Chapter 1 THE COFFEE DRAMA☕️
Jay’s POV
The worst thing about mornings? Mornings.
I was already running late — hair slightly messy, shirt half-tucked, bag bouncing off my shoulder — when I spotted the tiny café at the corner. My survival depended on caffeine. No coffee, no functioning Jay.
The barista handed me my caramel latte with an apologetic smile because I was already tapping my foot. I grabbed it, muttered a quick “Thanks,” and turned to dash toward campus.
That’s when it happened.
BAM.💥
Hot coffee. Expensive-looking suit. And a man👦🏻 staring at me like I had just committed a federal crime.
My eyes traveled up — dark brown hair perfectly styled, sharp jawline, broad shoulders — and then those eyes. Brown, piercing, and currently radiating murder.😭
“You—” he started, voice low and dangerous.
“Oh, don’t you dare,”😎 I cut him off, because nope, I wasn’t going to be intimidated by a model-looking stranger. “You were standing in the middle of the walkway like you own it. Not my fault.”😏
He glanced down at his now coffee-stained suit. “This,” he said slowly, “is Armani.
“And?” I asked, blinking innocently.
“And,” he took a step forward, “you just ruined it.”
“You’ll live,” I muttered, sidestepping him. My brain screamed run before he sends you a dry-cleaning bill.
I didn’t even look back.
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Keifer’s POV
Unbelievable.
First day back on campus after a meeting with my father about family business, and some girl — no, some hurricane — runs into me, ruins my suit, and acts like it’s my fault.🙏🏻
I could’ve demanded she pay for it. I could’ve at least gotten her name. But she walked away like she owned the sidewalk, ponytail swaying, muttering something under her breath.
Who even talks back to me like that?
The universe must hate me, because ten minutes later, I walked into my assigned classroom — and there she was. Same messy hair, same annoyed expression.
And then the professor dropped the bomb.
“Class, meet your new seat partner for the semester,” he said, pointing to me. “Keifer Watson. You’ll be seated next to Miss…?”
“Jasper Jean Mariano,” she said, plastering on a fake smile. “But you can call me Jay.”
The smile didn’t reach her eyes. Oh, this was going to be fun.
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Jay’s POV
Of all the people in this entire campus, the universe had to stick me with him. Mr. Armani Suit himself.
He slid into the seat beside me, leaning back with the kind of relaxed arrogance only rich boys seem to have.
“You,” he said without even looking at me, “owe me coffee.”
I didn’t even glance at him. “You, owe me silence.”
His low chuckle made my stomach do something weird. I ignored it.
For the next hour, I could feel his gaze flick toward me whenever I wrote something. It was distracting, infuriating, and… fine, maybe a little thrilling. But I’d rather swallow a cactus than admit that.
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Keifer’s POV
She’s infuriating.
Most girls I meet either try to impress me or avoid eye contact completely. Jay? She rolled her eyes at me twice in one class.
When the lecture ended, I stood up and leaned close enough for her to hear me over the noise. “Try not to spill anything on me tomorrow.”
She slung her bag over her shoulder without missing a beat. “Try not to exist in my path tomorrow.”
And just like that, she walked away.
She didn’t even know it yet… but this little war between us? It had just begun.
