CARL.

"Nice place. Can't believe I have never been here before." Gavin stated, minutes after we had arrived at café Marino, the same café I work at after school. His gaze was surveying the place, taking in the décor.

"How have you never been to this coffee heaven?" I gasped, dramatically placing my hand on my chest. A smile made its way to his lips, at my actions. Looks like my mission to make him smile, was successful. Earlier when I had gone to the locker room to change, I found him sad and in tears. I have never seen that side of him before. Seeing him like that, instilled worry in me. I couldn't begin to imagine what caused him such grief. Perhaps it was the news he had received on the call he was on, when I arrived. 

"One espresso, one cappuccino for you, my dears." Miss Marino, my boss, stated while placing our orders on the table.

"Thank you, Miss Marino." A smile graced my lips as I addressed her.

A frown settled on her face. "Do you want to get fired young man?"

"No." I blurted. My face turned pale for a second.

"Good, then stop with the formalities." She proposed, her usual warm smile making an appearance.

"Got it, Nora." A smile crawled back to my face, melting the tension that had frozen in my being.

"Hmm...and who is your friend?" She was referring to Gavin who had been quietly observing our exchange the entire time.

"Gavin. His name is Gavin Mileford." I introduced Gavin who released a small smile.

"Mileford. Are you by any chance related to Octavia Mileford?" She directed the question at Gavin.

"Yeah. She is unfortunately my mother." Was Gavin's retort.

"I see." Her voice came out shakily. Something was up. I could tell from the way her face turned pale as nervousness swallowed her composure.

"Is everything okay, Nora?" I asked. Curiosity getting the better of me.

"Yes. Everything is alright." She replied, forcing a smile. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Gavin." Fondness took over her voice as she addressed Gavin.

"Pleasure to meet you too, Nora." Gavin retorted, taking a sip of the steaming espresso.

"I'll be at the counter in case you boys need anything." She finalized then clambered away. I didn't miss the way she turned to look back at Gavin, on her way to the counter.

"Wonder what that was about." Gavin commented taking another sip of his cappuccino.

"Me too." I muttered contemplatively.

"I won't be surprised if my devil of a mom did something to hurt her. Hurting people is her thing." A sad expression settled on his face at the statement. Silence settled between us, like a leaf on the surface of still water. His beautiful emerald eyes shifted to the steaming mug of coffee on the table, staring at the floating steam. I could tell that something was bothering him. Consuming his peace of mind.

"Gav, do you want to talk about it?" I approached the matter careful as to not offend him.

"Yeah. I--umm think so." A sigh gushed from his lips. "I am just tired you know. Of her controlling my life. All she cares about is what she wants. She has never cared about my dreams or ambitions. No matter what I do, it will never be enough for her. I will never be enough. Sometimes I wonder if she really is my mother." He opened up as I listened in silence.

"She claims to know what's good for my future. She wants me to have a perfect future no matter the cost. Carlito, I am tired of living like this. I feel suffocated." He poured out his heart. Letting me in. Giving me access to his vulnerabilities. For the first time, I was able to see the real Gavin. Unmasked and free of the tough guy façade.

"I know you probably think I am weak and pathetic for complaining especially because I have a life that people would kill to have." He run his index on the rim of the mug. A habit I noticed he was fond of. Perhaps it was a way to calm his nerves.

"Hey. Look at me." I whispered. His eyes bore into mine at my request. Emotions clouded those green beautiful eyes. "You are not weak or pathetic. You are strong with a big heart. The fact that you have endured all that shit...that is the definition of strength. I know exactly how you feel Gavin. Trust me." His story was a lot like mine.

"Thank you for saying that." He stated, his eyes not abandoning mine.

"No worries." I took a sip of my espresso, enjoying the exquisite feeling the beverage brought to my taste buds.

"Can I ask you something?" Gavin started.

"Go on." I urged, taking a sip of the warm beverage.

"Why are you good to me? Especially after you made it pretty clear this morning that you wanted nothing to do with me. Carlito, I know that I am terrible. I have done and said some very shitty things to you. You should hate me. I deserve it. What I don't deserve is your kindness." His confession triggered a cocktail of emotions which didn't hesitate to surge through me. A familiar warm feeling tugged at my chest.

"You are right. I should hate you. I have tried to really, but failed. The truth is, I can never succeed in hating you...not when I like you so fucking much, Gavin. I have liked you from the moment I set eyes on you." The words spilled from my lips as tears gathered in my eyes. I finally got the courage to express my feelings to him. And not through some diary but speech. I was not certain of the outcome of my confession but I was prepared for it.

"At first I thought it was a stupid crush and that it would crumble with time but I was terribly mistaken." I added, blinking away the tears. Gavin watched me in silence. Why was he so quiet? What could he be thinking?

"I understand if you don't feel the same way about me. I don't expect you to." I stated. Silence thickened between us, like smog on a cloudy day. With each passing second, the threads of tension that had knotted on my stomach walls, grew tighter. My palms and brows turned sweaty as desiccation took over my throat.

I was waiting for him to say anything. Just anything to slay the unease.

"I like you too, Carlito. I fucking do. I don't know when or how it happened. All I know is I like you so fucking much." He finally spoke. Admitting the words that sent my heart straight to the tracks, racing like an athlete. Tears that I had been trying to contain finally escaped the captivity of my eyes, cascading my cheeks like a waterfall. For a moment I thought this was a dream and that come morning, I would wake. Because this simply felt too good to be true.

"Re—ally?" I stammered, tears overflowing from my eyes.

"Yes, Carlito. I fucking do." A radiant smile covered his face, augmenting his handsome features. He reached out for my hands across the table and entwined them with his. Feelings flooded my being, begging to be released. "It's strange isn't it? How we couldn't stand each other before and now we can't stay away." He confessed, his thumb brushing gently against my hand which was in his captivity.

"I wanted to kill you once." I admitted, trying so hard to focus on the conversation even though my mouth yearned for some other task.

"Scary." A cute pout settled on his insanely delicious lips which I badly wanted to claim.

"Gavin, I want to kiss you so badly." I blurted, not caring how desperate I sounded.

A smirk danced on his lips at my statement.

"Someone's horny." He dragged his tongue along the bottom lip and sexily bit on his moist lip. It was becoming more and more difficult not to pounce on him right there and kiss him senseless. I had to remind myself that we were in public. Any one of my mom's friends could see us and that would end unpleasantly.

"Meet me in the bathroom in two..." I whispered, getting up from my seat, "minutes." I concluded, a seductive grin clouding my face. I walked out of the room, my small butt bouncing with each stride.

***

Author's note.

Hello dears. How have you been? I have been good. I hope you are alright. Thank you so much for reading this chapter. I admit, working on it wasn't easy. I deleted this chapter thrice before finally settling in for this final version. I really hope that you enjoyed reading it. Also,  this chapter is very important in the book. You'll soon see how.

Once again thank you so much for reading, commenting and voting. 

Have a beautiful night/day.