chris miles.

Cannes 2025

The affectionate term caused a twitch in her stomach, and had she had the capacity to, she could've worked out he wasn't just talking shit. But unfortunately, she couldn't focus on anything bar her emotions. Maia had always struggled with control since being turned, not just because of the way she'd been turned but also because she was without a pack and anchor to keep her grounded. The smallest of things could set her off, so something this important to her was near overwhelming. And clearly he was more important to her than she'd even realised — he'd given her excitement and hope, and now he'd gone and taken it away. "Okay then," she cleared her throat. "You sure? We've got a two-for-one deal going tonight. Helps get the love flowing, apparently."

Despite his ignorance in regards to everything else, Chris did notice that Maia wasn't receiving his compliments in her usual manner, and he then began to wonder if something had upset her. Hopefully it wasn't something he'd done, but their exchanged texts had been nothing if not playful, flirtatious. She also seemed like the type of woman who'd be direct if he'd pissed her off. Which he liked. So he persisted, kept the smile on his face, leaning further forwards on the bar so that he felt closer to her. "Oh yeah? Good deal, that is." He actually had money to spare tonight, too, having saved in advance. She deserved to be spoiled. "Well, Maia, that depends. Is it going to help get the love flowing between us?" Chris tilted his head, trying to catch her eye. "Or am I going to have to wait until after your shift finishes so I can take you out and treat you properly, like a real lady deserves?"

She shook her head at him, laughing again. Their conversation hadn’t gone where she’d expected, and even though that didn’t bother her, she had to wonder why it didn’t. Taking the time to watch him, she pretended to look busy for a moment, holding up a finger in apology before washing out some glasses. She realised suddenly that he wasn’t a typical pretty boy, out for attention and a good time. She could never trust those. In fact, Chris seemed anything but, which only made her nervous. “Your charming comments aside,” she finally replied with a shrug, “I guess he just wasn’t thinking like you. Logic seems to go out the window when it comes to dudes and drinks. Though I’d consider that their truest selves.” Noticing the emoji, she smiled before pocketing her phone again, making sure to meet his eye. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt herself willing to give it a shot. “Hey. Cross my heart.”

“Who’s counting?” She winked, gathering some more discarded glasses. “Oh, you’ve got that right. I’m super fun. What do ya wanna know, Mr Sunglasses Emoji?”

He watched her as she worked, entirely captivated. How someone as gorgeous and charismatic as her was still single baffled Chris, but he was far from complaining. It would be a privilege to even be rejected by her. With that in mind, he promised himself to pursue this, regardless of the outcome. Her kindness was inspiring. “That it does, babe. That it does. I think some blokes take themselves too serious. ‘Ain’t always gotta’ be a squabble and a kick-off. Some twats just need to learn how to live in the moment, and enjoy things.” Chris smiled back at her, already keen to speak to her over the phone despite not having left yet. He did wonder whether or not she’d actually call, but she didn’t seem like the kind to break a promise. 

“Shockingly, no. And it was still pretty awful.” It had worked, though. It had made her laugh, and that only made her like him more. “Not all, thankfully, but it’s not unusual, no. They usually either want free drinks, or to get me drunk.” Realising she was now doing both with Chris, she explained further. “It's different with you. I can hear your heart. You don't want to trick me. Plus, you don't make me want to punch you in the mouth,” Maia shrugged, deciding to be honest, trusting in her instinct. Then she sighed at his challenge. “Alright then. Hm. I think… one of my favourites was ‘there must be something wrong with my eyes, because I can’t take them off you.’” Maia rolled her own eyes at the memory. “He looked away pretty fast when I offered to take them out of his skull.” Uncrossing her arms, she pulled her phone out of her pocket, pulling up the dial screen. “You realise that makes no sense, right?” She grinned, passing him her phone. “Just put your number in, dork.”

“I mean, I can’t take mine off you. But that doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with ‘em, in fact, it means they’re working fine. Why wouldn’t I wanna’ look at you? Pretty shit line, that one. And that’s comin’ from me.” Chris laughed at the threat she mentioned, making a mental note not to get on her bad side. Then again, he imagined he’d quite like seeing her feisty; having her tell him off. Winking, he took her phone, putting in his own number, and adding the sunglasses emoji to his contact name. “Promise me you won’t leave me hangin’.”

She expelled another small laugh, shaking her head a little at his enthusiasm for alcohol. Although, they were in a bar, so she couldn’t argue. “Sure, that’s one way to do it.” Maia opened her mouth to greet him properly when he continued on with a pretty awful pick-up line, one that made her laugh all over again. “Wow. That was – I mean, wow. Just when I thought I’d heard them all.” Still, she’d never heard them from a guy like this. In just a few minutes, Chris had made her laugh a countless number of times, and not once had she felt pressured or uncomfortable. “But alright,” she decided with a shy smile, deciding to be bold, follow her gut. “If you’re being serious, then I guess I’d be up for doing both.”

She considered his request as she watched him take the shot, absentmindedly wiping out a glass. She was sure she wouldn’t get fired, especially since Kev wasn’t around. Not that he seemed like the firing type anyway. As long as Maia stayed behind the bar, she decided it would be fine. It wasn’t like she’d feel the effects from one drink either. “Alright, Chris. You’re on.” Without hesitation, she lifted the fourth shot, pressed it against his in cheers and downed it.

“You ain’t heard that one before?” Chris raised his eyebrows, glad he’d hit her with some original material. He couldn’t remember where he himself had heard it, but if it wasn’t common, maybe it might just work. Or put her off, but he’d always been one for taking a chance. “Not surprised you’ve heard a lot of ‘em, though, you probably get all the lads hittin’ on you here. C’mon then, tell us what others ones you’ve heard. I wanna’ hear ‘em all. Might just add them to my own collection.” But after a moment, he realised how she’d responded to his line — positively. “Yeah?” He couldn’t avoid smirking, wondering how on earth someone as pretty as this was giving him the time of day. Usually the women he fancied weren’t so… out of his league. “Alright, then. Lets hear your number, since you’re up for callin’ me.”