Angie sat at her usual table in Café Hoff, once again waiting for Tom to show up. This time she'd come a little later, just three minutes before four o'clock. And she had no idea why. Because she thought she finally had him figured out.

He was subtle, smart, she'd give him that, but he'd finally done what all guys nice to her end up doing. Put her in a position of inferiority, then asked her out. Sure, he'd claimed it wasn't a date, but then why not take the books at school and be done with it?

Why are you here, then? If you're so sure he's just like everyone else? Good question. She'd just politely return his stuff, thank him for the help, then leave this date that's not a date.

"Hey." Tom appeared by her side, two mugs of coffe in his hands, his skateboard under one foot.

Angie jumped and glared at him. She'd been watching the door again, even if absentmindedly, but she would've seen him. "Where do you keep coming from?"

"You really need to work on your perception." He slid in the seat in front of her and pushed one of the mugs towards her. "I don't know what you like, but the place has a killer latte, so I got you one of those."

She eyed it wearily, then him. He wore a simple black t-shirt today, together with his usual faded, cut-up jeans. And for some reason, she was disappointed there was no more pun. The smell of the coffee made her mouth water. Because she didn't care what it was. Free coffee was free coffee. But she wasn't sure what it meant.

"What, no flowers?" she asked, taking a casual sip. God, he was right. The latte was divine.

"Aw, I guess it's not a date." He took a mouthful of coffee, too, then made a face as he put the mug down.

"What's with the face? The thing is delicious."

"I don't really like coffee," Tom answered, grabbing three packs of sugar off the table and pouring them in his drink. "But I won't deny its merits."

"You like energy drinks, then?" Those things were nasty and disgusting, but a lot of guys thought they were way cooler than coffee.

"Yup. Coffee is more common and easier to get, though."

Not to mention more affordable. Unless it was some seriously fancy coffee. She fleetingly wondered how much a latte cost there, but she couldn't read the price list from where she sat.

Brushing away the thought of how much money Tom had just spent on her, she pulled his notebooks out of her backpack and slid them across the table towards him. "Here you go. Thanks for the help."

"Anytime." He shoved them under the table and pulled another mountain of books out.

"What are those for?" Angie asked shocked.

"Homework."

Oh. He was just starting homework with her there. This really wasn't a date, coffee and all. He probably got it for her not to seem rude. God, he was infuriating. One second she thought he liked her and was actually trying to make a subtle pass, the next he acted like he didn't give a shit she was there.

"I'll be going, then." She drained the rest of her cup, sorry that she couldn't enjoy it properly, but if he didn't want her there, there was no point in staying.

"You could stay and do your homework if you'd like," he said, not raising his eyes from what he was doing.

She hesitated. What was that supposed to mean? He was driving her crazy with his mixed signals. "Nah, I think I'll pass."

"Suit yourself. You know when and where to find me."

Screw you, too. Angie hoisted her backpack over her shoulder.

"But, just so you know, I will ask at some point."

She froze in surprise. "Ask what?"

"Why you get so defensive whenever dating or anything related to that comes up."

She glared at him. Was it really that obvious that she overthought everything? That she interpreted every breath he took?

"But not now," she said instead.

"Nope." He actually graced her with a look. "You don't trust me. You act as if I'm a ticking time bomb. Which I am, but maybe not for the reasons you suspect."

"Do you ever take those sunglasses off?"

Tom raised his eyebrows and a smirk lifted the corner of his mouth. "Only around people I trust."

Touché. "Yeah, goodbye then."

"See ya." He waved airily and got back to work.

Angie exited the cafe, hugging herself, his words still jabbing at her. Because he'd seen beyond her mask, seen she was damaged. But she'd had it. Her life had been nothing but a long string of people trying to take advantage of her. And after a childhood friend betrayed her, she'd had enough. Why get close to someone? Why trust? She'd only end up getting hurt.

Unless... She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. Someone bumped into her and muttered a curse, but she didn't care. Because divine revelation had just come to her. The only reason she always got hurt was because she let people in, let them hurt her. She always expected a savior, always thought everything was forever.

And her weariness was exhausting. True, she'd run into people like Tiana most of the time, but that didn't mean there weren't others out there. People like her. Like Kay. People she could trust. Or who she could just enjoy hanging out with, no trust involved.

Like Tom. Maybe he was a ticking time bomb, and he fascinated her for some reason. Maybe it was his randomness, or the fact that he was insanely good looking, or that he offered her lunch when she was starving. But she liked being around him. And wanted to see him blow.

All she had to do was walk into it with no expectations. Go with the flow. Just sit back and see where this would go and enjoy the ride. It wasn't like they would fall in love and get married. She was sixteen, he was seventeen, they were a bunch of crazy kids and she had a lot of homework.

No trust, no disappointment.

So she marched back into Cafe Hoff, dropped her school bag on Tom's table and put one hand on her hip.

"Are you any good with math?"

He leaned back in his seat, a knowing grin on his face, and for the first time, she just let herself think that his cockiness was damn attractive.

"Changed your mind?"

She shrugged and sat down. "You actually seem harmless enough. And if you're as smart as you claim, maybe having you tutor me wouldn't be the worst idea."

"I'm anything but harmless." He leaned forward, his hand on the rim of his sunglasses.

Angie's heart skipped a beat. Was he actually going to take them off? Show her his eyes?

With a wicked smile, he leaned back. "I'll help you, but not as a tutor. Student teacher romances are so cliche."

Even if her initial reaction was to stiffen and scowl, she pushed it back and laughed instead. "Too true. And you don't seem the kind of guy to fall into cliches."

"Well, someone's loosened up. More coffee?"

She opened her mouth to say no. "Yeah, sure, why not? That latte is delicious." Because if he wanted to get her coffee, she should let him without feeling guilty, like she was letting him buy her off. It was just coffee. And if he proved to be a jerk, she'd just kick him in the balls and get it over with.

"What have I done to you?" he asked with a laugh and headed for the bar.

Nothing yet. Because they still had a long way to go. But for now, she'd settle for hanging out and enjoying the view. Because she was sure he was leaning over the bar on purpose.

☕️ 📓 📚

"Where have you been?" Kay asked the moment Angie set foot in Earl's diner.

"Just doing homework," she answered with a shrug and got busy putting the pale pink uniform on.

Kay was not fooled by her pathetic attempt at nonchalance. "Where?"

"Oh, there's this small coffee shop next to school, and I went there."

Kay cringed for some reason, but then smiled. "Good. You need to get out of the house more. Make some friends."

"Totally agree." Angie hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell someone about what she was doing. Because she wanted to convince herself that she wasn't hiding or pretending and that this new attitude she'd decided upon was real. "Tom, the DJ from the club, offered to help me with my biology."

Kay raised an eyebrow. "The DJ?"

"Yeah. It turns out we go to the same school except he's a junior and very good at biology. I've been hanging out with him."

Kay just stared for a few seconds. "Wow, that's great." She grinned. "Is he hot?"

Angie bit her lower lip. God, going outside her horror movie comfort zone was exhausting, but damn it, she was going to do it. "Erupting volcano hot."

Kay's eyes widened in surprise, but she was still smiling. "Nice. What did he do?"

"What do you mean?"

"You suddenly seen a lot more laid back."

Angie laughed bitterly. "Seem is right. I'm trying to be, but I'm still set on stressing and over analyzing."

"You know, acting it out is how you get there. It was the same for me. And if this Tom guy is willing to help you out, let him. He could turn out to be a great friend. Or more."

Kay's smile was melancholic this time and Angie read between the lines. Her friend had been through this before. Kyle was probably there to help her out and they'd become so much more.

Except that now Kay was hurting. And Kyle was nowhere in sight.

That's not going to happen to you.

No trust, no disappointment.

🔱🔱🔱

I hope you enjoyed this little chapter. Angie is about to at least attempt to loosen up. Which might make things a lot more interesting😉

Thanks for reading and don't forget to vote and comment. I'll soon be demanding sacrifices in the form of small goats.