Rey tried her best to take steady steps as she headed towards the table while trying to convince herself not to stare at his face for too long. It was hard. The only thoughts that grounded her were ones about how she would only feel more alone if anything between them ended up poorly. After what felt like hours, she finally reached the table.

Any coherent words that could have been said were cut off by the loud scraping of Kylo's chair as he shoved it back and stood up. Rey wondered if he stole a glance at her and decided he wanted to leave rather than talk. To her surprise, he took one stride closer to her. She waited in anticipation. Almost hoping for him to make a move that would reciprocate any type of feeling similar to the ones she locked inside. No such luck. Following a moment of them standing there awkwardly, he simply grabbed her chair and pulled it out roughly in a nervous manner. It was a polite gesture, but it got her hopes up all the same. She sat down as he made his way back to his seat across the table.

"Um...Hey." Another awkward moment passed. Rey filled with dread when she realized that she may have to suffer through this breakfast. Despite what Rose said about him having a job in Human Resources, it sure didn't seem like he had very many social skills. Then again, she wasn't using hers right now either. "I know I apologized last night, but I don't know how else to show how sorry I am." Kylo looked somewhat annoyed at her repeated apology. That only shot annoyance through Rey because at least she was trying to talk to this man.

"How did you get here?"

"Oh, okay, straight to the point." Rey felt the need to roll her eyes. The attraction she felt for him physically, and then mentally at the hospital was being replaced by knowing that Kylo had no patience to deal with her.

"What other way is there?"

She could think of a bunch of other ways that weren't so rude and included pleasantries.

"I suppose you're right. I took the bus."

Alarm swiftly replaced the annoyance.

"The bus?! I could've picked you up instead!" Disgust and a touch of possessiveness laced his words as if taking the bus was a personal offense.

"Well it's a little late now. Speaking of getting to the point... how do you want me to pay for the damages to your car." She was losing patience with him. She didn't need him to drive her everywhere. It was her fault that her car was the way it was, and she would suffer the consequences.

He seemed taken aback by her strong opposition to him picking her up. It infuriated Rey even more. His arrogance radiated off of him and took form in controlling her reactions to his statements.

"My insurance will cover it, so there's no need to pay me anything." This confused Rey.

"Then what was necessary about meeting with me rather than saying that over the phone?" Her excitement from wanting to see him earlier this morning had gone to dust, and now she was counting down the seconds until she could leave. He was a pretty face, but Rey was starting to not like his seemingly possessive, egotistical attitude. She took a deep breath at seeing the "loss for words" look on his face. "Sorry, I guess I'm just shaken up from last night." Or, you just really get on her nerves.

"It's—It's okay. So how do you plan on paying for your car?" Rey knew that they had settled on the wreck being her fault last night, so she expected that he wouldn't offer to pay for her car.

"I don't have enough money to pay for a new car if needed, so it all depends on the condition of it." Kylo's lips twitched slightly at the honesty about her money.

"Do you mind if I go with you?"

"What?"

"To the salvage yard to look at your car." Kylo said this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I guess. What for?" Curiosity got the best of her, and she figured she could at least stand him for a while longer.

• • •

"I'm into cars." 'I'm into cars.' Really? Why'd he have to say that. He supposes it was better than saying his true motive of going with her.

What he really wanted to do was offer her an internship at the First Order to pay for the damaged car. Leia had told him that she was majoring in Human Resources, and this would be a great way to get to know her.

"You are?" She visibly sat up a little straighter. This gave him hope. The whole conversation wasn't going great, (probably due to him he thinks) but she actually seemed to like talking about cars.

"Yeah. I don't know everything there is to know, but I definitely appreciate them." It was true. He learned a lot about cars and mechanics from his father to gain an interest, but his focus was always on other things

She smiled beautiful and sunny just for him, and it made his heart squeeze and start accelerating.

"I know a good amount. Or at least I hope I do because I have a minor in electrical engineering which should get me through the basics. I always do appreciate people who appreciate cars though." To his relief, the conversation's tone lifted lightly. He could also almost see a touch of hope in her eyes as he slowly redeemed himself from earlier in the conversation.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. I have a feeling today won't be the last day we see each other." Kylo didn't know why he felt that way, but it was better to be honest with her.

Rey's head tilted slightly in an adorable way. Kylo had no idea what she was thinking, but he hoped she agreed with his statement.

"Me too."

Rey went ahead and order a coffee during the break in the conversation. She got a green tea. It seemed to fit her. Kylo ordered a black coffee and by the expression on Rey's face, she wasn't very surprised.

"Black coffee suits you."

He look up from his drink and smiled.

"I could say the same for you. Ordering a tea, I mean."

Now that the initial awkwardness had been settled, the conversation moved more freely. Kylo figured this was a good opportunity to ask if she had a job already. Leia said no, but he guessed there was no harm in checking.

"I assume that the school year just ended? It's around that time of year, I think. It has been few years, so I'm not completely sure. Anyway, do you have any potential jobs lined up?"

"No jobs, but it's only been a few years since you graduated college?!" Rey emphasized 'a few years'.

Kylo almost choked on his coffee and coughed before he looked incredulously at her.

"Do you really think I'm that old?"

Her eyes widened.

"No! I just— well Rose told me that you're the Chief HR officer at the First Order. I guess I was just surprised that someone who's so young turned out to be so successful this quickly. It's basically my dream job, and you did it in 'only a few years'." Rey looked at him in awe.

Kylo gloated inside because he impressed her. That was quite an accomplishment in his book. He still didn't understand all of the feelings he felt around her, but he was starting to figure them out. The next step was what to do with them.

• • •

The attraction came back in a flash. So what if he was a little arrogant. Every guy can be like that. The only thing is, this one likes cars and has her dream job. He appeared to be the perfect match for her. She could stand his arrogance as long as he could stand hers. They truly weren't that different. Her strong opposition to being more than friends started to fade, but she would stick with being friends first.

"It took hard work, but so does every job. I can tell that you have a sense of perseverance and will do whatever it takes to be successful." He pretty much analyzed her correctly, except for the part about doing 'whatever it takes'. Admittedly, she would do a lot to be successful, but not at the expense of others.

"I can imagine that you must have worked very hard for your position. I admire you for that."

Rey watched as Kylo's cheeks blushed to a lovely pink because of her compliment. It made her want to compliment him more and more.

"Thank you." His face opened into a handsome lopsided grin.

Throughout their talk, their cups had been drained and now sat empty.

"I'll go pay for these." Kylo stood up and Rey was shocked at his tall figure that she hadn't noticed before now. He towered over everyone in the shop, but especially her. Despite the intimidation at first, she quickly recovered and reached for her wallet.

"No, that's okay. I appreciate it, but I can manage." Kylo's eyes darkened in a dangerous way.

"No, I'll pay." It was made as a demand rather than a request to pay her bill. Rey, as independent as ever, could not accept the kind gesture that was in favor of his controlling nature.

"My drink, my money." She insisted even though it was very clear that Kylo didn't want her to pay. She continued to reach for her wallet, completely ignorant of how mad he was getting over this situation.

"Rey," he grabbed the wrist that reached for her wallet in a tight grip. His voice lowered to a whisper as he leaned near her ear. "I said that I would pay. Now kindly let me do this."

The pressure on her wrist combined with his breath on her ear went straight to her stomach to disrupt the butterflies that had settled peacefully. Peace was nonexistent as the butterflies raced around and increased her heartbeat. Rey was paralyzed and could only whisper a meek response.

"Okay, whatever you want." Right after she said that, she snapped out of her reverie and gained control over her motor skills again. "As long as I get to pay next time." She smirked, satisfied with herself.

Kylo let out a frustrated, strangled noise similar to a growl and sent Rey right back into that submissive mode.

"We'll see."