into the café wearing a hoodie in ninety degree weather and asked for an iced black coffee with no sugar. No one drank black coffee in this town. Not unless they were trying really hard to be mysterious. She peeked at him from behind the counter, casually leaning over the cash register like it was just another boring day. He was tall, lean, with messy black hair that looked like it hadn’t seen a brush in days. His eyes were a dark gray, the kind of color that made you feel like he could read your mind and silently judge you for thinking in clichés. “Is it really that cold in here, or are you just committed to the brooding aesthetic?” she asked, ringing up his order. He didn’t laugh. Not even a smirk. Just handed her a five and muttered, “Do you always talk this much?” “Well, only when someone walks in looking like they’re auditioning for a vampire reboot,” Nina shot back with a too sweet smile. The corners of his mouth twitched. Just a little. Barely noticeable. She counted that as a win. Later, after he left hood still up, coffee still untouched Harper burst into the café, flinging the door open so hard the wind chimes nearly flew off their hooks. “Nina. Spill. Who was that guy? I saw him walking past the library yesterday, and I swear, the air literally shimmered around him.” “He ordered black coffee and insulted me,” Nina said, wiping down the counter. Harper clapped her hands like Nina had just announced her wedding. “Perfect. Mystery boy meets sarcastic barista. This is how great love stories start.” “More like great restraining orders,” Nina muttered, but even she couldn’t help glancing at the door he’d walked through, wondering if he’d be back. He was. The next day. And the day after that. Always ordering the same thing. Always sitting at the same corner table with his headphones in and a sketchbook open. He never smiled. Never talked. Except to her. “You ever draw anything happy?” she asked one afternoon, peering at his latest piece. It was a crumbling building with ivy growing through the cracks, a single girl standing in the ruins. “I don’t do happy,” he said. Nina blinked. “Wow. Is that on your resume?” His lips quirked again, just barely. But it was something. Eventually, she learned his name was Kai Mercer. He’d just moved to town. No, he didn’t have social media. Yes, he lived near the cliffs. No, he didn’t like to talk about why. Still, something about him pulled her in. Like a riddle begging to be solved. She told herself it wasn’t interest. It was curiosity. That was all. But then came the announcement at school: the annual fall theatre production was returning and this year, it was being directed by none other than Miss Adira, the town’s eccentric, Shakespeare-obsessed drama teacher who believed in “casting fate, not talent.” Nina wasn’t planning to audition. But fate, as Miss Adira would say, had other plans. And when Nina’s name was called to play Juliet? Kai Mercer’s was called to play Romeo. Nina stood frozen, the script in her hands, the whole auditorium echoing with laughter and gasps. She turned slowly, locking eyes with him across the room. And for the first time since they’d met, Kai smiled. A real one. Trouble, Nina thought.