The morning after the fight, Riley was sitting down to breakfast with Noah, who still couldn't wipe the smile off his face after last night's victory. On the other side of things, Jason was gloomy in the kitchen over the frypan as he finished up the last of the bacon.
"It's not that I'm not happy you won," said Jason, placing the plate on the counter in front of them as he pulled a heap of bacon onto his own plate.
"You just wish I didn't hit his face so hard," smiled Noah. "The bruises will fade and you'll have your pretty little man back in no time," Noah said as he ripped into a piece of bacon.
That was true. The bruises would fade in time, but it wasn't like Noah escaped unscathed as well. He had a purple bruise on the corner of his jaw and every time he moved, he winced slightly and clutched his side. They worked each other over quite well.
Riley finished her breakfast with the others before grabbing her bag and heading out to the car. Noah was going to drop her off this morning, bright and early for her shift at the coffee shop.
"Don't forget," said Noah as they pulled up to the campus, in gaze on her turning serious. "You're grounded. Jason will be back here this afternoon to pick you up after your last class."
She rolled her eyes, stepping out of the car and ignoring the deathly stares he directed at her. "Yeah yeah," she said, waving Noah off and heading for her morning shift.
The nerves in her stomach were swirling around more than usual this morning as she remembered the study session she had planned mid-morning with Kain. There was something about him that just put your body on edge. And she wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing.
Pushing open the door to the coffee shop, she heard the bell chime on the door before walking behind the counter to pick up her apron. "Morning Ian," she said to her co-worker as he hunched himself over, cleaning out the machine.
He grumbled back a response before heading back to whatever it was he was doing. Her co-worker definitely wasn't a morning person.
The hustle and bustle of the coffee shop increased as more customers flooded in, keeping her run off her feet for most of the morning. It wasn't until the crowd started to die down a few hours later that she took in a deep breath and finally paused, leaning against the counter. Brushing away her now messy hair that was sticking to her face, her eyes glanced over the shop and it was for the first time that she noticed him.
Sitting in his usual corner, eyes downcast with one arm propped up over the edge of the booth and the other propping up a newspaper, was Kain. The angle he was sitting in had his legs positioned slightly outside of the booth, one propped up over the other, and his arm hanging over the booth caused his shirt to stretch tight over his torso, showcasing his athletic form. The sleeves of his light grey shirt were rolled up over his forearms, as his strong muscular arms flexed with the turn of the page.
Riley nervously pushed her back and tied it up into a rough, messy bun on the top of her head. It may not have been the greatest looking hairstyle, but at least it was practical and off her neck, which was sticky and hot from standing next to the constant brewing coffee machine.
"I'm finishing up now if that's alright," she called back to her boss Bridget who was standing behind the till.
"Not a problem, love. Thanks for today. You've been a real lifesaver around here."
Riley blushed. It was rare for her to receive a compliment, but she smiled back politely. "Of course. Do you mind if I grab a couple of coffees? Kain and I were going to study at the booth, if that's okay?" She pointed over to Kain, who was still engrossed in his newspaper.
"Of course. Feel free. Ian has just taken off though, so do you mind helping yourself? It's on the house. We'll call it training. Only you two will have to be the guinea pigs," she said with a laugh.
"Thanks," giggled back Riley, even though she wasn't too keen on having Kain being the guinea pig to her coffee experiences. If it was anything like her cooking, they were doomed. She popped behind the counter to the coffee machine, starting it up. She hadn't used the machine that much, but her co-worker, although a bit of a grouch, had taught her the basics.
She poured two cups of coffee, making sure to get Kain's order correct. He came into the coffee shop almost everyday so it wasn't too hard for her to remember his order. He made sure that she didn't forget it.
Once the orders were complete, she picked up the mugs and walked carefully over to Kain, making sure not to trip and spill the coffees. As she approached, he placed down his newspaper, pushing it to one side as she placed the mug in front of him.
"Long black, extra shot of espresso," said Riley as she sat down on the opposite seat, pulling her own mug to her lips and taking a sip before Kain, just in case it was an absolute disaster as she had to pry it from him hands.
Not bad, she thought of her own coffee making skills as the steam continued to rise from her cup. Much better than her cooking skills. This would do. This would definitely make do.
"Thank you," said Kain, lifting his own mug up and taking a sip. His eyes widened for a moment before he lowered his cup, then proceeded to lift his finger to his bottom lip, tenderly wiping a droplet of liquid from the corner of his mouth. He briefly licked his finger clean of the excess coffee before lowering his hand again to his mug.
Kain took another sip. "This coffee is different today."
Riley looked nervously down at her own mug. She didn't think it tasted that bad, but then again she was more used to instant coffee at home. "I'm sorry. Ian already clocked off, so I just whipped these up. If you want another cup, I'm sure I can get Bridget to make you one."
Kain looked up from his coffee, staring curiously at Riley. "No," said Kain. "It's actually pretty good."
Riley laughed. "You don't have to be nice, Kain. It's not your style."
"You think I would be nice to you on purpose?" Kain grinned. "But seriously, this is good coffee."
She didn't know what to say to the compliment and instead got up from her seat to grab her study books. "I'll just grab my bag. We're still on the study session, right?" she said nervously, hoping he hadn't decided to back out, even though she told him he could. She really needed to pass this exam.
Kain nodded, leaving Riley to disappear out the back to grab her bag from her locker. When she returned, she found Kain's mug of coffee already finished and she wondered how he could remain so calm with that much caffeine in his system.
Riley placed her bag on the table and, after getting Kain another coffee, to his insistence, she grabbed her laptop, placing it on the table in front while she shoved her bag down onto the seat next to her.
"So, which area are you struggling with?" said Kain.
"I'm having trouble understanding the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act," said Riley as she pulled up her notes on her screen.
Kain opened up his notebook, flicking through a couple of pages as his long fingers skimmed down the lines on the page. "Here," he said, stopping at a line halfway down the page and leaning forward closer to Riley.
"It's related to the 2018 Owens vs Owens case. But before we get to that, you'll want to look at the Griswold vs Connecticut case, as I'm positive that will be on the exam."
Kain went on, explaining all the questions she asked and reiterating items which he was certain were going to be on the exam. His professionalism surprised her a bit as his notes looked prepared for this study session.
It wasn't at all what she expected from him with their usual tension and self loathing simmering in the air. And she was almost positive that he would have aimed to finish up the study session as fast as he could so he could simply get away from her.
Yet still, he sat with her with an air of calmness she had only ever witnessed from afar and didn't seem at all impatient to leave.
It was only when Kain started his third cup of coffee forty minutes later, with Riley on her second, that their conversation turned to the beginnings of a heated argument.
"I just don't understand, though," claimed Riley. "If the state sees both parents as having responsibility to their children, then why are there so many cases where one parent is granted sole custody?"
"It's to protect the child from harm," argued Kain.
"But not all parents will harm their children, so why is it most of the time sole custody? Shouldn't it be joint custody with equal delegation of responsibility?"
Kain stood up from his seat, frazzled as he leaned over his notebook, running his hand through his hair. "I told you. There are different types of sole custody, both physical and legal. This is nothing to do with joint custody, that's a separate section."
"But why is it unrelated?"
"We went through this already," huffed out Kain, running his hand through his hair. "God, you are infuriating."
"Well, you're not explaining it properly."
"And maybe you're not smart enough to understand it," said Kain, grabbing his notebook from between Riley's fingers and yanking it away from her.
In the haste of the action, the edge of the notebook clipped the side of the newly poured steaming hot coffee. The coffee mug toppled over with a clash as it sent boiling hot coffee directly over Riley's hand.
She hissed in pain as she drew her hand back to her chest with the burning hot liquid seeping painfully into her skin.
"Shit," said Kain as he rummaged frantically through his bag before pulling out a bottle of water and twisting off the top as he threw it carelessly on the table.
"Here," he said, grabbing Riley's wrist and pulling it forward.
She pulled her wrist back towards her chest and out of his grasp, glaring up at him.
"Please let me help," said Kain, staring into her eyes as a flash of panic crossed his face. "It'll blister if you don't treat it."
Riley hesitantly put her hand forward, which was searing with pain. The pain part was at least something she was used to. People helping her when she was in pain was not.
Kain grabbed her hand in his and slid out of the booth, placing their hands past the edge of the table, then slowly poured the water over the burn. Immediately, there was a feeling of relief as the cool water hit her burnt skin and the fire in her hand turned to a dull, cool ache. The water cascaded over both of their hands, dripping onto the floor as Riley's hand rested on top of his.
He knelt down next to her as the water pooled on the floor below, not caring that he was kneeling in the ever-growing puddle of water at their feet. His attention was on her hand as he continued to pour the water over the burn.
She felt the feeling of his soft, yet powerful hand in hers and soon the pain was long forgotten as she felt the heat rising between their hands, despite the fact that the cool water should have dissipated any notion of heat between them at all. She was fixated on his hands and the gentleness of his thumb gliding ever so softly over the corner of her wrist.
When the water bottle was empty, Kain gazed up into Riley's eyes, locking on to hers in an instance as her heart skipped a beat and she drowned into the intense blue eyes before her.
There she was, locked hand in hand with Kain, who would have looked to anyone from a distance as though he were proposing, down on one knee, staring up at her while she sat still on the edge of the booth.
And for a split moment, she forgot about their arguments, forgot about the childish side of Kain who did everything in power to infuriate her. All she saw in its place was the kindness and strength she desperately wished she had all those years ago while in the clutches of her step-father.
She felt safe. But not only that. There was a feeling of burning desire that she had never felt before. And it was rising from the deepest pits of her stomach, lingering and fluttering around inside her. She couldn't pinpoint it, but something was changing. Her feelings towards Kain were changing, and this was not what she had planned.
No way in hell.