should have known peace wasn't going to last.
It had barely been twenty-four hours since the boutique incident with Lily and Ethan, and already my life felt louder, messier… more unpredictable.
Still, I told myself I could handle it.
I just needed coffee.
That's how I ended up at the café again the next morning, determined to have at least one normal moment in my day.
I stepped inside, inhaling the familiar scent of espresso and sugar, already reaching for my phone as I joined the line.
And then—
"Let me guess. Caramel latte?"
I froze.
Slowly, I turned my head.
Jaxon.
Standing right beside me. Like he had always been there. Like this was normal.
"You—" I blinked. "Are you serious right now?"
He smiled. Not a full smile—just that small, knowing one that made it feel like he was in on a joke I didn't understand.
"Good morning to you too, Mia."
"How do you keep doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"Showing up everywhere," I said, narrowing my eyes. "It's weird."
"It's coincidence," he replied easily.
"It's suspicious."
He chuckled under his breath, stepping forward as the line moved. "You think I'm following you?"
"I didn't say that."
"You implied it."
"I implied nothing."
"You're thinking it."
I huffed, folding my arms. "You're annoying."
"And yet," he said softly, glancing at me, "you keep talking to me."
I opened my mouth to respond—then closed it.
Because annoyingly… he wasn't wrong.
I thought that would be the end of it.
Get my coffee, leave, go home.
Simple.
But of course… nothing with Jaxon was ever simple.
Because later that afternoon, when I decided to spend some quiet time at the library—just me, a book, and zero chaos—
He was there.
Sitting at a table near the window, flipping through a book like he actually belonged in a place that required silence.
I stopped walking.
He looked up.
Our eyes met.
And that stupid smirk appeared again.
"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered under my breath.
He closed his book slowly, watching me like this was all part of some plan. "You say that every time you see me."
"Because it doesn't make sense," I said, dropping into the chair across from him. "First the café, now this?"
"It's a library," he said. "People read here."
"You don't look like you read."
He leaned back slightly, amused. "And what do I look like?"
"Trouble," I said without thinking.
Something flickered in his eyes.
"Interesting," he murmured.
I immediately looked away, pretending to focus on the book in front of me.
Silence settled between us—but not the comfortable kind.
The kind that felt… charged.
Like something was building.
"Why do you keep showing up?" I asked quietly after a moment.
"Why do you keep noticing?" he shot back just as quickly.
I frowned. "That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting."
I sighed, shaking my head, but there was no real irritation behind it anymore.
Just confusion.
And something else I didn't want to name.
By the time evening came, I was convinced of one thing:
This was not normal.
Because when I stepped out onto the street, heading back toward my apartment, I saw him again.
Leaning casually against a parked car like he had nowhere else to be.
Like he had been waiting.
My steps slowed.
"You've got to be following me," I said as I approached.
He pushed himself off the car, hands sliding into his pockets. "You're really stuck on that theory."
"Because it's the only one that makes sense!"
"Or," he said, taking a step closer, "you just can't accept that you keep running into me."
"I'm not running into you," I argued.
"No?"
"No."
He tilted his head slightly, studying me. "Then why does it feel like you're exactly where I expect you to be?"
My breath caught.
For a second, neither of us spoke.
The air between us shifted—less teasing now, more… something else.
Something heavier.
"Maybe you just think too much," I said finally, my voice softer than I intended.
"Maybe," he agreed.
But he didn't move away.
And neither did I.
We stood there, too close, neither of us willing to break whatever this was.
Until—
"Mia!"
Lily's voice cut through the moment like a siren.
I jumped slightly, stepping back.
Of course.
Of course she would appear now.
"Wow," she said, walking up with Ethan right behind her, eyes bouncing between us. "This is… interesting."
Ethan smirked. "Told you chaos would find her."
I groaned. "Please don't start."
"Start?" Lily grinned. "We're just getting started."
Jaxon glanced at me, that same unreadable look in his eyes, before stepping back slightly.
"See you around, Mia," he said quietly.
And then he walked away.
Just like that.
Leaving me standing there, heart racing, thoughts spinning, and one very clear realization settling in—
This wasn't coincidence anymore.
And whatever was happening between us…
It was only just beginning.