I tap the table with one finger. "So what's your alternative? Sit here with your overpriced latte and your book, waiting for a 'genuine' connection to fall out of the sky?"
"Better than wasting my time on people who collect women like sneakers."
I choke on a laugh. "Sneakers?"
She nods. "Trendy, shiny, and replaceable."
Damn.
"That's cold," I say, shaking my head, though I can't help grinning. "You always this brutal, or am I just special?"
She shrugs, already opening her book again. "You're not that special."
Most guys would walk away at this point. She wants me to walk away. That's her defense.
But I don't walk away from challenges.
I didn't let it show. Instead, I flashed my most dangerous smile. "Tell you what. I'll prove you wrong. You think I'm all surface? That I can't hold a real connection? Challenge accepted."
Her lips twitched like she wanted to laugh, but she bit it back. "You'll get bored."
"Not with you."
For the first time since I'd met her, she looked… uncertain. Just a flicker, gone in a heartbeat, but I caught it.
And that was it. I was hooked.
"This," she says firmly, "is why I don't date guys like you."
"And what am I exactly?"
She studies me like she's dissecting a bug. "The type who treats people like trophies. Easy come, easy go. Here for a story to brag about later."
For a second, I almost laugh again, but something about the way she says it digs under my skin. Like she sees me.
And I don't let people see me.
"Story to brag about?" I say, leaning forward now. "Baby girl, I don't need stories. I've got reality."
"Exactly." She smirks. "And it's even more pathetic."
I sit back, pretending her words don't sting. Pathetic. That's new.
And it stings.
I flash her that same grin, the one that's never failed. "I see how it is. Tell you what, I bet next time we bump into each other, I'll make you change your mind about me."
She stood, gathering her things. "Good luck with that, Cole."
Hearing my name from her lips—God, it did something to me.
"You're really not gonna tell me your name, huh? Oh, c'mon princess, " the words escaped my lips before I even processed them.
"I thought patience was your middle name" she said, and I just grinned with no counter back on my mind, non whatsoever.
"Maya" the name rolled off her tongue as she opened the café door.
I sat there long after she left, grinning like an idiot. Jax eventually came to drag me out, muttering about obsession and poor life choices. But I barely heard him.
All I could think about was Maya, and the way she'd just laid down the gauntlet.
And me?
I was going to prove her wrong.
Even if it killed me.
Jax waits until we're back in the car, smirking like the devil himself. I already know he's about to run his mouth.
"So…" he starts, drawing it out, "Mr. 'I don't do repeats' just slammed on the brakes like he spotted a Ferrari with the hood down. Only it wasn't a Ferrari. It was a girl."
I roll my eyes, cranking the engine. "Relax. I just thought I'd say hi."
"Uh-huh." He leans against the window, chuckling. "You thought you'd say hi, but somehow your pupils dilated like you just saw your soulmate walk out of a Hallmark commercial. Don't lie, Cole. You're smitten."
I snort. "Please. I don't do smitten. That's your department. I do… intrigued. She's different. Not many girls cut me off mid-sentence like that. Curious? Maybe. Interested? Sure. But smitten? Nah. I don't do smitten."
"Mmhm," Jax said, giving me that smug look that made me want to shove him out the car. "That's why you couldn't stop staring at her like she was the last protein shake at the gym."
"Alright, easy, Shakespeare," I muttered, but I couldn't wipe the grin tugging at my mouth.
Jax wasn't done though. "What's it feel like? Having your whole playboy routine short-circuited by one girl with a sharp tongue and a coffee cup? Need me to hold your hand through this?"
I laughed, shaking my head. "You're an idiot."
"Maybe," he said, chuckling, "but I'm not the one who just discovered what butterflies feel like."
Butterflies. Jesus. I floored the gas a little harder than necessary, if only to shut him up.
Nightclub. Different scene, same game.
Lights flash, bass rattles the floor, bodies packed shoulder-to-shoulder. This is my kingdom. Sweat, smoke, alcohol, and the guarantee that I won't go home alone.
And then I see her.
Across the crowd, standing with a group of friends, still untouched. Same straight posture, same aura of don't even try me.
And yet… she's here.
In my territory.
It feels like fate's putting her in my line of fire again, and I'm not about to waste the shot.
Jax notices me freeze, following my gaze. "No way. That's cafe girl?"
"Yep."
"Bro, she's with a pack. Untouchable."
I smirk. "Watch me."
I weave through the bodies like I've been doing this my whole life, which I basically have. Hands reach out, girls pressing against me, but I'm locked on her. The closer I get, the more the noise fades, until it's just her turning her head, catching sight of me.
Her eyes roll.
Perfect.
I stop in front of her, that grin already locked in. "Twice in one day? Fate's working overtime."
"Or maybe it's bad luck," she shoots back.
Her friends giggle, whispering. I know that look—they want to be me, with me, around me. But she's the only one not caving.
"Baby girl, bad luck doesn't look this good," I say smoothly, leaning closer so she can hear me over the bass.
She smirks, sipping her drink. "Still rehearsing?"
"Still resisting?" I counter.
Her eyes flick over me, then back to her drink. "You're so… boring."
I should walk away. Should find someone easier. But I can't. Not now.
Not when for the first time in forever, someone's not handing me exactly what I want.
And I swear, under the flashing lights, I see it—the tiniest spark in her eyes. Like she's curious despite herself.
And that's all I need.
Because curiosity? That's the first step to breaking down walls.
And Maya—is a wall I intend to climb.