Chapter 3

I made my way into the house, feeling drained from the events of the night. Going straight to the kitchen, I grabbed a bottle of water, gulped it down and then headed to the bedroom. 

Throwing myself onto the bed, I kicked off my shoes and let out a sigh.

Chloe followed into the room, carrying a bowl of cereal.

She was a foodie that I know, but taking cereal by this time of the night, so unbelievably.

 "You need to have seen The Hooker's face,Sam, He couldn't believe he lost the fight" Chloe said excitedly, still buzzing from the adrenaline of the fight. "It was so funny."

Chloe called out to me a couple of times before realizing that I was fast asleep.

"You are so annoying,you just slept off without saying goodnight and blowing me kisses".Chloe covered me with the duvet and left the room.

As I lay there, I chuckled at Chloe's rowdiness before drifting off to sleep. 

The next morning, I woke up to the sunlight glaring through the window to my face. Glancing at the alarm clock,10:15 AM, I realized I had overslept."Oh no, I'm gonna kill you, Chloe!" I screamed.

I quickly got out of bed, rushing to the bathroom to freshen up. After a quick shower and getting dressed in a yellow flowery dress and blue-gray strappy sandals, I grabbed my purse and headed out.

On my way to the kooi coffeeshop where Chloe worked, my phone rang. 

"Hello mom, I answer." 

"Why are you not home yet?"

 "I'll be home shortly, Mom. I just wanted to stop by and see Chloe first."

"Alright, Say hi to Chloe for me."

 "Will do, Mom. Love you."

"Love you too,Take care."

Arriving at kooi coffeeshop, I got in, customers were around as always.

I found my favorite spot in the corner and settled in. 

Chloe greeted me with a smile, she got a frown in return with an I'm gonna kill you look.

She quickly made my favorite coffee: Latte.

As she handed me the latte, I couldn't help but smile at her sheepish grin.

"Don't even give me that face," I said teasingly. "I forgive you, but only because this coffee tastes so good."Chloe laughed and apologized again before rushing off to attend to other customers. 

I sipped my coffee, enjoying the familiar surroundings of the coffee shop.

I decided it was time to head back home. With a few customers in front of her making orders I took my latte and walked out, I didn't want to distract her.

I got into my car, heading home.....

Suddenly my car stopped. "Oh no, come on!!!

Why are you stopping now?" I muttered to myself as my car came to a halt in the middle of the road. 

I took my phone, hoping to call for help, but my heart sank when I realized I had a flat battery. "Great, just great. How did I forget to charge it?" I scolded myself.

Standing beside my car, I waved desperately at passing vehicles, hoping someone would stop and offer assistance.

But each car drove past without even slowing down, leaving me feeling more helpless than ever.

"What I'm I supposed to do now?, damnit! damnit"!.

I kicked the tire, like it was going to make any difference. With my head bent on my car,thinking about what to do, I didn't notice a car behind me. 

"Hello, are you okay"? 

That voice sounds familiar, turning around, I saw him again. My mind raced as I tried to process the sight before me,the sweat on my forehead increased, I became numb. 

"Do you need help?" He asked. I was caught off guard and realized I have been staring at him for too long without responding.

"No, I'm fine just waiting for someone". I lied trying to keep my voice steady despite the turmoil inside me.

"Are you sure about that? This is a lonely route, how can anyone ask you to wait here"? He replied

I hesitated, unsure of how to respond. Part of me wanted to push him away, to pretend like I didn't need his help. 

But I need to leave here and get home so mum won't get worried.

"Ok if you say so". He said, taking my silence for a "I'm fine".

Just as he was about to get into his car.

"Um, my car just stopped," I managed to say, trying to compose myself.

Smiling mischievously, He walked closely to me, I could feel the breath coming out of his nostrils,he looked deep into my eyes bringing his face closer,my eyes slightly closing.

"I can't take a look at your car with you standing on the way". He smirks

"Oh yeah, sorry I managed to say, flushed with embarrassment.

"Sam can you just compose yourself around him and stop say dreaming" I cautioned myself.

Walking over to the front of my car. I watched nervously as he inspected the engine, his hands moving expertly over the hood.

"It looks like your car battery is dead," he said, looking back at me.

"Oh great, just great. Phones flat, car battery dead". I murmured.

 "Do you have jumper cables?"Jumper cables? I had no idea what he was talking about. 

"Um, I'm not sure," I admitted sheepishly, feeling embarrassed for not being more prepared."That's okay, I have some in my car," he said with a reassuring smile. 

"Let me grab them". He replied 

I couldn't help but feel a mixture of emotions swirling inside me. On one hand, I was grateful for his help. 

But on the other hand, I couldn't shake the feeling of hurt and confusion that lingered from our last encounter.

How could he act as though we'd never met before?

When he returned with the cables, I tried to push aside my frustration and focus on the task at hand. As he worked on my car's engine, I stood by, feeling somewhat useless.

I didn't understand what he was doing, and to be honest, I didn't really care. All I wanted was to get back on the road and forget about this whole ordeal.

"Can you come over here?" he called out suddenly, interrupting my thoughts.I hesitated for a moment before reluctantly joining him by the car. 

He handed me what looked like a wire and asked me to hold it in place. I did as he instructed, trying to follow along with what he was doing, but it all seemed like gibberish to me.

As I held the wire, I couldn't help but notice our hands touching and causing a spark within my heart.

Caught him stealing glances at me from the corner of his eye. Irritated, I finally spoke up.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"He chuckled, pausing for a moment before offering an apology. "I'm sorry, but I can't help but notice how beautiful you are, Sam.

"His words caught me off guard, and I felt a surge of conflicting emotions. I was flattered by his compliment. But, I couldn't shake the feeling of annoyance at his earlier behavior.

"You did remember me," I remarked, unable to hide the hint of skepticism in my voice. "And yet, you were acting like we've never met before.

"He chuck

led softly. "How could I forget my good luck charm?""Good luck charm?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.