forum It's cliché, but I don't care. (OxO Closed)

Started December 02, 2022 by @emilyevewrites group

tune

Alpha male bachelor (who is scared of commitment but would never admit it) flits from woman to woman until he finds one who is so genuine that he just might actually fall in love with her.

I’ll totally join this one if that’s okay. I’m pretty active as I’m stuck at home right now with a broken leg, but the only thing is that I won’t be on until Saturday evening as I will be out tomorrow. 👍🏻👍🏻 Also, I would like to stay away from any sexual themes, if that’s good with you. I’m definitely fine with kissing, hugging, things like that, but I’m gonna stay away from anything suggestive.

Yes! I’m good with all of that, but I’m sorry about your broken leg! :(

I was hoping to be the girl if you’re down with being the guy… ;)

Mhm, definitely! What’s funny is I think I have the perfect guy for this. 😂😂

Yay! Ooh, nice! You can use whatever template you want, it's fine with me. I made a character page for my girl, so I'll just link it :)

(Sounds good!)

Name: McKay Alister
Age: 27
Looks: Dark brown hair with a slight curl to it and stunning blue eyes. He’s pretty tall and lightly muscled, and he normally dressed more towards the fancy side.
Personality: Can be cocky and arrogant, and often gets his way. While sometimes he may come off as uncaring, he actually cares deeply about friends and family and is very selfless.

Oooh, he shall be an interesting pair for my Anna… Anna Clayton.

Also, quick question, what's his job? For context :)

Well, technically, in the actual book, he was a gang leader. 😂😂 But of course we’ll prolly change that. Maybe an engineer?

Sounds good! Whatever you want him to be lol. And I'm going to be completely honest… I have no idea how to start this lmao

Haha me either 😂😂 We could start at some sort of coffee shop, maybe out in the town, wherever

(Coffee shop is perfect! :))

The little bell rang throughout All City coffee when the door opened. Anna Clayton stepped through the threshold and inhaled heavily. This was her secret paradise whenever work proved to be too much or Harry was bothering her.

She approached the counter and smiled kindly at the barista. "Hi, I'll have an iced dirty chai tea latte."

"Alright!" the barista said, making a note on the cup. "Can I get a name for the order?"

"Anna," she replied, handing over her credit card.

McKay hated the taste of coffee, but for some reason, he still drank it. He never understood quite why; maybe it gave him energy to get through the tough days, or maybe it was because he secretly like its bitter taste. He figured it was the former because he only seemed to come to coffee shops on days when he was having a hard time at work.

Besides the sour taste of the coffee, McKay had to admit that he actually liked the small shop. The staff was always sweet to him, and he secretly adored the brightly colored decor and the soft music playing in the back. It made the place feel relaxing; a feeling that he craved on days like this.

“McKay?”

As the woman at the counter called his name, McKay rose to retrieve his order, and as he walked up, he almost bumped into a woman standing nearby.

Anna was barely paying enough attention to her surroundings as she checked her email for work. She was supposed to get important details on her next case today. She refreshed for the hundredth time in 60 seconds when someone came up on her so fast she had to make an attempt to sidestep to get out of their way.

She looked up at the man with arched eyebrows. Excuse you. There are other people waiting.

The barista behind the register looked hesitant to give Anna her card back. “Ma’am?”

Anna turned to face her. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry, but your card has been declined.”

The woman pursed her lips in frustration. Damn it, Harry. "Alright. I have cash." She took the card and began to dig back around in her purse for her wallet.

McKay looked at the woman and snorted. He had noticed the look she had given her, but that sparked an idea. Saying nothing was one thing, but being a gentleman and paying for her drink was another. She would definitely rethink her opinion of him.

“Here.” McKay inserted his card into the machine and smirked at her. “Don’t thank me. There’s no need for that.”

Anna’s lips parted in surprise as the man who’d nearly bumped into her beat her to the payment.

She frowned slightly while giving him an up-and-down look. “You really didn’t need to do that. I’m quite capable of paying for my own coffee.”

He returned her look before finishing up the payment and withdrawing his card. Wow. How rude. Most people would’ve enjoyed getting a free coffee, but apparently not her.

He returned her look before he snorted. “Well, your declined card says otherwise,” he replied. “And I didn’t say you weren’t capable, ma’am.”

“You have no idea,” Anna couldn’t help but mutter under her breath. It wasn’t her fault the card declined. It was her sorry excuse for an ex-husband. He’d run up all their cards gambling – again.

She offered him a fleeting smile before heading over to a vacant table to sit down and refresh her email again. Her heel bounced anxiously waiting for her coffee and the briefing.

After a brief chat with the woman at the counter, McKay returned to his spot near the fireplace, opening his computer. Quite a bit of work was due tonight, and he had barely even started on it. As he worked, McKay couldn’t help but steal a few glances over at the woman he had just helped. He knew most of the regulars as he would stop by often to chat the workers, and he knew she wasn’t one of them.

Eventually, he went back up to get another coffee before returning to his spot. Well, this was no time to start thinking about the mysterious stranger. He had things to do.

“Anna!” The barista called out. A few seconds later, she called out, “McKay!”

Anna stood up, and it took all her self-control to keep from rolling her eyes. Of course he has to get another when my drink is ready. She walked swiftly over and took her cup. “Thank you,” she said to the barista before heading back over to her table. Her phone chimed with a call, and she looked at it quickly. Her expression deadpanned at the name on her screen, but she steeled herself and answered it anyway. “Hello?”

McKay returned to his work and watched Anna briefly as she answered her phone. Her reaction to whoever it was didn’t seem like a good one, and he couldn’t help but keep his eyes on her a little longer as she spoke to whoever was on the other end. McKay didn’t want to eavesdrop, of course, but he couldn’t help that he was slightly curious.

“Yes, I used the card,” Anna muttered into the phone, trying to talk as quietly as possible and draw little attention to herself. Whatever the reply was, however, seemed to piss her off further. “It’s my card, Harry. You shouldn’t even be using it anymore.” She waited another moment before rolling her eyes. “Yes.” Another pause. “No.” A short pause. “No! Absolutely not!” A longer pause, then Anna sighed. “Stop it,” she muttered. “It’s over. Stop.”

With that, she hung up and very briefly looked defeated before collecting herself and taking a sip of her drink.

McKay couldn’t resist walking over to her. He didn’t want to make her more irritated with him, of course, but he hadn’t met one person in this coffee shop yet that he wasn’t able to get along with. He didn’t want her to be the first.

“That phone call sounded… rough,” he said. “Ex troubles?”

Anna looked up quickly, then back down. “Oh, it’s you,” she said, not meaning for it to come out of her mouth. Shit.

But she reluctantly sighed. Maybe he is just doing it out of kindness. “I suppose you could call it that,” she said, her eyes lifting to study his face. He isn’t too terribly bad to look at.

“Doesn’t sound like much fun,” he replied. “And let me guess. He’s the reason your card declined?”

McKay snorted. He’d never had an ex; in fact, he’d never had a steady girlfriend, so he couldn’t relate. Relationships always seemed to end with a scenario like this.

“It’s not,” Anna admitted in reluctant agreement. “And yes, he is. I told you I was capable of paying for my own coffee.”

Maybe it wasn’t fair that she was taking out her pent-up frustration on him. She hadn’t meant to. It was just the perfect storm.

The important email from Nathan hadn’t come through yet, Harry was out running up her credit card so much so that she couldn’t even buy coffee, and Daisy continued pestering her to be enrolled at a private girls' school that apparently all of her friends were transferring to next semester and Anna would barely be able to afford.

Needless to say, the woman was stretched to a point of near-breaking.

“I’m sorry,” she finally said, looking up at him with a genuinely apologetic expression. “I didn’t mean to be blunt earlier.”