Hate To Love You My Billionaire Lover

Chapter 9: Buy Me A Coffee First



On the one hand, she feared that the man did not recognize her and thought she was just a weird stranger staring at him. On the other hand, she was worried that he had already recognized her. Did he think she was rude for not saying hello?

After several seconds of contemplation, Arianna decided she would walk over and greet him. She knew he might be cold to her, but she took the chance anyway. This was the moment she had been waiting for.

She packed away her things into her purse and slowly approached him. His eyes rested on her the whole time.

Arianna thought about what she would say if she ever came face to face with her nonchalant savior again.

But her mind completely forgot the casual greeting she came up with. So instead, she said, “Nice to see you again.” Then she smiled like a bad actress.

As a child, she seldom laughed or smiled. Her teeth weren’t perfectly aligned, making her smile look like she was insecure. However, over the years, she started working on it.

She even used to practice smiling in the mirror. Despite feeling awkward and unsightly, Arianna started to feel happier.

He did not return her smile, though. But as he gestured to the seat opposite him, he said softly, “No one is sitting here.”

Arianna didn’t understand what he meant.

She continued to stand awkwardly before him.

With a sigh, he continued, “It’s very difficult to look up at you when you’re standing there. My neck is starting to hurt.”Content © NôvelDrama.Org 2024.

Her cheeks grew even redder. She quickly pulled the chair out from under the table and sat down.

She didn’t know what to say, so when she saw the big book lying on the table, she asked, “Are you preparing for the entrance examination for postgrad?”

She instantly regretted it; she didn’t want to seem nosy and had too much interest in other people’s business.

The man closed the book gently and spun it around on the table so Arianna could read the title. The book was an original geological magazine.

He then looked at the book in her hands.

She reflexively tried to hide its title with her arm, though she knew she was too late. A mocking facial expression flashed across his face for a brief second.

Arianna continued to feel embarrassed. She tried to change the subject, “I thought you were a student.”

“I am.”

“Geology major?”

“Correct.”

“How are you finding it?”

“It’s alright.”

Arianna couldn’t think of any more questions to ask. They sat in silence.

“My name is Travis Cooper.” He said suddenly.

“Oh.” Her answer was short.

“You wanted to know last time.”

“Well, if you forgot, my name is Arianna Jenkins.”

“I didn’t forget.” He said with a grin.

There was a quick pause before Arianna noted, “Your name sounds like a mash-up of two superheroes.”

Seeing his puzzled look, she continued, “Do you not know the movies I’m talking about?”

“I haven’t seen them. Something about men being able to fly or having laser vision is unrealistic to me.” He said jokingly.

Arianna gave a genuine smile. When she smiled whole-heartedly, she never thought about her teeth. This made her look very naïve but also lovely.

Travis looked at her for a moment. Then, he pulled something out of his pocket and spread it across his palm, “Is this yours?

His fingers were long, and his palms were wide and thick. Her necklace rested peacefully in his hand.

A small, glimmering ruby surrounded by a gold frame was on the thin gold chain. It was a birthday gift from her grandfather. He said it was crafted in the ancient years.

Arianna’s face lit up instantly. She instinctively began to reach for it and asked, “Where did you find it?”

Travis swiftly closed his hand around the necklace before she could touch it.

He said teasingly, “Buy me a cup of coffee first.”

Arianna quickly asked, “What kind of coffee would you like?”

She was focused on his necklace-holding fist.

“Whatever.”

After leaving the table, Arianna quickly skimmed the coffee menu. Everything had student-friendly prices, which told her that the quality might be lacking. None of the options were good enough for her savior. She didn’t want him to think she had bad taste, either.

She returned to the table and said, “I know there’s an interesting coffee shop not far from here. Do you want to go there instead?”

Unexpectedly, Travis agreed without hesitation.

The other café was just one street down with a bus stop in front of it. She remembered clearly that it took three stops to get there.

Arianna would usually just take a taxi, except she was worried that he would get a bad impression of her style of spending money. He was plainly dressed and looked like a student. She didn’t want to scare him off.

So they hopped on the bus and waited for the third stop.

The café was a newly opened artisan coffee bar. All the coffee was handmade.

The young barista skilfully poured the coffee and milk into various beautiful cups and created patterns in the foam. She was also the owner of the shop.

Arianna’s latte had a delicate rose on its top, while Travis’s cup had several hearts of different sizes. The barista was casting flirty looks at Travis, which he ignored repeatedly.

Usually, the owner was cold and made the coffee without much emotion. Arianna found it hard not to start laughing at how she was behaving with Travis.

After looking around, he asked playfully, “Is this a women’s only coffee shop?”

He had a point. The employees were all women, as were the customers.

“I guess the boys haven’t realized what’s good around here.”

Travis smirked at her comment.

They took a seat side by side at the bar area in front of the windows.

He placed her necklace down on the table and said plainly, “You shouldn’t have been at that kind of place at night. Not to mention alone and drunk.”

She felt like she was being disciplined.

She argued, “That was my first time there and my first time drinking wine.”

Travis stared at her quietly. His eyes were deep blue. They reminded her of the ocean with an attractive, magical power.

Arianna didn’t like explaining herself, especially not to strangers. But she didn’t want him to see her as a frivolous girl.


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