AllFreeNovel
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Because who wouldn’t?
“I’ll be here,” he said instead.
And that seed of hope inside me, the one that had sprouted the day I first met him…
It grew a little more.
* * *
Ari
I strolled into the little coffee place situated right across from Blake’s restaurant, the scent of roasted beans hitting me like a warm hug as I walked in. I didn’t want to get that far away from Blake. But if I’d stayed in that restaurant for one more second, I probably would have thrown a tray at her dickwad manager. In here, I could catch glimpses of her without causing anyone bodily harm.
I looked over the menu, ready for a caffeine fix. Oh good, they had pumpkin cream chai tea lattes. My favorite. I was a basic bitch when it came to my fall drinks.
The barista, a twenty something year old girl with chestnut hair cascading down her back and hazel eyes, stood behind the counter. She wore a standard brown apron, and her skin had a warm, olive-toned complexion. In the past, I might have thought she was attractive, but now she might as well have been paint on the wall. There was nothing about her that piqued my interest.
All I could fucking see was Blake.
The barista flipped her hair like she thought I was taking auditions for a shampoo commercial, flashing me a flirty smile. Staring at the baked goods behind the glass, I really hoped she hadn’t baked them. I’d hate to bite into a pumpkin muffin and get some hair in my teeth.
Would totally ruin the experience.
"Hey there, handsome. What can I get you?" she purred. Sigh. The curse of being so damn good looking. Everyone wanted a piece of Ari Lancaster. Next time we talked, I needed to remind Lincoln I was the better looking of the two of us, just so he didn’t get a big head.
“A pumpkin cream chai tea latte with almond milk, please.”
‘Really?” she asked, looking behind me, like I was ordering for someone else.
“Yes. I know I have good taste. Anyone who orders a black coffee during pumpkin season obviously doesn’t like fun,” I drawled.
She grinned at me and I inwardly cursed…because she seemed to think I was flirting with her.
As she prepared my drink, I scrolled through my phone, stalking Blake on Instagram. She was so fucking pretty.
“Here you go,” the barista said in a sing-song voice.
“Thanks,” I murmured, distracted by a lingerie shoot Blake had posted this morning. There were already five thousand likes.
Fuck.
Maybe I could convince her to let me photoshop the pic so her undies had something like “Property of Ari” on them, because the comments men were leaving made me feel…feral.
I grabbed the cup, not amused at all when I saw the girl had jotted her name and number on the cup without hesitation. She hit me with what I’m sure she thought was a seductive smile.
I raised an eyebrow and pushed the cup back toward her. "Give me another one, please," I said, my tone firm and no-nonsense.
She blinked in surprise, her smile faltering. "What?..."
“A cup. I need a new cup. One that doesn’t have your number on it.”
The girl stared at me, flabbergasted, for so long, I was slightly worried she’d lost all brain function.
“Is this a joke?” she finally asked.
“I. Am. Taken,” I spelled out for her, holding up the phone to show her the most beautiful girl that existed on the planet. Adding “you do not compare,” probably would have been taking it too far, but I had the words ready, just in case she was one of those persistent types. "Just the coffee, no extras,” I said slowly, because she really was a slow mover.
Her expression shifted from disappointment to annoyance as she grabbed a new cup and dumped my drink in it. I frowned. She’d messed up the pumpkin cream! THIS WAS A TRAVESTY.
