Contracted Kisses

CHAPTER ONE

“Mom, I don’t want this anymore. This is really a stupid Idea.” I throw my phone across my room. I stood up and combed my hair in frustration. She had arranged another blind date for me this afternoon, and I’m so tired of this shit. How many times do I have to tell her that I don’t need a man, yet?

I went to my bathroom, took a bath, then put on my white uniform and let my hair dry. I’m heading to school since my schedule for today was fucking 7 am. I was already frustrated when my mother called and told me to meet a man I barely knew. She told me this was, again, one of her friend’s sons.

“Morning, Elsie!” Julia, my roommate, greeted me with her hands filled with books. She was also heading out. I volunteered to close the door, and she was already gone to her car. I also did the same and drove my way to the school.

I parked my car and got out, feeling really down by now. Just thinking of what would happen later in the afternoon really makes me roll my eyes. I don’t care if someone would mistake me for being mean or something. I am really frustrated right now. These fucking stairs are just making me want to give up. Fuck these stairs, fuck those guys, fuck my life. And bullshit had me; I forgot where I threw my phone earlier. How can I pay for my breakfast now?

“Shit!” I hissed. Why the fuck is this guy not looking at where he was walking?

“Look straight when you walk so you don’t look stupid.” He spoke. And just walked away. He did not even let me talk shit about him. He was the one who bumped into me, not the other way around. Ahh, anyway, I’m really not in the mood to start a fight.

I entered the room and spotted my friend immediately. I walked towards him and slightly punched his shoulder to get his attention. Marco has been my friend since high school. We have not been separated since then. We ended up getting the same course in college, and we literally regretted it.

“Could you stop doing that!” He said and glared at me. I looked through his paper, and my jaw just dropped.

“Don’t tell me…” I said, pausing for a second to gauge the reaction. I even covered my mouth to get a little dramatic.

He rolled his eyes and lifted his reviewer. “Bitch, forgot we have a test today.” Chuckling.

“What a fucking day!”

Guess what, I survived that fucking test. I almost cry, though. Who could’ve if the test was meant to kill you? I really thank my best friend for helping me answer those five questions. And now I was heading home to rest a bit, then go out again to meet a stranger. I hope this time it won’t go to waste. The first blind date was pretty hilarious. The guy was too nervous and ended up throwing up in front of me. The second was too full of himself and boasted about his fucking wealth, but in reality, he let me pay for the whole dinner for both of us. The third guy acts so nice, though he has a perverted mind. He keeps looking at my cleavage. I ended up leaving him in front of a motel that evening. The fourth one is too good to be true. I ended up ghosting him. He was so nice, a total green flag to some, but not really my type.

Anyway, this will be the last for this fucking month. I have to focus on my studies since I am already falling behind. Nursing is not really for me. I’m too bad for that.

“The name of the café was Coffee Break. He was already there, and I told him to order a coffee for you. Good luck!” Mom said on the call.

“Yeah, okay, bye.” I hung up and went inside the coffee break.

My eyes roam around the place, and then I saw him. He looked effortlessly sharp in a light, vertically striped button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up past his elbows to stay out of the way as he typed. The top buttons were left undone, revealing a thin silver chain against his neck. Even while seated, the volume of his wide-leg black jeans was unmistakable as they pooled around his retro-style sneakers tucked near the chair leg.

His black backpack was slung over the back of his chair, and a cup sat next to his laptop, looking like it had been there for a while. Every time his hands shifted across the keyboard, the silver ring on his index finger caught the light, and his black smartwatch stood out clearly on his wrist. He seemed so locked into whatever he was working on that he didn’t even notice the rest of the shop buzzing around him.

I sighed and went closer to his table. Aside from him appearing unbothered, he had a good choice to pick a table away from the crowd.

“Nicholas?” I tapped the table to get his attention.

“Yeah, sit down. I already know your name.” He said, still not looking at me. He was too busy to even look at me for a bit. I sat down and just stared at him. The clicking of the keyboard abruptly stopped, cutting through the low hum of the coffee shop. I must have sighed, because he finally looked up, and our eyes locked instantly.

There was no pretense of a smile or a casual glance. His gaze was heavy, raw with that annoyance I’d been sensing all along. Up close, those hazel eyes felt piercing, holding a sharp, guarded intensity as he stared at me, as if he wished I’d leave him to his screen. He looked completely exhausted by the moment, his expression weary and impatient. The air between us felt suddenly thin, charged with a silence so thick it was suffocating. He didn’t blink, he just held my gaze with a look that communicated exactly how much he didn’t want to be interrupted.

“I’m not interested in you, Evelise.” He said that without even blinking.

A smile almost formed on my face, but I hid it. I looked around our table, and the coffee my mom told me he ordered was nowhere to be found. At least for once, we had the same feeling. Hatred.

“Well, I am not interested in you, Mr. Huxley. I’m just being considerate for coming here even though I am not in favor of this, either.” I said, still smiling.

“Then good. You may now go if you have nothing to do here anymore.” He looks so busy; I feel bad about him. My mother probably forced him to be here, but too shy to refuse.

“Since I’m already here, maybe I could order coffee. My friend told me that this place is pretty good.” I spoke and stood up, and went to the counter.

“One iced coffee and also a Spanish bread. I’ll eat here. Table number four, please.” I said and went back.

“You should’ve found another seat. Why choose to sit across from me?” He asked. Still face glued to his laptop.

“Why not?” I answered a question with a question. It’s no big deal, as you can see.

“Because we’re not that close? You told me you’re not interested, yet you’re still in front of me like a damn woman.” He said again, but now looking at me. Brows furrowed.

“You called me dumb?” Almost raising my voice. Or did I not hear properly?

“Damn, woman.” He corrected.

“Oh, well, I don’t mind sitting here. And besides, this coffee shop is a little too crowded.” I said, shrugging.

I heard him sigh and massage his temple. “You’re the first woman to irritate me this far.”

“You mean, you’ve been on a blind date multiple times?” I asked. Hopefully,

I can find another problematic human being.

“Set by my mother.” He answered again and closed his laptop entirely, and focused his attention on me. He sips on his coffee while looking at me intently, like he is just waiting for me to speak up about something we both know is impossible. Both our mothers seem to be in a rush to pair us up, setting up too many blind dates as if I’ll run out of options if I don’t find a man right away. Honestly, it’s getting too exhausting letting them do what they want.

I cleared my throat. “Do you have a plan?”

“I don’t know either,” he said.

“Well, to end this bullshit was to have a partner. But being in a relationship these days is quite a hassle…Hope you agree with that.” I spoke. Had my arms crossed and leaned on my seat.

“Well, just get a partner then.” He spoke.

“I don’t want to. I hate being tangled with anyone, then getting hurt after.” I rolled my eyes. Our small conversation stopped for a second when my order came. I looked up to the guy serving it and was surprised to see Lucas in his uniform. He’s my classmate from high school who suddenly disappeared.

“Oh, nice to see you here.” He greeted, but he did not speak for long. He seems so busy.

“So, you’re just going to stare at your crush after telling me how you hate being tangled with anyone now?” He scoffed.

My face heated up, and I faced him, glaring. “I don’t like him.”

“Tell that to your face, getting red.” He said, teasing. “Anyway, as you said, to stop their nonsense was to have a partner. The problem is you don’t want to, and I am also too busy to have one…” Stopping for a bit, then put his laptop in his bag. And he looked at me and continued talking.

“Maybe a fake relationship will help us both?” I was taken aback by what he said. I did not speak for a second and had to think about what he said so casually. Me in a fake fucking relationship?

“That’s nonsense.” I blurted out.

“Well, you think of another plan then. I am just suggesting the best and easiest plan to accomplish.” He shrugged and had the final sip of his coffee, while I did not even touch mine.

“Fuck, how to even do that?” I said, Gave up.

“We’ll tell them that we are both interested in each other and set a date again. Let it go for a week, then be official fake dating. Tell them about it, and they would stop. After a year, maybe, let’s break up and have our lives be at peace. They won’t have time to find another one since we just broke up. And maybe that time we get to find the time to really date someone for real. That was easy.” He said it like he was already thinking of that years ago.

I let out a sigh, “Okay, deal.”

He smiled and stood up. “Good, see you next week, Babe.” After that, he patted my head like I was a sort of pet of his and headed out.

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