Never Again

Chapter 16

It was the next morning, and Cora was at the local café with Kozik, finally getting coffee with him like they had planned. They were tucked away in a small booth, hidden away in the far corner of the restaurant. As soon as their drinks were brought to them, Cora began dumping packet after packet of sugar into her coffee as Kozik sat, blinking at her in astonishment.

"Jesus, how much sugar are you gonna put in it?" he remarked, eyes wide. He only ever drank black coffee; he didn't need any extra shit in his drink.

She ripped open one last packet, dumping the contents into her mug. "I'm done now," she announced with a smirk. She picked up a spoon, stirring her coffee, watching as the sugar dissolved. "I don't understand how you can drink it like that," she countered, gesturing to Kozik's mug as he blew away steam.

"Coffee's better black," he replied. "Sugar just takes away from the flavor." He lifted his drink, taking a slow sip, not wanting to burn his mouth.

She laughed quietly to herself, watching as he drank carefully; it was amusing to see him, a badass biker, act so cautious, especially over something as simple as coffee. "I'm glad that we're finally able to do this," she beamed.

"Me too," he agreed, setting his mug back down. He paused for a brief moment, glancing around the café. "Doesn't your sister work here?" he asked finally, raising a brow. He had remembered someone previously mentioning that she was a waitress.

Cora shook her head. "No, she works at the diner; it's two blocks away."

Truthfully, Cora preferred the coffee that the diner served, yet she had avoided going there. She knew that Cath was working that morning, and she also knew that if Cath saw them together, she would make a big deal about it. Their little coffee meet-up was just a friendly thing, nothing more, though Cora was certain that Cath wouldn't believe that; so, it was best to keep her in the dark.

"Oh okay," he replied casually. He went back to his coffee, taking another careful sip as Cora continued speaking.

"So, how was your trip to Reno?" she prompted. She stirred her own coffee a few more times before daring to take a sip. She blew away steam, cooling it down, then took a taste. It was perfect, just as sweet as she liked it to be.

"My trip was alright," Kozik admitted. "Could've been worse." He couldn't help but smile as he watched Cora drink her sickeningly sweet coffee; he had certainly missed being around her. Just as before, he had managed to forget all about her while on the road, but now that he was back in Charming and she was before him again, he found himself falling for her. It was something that he felt stupid to admit to himself, yet it was the truth. "I'm glad to be back though."

"Too bad you can't be here all the time," she muttered, glancing up at him, their eyes locking.

He raised a brow at her comment. She kept saying things like that, about wanting him to be in SAMCRO, though he couldn't understand why. The only explanation he could think of was that she was interested in him, but that seemed impossible.

"I wish I could patch into SAMCRO," he lamented, "but Tig would never let me." He shook his head lightly, sighing. "It's my fault though."

She cocked her head to the side, questioning his last statement. "Why do you say that?"

He shrugged. "Cause it's the truth," he confessed, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I was the one who fucked up, not Tig."

"Yeah, but didn't that happen years ago?" she inquired, furrowing her brow. "Is it really fair for him to hold a grudge for that long?"