He Deleted My Number After 972 Messages of Love Chapter 04

He Deleted My Number After 972 Messages of Love Chapter 04

The birthday party had fallen on a Friday night.

I’d thought I would dwell on Jesse deleting my contact for ages afterward, but it slipped my mind entirely after one night of sleep.

Monday morning arrived, and I stopped by the coffee cart near school as usual to grab a cup of coffee.

The owner glanced over my shoulder and teased me.

“Hey, back again with your boyfriend for your usual?”

I blinked in confusion. “What?”

I followed his line of sight and turned—locking eyes with Jesse out of nowhere.

Chloe peeked out from behind his shoulder.

“You’ve got it wrong, sir,” she said brightly.

“He’s my boyfriend.”

The owner glanced back and forth between me and Jesse.

Chloe seemed to read his unspoken confusion and smiled to explain.

“I think you had us mixed up before. Their little relationship was just a dumb Truth or Dare thing, nothing real. I’m his only girlfriend.”

The owner nodded in sudden understanding. “Kids these days, honestly.”

“Jesse brought me a coffee from here once, and it was seriously the best I’ve ever had—better than the stuff from that fancy place downtown,” Chloe went on. “I even told my dad he should order a hundred cups for his office.”

The owner waved his hands bashfully, grinning. “You really know how to sweet-talk people, don’t you?”

Chloe had always had that effortless charm. She was stunningly beautiful, born into a wealthy family but never had a stuck-up, entitled princess attitude. Outgoing and thoughtful, she was the crush of most guys in our grade, and every girl wanted to be in her friend group.

I grabbed my coffee, paid with my phone, and turned to leave.

A hand suddenly wrapped around my arm and tugged me forward.

Directly in front of me sat the large coffee urn, its contents roiling at a rolling boil, thick steam billowing upward. My arm would’ve been scalded badly if he hadn’t pulled me back.

Jesse’s grip tightened slightly around my forearm, his eyes dark and weighted with unspoken emotion.

“Haven’t you fixed that habit of not paying attention to where you’re going when you walk?”

Chloe’s smile froze for a split second.

I pulled my arm free. “Thanks.”

I walked straight past them and kept going.