Page 4 of Atlas Uncharted

Kairi: Definitely! Let’s meet up later this week.

My food arrived just as someone slid into the seat across from me. I looked up, startled, to see Atlas, his green eyes fixed on me.

“Morning, Kairi,” he said, pronouncing my name with surprising accuracy.

“Hey,” I replied, keeping my tone neutral—not exactly eager to encourage conversation.

“I saw you running this morning,” he said, leaning back in his chair like he owned the place. “I was out for a jog too. I followed you.”

Before I could process the strangeness of his words, he kept talking.

“How’s Ashlen?” he asked.

“Still sleeping, I think,” I said, forcing a small smile. “She was pretty wrecked after the party.”

He chuckled, a low, rich sound that seemed to fill the space between us. “Yeah, she definitely knows how to have a good time.”

There was a beat of awkward silence, the kind that makes you hyper-aware of every little thing. Which was why I knew he stared at me the entire time—studying me like he was trying to fit me into a shape that made sense to him. I told myself it wasnothing, that I wasn’t affected, but my pulse was skipping like double Dutch. This was too much for me. He was starting to fray my nerves.

I opened my mouth to excuse myself, but he cut me off.

“So,” he said, leaning forward, his gaze narrowing like he was trying to see something beneath the surface, “I was wondering if you’d like to hang out sometime.”

I blinked, trying to wrap my head around why in the hell he would want that. “Why?”

He shrugged, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth like he was in on some joke I didn’t get. “I like talking to you. You’re interesting. We should be friends.”

“Interesting how?” I asked, genuinely curious despite myself.

“For starters, you don’t fall all over yourself around me,” he said, like it was something that bored him now. “Most women do.”

I frowned, tilting my head at him. “You’re cocky, huh?”

He chuckled again, nodding like it was something to be proud of. “And you’re honest, like with the Hemingway thing.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, some of the tension easing out of my shoulders. “Well, I’m not about to pretend to like something just to impress someone.”

“That’s what I like about you,” he said, his eyes locking onto mine. “We really should hang out.” He held my gaze, like he was trying to hypnotize me into saying yes.

And it worked.

“Okay,” I said, surprising myself with how easily it came out.

He grinned, and for a split second, there was something almost predatory in his eyes, like he’d just won something. “Great. How about dinner tomorrow night?”

“Um,” I hesitated.

He frowned. “Don’t tell me no,” he said, very assertively. To the point I felt like I couldn’t say no.

“Okay. You can text Ashlen the info, and we’ll meet you,” I replied.

Atlas leaned in just a little, his face fully serious for the first time since I’d met him. His fingers drummed lightly on the table between us, his eyes never leaving mine. “No Ashlen. Just you and me.”

I blinked, my brain tripping over itself to process what he was saying. He was still watching me, waiting.

“I—” I started, then stopped. Why was he asking me this?

“You scared?” he teased, his voice smooth, dipping just enough to make my stomach flip.

---