CHAPTER 5

"Can we get ice cream right now, please?" Giovanni begged Jayla, who looked annoyed. He was desperate for ice cream like a kid.

"Sure, let's get ice cream," she said, watching him grin.

"Great, then let me call my brother to drive us there," he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"Don't bother him. Call someone else," she said. She didn't want to see Max. It felt like she should avoid him.

"My car is broken, and he owes me, so..."

"What did he even do to you?" she sighed.

"I just caught him doing something dangerous," he smirked. Jayla couldn't help but be curious about it. She thought maybe Max was doing something illegal, which would explain why he always had a dark vibe.

"Hmm, alright, I guess," she said slowly as she looked at the students. They were standing in front of the school while Giovanni tried calling his brother. Jayla stared at the stadium behind the school, and she saw people playing soccer. She walked toward the stadium with curiosity and watched a person who was really good.

She noticed Nolan and waved at him when he looked at her. He gave her a smirk while running beside his friend, Tanner. Then suddenly, someone tripped Tanner in front of Nolan, who also fell.

Jayla looked at the person who did it and saw Max, who took the ball from them and scored a goal. She didn't acknowledge him. His teammate cheered and yelled while Max scowled, glaring at Jayla.

"Oh, here is Max. Let's wait for him, then," Giovanni said as he grabbed her arms and dragged her toward the bench. Jayla couldn't understand why Max was glaring at her. Did she do anything wrong?

"Hey, princess," Nolan said, coming toward Jayla with a smile.

"Nolan, are you okay?" she asked, referring to the accident.

"I'm fine, princess." He chuckled and winked at her. She sighed in relief.

"What about me? Nobody cares about me," Tanner whined behind Nolan.

"I care about you, Tanner. No worries." She rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"Max, over here!" Giovanni said. Jayla's eyes widened when she saw Max taking off his sweaty shirt. She blushed and looked away from him.

"Gosh, he looks so hot with those abs. Yum," Jayla thought before she shook off her dirty thoughts about him and tried to move her eyes to the coach's butt.

"Why are you staring at the coach's butt? Jayla, don't tell me that you have a crush on—"

"Shut the fuck up, Tanner! I don't have a crush on your coach who is 36," she hissed at him.

"If you do have a crush on him, you can always ask me for his information!" he said after running off towards the main school building. Jayla gritted her teeth and heard Gio and Nolan laugh. Max was still scowling for no reason.

"Hey, I'm going to go. See you later, princess," Nolan said to Jayla, who waved and smiled softly at him.

"Well, Max, we've been waiting for you!" Giovanni groaned.

"I had training. Besides, Cole could have taken you there," Max said, still staring at Jayla. She was feeling nervous under his stare.

"Why should Cole take me when I have you? Take a shower. You stink!" he said and threw a clean shirt to Max, who caught it.

"Respect, brother," he growled.

"Doesn't he get mad when you disrespect him?" she asked once Max left them alone.

"He does, but do I care?" He shrugged, and they both watched the pretty sunset from the stadium. It was beautiful.

"Let's go. I don't have a lot of free time!" Max said. Giovanni nodded and grabbed Jayla's hand to go downstairs.

Max glared at their linked hands. Giovanni saw the glare and let her hand go. Jayla grew confused as she saw Giovanni walking away. She felt a cold and strong hand grip hers.

She looked and saw that it was Max's hand. He looked like he was blushing but turned his head away from her.

"I wanted to feel the warmth; that's all," he said to clarify things.

"Do whatever you want." She shrugged. She didn't mind him taking her hand. It felt great, and their hands fit well together.

"Let's go. Gio is waiting for us."

***

"What do you guys want?" Max asked as soon as they sat at a table. Jayla picked up a menu and chose her ice cream.

"I want cookie dough!" Giovanni said, moving happily in his chair.

"Stop fucking moving! What about you?" he asked Jayla.

"I will get a mango ice cream," she said, taking out her wallet.

"What are you doing?" Max asked her coldly.

"I'm taking out my wallet to pay for my ice cream," she said. She didn't want anyone to pay for her ice cream. She had money thanks to her work.

"Put it back," he commanded and narrowed his eyes at her.

"But—"

"Don't ask any questions. I said, put it back," he said sternly, and she put her wallet back in her bag.

"Hey, what can I get for you?" a waitress asked. She was holding a notepad and a pencil in her hand and was lustfully staring at Max.

"We would like a black coffee, a mango ice cream, and a cookie dough ice cream," he replied.

"Alright, will that be all?" she asked, and he nodded. She smirked at Max, turned toward Jayla, and gave her the stink eye.

"Who the fuck is this bitch?" Giovanni spat, glaring at her back. Jayla sighed and frowned as she remembered how the woman seduced Max. It almost made her jealous even though she shouldn't be because he wasn't her boyfriend or lover.

"Forget about it." Max rolled his eyes; Jayla looked at him with surprise. Maybe he wanted her? Or maybe they knew each other and were dating in secret?

"Jayla, I've been talking to you! What's wrong with you?" Giovanni asked her, snapping his fingers to catch her attention.

"Uh, nothing, I'm alright," she said. She looked ahead and accidentally met Max's eyes. He was smirking.

"Anyway, the biology test was so hard yesterday," Giovanni whined.

"It wasn't that hard."

"No, it was, Jayla."

"Well, you shouldn't take biology then," Max shrugged.

"Lucky you and your smart brain," Gio snarled.

"I wonder how we are brothers?" Max mocked as he played with his phone, twirling it on the table.

"Alright, before this gets bad, let's just talk about what you guys are doing next week?" Jayla stepped in, calming the tension.

"Well, we are going to a music festival that our friend is organizing. Do you want to go?" Giovanni suggested to Jayla, who nodded.

"Perfect! I'm going too. With my brother."

"Well, I can't because I have work," Max sighed as he looked at his phone, bored.

"Is it really hard to be a senior?" she asked Max quietly, but he heard her perfectly.

"It's alright. I just have other work. The boys and I have to go to the garage to fix some cars," he said with a proud smile.

"Oh, cars! I love them!" she exclaimed with happiness. Max grinned since they already had something in common, a special thing between them. He had asked her brother what she liked and disliked so that he could know more about her. He needed to know what kind of woman she was. And surprisingly, he ended up with the woman he wished to have, which was great for him.

There was just one thing stopping him: How was he supposed to speak to her and be friends with her?

He was only cold toward everyone because he was the ruthless Alpha and the soon-to-be king. He needed to be cold and powerful to show his world that they needed him. He needed them.

Now, he was supposed to be gentler toward his mate. He regretted it whenever he glared at her. He wasn't angry with her. He was just…jealous.

"Gio, can you go get our orders?" Max said to Gio, who complied. As soon as he left the table, Max turned to Jayla, who was looking down and being shy again.

"Jayla…"

"Yes?" She lifted her head quickly.

"I'm sorry," he started.

"What for?" She frowned.

"The attitude I have towards you. I've been so cold, and I'm always glaring at you, but it's not your fault, I promise. It's just me being cold and evil. I'm sorry for everything, and I hope we can be friends?" he ranted on and finished with a deep sigh.

"Max, it's okay. I don't mind it." She smiled gently as she tilted her head.

"So, do you forgive me?" he asked with a sheepish grin.

"Of course, I do." She rolled her eyes playfully, giggling.

"I thought you were never going to forgive me," he chuckled.

He watched as his mate laughed freely. He loved her laugh, her voice, her soft, tempting lips, and her grey eyes. Everything about her was beautiful. She was a goddess.

"You are gorgeous, Jayla," he complimented her, which made her stop laughing. She looked down in embarrassment, blushing furiously. It was now time for Max to laugh as he stretched his arm out.

"Thanks, I could say the same to you," she whispered.

"I know. I'm handsome, duh," he smirked arrogantly. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"I never should've said that."

"Hey! I'm back!" Giovanni yelled as he came back with the coffee and two ice creams. He gave Max the coffee and Jayla the mango ice cream.

"So, what did you guys do while I was grabbing our orders?" he asked as he picked up his spoon and took a bite.

"We talked, and I forgave him," Jayla said.

"Yeah, you heard that right!" Max smirked. He was able to show his brother that he was capable of being nice and thankful, but only for his mate.

Giovanni rolled his eyes while Jayla chuckled.

"Oh, it's time for me to go home!" she said after looking at her watch. It was 9 p.m.

"Let me drop you off at home. Gio can take a cab," Max said, standing up.

"Wait! What?"

"Shut the fuck up, little elf! You have to patrol the perimeter anyway," Max said in his mind link with Giovanni.

"Oh, yeah. No worries. I will take a cab," Giovanni chuckled forcefully.

"You sure?" she asked with uncertainty.

"Absolutely! See you tomorrow, Jayla," he said after running outside in a hurry. He wasn't going to take a cab anyway.

"Well, let's go," Max said, grabbing his bag.

***

"Thanks, by the way," Jayla said when Max stopped in front of her house. Her house had lights on, which meant that her brother was expecting her to come home. Max had called him earlier to tell him that they were going for ice cream with Giovanni, and Jayla's brother laughed and mocked him.

"I promised your brother to drive you home, so it's okay," he said, letting go of the steering wheel.

"Well, it's been fun," she sighed, holding her backpack close to her chest.

"l had fun too, thanks to you," he smiled genuinely as he looked at his mate, blushing.

"See you tomorrow, then," she said and opened the door of his car to get out.

"Bye, Jayla," he said. After she got out of the car, he sighed and relaxed the back of his head against the headrest.

"Fuck."

He couldn't help but think about his mate licking the ice cream. She was teasing him with her tongue without knowing. She was innocent.

He had a hard time controlling himself. He wanted to bend her over the table and fuck her senselessly.

The first step was already done. He was friendly with her, and now it was time to show her that he was interested in her.

He couldn't wait to tell her his identity and why he wanted to be friends with her.