Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Henry

IT'S AROUND THE time when I make a latte instead of a mocha that I realize I might be distracted. I apologize profusely and set the drink aside before starting on a new one. Luckily, the customer is a regular, and she accepts my fumble with more grace than I deserve.

Seriously, I have been off my game all day. It's Monday, two days after my hike with Alex, and I'm kind of, maybe, definitely still thinking about it. A lot. So much that I mess up simple drink orders during the busiest part of the morning.

Fortunately, this is the rare Monday when I have Sebastian, the other adult employee, with me. He not only helps me make drinks, but charms the hell out of every customer who comes to us. With his dazzling smile, flashy, dangling earrings and smooth triangle of chest peeking out of his fashionably undone button-down, he's a constant hit among customers. It shows that he's a performer. I've seen the straightest of straight businessmen fall for Sebastian's charms.

It's lucky for me, because my churning thoughts have put a real damper on my normally bubbly personality. I want to greet all my regulars with my usual toothy smile, but I don't have it in me. On top of what happened between Alex and I on Saturday, sitting at home alone on Sunday served as a stark reminder that I don't have a roommate and need to find one as quickly as possible.

"You alright?" Sebastian says when we survive the morning coffee rush.

"Yeah, sorry, a lot on my mind," I say. "I hope I didn't mess up too many drinks on you."

Sebastian's smile is nearly enough to make me to forget my worries. He really is that good.

"Don't worry about it," he says. "We made it through fine. I'm sure no one will remember if you were a little off. You need anything, man?"

"A coffee?"

"We've got a latte no one picked up."

"Perfect."

I accept the drink like it's the Holy Grail itself, cradling it in my hands as I slink off to one of the unoccupied tables throughout the café. It's the part of the day when things slow to a crawl. Even with River's "cat yoga" class taking place in the afternoon, I should have a couple hours of relative peace.

The coffee revitalizes me. I sip it with my eyes closed, letting the caffeine seep through me and hopefully bring me back to my senses. I can't screw up at work because I'm fantasizing about some straight guy who simply didn't move when I went in for a kiss. It's not like Alex was into it or anything. He hasn't so much as texted since Saturday, so I assume he's regretting it — and hating me for it. He seemed okay when I drove him home, but maybe that was shock.

I sigh, disturbing the surface of my cooling coffee. Oh well, what can I expect? I kissed a straight guy. He didn't freak out. He didn't seem to hate it. But he's going to run away and pretend this never happened. It's what straight guys do when something threatens their sexuality. It could be worse, I suppose. He could have been angry. He could have lashed out. He didn't. In fact, I could have sworn he sort of … leaned into it. But even if he did, there's no shot he isn't rewriting the memory in his own brain to absolve himself of the act.

Not that I blame him. How could I? I sprang that kiss on him with no warning. I should have … said something. Done something. I don't know. Given him a chance to object. I mean, I didn't force him to do anything, of course, but maybe he froze in shock. Oh God. Am I some sort of monster? Did I read the moment wrong?

I almost spill my coffee when Poppy rubs against my leg. After a moment to recover, I stroke her back. She purrs, rubbing my calf, her tail held high in happiness.

"Sorry, Poppy. I think I chased away your friend."

The cat doesn't seem to mind. She hops into my lap, settling in while I sit around instead of working. Not that there's all that much to do here during the lull. If the customers don't need me and the cats don't need me, Chloe doesn't mind if I relax.

We finally get a customer about an hour before River's class is supposed to start. I dislodge Poppy when she arrives. This isn't a stranger off the streets. I wave at Ellie when she arrives, holding Poppy in one arm.

She ignores the coffee bar and Sebastian, beautiful but bored, behind it, bounding directly over to me.

"Henry! It's been way too long."

"How was Europe?"

"Oh my God. Can we sit? I have to tell you everything."

We return to the table where I left my latte. Poppy settles happily back in my lap while Ellie starts telling me about her month-long European excursion. I relax as I listen to her stories of handsome Italians and fun-loving Frenchmen. I've missed my best friend while she was off on her adventure.

"But you must have landed like two hours ago," I say. "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't wait to see you, of course."

"You've got to be exhausted."

Her green eyes are bloodshot, her brown hair held in a messy bun that I assume was convenient for sleeping on the long plane ride.

"Oh, I'm totally destroyed," Ellie says. "But I thought I'd at least stop by the café real quick to see you."

"How'd you even know I was here?"

She rolls her eyes. "My sweet Henry, you are always here. Hasn't Chloe hired any help for you yet?"

"We have Sebastian…"

"You had Sebastian before I left. You need more than one damn co-worker. Are the high school kids still pushing their shifts onto you?"

"I just… What am I supposed to do? The cats need to get fed."

Ellie rolls her eyes again, and it makes me want to push back.

"The café is far from the most stressful thing that's happened in the past month."

Instead of being chastened, my retort piques Ellie's interest. Her tired eyes light up, and I regret saying anything. Normally, a situation like what happened with Alex would be the exact thing I bring to my best friend. Possibly over a carton of ice cream or bottle of wine. But Ellie went to our high school too. She might remember Alex. She might have dated the guy, for all I know. I can't tell her I kissed him without a word of warning.

"It's … my roommate," I say instead. "He moved out suddenly. You don't need a place to live, by any chance?"

"I wish, but my apartment is pretty sweet. I'm sorry. That's so shitty. He didn't even give you any warning?"

"Nothing. I was … I was on a … not a date, but I was out with someone, and he texted about some emergency. When I got home he told me he was leaving the next day."

Ellie cocks her head to the side. "Hold on. Back up. The roommate thing sucks but … you were ‘out' with someone? What does that mean? Are you hiding a secret boyfriend from me, Henry?"

"I wish," I mutter. Too late, I realize I shouldn't have spoken at all. Ellie's interest sharpens. "It wasn't a date," I add defensively. "An old acquaintance came to town and I showed him around a bit. It was nothing."

"It doesn't sound like nothing. Who is he?"

"Just some guy. I don't think you ever knew him. He was…" I flail for a lie, but it's not really in my nature. "From college," is all I come up with.

"Okay, so mystery guy from college shows up in Tripp Lake of all places and you take him out one night?"

"You're making it sound weird. It wasn't weird. It was just pizza."

"If anyone is making it weird, my love, it's you."

I groan, surrendering. I'm an awful liar, especially when it comes to my friends. The tale starts spinning out of me, though I maintain the whole time that this mystery man is from college and not high school. I'm not ready for Ellie to know that part yet. She listens sympathetically, even when I tell her about the kiss.

"I'm sorry, but every straight guy I've ever known would have pulled away," she says, "and it sounds like he leaned into it."

"He … might have? I don't know. It was a weird moment. I don't know if I did something awful."

"You didn't do anything awful, relax. You're overthinking this. It was a kiss. Maybe he was curious, that's all. Maybe he's not ready to admit to himself that he kind of liked it. You're not some dastardly predator on the hunt for straight guys, even though I know you're telling yourself that."

I laugh, caught red-handed. "I would never want to force someone to do something they didn't want to do."

"I know, Henry. It's alright. You leaned in for a kiss. It's a normal thing that people do. All you can do now is be chill and understanding and meet this guy wherever he's at. He's probably thinking about it a lot too, you know?"

"I … I guess."

Someone strides toward the shop, moving quickly. I can tell it's River from the blue hair even before he lets himself in through the two doors that contain the cats.

"Shoot, the yoga class is going to start soon," I say. "I'll need to help out with customers and stuff. But then my shift is over."

"It's okay," Ellie says. "I'm still on Europe time. I really need to sleep, but I wanted to see you before I passed out. We'll hang out again when I'm back in the right timezone, and you can tell me more about this mystery man of yours."

I'm sort of dreading that future conversation, but I shoo Poppy off my lap so I can hug Ellie goodbye and promise her we'll catch up soon. She leaves while River is setting up his class at the far end of the café, in an open space reserved for this purpose. The cats already know what it means when he's here, and the more outgoing ones climb down from their perches, eager to jump onto backs when yogis filter in for their class.

I hurry to help out. Customers drift in, yoga mats tucked under their arms. Most only need to sign in for class. A couple also want things like water, which Sebastian helps provide. It's another mad rush of customer service, but it's over as quickly as it begins. Soon, every customer in the shop is in the back with River, and I'm free to go home.

Except the moment I step out into the hall, I come face to face with Alex.

He stops, blinking in surprise. I must wear the same expression. I wasn't sure I'd ever see him again, and here he is with his laptop bag on his shoulder.

"I … thought I might come get some work done," he says sheepishly.

I glance at the café, busy and noisy from River's class. "Oh shoot. I'm so sorry. Monday is sometimes a yoga day. It's probably not a very peaceful place to work."

Alex's face falls, and that expression spurs me on to rashness.

"But hey," I add quickly, "you know, um, I actually don't have a roommate right now. I was going to head home. My place is around the block and I live alone now so it's … it's nice and quiet. If … if you needed somewhere to work."

My heart is slamming at my chest like it wants to smack me in the face for being so brash and stupid. Alex is simply looking for a calm place to work, and here I am propositioning him to come back to my house. After that kiss, he must think this is so w—

"That sounds good, actually," he says. "If you don't mind."

Did I hear that right? No freaking way.

"I don't mind," I manage in a small, startled voice.