"What the hell are you doing?" I shook my head and gestured like he had lost his mind. He seriously just invaded both my booth and my breakfast like everything was perfectly pleasant between us.

He shrugged as if not understanding what the problem was, and smiled an irritatingly charming smile. The poor innocent waitress exchanged glances between us, looking like she was considering calling the cops.

"Do y'all need a moment? Because I can come back." The waitress tried to say it with a professional demeanour, but she sounded like she was begging to be dismissed from the obvious tension.

"That won't be necessary, he was just leaving." I told the waitress, keeping my angry eyes fixated on Phoenix's obnoxiously cocky face. I had hoped against logic that he would take the not-so-subtle hint and leave.

Instead of responding to me, Phoenix grabbed the menu in front of me and pretended to look it over. "Well gee everything just looks delicious and nutritious..wouldn't you agree, sugar foot?" He grinned at me with a fake friendliness, the waitress rolled her eyes at him.

This is a small town and he's the bosses son. I'm sure she not only knows him but has thought of killing him at least fourty-seven times in the past week. Oh wait, that's me I'm thinking of.

The waitress turned her attention to me, and I finally sighed..wanting to be out of this awkward situation. "You wouldn't happen to have a knife I could borrow, would you?" I asked her sarcastically. Both of them chuckled like what I had just said was funny, but I wasn't too sure I was joking. "Or..you could just bring me some very strong coffee." I finally said, giving her the permission she was looking for to escape.

As she scurried off towards the kitchen, he raised his eyebrows at me. "Coffee drinker, huh?"

I sat there for a moment, refusing to back down from my angry stare. But once I finally accepted that this man was too in love with himself to be intimidated, I grunted and settled in my seat. "No. Not usually a coffee drinker. But given my age and the atmosphere, I found it unwise to ask for tequilla."

He laughed a loud, belly laugh and it made me study him suspiciously. He seemed so upset with me yesterday, and now he looked like he hadn't a care in the world. I was beginning to seriously wonder if he suffered from some kind of short-term memory loss.

Suddenly, I remembered my phone I had left in his car. I sat up in my seat excited, and he looked surprised by my sudden change in energy. "Phoenix, where's my phone?!" I demanded.

He smirked as he looked down at the menu he had stole from me and pretended to study it, even though he practically lived here and knew the menu already.

"I was wondering if you were ever going to bring that up." He reached into one of his black jeans pockets and retrieved my phone, waving it in his hand as if teasing me with it. "I even took the initiative to charge it for you, what with me being a nice person and all." Lord, there was no statement that deserved a bigger eyeroll than that.

I held my hand out, gesturing for him to put my phone in it. Instead, he smirked at my outreached hand and placed his free hand in it. "Aww, muffin..it's so cute when you want to hold hands in public."

He laughed as I smacked his hand away and tried to take my phone out of his hand by force. "Give it to me, Phoenix!"

He stopped struggling for a moment, holding the phone out of my reach. A thoughtful look came over his face. "You know..I've fantasized hearing you say that more than I'm prepared to admit. Never in this particular context though. You had less clothing on, too. But speaking of clothing.." His eyes traveled downward, to the leather pants I was wearing. A satisfied smile came on his face..making me blush.

"What about clothing?" I asked awkwardly, not sure I should ask him to elaborate. He bit his bottom lip and leaned forward on the table, keeping his eyes on mine. I noticed the phone still in his hands, and I got a sneaky idea of how to get it back.

"I was just wondering, if you squeezed into those tight leather pants just for me?" He winked at me and I glared bitterly at him for flirting, refusing to admit how much it was working.

"That's just typical. Of course your cocky enough to think my wardrobe has anything to do with you." I rolled my eyes and he shrugged indifferently.

"In any case, thank you for wearing them. Phoenix likey." Something in his smile made me laugh, despite how much I wanted to be angry. It was clear that his looks weren't the only reason he had such good luck with women. He was obnoxious and cocky, sure. But he was also kind of..charming? How annoying.

So charming in fact, that I had almost forgot about my mission to get back my phone. My poor, poor phone. I leaned forward on the table, mirroring him. Our faces were inches away, he looked like the move caught him off guard.

"Let's say..that I did wear these just for you." I flirted, attempting to make my voice so seductive. I felt a little silly, but judging by the way his eyes were glued to my mouth..I was pretty sure it was working. "Let's say that I like it when you look at me...hypothetically, of course." Not so hypothetical, I did like it when he looked at me..not that my brain was happy about it.

"Of course." He agreed, his eyes still on my lips. I let my hand rest on the table, moving it closer and closer to his.

"The question is, what are you going to do about it...Portland?" I stroked the back of his hand with my finger, he bit his bottom lip..drawing my attention to his mouth.

"So you put them on for me. Why don't we go somewhere more private so you can take them off for me, too?" He started inching forward, attempting to close the small gap between our lips. I licked my lips and parted my mouth, noting that his eyes were wild and his breathing was getting heavy.

Just before our lips were about to touch..I snatched the phone out of his hands and leaned back in my seat. He stood frozen in place, looking unsure of what just happened. "Meh, no thanks."

I smiled victoriously, satisfied I had managed to rescue my phone. To be honest, that was super fun too. Almost enough to make me forget it was just to get my phone back. No, really! It was!

I pressed my lips together trying not to laugh as he finally started processing what had just happened. He looked down at his empty hands that once held my phone, and then back to me. He looked downright offended. "You're sick! You're sick, and you're evil!" He exclaimed, pointing his finger at me accusingly. I shrugged, and then a grin came over his face. "I'm impressed. I had a feeling you weren't as innocent as you seemed. It's good to be right." He patted himself on the back, as if congratulating himself. I glared at him, frustrated he could manage to turn anything into a reason to Phoenix-worship.

"Whatever, so I have my phone back. Thank you. You're dismissed." I gestured for him to shoo, but it only made him laugh. It was worth a try, I suppose.

"Are you worried your mom might find out you're having breakfast with me, or what?" He raised his eyebrows, a slight edge in his voice.

There it is. I was wondering when he'd bring up yesterday. I was seriously beginning to think he forgot.

"For your information, my mom has decided that she trusts my judgment." Just then the southern waitress reluctantly walked up to the table with a pot of coffee and two mugs. Phoenix didn't seem to notice her entrance, his dark eyes fixated on me.

"Did..y'all know what you wanted?" Her voice was hesitant, obviously questioning whether it was safe to intervene yet.

When Phoenix  didn't respond, I turned to her and smiled politely. "Can I just have the French Toast, please?" She wrote it down on a notepad and I turned to Phoenix, who was still staring at me. "Do you know what you want, or what?"

He smirked, and responded without missing a beat. "Yeah. I'm looking at it." I blushed, but attempted to hide it with my hands. The poor waitress looked so awkward right now. "But I'll settle for eggs overeasy with bacon and a side of white toast." He added, the waitress looked so relieved as she wrote it down, I almost felt like laughing.

She excused herself, and there was silence between Phoenix and I for a moment. He had a thoughtful look on his face, seeming to debate on whether or not to say something. If he is questioning if something's appropriate, it must be pretty bad. "Oh for crying out loud, just say it. Whatever it is." I finally said in an impatient tone, feeling like the suspense would kill me.

"Who's Tyler?" He asked with an awkward look on his face. I stared at him like he had grown another head. I was stunned at the sound of my ex-boyfriend's name coming from his lips.  How in the hell did he know?!

He seemed to notice the confusion on my face, and his eyes fell to the phone in my hand. My mouth dropped open as I realized what had happened. "You went through my phone?!" It came out louder than I had intended, my anger getting the best of me again. He looked around embarrassed, and gestured for me to quiet down. "You did not just shush me!" A few customers at the bar glanced in our direction inquisitive. But I was too pissed to care.

"Well..that's not exactly what happened." His usual cocky tone had disappeared, replaced by a man worried he was about to be killed in front of a room full of witnesses.

"Then how the hell would you know about my ex?" Something in his face seemed pleased with something I said, and I stared at him in disbelief. Could you not look so happy when I'm trying to rip you a new one, you inconsiderate jerk?

"Ex, huh? As in..not current?" I felt like slapping the grin right off his face. That smile of his. That irritatingly cocky smile. That annoyingly arragont, sexy..no. Stop it, Gia.

"Are you seriously hitting me right now? After invading my privacy? How would you feel if I did that to you?!" As he thought it over I narrowed my eyes at him. I waited for him to respond, searching for a sign he was capable of being somewhat humble.

He finally pulled his own phone out of his pocket, and placed it between us on the table. "Well, I dont have an ex-boyfriend named Tyler, but go ahead." His voice was full of sarcasm as he once again proved, he didn't care about anything. "Like I said though, I didn't go through your phone..intentionally."

I looked at him with skepticism, but he seemed serious. So I decided to take the bait. "Alright, so how did you know about Tyler?"

There was a brief pause as he actually looked guilty for a second. He studied my face and seemed to decide it was best to be upfront with me. "Well, your phone kept going off.  I tried to ignore it, but it was really irritating. I picked it up to silence it, and there was a text message." A text message?

I checked my phone, curious about what text message he was referring to. I didn't even expect to hear from anyone back in Denver.

Phoenix studied my face as I stared at the text message in silence. Not what I was expecting, but troubling just the same.

Lana
Shame you had to leave, but Tyler says hi! ;)

A sadness swept over me as what I already knew was confirmed, everyone back home was glad I was gone.

"What's wrong? Is she a friend or something?" Phoenix  asked, not reading between the lines and seeing any harm in the text message.

"Or something." I mumbled bitterly, and turned my attention to the coffee for the first time. I was basically just avoiding his watching eyes. "I..thought she was my friend. But I was wrong."

He looked utterly confused, and frustrated I didnt elaborate further. I could tell he was trying to decipher what I had just said, so I was quiet and gave him time to process. "So..shes your ex-friend..and Tyler is your ex-boyfriend?"

I nodded, happy he seemed to be catching on to what I was saying..because I really didn't feel like explaining it. "I know what you're thinking and yes, they are also a thing."

He shook his head in disapproval, but also seemed to be searching for the right words to say. It came as no shock that he wasn't a 'warm and fuzzy' kind of guy. "He sounds like an idiot." He finally observed, an edge to his voice.

I looked at him skeptically, which he seemed confused by. "Does he? Because I'm pretty sure the two of you would be besties. You can chit-chat about how many hearts you've broken." He glared at me, as if I had just pissed him off. I was quickly learning he was not used to someone being so blunt with him, and he seemed to be struggling on whether it was a good thing or not..

"So that's why you're always judging me, huh? Because of your ex?" He scoffed, his tone full of arragonce and shook his head like he was talking to a mad woman.

My eyes traveled over his shoulder to the sound of the bells attached to the front door going off, giving away someone just walked in. My face fell when I saw who it was, and Phoenix  sat there..blissfully unaware as usual.

"Speaking of exes, yours just walked in..and she's coming this way." The color drained from his face as I took a sip of my coffee, trying to appear casual. But I was certainly not in the mood for Charlotte Valentina.

"Oh my God Gia, that's not even remotely funny." He scolded, lowering his voice into a whisper. But sure enough, Charlotte  walked right up to our table wearing a light pink mini-dress that complimented her skin tone very well. Her long red hair was styled in perfect curls, and her makeup flawless. She looked like a model. A very, very annoyed one.

"Well, isn't this cute?" She exchanged glances back and forth between the two of us with a fake smile on her face, her bitter sarcasm painfully obvious. Her eyes fell on Phoenix, as she seemed to decide I wasn't worth acknowledging directly. "What's wrong, Phoenix? Trouble in paradise already?"

She lightly ran her hand up and down his arm in a very seductive way. My first reaction was to stab her hand with my fork, but I settled on my signature eyeroll.

Not that she was even paying attention to me. She seemed very determined to make me feel like I was the one that was the third wheel.

Phoenix snatched his arm out of her grasp and glared at her. "Charlotte, leave us alone. We were in the middle of a conversation." His voice was firm and authoritive, and he moved himself in his seat closer to the window to try to put some distance between the two of them.

"No, you were in the middle of an argument. I'm not one to say I told you so but, I knew this would never work." She sneered as she spoke and waved her manicured hand between the two of us as if she had walked in on something disgusting. "So why don't you stop making a fool of yourself and come sit with me, lover?"

God, this was so awkward. The tension in the air was unreal. Given these two had history and I was the 'outsider,' I couldn't help but feel like I shouldn't be here for this discussion between them. Not to mention Charlotte Valentina  seemed to be an expert at making a person feel pathetic without even actually speaking to them directly.

I pretended to focus on my coffee cup, as Phoenix glared at her furiously. Charlotte  had a fake smile still attached to her face, but nothing about her seemed friendly.

"Leave, Charlotte. We both know I can get you kicked out of here if I want to. My mother hates you with a passion that burns inside her soul." I started myself laughing at his bluntness, finding it a lot more amusing directed at someone else.

The sound of my laughter seemed to trigger Charlotte  somehow, and she turned to face me with a murderous look in her eyes. "What exactly are you laughing at? Do you think you're special to him, is that it?" She laughed with an arragonce, like it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. "Has he taken you to play paintball, yet? Because that's where he takes all the girls he has to warm up a little, first." My heart sank, and Phoenix  looked extremely awkward.

She faked a sad look with her bottom lip pouted out. "Aww, did you actually think he was just some fun guy that cared about more than hooking up? Yeah, that was the point of taking you there, sweetie." I stubbornly head my head up high, refusing to show her she upset me. But I had to admit, I felt like crying.

"Shut the hell up, Charlotte!" Phoenix  snapped, but she just laughed at me and my attempts to act unbothered.

"You noticed he didn't say I was wrong though didn't you, honey?" She flipped her hair back and stared me down like she could see through me.

"You're not special, and you're not wanted here. So why don't you go back home..huh? Unless..." She put her chin in her hand and pouted her lips like she was deep in thought. "Unless..you're not wanted there either? Aww." Her laugh echoed in the room, Phoenix  looked pissed..but most likely that his cover was blown.

Once again, I'm an idiot. I hadn't realized underneath all the sass and protesting that I actually did start to think I was special somehow, until this moment.

Before either of them could say another word, I sat myself out of my seat and stormed to the front door..still hearing her laughter behind me. Before walking out the front door I took one last look at the booth to find her sitting in the spot I had sat in. 

As fate would have it, the waitress chose this time to come out with our food and set it on the table. She looked at Charlotte  very confused, who immedietly began to tank down on the French Toast  that I had ordered like nothing happened.

I stormed out the door, not quite sure where I was going. All I knew was, I wanted to get the hell away from this diner.

More importantly, away from Phoenix Santiago and Charlotte Valentina, who probably thinks I just got my heart broken.

Joke's on them, though. It was broken already.

author's note: If you enjoyed this chapter, please don't forget to vote :)