Summers & Starbucks - Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Kaiden
"And you chickened out?! Oh my god Kaiden, why?"
"Raven, I couldn't think around him and his stupidly handsome face!"
Her shift is over and I'm helping her close the bakery. More like, watching her cleanup while I dig into a chocolate croissant. I have a bias for French sweets.
"You've spoken to him before. So you don't think he's just, incredibly distracting?" I ask, mouth full of chocolatey goodness.
Raven's face lights up.
"You, my friend, have a crush!"
She flicks my forehead.
"I don't! I was only wanting to see him to ask if we had sex! That's the only reason!"
"What if you did have sex with him though? What are you gonna do then?"
"Well then, I will have to deal with it. I can't change what happened, can I?"
"Why would you kiss him though? I've known you for years now, you've never once mentioned an interest in guys of our school!"
"Because guys in our school aren't my type at all," I laugh. "Also, I kissed him because I was horny. People do no homo stuff all the time!"
"No homo? That's literally not possible, seeing you're so worked up over him," she laughs.
I blush, chucking a tissue paper at her. She's right.
"So you're bisexual then? Or just attracted to Sam? I mean, I don't blame you, he is ridiculously hot!"
"I am not crushing on Sam? I mean... I don't know how to feel. Yes he's hot and his blue eyes are captivating. My heartbeat spiked when he leaned closer to me."
"Yep bingo, hits all spots. You're definitely crushing. But maybe it could be because of us teasing you. That happens sometimes."
I thought I was only attracted to Nathan.
Raven bags the leftovers for herself and me and then locks up their cute bakery.
"So you're only attracted to him?"
"Hm no. It's not just Sam," I sigh hesitantly, unlocking my car. She turns to me, eyes wide.
"Who else then? Oh my god Kaiden, why didn't you tell me before?" She screeches. I wince at her tone.
"I don't want anyone else knowing okay? It's between you and me only. I prefer being on the down low for now."
"So you won't tell me his name?" she pouts.
"I think the secret's safe with me."
There's no way I'm telling her we are crushing on the same damn boy.
"Why are you avoiding me?"
Nathan looks up from rummaging in his locker and shuts the door. It's been three days since we woke up together and he hasn't spoken to me since.
I thought it would pass after a day but then I couldn't resist. I hate people ignoring me.
"I'm not avoiding you," he states plainly.
"Oh? You didn't catch a ride with me for two days, haven't attended Chem or Bio class despite being in school! And you didn't even look at me in Art when you were supposed to redo that assignment of drawing my portrait!"
I sound so fucking needy, like a kindergartener. I shouldn't have confronted him, he probably thinks I'm obsessed.
"Fine yes, I was avoiding you! I am still awkward about that morning!" he sighs, going red.
I blink and look away, feeling hot all over.
"It's fine Nathan, don't worry yourself too much. It's not like anything happened," I laugh, rubbing the back of my neck, trying to act like it doesn't affect me.
Who am I kidding, I was thinking about it constantly.
We walk to Chemistry class next door, him still staring at me. I turn to him in my seat, raising a brow. He sighs.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd want to talk to me because you didn't attempt to speak either."
Touché.
"I thought you were mad at me. I'm not a clingy sleeper at all so I don't know what came over me that night! We can never mention it again, if that's what you want," I offer.
"Sounds good," he nods, putting a pencil to his lips.
I turn quickly to the board, wishing I was the fucking pencil.
Shit, boys are going to be the death of me.
"Since when do you watch us play?" Ryan asks after their soccer practice. "You've never stayed in school a second longer than necessary, ever since I've known you!"
"I wasn't watching you play. Bella wanted help to print out the flyers for Spirit Week. We got done early so I thought I'd do my homework. I was sitting on the bleachers, making a digital mood board for Art."
Ryan scoffs, unlocking his car. Most of the members have left. Nathan is probably still in the shower.
"Just say you were waiting for Nathan, I'm not going to beat you up!"
I laugh, going red. Ryan knows me a tad too well.
"What gave it away?! The Bella thing is true though, but I waited for him after."
"I thought you me and Daniel were going to hang out. We couldn't last Saturday because of Sasha's party. We could always go now unless you and him have plans?" Ryan asks.
"No plans as such. We have a research paper like thing to write for Biology so we were thinking to start with that."
"Doesn't he work today?"
I shake my head. Ryan looks thoughtful.
"Daniel was telling me some stuff about him, that he nearly went to jail and whatnot."
I narrow my eyes.
"Raven told me. Y'all gossip about him a bit too much, you know? It's not nice, we shouldn't make assumptions! And where the fuck is Daniel getting his information from?"
"Don't go apeshit on me. I'm just the messenger. Be careful Kai, that's all. He doesn't seem like good news."
"Thanks for your concern but it's not needed. He's a good guy. If I hear one more thing about him, Dan's gonna get a talking to. Tell him to stop spreading shit about Nathan."
"Obviously you know him better so I hope you're right. It's our final year Kai, don't screw things up."
With that, Ryan gets in his car and leaves. I frown at his unusual seriousness.
Nathan comes out from the gym lockers, and runs to me, smiling happily. He looks handsome, freshly showered and smelling like... fuck, I love that scent, whatever it is.
"Hey! I thought you forgot we were supposed to study. Didn't see you anywhere after school!" he says, getting in my car.
"No. I was helping Bella."
I rev and pull out of school. He turns on the radio. Taylor Swift is playing. Much to my surprise, he begins to sing along, a smile on his face. I grin, joining in.
"She wears short skirts, I wear Tshirts, she's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers, dreaming bout the day when you wake up and find, what you're looking for, has been here the whole time!" He sings.
"If you could see that I'm the one who understands you, been here all along so why can't you see, you belong with me!"
We're both singing loudly, even though we're terribly off key. We belt out the entire song, him ending with a flourish of his hands. He knew all the lyrics!
"You're a Swiftie? Nathan, you're such a girl!" I laugh.
"And you aren't?"
He hits my shoulder.
"I also happen to like the Migos and Linkin Park and Lil Nas so no, I am not a total girly girl!"
"You like the Migos too?"
Like telepathy, we both start singing Motorsport. He attempts the wave with his hands, nearly slapping me.
"Okay, let's keep the dancing for when we actually have space!" I laugh.
"You know I went to a Coldplay concert once. It was a great experience!" he says, giving up the dancing. "We managed to sneak in, me and one my older friends."
"Oh? That's hella lucky, man! My brother took me to an Iron Maiden concert when I was like twelve. It was good even though I don't like heavy metal at all."
"That's cool! Although, I wish I could have been to a 1D concert before they split," he says.
"Are you serious?!"
He bursts out laughing, shaking his head.
"Oh my god, you should have seen your face!"
"I was going to severely judge you for your choices!" I grin. "Harry Styles is hot though!"
"What, no he isn't! I prefer Zayn," he shrugs.
"Anyway, where are we going?"
"I don't know, I just took the road to my house. I hope you're okay with meeting my parents. If not, we could always go someplace else."
"I know a place that sells amazing milkshakes. Shall we go there? They have free WiFi so we can do some data collection," he asks. I nod.
He gives me directions and we reach in less than ten minutes. He removes his blazer and throws it in the backseat. I do the same.
The cafe called Rusty's is adorable, with a nice raised patio with umbrellas. It is full of fall and Halloween decor, smelling of pumpkin spice and peppermint. We find a table on the mezzanine, with a view of the whole cafe. He orders for the both of us.
I can't help but feel like we're on a date but I know I'm the only one feeling this way. The girl who dates him is going to be lucky. I envy her already.
"Nice place. I have lived in this city for four years yet I've never once been here," I tell him, looking around.
"What? You've been missing out!"
"I like coffee, never been one for milkshakes."
"Oh, then you're going to be pleasantly surprised. I used to be a neither person, anything milky made me nauseous. At one point I was addicted to diet soda," he says, grinning. He takes out a notebook from his bag.
"I brought my iPad. Easier to work with this, than on tiny phone screens. We can copy everything down on journal papers later since Ms. Rodriguez wants a handwritten submission," I sigh. He nods.
"Give me your phone, I will look for information on that."
"Hm?"
"Mine's still broken, I didn't get around to replacing it yet."
"Oh okay."
We start our work, reading about the topic in silence. He sends me links and I highlight the important points. Our orders arrive and he sips on the milkshake.
I take a big gulp, moaning at the delicious taste. It has a slight peppermint flavour and just the perfect amount of bitter chocolate. My tongue just had an orgasm.
"This thing tastes like hope, dreams and unicorns, by the way!"
"I know right? It should be a law that everyone should have Rusty's milkshakes at least once in their lives!"
"Definitely. I would campaign for this law," I sigh, taking another big sip. He laughs, clicking a picture of me on my phone.
"You have a froth mustache!"
I run my tongue over my top lip. He reaches out and wipes the remaining froth with his fingers, his fingers brushing my lower lip slightly.
Did he just...
I thank him, the butterflies returning with a vengeance. He can't touch me like that, it will drive me fucking nuts.
"So, what's the connection between you and Vanessa?" I ask, desperately looking for a topic to distract myself.
"Why?"
"You don't seem very fond of her. Is she your ex or something?"
"Fuck no!" He shudders, as if the thought in itself is so painful. "It's... complicated."
"How so?"
"None of your business," he shrugs, going back to the phone, looking for articles to read. I blink in surprise.
"So you're just going to ignore the question?"
"I already told you, it doesn't concern you. But I want to know why she asked you out. I mean, as far as I know, she is dating Adrian right?"
"She is," I shrug, annoyed slightly. "Didn't you see me reject her? You were right there. Also, who said you could ask me a question when you didn't answer mine?"
He stares at me.
"What?"
"Why did you accept her invite?"
"I'm not telling you anything until you tell me what's going on between you two!"
He sighs, rolling his eyes.
"Why are you being like this?" I frown.
"Like what?"
"So stubborn and closed off?"
"Why are you being like this?" he asks, smirking.
"Like what?"
"Pushy and irritating?"
I sigh, a smile appearing despite my annoyance.
"You are frustrating, you know?"
"So I've been told. Come on Kai, I'm not a psych project. Let's just enjoy the milkshake," he smiles.
"Fine but I'm not going to forget this!" I pout.
"You should."
"What's that gotta mean?"
He sighs, finishing his milkshake. He packs his things and gets up.
"I already paid for the milkshake and I've sent you the links, we'll work in the library next time."
"Where are you going?"
"Home."
"We came here together. What do you mean you're leaving?"
I'm confused.
"I don't wanna be around you right now. Enjoy your drink."
He leaves the cafe, much to my surprise. I run behind him, annoyed as hell. The sun is beginning to set, dusk approaching.
"What the fuck?" I yank his arm.
"Let me go," he says tightly. "Stop fucking interfering in my life."
It feels like a slap to my face. I turn and walk to my car, driving away furiously, leaving him alone.