Project Daddy || a.i

Chapter 23 || "You're cute Blondie."

- Luke -

"What will you be having?"

"Just coffee, thanks."

The cashier raised her eyebrows sceptically but didn't say anything, taking my money before handing me back my change. I thanked her before moving on in the queue, waiting patiently for my order.

With a hangover, the worst place I could be was home. The minute I woke up, I was bombarded by questions from my mother, which I answered half asleep with an aching headache. I then proceeded to hold down my vomit while eating the breakfast she made me, cowering away from the light like some stupid äss Dracula wannabe.

Y'know how hard it is to hide a hangover?

Pretty fücking hard.

So that's why I came to Starbucks. It was calm, quiet and mother free. Everything I needed.

"Are you Luke?"

My eyes flickered up to meet a girl, around my age, with big brown eyes and slightly tanned skin. Her black hair was hidden away beneath a cap, her deep red lips pulled up into a slight smirk. She had a to-go cup in her hand, my name scrawled messily along the side.

Her name tag read Natalia.

"I'm Luke."

"I thought so," she chuckled, passing the warm paper cup into my hands "you don't seem like the type of guy to order coffee."

"You don't seem like the type of girl to serve coffee." I retorted, causing her smile to grow, a small laugh escaping her plump lips.

"Touché."

I ignored her comment and walked away, heading towards an empty circular table in the corner of the room. It seemed so isolated, so quiet. Perfect for me.

Sitting down, I took a hesitant sip from my cup, wincing slightly afterwards. Not only had I just burnt the whole top of my mouth, but I'd burnt it on a beverage I didn't even like.

Coffee really wasn't my thing, but Ashton said it would help.

I brought my phone out from my pocket and checked my notifications, ignoring half of my messages. They were all from desperate girls with nothing else to do on a Saturday night except beg me for sēx.

It was sickening.

"Is this seat taken?"

Slowly looking up, I met a pair of brown eyes, a small sigh escaping my lips. There stood Natalia, a Starbucks cup held tightly in one hand with her phone in the other. She had taken her cap off, revealing a thick mess of black hair tied up into a ponytail. Her red lips were tugged upwards into a slight grin, her eyebrows quirked up expectantly.

She seemed so confident, and I couldn't tell if liked it or not.

"Um, no?"

She gave a curt nod before falling down onto the chair, placing her cup down onto the table. I was frozen with confusion, my eyes hesitantly scanning this mysterious girl.

This wasn't normal.

"So Luke," she grinned, drawing out my name as if it were some bad word she wasn't quite sure of "how's your coffee?"

"Hot."

"Wow," she chuckled; subconsciously tapping her nails against the old wooden table "no shít Sherlock."

I felt myself blush but didn't react, averting my gaze to my lap. She was acting like the female version of Calum, and I really didn't know how to feel.