THE MISTRESS

Three

▪︎ Black Coffee ▪︎

"Can I pay back your drink?"

A familiar deep voice asks behind me. I turn back to look at the tall, lean man standing behind me.

Erik.

A small smile touches his pretty face as he takes a step closer towards me. Every second he gets closer, my heart leaps a little.

It must be the Erik Effect.

I scoff. "Pay back my drink?"

He glances at my car and squats to look at the slashed tyre. He looks up at me with a half-smile and nods.

"I'm fixing your car."

"Don't bother," I shake my head. "I've called someone to fix it."

"That someone is me now."

He takes off his brown leather jacket and throws it at me. I catch it and ask,

"What are you doing?"

"Paying back your drink."

He bolts to the trunk and takes out a couple of spare parts.

I watch in disbelief as he removes the damaged tyre and replaces it with another one. I'm surprised just how fast and easy he's fixing the damage with his bare hands.

"I don't mean to be rude but," I chuckle. "I didn't picture you as a guy who knows his way around cars..."

"What kind of a guy did you picture me as?"

"A cute college kid who just knows his way around girls. Not cars."

He shakes his head. "You do that too?"

"Do what?"

"Judge a book by its cover?"

"Don't we all?"

"I don't." He shakes his head. "I think there's more to people than their mere appearance..."

The silence stretches between us for a moment until he drops a pair of pliers and looks up at me.

"I'm not a cute college kid who just knows his way around girls." He says sharply. "I know my way around cars too. I started working at my grandpa's mechanic shop when I was thirteen. The old boy taught me everything there is to know about cars..."

A pang of guilt stings me for judging him based on his looks.

When he's done doing the replacement, he dumps the slashed tyre in trunk. He claps the dust off his hands and grins at me.

"Your car is as good as new. My jacket please?"

I toss it at him. I grab my wallet from the pocket of my blazer jacket and hand him a few notes.

With confusion and surprise, he glances at the cash. His eyes fixed on me, he asks,

"What the hell do you think you are doing?"

"Paying your kindness."

"I was paying back your drink."

"It's not a request. Take the cash."

He shakes his head, a smile spreading across his face. A wide mischievous smile.

"You want to pay me back?"

"Yes."

"Let's grab some coffee."

|| || || || ||

Black coffee.

Black coffee in a small cafe, a few feet away from school.

I'm seated next to Erik.

The beautiful brown-eyed boy with messy hair who smells so damn good. The boy gave me his jacket. And rejected me. And then ignored me. But in a strange turn of events, he's suddenly so nice to me. He fixed my car and even bought me coffee. All this for free?

Just to pay back my drink?

I sip my drink, studying him carefully.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because you were so nice to me the first night we met."

"But you haven't been talking to me since that night." I scoff. "You've been ignoring me literally."

He stares down at the black mug. After a silent moment, he looks up at me.

"That night, after I told you I have a..." He skips that part. "You kicked me out of your car. I thought you'd never want to see me let alone talk to me."

"Then what made you talk to me today?"

"Your car was damaged..."

"What a coincidence!"

Strained silence stretches between us, tension building up. Unable to hold back anymore, I blurt out.

"Cut the act, Erik!"

"What do you mean?"

"I know why you fixed my car for free. I know why you are buying me coffee for free. I know why you are being this nice to me, Erik!"

He stares at me in confusion.

"I don't understand what-"

"It's because of Sabrina!" I cut him off. "You are being nice to me because of your girlfriend!"

"I don't know what you are talking about-"

"Sabrina slashed the tyres of my car!" I snap. "That's why you fixed it. You were fixing your girlfriend's mess so that she doesn't get in trouble!"

"Sabrina has nothing to do with this. Please don't drag her into-"

"Awwwww!!! Look at you defending your perfect little demon."

He grits his teeth.

"Don't call her that."

"Everyone calls her that..."

"You know nothing about Sabrina! None of you do."

I scoff.

"I may not know anything about her but I know her boyfriend made out with me passionately at the back of my car."

He immediately stiffens, staring at me in shock. He's silent for a moment as if straining to swallow his anger. He clenches his fist under the table and glances away.

"It all makes sense now!" He hisses. "s**t! How could I not see it? You wanted to get back at my girlfriend. That's why you came up to me that night at the club! You wanted to make Sabrina jealous! You didn't want to buy me a drink. You wanted her to see me with you!"

Silence stretches between us, his sad eyes sinking into mine.

He suddenly stands from the chair and fakes a smile.

"Enjoy your coffee."

He leaves a tip and grabs his guitar. He storms out of the coffee shop, leaving the exit door open.

It's a surprise when he comes back again. He leans on the table, looking down at me.

"I didn't fix your car or buy you coffee because I have some evil agenda behind it. I did that because, in some silly, stupid part of me, I thought we could be friends."

He pauses, a sad smile tugging at the edge of his lips.

"Good friends."

|| || || || ||

"Good friends?"

Miles nods as he sips on his green smoothie.

"Yes. You and Trevor are good friends. That's why it's not wrong for me to tell him everything about you. I also tell you everything about him!"

"It's not the same!" I groan. "You just tell him embarrassing things about me!"

"Hey! Cheer up!"

I munch on the chocolate doughnuts, frowning. This is the worst mid-morning tea break I've ever had. And what makes it even worse is that my best friend keeps pushing my buttons.

"Why are you so cranky today?" He grumbles. "Did you get rejected again?"

I growl.

"f**k you."

"I have a girlfriend."

I throw a piece of doughnut at him but it goes straight to his big laughing mouth. He chews on it, staring at me sternly.

"Are you okay?" He asks in concern. "You don't seem okay..."

I shrug. "I'm pregnant and hormonal. Leave me alone."

"How did that miracle happen?" He feigns surprise. "Did you r**e a man?"

"Stop it with the stupid jokes!" I snap. "They are not funny! Yes! I got rejected! And yes! The guy didn't want to f**k me! But no! I don't give a f**k! The stupid guy can go to hell for all I care!"

The whole cafeteria suddenly goes silent, hundreds of eyes glued on me. I think everyone heard my explosion. From a distance, I see Erik's furious eyes fixed on me.

"Oops!" Miles whispers. "I think you just told the whole school."

I keep chewing on the chocolate doughnuts, avoiding everyone's stare. I almost choke on a doughnut when Erik storms out, his guitar hanging on his back.

"I think Erik is pregnant and hormonal too," Miles mumbles. "He hasn't looked at me even once today..."

I leap from the seat and grab my bag. Miles grips my hand and looks up at me.

"You are not okay, Rue."

"I will explain everything later." I sigh. "Not now, okay?"

I scoot out of the cafeteria in a rush.

|| || || || ||

"Erik?"

I run past the group of students as I follow him down the hallway. He bursts into the music room. I scamper quickly towards the room and push the door open.

An empty, silent room.

Silent until a guitar starts playing.

Erik is sitting at the far corner, playing the strings of his black guitar softly. His jaw is clenched, his gaze fixed on the musical instrument.

"Erik?"

He's still playing the guitar.

"Can we talk?"

He plays it even louder.

"Look! I didn't mean what I just said at the cafe..."

But he's not even listening to me. His eyes are still fixed on his precious guitar. His long slender fingers are caressing the strings. He doesn't want to talk to me. And I'm not going to force him to.

Fuck this!

There is no point in this.

Why am I even doing this?

I turn back to leave.

Erik suddenly stops playing the guitar when I reach for the door. The silence makes me stop on my heels and turn around. His angry eyes are fixed on mine, burning dangerously.

"That night we met, did you know that Sabrina was my girlfriend?"

Silence.

"You just said you want us to talk." He says coldly. "So, can you talk?"

"Yes. I knew she's your girlfriend."

He cusses under his breathe and looks away.

"I should have known it! You were just using me to make my girlfriend jealous. That's why you came up to me that night, right?"

"Can you just let me explain-"

"So what? You can trick me into kissing you again?"

"You kissed me back!"

"And I regret it."

He grabs his guitar and bolts out of the music room.

|| || || || ||

Sabrina Stunner saunters towards her car in the parking lot.

She's in a phone call, talking in hush tones. I follow behind, watching closely as she hangs up to fetch for something in her bag. In a flash of lightning, I grab her arm and press her against the back of her car.

"You slashed the tyres of my car!" I snap. "I know you did it to get back at me!"

"What the f**k are you talking about!" She barks in shock and confusion. "Let go of me, you psycho!"

"You did it because of Erik, right?" I squeeze her wrists, pressing her harder. "You did it because of that night I spent with him at the club! Because I made out with him! To get back at me, right!"

"Let me go!" She cries out.

"I'm not letting you go!" I snap. "And I'm not letting you get away with this, you little s**t! Not after you talked trash about me! Not after you talked trash about my best friend! And definitely not after you slashed the tyres of my car! I'd be damned if I let you-"

"Let her go!"

My heart jolts when Erik's voice demands. He's standing behind me. I instantly let go of Sabrina, fighting the urge to snap her neck.

She runs to Erik, crying and throwing her arms around him. He buries her head on his shoulder, his fingers running through her blonde hair. Over her shoulder, his angry eyes are fixed on me. He pulls away and takes her hand in his.

Cupping her face in his hands, he says softly.

"Let's get out of here."

I watch as the couple walks away.

For some strange reason, I feel a tint of jealousy staring at them. I miss those hands grabbing my waist. But now, the same hands are holding another woman's hand.

"Ruby?"

Someone calls behind me. My heart jolts as I turn to look at him, knowing too well that it's-

"Miles?"

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