The only thing Mia Hope has in common with Jake Carpenter, Artwood High's most popular quarterback, is a love for the coffee served at The Coffee Pod. He wants her to tutor him - and if she can do it without a single cup of coffee, he'll pay her triple. Easy. Nothing could go wrong, right? ***** When Jake learns he's failing English, he knows he needs to pull his grades up or he'll risk being kicked off the football team. He strikes a deal with the elusive Mia - the quiet girl with secrets. If she can't go without a single cup of coffee, she has to tutor him for free. If she can, he'll pay her triple, and with Christmas around the corner, there's nothing Mia needs more than money. But as the pair grow closer, Jake learns the real reason for Mia's bad habit, and what starts as an innocent bet between enemies grows into something more serious. Can the pair survive the next two months with their hearts - and secrets - still intact? Content/trigger warning: This story contains themes of assault and abuse. [[word count: 60,000 - 70,000]] Cover designed by Jenna Conrad The Coffee Pact now has a sequel: The Kissing Pact

"You are mine!" He roars. "I will do whatever it takes to make you know that. Whether it means I lock you up in a prison and throw away the key." Footsteps come rushing into the dining room, and I turn to see multiple men--guards I suppose, flanking one another. Each of their hands rest on things within their jackets. Which i can only guess are guns. What else would they be? He waves them off and stalks towards me, standing behind my chair. I try to turn my head to look behind me, at him, but his hands move to the sides of my face, stopping me. "I can give you the world Mia. I am no fool. I know that love takes time, and I will give you as much as it takes. But you are mine." He says so calmly. -------------------------- When Mia Jones, a College student from Australia with a mysterious past is offered the opportunity to work as a translator for a man she had never heard of in New York City, she had assumed it would be a normal job, little did she know it would be the end of her freedom. Matteo Giovanni is the most feared Mafia leader in New York, and the whole country, heir to the Italian Mafia, he is used to getting what he wants. And when he sees Mia walk into his office for a job interview, he knows he wants her. She is his light, and he is her darkness. Will Mia ever be able to escape Matteo and the Mafia, or will she fall in love before she can stop herself? WARNING: Within this story there is coarse language, themes and violence. ______________________ #1 in Romance 29/10/2020 ----------------------------------- Began: 21/08/2020 Completed: 13/01/2021