"You know what, it's not my fault you're like... in love with me or something." Packing the last of my clothes into the overfull luggage bag laying on the messy bed, I sit on top of it to force them to fit.

"Look, I don't see why you're making such a big deal over nothing," Hailey huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. Trying to not look at her perfect breasts that I've spent several nights burying my face into, I bounce on top of the luggage bag until the zippers finally align.

"Hailey... I woke up with my fucking hand handcuffed to the headstand. I knew this was a bad idea. I told you that-" With a grunt, I get the zipper to work. "-this is a no strings attached deal. And if you can't handle it, then we shouldn't do it."

Hailey sighs. "Again, I'm sorry Nat, okay? I was just... when you told me yesterday that you were moving out and it would be our last night together, I... I sorta panicked. Come on baby, we can still work this out somehow. You don't have to move out."

I cringe inwardly at the word "baby". It's one of those "pet names" which I despise (which, actually, are all of them). Why do people want to be called babies, booboos, and babas, I have no idea.

Finished with my battle with the luggage bag, I finally glance up at her. Her beautiful curls of chocolate ombre hair bring out her high cheekbones and pale skin. The same hair I've gripped in my hand as she screamed my name a few nights ago. Those full lips pouting at me while her ocean blue eyes gaze at me with that look I know all too well.

It's the same look of desperate pleading that my previous two roommates and everyone I've slept with have given me. Each time, they tell me that they can handle a no strings attached relationship. And every single time, they end up becoming attached, addicted, obsessed, or in love, although the first three would probably count as love.

And I can't relate to desperation. Never have, and never will.

"Besides, where are you even going to stay?"

Lugging the bag off the bed, I place it on the floor and sigh. "At my sister's place."

This wouldn't be her first time. Or second. It will be the third time I've asked my little sister to let me stay, because I can't keep myself from sleeping with my roommates. But technically, it isn't my fault. They're the ones who can't keep their end of the deal even though they assured me they would. Why should I be blaming myself? It's their fault.

As I grip the bag handle, Hailey's warm hand wraps around my arm. "What if we just do it one more time?" Tracing her fingers along my skin, my breath hitches a little as she looks into my eyes.

"And get chained again? Yeah uh... hard pass." Shaking off her touch, I lift the bag. "We had a good time, and I'm sure the neighbors can testify to that." She blushes. "But it's time to move on, okay?"

Tucking my fingers under her chin, I tilt her head up so her eyes can meet mine. After a few seconds, she nods.

"Good." Leaving a kiss on her forehead, I head out of her apartment, but not before grabbing the cup of fresh black coffee from the kitchen counter and downing it in under five seconds. "Thanks for the coffee by the way."

I finally step out into the hallway and haul my luggage bag down the concrete stairs. Hailey's footsteps follow me, the sounds echoing through the building. Walking out the front to where my car and the rest of my stuff are parked, I only hope she won't think about doing anything irrational.

"Remember, you can call me anytime if you want to hook up or something!" Hailey calls out instead, her voice traveling through the streets as she stands on the top of the stairs.

Wincing at her loudness yet feeling a rush of relief at the same time, I give her a thumbs up before stashing my things into the black Audi. The sun is still hiding behind the tall buildings, just kissing the tips of the palm leaves that tower over the sidewalks. The sounds of birds chirping and dogs barking in the distance together with faint pop music fill the morning air.

Taking a deep breath, I climb into my car and start it, the quiet hum of the engines coming to life. As the front screen slides upward and 'Bad at Love' by Halsey blares on, as if taunting me, I keep my eye on Hailey as she stands at the entrance of the apartments. There's no telling what she could still do. Speaking from experience. But I need to hurry up if I want to get everything done today, including settling into my sister's apartment.

❀*̥˚───❀*̥˚

"You can't keep doing this, Nat," Anna says as I change my shirt in the back of the café.

"Can't keep doing what?" I know exactly what she's talking about, but I prefer to act like I'm stupid and clueless.

"Sis... I love you, but sleeping with your roommates and then moving out because you don't want to 'commit' is not healthy." In my periphery, she folds her arms and glares at me.

I see absolutely nothing wrong with it. Who the fuck wants to commit to stupid love anyway? It's all fake.

"But it's not my-"

"'It's not my fault'," she interrupts in a mocking tone. "Yeah, I've heard that. Nat, just because our dad abandoned us and mom after the divorce doesn't mean you have to be afraid of committing. Our dad was an asshole. You don't have to be like him."

"I'm not like him," I snap, balling up my shirt and throwing it in the corner. "We have nothing in common. You know that."

"I-"

"Are you going to let me stay with you or not?" Standing in just my jeans and sports bra, I place my hands on my hips.

Anna rolls her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. You and my couch are the only relationship you are committed to."

"Ha ha." Pulling my work shirt over my head with the café's logo on the front, I step in front of the mirror. I tuck in a few of my loose blonde hair strands behind my ears and straighten my shoulders. Brushing off invisible particles from my clothes, I turn toward Anna and give her a smile. "You know I appreciate you putting up with me, right?"

She scoffs, a smile tugging at her lips. "You better."

With a wink, I walk to the front and take my place behind the counter. The café has been open for a couple hours now, and at 7:30 a.m., it's the busiest time of the day. Almost every table is occupied with chattering people, more than half of them buried in their phones.

And as always, there's a guy in the dimmest corner of the room with his facial expressions changing from sad to giggly to angry. Idiot probably scrolling through fucking Twitter. Or what's it called now... X? Fuck Elon Musk and his stupid Teslas. I miss the days when Twitter used to be a decent platform.

For the next hour, I take orders from customers, half of them returning customers with whom I exchange more than a few words, such as "how is your daughter doing?" and "how is work at the bridal shop?". I have to feign interest almost all the time, because I would really prefer not to have to interact with random people in the morning. I mean, who would willingly want to?

By 10:00 a.m., the rush has dwindled somewhat. Just enough for me to be able to think over my current situation without annoying customers all up in my headspace.

Propping my elbows onto the brown granite counter, I look around the café. Green plants hang from the ceilings, almost like moss, as the warm, ambient lighting illuminates the dark, mahogany wooden tables and chairs. The tall windows in the front are slightly tinted to block in the sunny LA light.

Everything in the café represents a cave, one that is cozy and gives off a rustic environment, hence the name 'The Caffeine Grotto'. My mom was so proud when she came up with the name ten years ago when she finally got the money from the divorce and opened her dream café.

I'm not going to lie, I love this place. My little sister and I have been helping out my mom for the last decade. But it's not something that my heart wants. What I really want is to open my own dance studio, which is also one of the most lucrative ventures in LA. For that to happen, I need to save up enough money.

And in order to do that, I need to stop sleeping with my roommates.

The front door jingles, letting me know that another customer has walked in. I sigh quietly. I have roughly six more hours of working here today until my mom arrives to take over manager duties, and I'm free for the rest of the day. Well, not exactly free, but at least I'll be away from this suffocating small space.

A clatter ensues from the front, together with a small "whoops". I glance in the direction in time to watch a short young woman built like a member of Blackpink bend down to straighten up the potted plant which she had knocked over. Blinking, I observe as she freaking pats the plant like it's a dog and says "sorry little guy" in a baby tone.

What makes it worse... It's a fake, plastic plant.

She straightens back up and walks toward me, tucking her phone into her pastel pink shorts which show off her skinny tanned legs. Her brown hair with a pair of sunglasses perched on her head matches perfectly with her almond-shaped eyes and oval face. Shaking away my brief bewilderment, I smile as she reaches the counter.

"Hi, welcome to The Caffeine Grotto! What can I brew for you?"

Her face lights up. "Wait, was that a pun? Oh my god, I love puns!"

Why is she so excited over a stupid pun? It's not even supposed to be a pun... but she does look a bit cute...

Hmm... Why not play along?

I chuckle. "Yes, it was." I lean in a little closer. "You're actually the first customer to say that."

Her eyebrows raise in surprise. "Really?"

"Yep. Do you know what that makes you?"

She tilts her head curiously.

"Pretty special."

"Oh, did I win a prize?" A wide smile spreads across her face. "Is there some sort of special for those who get the pun?"

For the first time in forever, I'm speechless. How the fuck did my line just fly over her head like that?

"Uh... I..." Stammering, I push myself off the counter and stupidly stand there with my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of the water.

"You know what, yes, it is a pretty good special." Anna slides in. She gives me a mischievous smile while I glare at her and mouth "what the hell are you doing?"

The girl beams. "Yay! What is it?"

"A pistachio latte for 75% off."

"Oh, that is a pretty good special! It's actually awesome!" She adjusts her bangs with her manicured, nimble fingers. "What is it though? I've never heard of it before."

"I think Nat here can explain it to you. Right, Nat?" Anna grins at me. Casting a death stare at her, I muster up a smile and turn toward the girl.

"Yeah, um, it's basically just your usual latte with almond milk and a spoonful of pistachio butter blended in. It has a bit of a thick texture, but it's one of our popular items."

"Oh, that sounds interesting! I will have that."

"Good. Anything else?"

"No, thank you."

"Alright, that will be..." I calculate 75% of $7.99 plus taxes. "$2.26."

She hands me a five dollar bill with a warm smile. "The rest is your tip."

Yay, let me add the two dollars and the little change to the $103 I made in tips today. I'm sure that will make a difference.

Instead, I give her my best manager smile. "Thank you." I don't know why I'm so annoyed with her in particular, because even two dollars is still money.

A part of me wants to go off to the side and give Anna a piece of my mind while she makes the girl's drink, but another part of me wants to stay here. This girl is... different in some sort of weird way. Maybe it's because she has a strange sense of sweetness to her, like honey. Her voice is bubbly and happy, and her smile literally lights up the whole room.

I'm strangely annoyed yet intrigued.

"By the way, have we... um... have we uh... met before?" the girl asks, jolting me out of my thoughts.

"I think I would remember if I did." I slightly chuckle.

"Sure you would," Anna mutters in a barely audible voice.

"Hm..." The girl scrutinizes me. "Nat is a pretty name! Is it short for Natasha? Like the Black Widow?"

What am I, taking some sort of questionnaire right now?

"Nah, it's short for Natalie," I say out loud.

"Oh, that's pretty cool too! My name is Mira! It used to be short for my real name, but I just go by it all the time these days."

She sure is annoyingly chatty...

As luck will have it, Anna brings out the latte and places it on the counter. The tiring smell of sweet honey and coffee mixed with nut butter fills the air surrounding us.

"Well, here is your latte... Mira."

"Thank you!"

Just as her fingers wrap around the cup, she glances at me again and a look of recognition flickers over her face. "Wait a minute... aren't you the girl my bro-"

At that moment, everything happens in a flash. The coffee cup somehow slips from her hands and falls to the side, but not before colliding with my own hand and spilling boiling hot thick liquid onto it.

With a hiss of pain, I hold my burned hand as I curse in my mind. Fuuucccckkkk.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I- I didn't mean to. I-"

Ignoring her stupid apologies, I turn around only for Anna to already be holding a cold wet towel which she wraps around my painfully swelling hand. This isn't the first time one of us has burned their hand, but it would be the first time for a customer to spill a hot drink on me.

Glancing back at the stupid girl, she's wearing a genuine expression of concern on her reddening face, but I don't care.

I Do. Not. Fucking. Care.

With anger rushing through my caffeine-laden veins and very, very stressed out brain, I grab the cup with the remaining hot latte.

And I throw the scalding liquid right at her.