𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐋

thirteen

Peter takes his time to the cafe, knowing Ryder is gonna be late due to the numerous clubs she's in. He walks with a little bit of pride in his steps, his head is held high and a hint of a smirk is evident on his face. He brings extra cash because he knows he's gonna be paying for Ryder.

He smiles to himself just thinking about her. He's never thought he'd get this far with anyone, let alone her. They've been talking nonstop for almost a month now, and each day feels better than before. They've mainly met up because of school work but there was one day, two days ago, where he walked her home and she, of course, invited him inside for some snacks. They ended up watching two movies and leaning against each other. He always hugs her goodnight and kisses her on the forehead because he knows how much she secretly loves it. He wants to spoil her, not in riches but with kisses and hugs and everything lovely, of course, when they get there.

But once he walks into the cafe and does a double take at their usual table, he sees Ryder sitting there, a smug smirk on her face with two drinks and two pastries sitting in front of her, her laptop set up next to her in an ignored manner. Clearly, she is more keen on him seeing her cheekily smiling at him. His heart drops because he's the one who's supposed to pay, and he even brings extra money! Isn't that what the guy does? He doesn't know, he hasn't been on enough dates to get the gist of it.

"How'd—? Wh-what—? When did you—?"

All she says, with a smirk, is: "I got out early."

Peter sighs and groans as he sits down, pouting as he reluctantly takes his designated coffee cup in his hand. "Ryder...you weren't supposed to..."

"You said the first person to get here would pay," she responds sweetly, taking a sip of her oreo milkshake. "I got here first."

He bites his lip and looks up at here with hooded eyes. "You really shouldn't have." Fuck, he's blushing again because that smile is driving him crazy. "I feel bad...I was supposed to get here before you...I brought extra money and everything."

Ryder rolls her eyes playfully. "Don't feel bad. Plus, I loved your face when you walked in here. Priceless."

"Ha, ha, very funny, Phoenix."

"Ooh?" she taunts. "We on a last name basis now? Alright, Parker. We can play it that game."

Peter pouts as he buries his face in his hands with a grumble. "Let's not play this game," he says, whines, which is muffled.

Ryder chuckles and places her hand on his forearm. "And why's that? Hm?"

He doesn't look up when he blurts: "I like it when you say my name."

The girl smiles and gives his arm a gentle squeeze, which coaxes him from his hands and she can see his cheeks tinting pink, which normally happens when he says something somewhat flirty, and she finds it cute that he cares so much about her opinion. God, he's so cute to her; she admires that he cares so much about her, that much is obvious.

It's so much different than the other guys she's been with. To other guys, it's always been sex, booze, this and that, nudes, more sex, some more of this and that. It's the same thing, they all want the same things from her, and that is just a good time. They've never seen her as something more than pleasure. It's all she's been used to.