Sweet Dreams & Coffee Machines

SWEET DREAMS & COFFEE MACHINES

Alex

T he pounding in my head was louder than standing next to the speakers at a heavy metal concert, and every tiny move made the feeling reverberate around my skull.

I tried to speak but it felt like someone had shoved sandpaper down my throat and all that came out was a garbled groan. Every muscle in my body ached and I wanted to ignore the blaring of my alarm, bury my head under the pillows, and stay here until whatever I'd obviously come down with overnight fucked off into the sun.

I loathed being ill and every time I caught something it felt like a personal affront. I had too much shit to do to be stuck in bed with a cold, and working while feeling rotten was fucking wank.

Plus I'd have to spend all day in the office because I couldn't risk giving it to anyone else, and I was pretty sure the council would have my arse, and Novel Tea's five star food hygiene rating, if I gave someone food poisoning.

"Babe, is that your alarm?" Henry asked, his voice thick with sleep as he rolled over and reached out to put his arm around my waist. He made a little concerned hum and added, "You're very warm."

"'S fine," I said as I finally forced words off my tongue, which somehow felt heavier than lead. "Just a bit…"

"Jesus, you sound terrible."

"Thanks," I said, finally opening my eyes and squinting because even the tiny bit of light coming in around the edge of the curtains was too bright. Fuck today was going to be hell.

Beside me, I heard Henry sit up and shuffle across the bed and when he turned on his bedside lamp, I actually hissed. Not in pain, but more like a pissed off, feral cat.

"Turn the lamp off," I said as I tried to roll over and bury my face in my pillows but failing because every motherfucking bone in my body hurt. "I'm getting up."

"No, you're not," Henry said. "You're obviously sick. You're staying in bed." His fingers brushed against my forehead. They were delightfully cool.

"I'm not ill."

"Then why do you have a temperature?"

"I…"

"You're clammy too, and the fact you want me to turn the lamp off makes me think you at least have a headache too."

I couldn't argue with that, so all I did was give a non-committal groan.

"Exactly," Henry said, sounding far too pleased with himself. "You stay here and get some sleep." I heard him sliding out of bed and moving around our room.

"W-Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get you some cold and flu tablets, some water, and some juice. And then I'm going to Novel Tea to take over your shift." A bolt of fear struck my stomach and I tried to lift my head up. "Don't worry, I'll be absolutely fine. I'm perfectly capable of helping Cleo and Spencer out for the morning."

"B-But… but…" Fucking fuck sticks. I knew Henry's heart was in the right place, but did he have to be blessed with such an abundance of overconfidence that he thought he could just waltz into Novel Tea and pick up making coffee in a matter of minutes?

I was going to need to warn Spencer.

And Cleo.

If I could do it now, it would give them time to prepare for Hurricane Henry.

As Henry went downstairs, humming brightly to himself, I forced myself to roll over and throw my arm out from under the duvet in search of my phone. The brightness of the screen, even on its dimmest setting, hurt my eyes but at least it gave me a chance to turn my alarm off before I opened WhatsApp, found the thread I had with my brother and began to type.

Alex I'm ill so won't be in today. Can't get out of bed. Henry has volunteered to come in instead. I tried to stop him, he insisted. Good luck.

I hit send and then copy and pasted the message into my chat with Cleo before locking my phone and sliding it under the pillow, embracing the return to darkness.

Part of me still wanted to try and get up, force myself into clothes and out of the door, even though I knew it would make me feel worse. But another part of me—a smaller, quieter, but no less determined part, whispered that maybe it would be okay if I stayed in bed for once.

Dragging my sorry arse into work wasn't going to help and I was lucky enough that these days I didn't need to. Me and Spencer had built an amazing team at Novel Tea, and I needed to trust them. After everything that had happened last year with me and Henry and his viral love confession, they'd more than proven that they could handle anything.

Besides, what was the worst that could happen? Henry wasn't incompetent and I highly doubted he was going to burn the place down. I was pretty sure Cleo would relegate him to clearing tables and loading the dishwasher as soon as he set foot through the door, and despite his ego, Henry wasn't the sort of man to throw his fame and fortune around to get what he wanted.

Not any more at least.

Not unless it really mattered.

And this was not one of those occasions.

Comforted in the knowledge that Novel Tea was still going to be standing by the time I recovered, I snuggled back under the covers and found myself falling asleep before Henry had even come back upstairs.

Henry

I stared at the coffee machine in front of me, eyes roaming over the multiple buttons and knobs. Surely, it could not be that much more difficult to work than the one in the London flat. After all, that was a top-of-the-line De'Longhi and I'd learnt how to make the most beautiful lattes and cappuccinos on that.

This couldn't be any more complicated.

It just looked it. To intimidate me.

But I'd promised Alex to take over his shift at Novel Tea and I had no intention of letting him down.

"Do you need a hand?" Cleo asked, popping up beside me and smiling sweetly. She and Spencer hadn't been surprised to see me when I'd unlocked the coffee shop's front door using Alex's set of keys that I'd pinched from the hook in our kitchen. I hoped that by taking them, he wouldn't get any bright ideas about following me.

Clearly, he'd just decided to snitch on me instead, although I supposed I couldn't blame him. Novel Tea was his pride and joy, and as skilled as I wanted to pretend I was, I wasn't quite so arrogant that I thought I could do everything.

And if I didn't want Alex to chew my ass out or dump me for destroying his life's work, I had to make sure Novel Tea remained in one piece.

"I think I might," I said, deciding that discretion was the better part of valour here. "When I told you I knew how to work a coffee machine, I meant my coffee machine. Which is a De'Longhi La Specialista Prestigio and sort of looks like this, but in miniature. However it does seem that there are numerous differences between one designed for home use and one actually used by baristas."

Cleo nodded, her smile warm. She'd always been sweet to me and I hoped Alex knew how wonderful she was. "No worries, I'll give you a crash course. But first, we need to help Spencer fill the displays."

"You know I can do it," Spencer said as he appeared out of the kitchen with a large tray of cupcakes in hand. His shoulder length blond hair was pulled up into its customary bun and he was wearing an easy smile, his eyes sparkling with the natural energy he always seemed to exude.

Sometimes it was hard to believe he and Alex were brothers because they seemed so different. Then again, I'd say the same thing about Jason and me, when deep down I knew we had to be related because despite our differences, there was some things we did that were so eerily similar it was impossible to deny being related.

"I know," Cleo said. "But we're here to help. And if Henry is going to be our lovely assistant for the day, it'd be good for him to know what everything is."

"Oh, yes," I said, struck by the sudden realisation that I didn't know half of the things Novel Tea served on an everyday basis. I knew Spencer and Mina were constantly testing new things and creating a menu of baked goods and savoury treats that reflected the season, but I doubted I could list more than five or ten off the top of my head.

In fact, I wasn't even sure what cupcakes Spencer was holding. I only knew they looked very good.

"I'd rather not slow you all up or bother you by constantly asking questions," I continued. "I'm here to make your lives easier, not bring you abject misery. Besides if I do that, I'll never hear the end of it from Alex." I grinned and Spencer chuckled.

"That's Alex for you," he said fondly. "I'm surprised he's not here."

"Me too," I said. "I was sure he'd try and follow me."

Cleo whistled under her breath. "He really must be ill then."

"Don't worry, I left him with plenty of water, juice, and cold and flu tablets. And he was fast asleep and snoring too. Hopefully the rest will do him some good." Alex always worked so hard and found it so hard to switch off, so I was glad that for once he wasn't pushing himself to work through his illness.

Maybe this would be the sign he needed to take a few more days off.

I doubted it, but I could hope.

Spencer's smile widened and he clapped me on the shoulder with enough force to make my legs wobble. "Awesome, thanks for taking care of him."

"You're welcome," I said, still feeling the effects of Spencer's shoulder clap in my feet. "Now, tell me about these cupcakes."

I hadn't anticipated working at Novel Tea to be as exhausting as it turned out to be.

That was definitely on me but trying to remember a list of six different cakes, multiple cupcakes and traybakes, sandwiches, as well as what went into the huge variety of hot and cold drinks made my brain swim.

And when Cleo had asked me to clear some tables and load the dishwasher after the mid-morning rush, I'd never been so excited to get my hands on dirty dishes. Clearing up the squashed muffin and warm milk off the floor left by one of our younger guests was a little more challenging, but I supposed it could have been a lot worse.

The nice, albeit strange, thing was that nobody in the shop batted an eyelid about an Oscar winning actor on his knees on the floor armed with cleaning spray and blue roll. To them, I was just part of the furniture. I belonged here.

A few people stopped to say hi and chat about life, asking why I was here and laughing about Alex putting me to work. I'd always liked talking to people, it was partly why I enjoyed being an actor, but there was something refreshing about chatting to the locals, most of whom didn't care who I was.

To them, I was Alex's partner first and actor second.

Maybe I'd have to come down and help at Novel Tea more often, especially when I needed a break from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood.

I still hadn't managed to get to grips with the coffee machine though. If I'd thought a machine could actively work against me, I'd have sworn that one was. Every time I tried to make coffee, something went wrong and now I was convinced the machine had it in for me, even if Cleo insisted it was just temperamental at times.

But after much cursing, largely in Chinese under my breath, I managed to make an acceptable looking cappuccino which I immediately took a picture of to send to Alex.

Henry I made a cappuccino! =D xx

Henry Your coffee machine still hates me though! How're you feeling? Xx

Alex Like shit but congrats on the cappuccino. Proud of you xxx

I smiled and slid my phone back into my pocket. Alex could be a bit of a grumpy bugger, especially when he was stressed or tired, but he had a soft, sweet side too and when he said he was proud of me, I knew he meant it with every fibre of his being.

I spent the rest of the day at Novel Tea clearing tables, washing up, plating up cakes and sandwiches—I left the drinks to Cleo and later Stephen when he came in for the afternoon—and chatting with everyone who came to say hi.

By the time we'd closed down and cleaned up, my feet hurt and my muscles ached but I felt a sense of accomplishment too. I'd always known the staff at Novel Tea worked hard and that Alex's job was more difficult than he ever gave himself credit for, but seeing it firsthand made me realise just how tough and exhausting it was.

When I got home, I found Alex curled up on the sofa under a mountain of blankets, the TV showing the Netflix home page. He was fast asleep and snoring softly, but his breathing was less laboured than it had been that morning.

I leant over the back of the sofa and pressed a kiss to his temple, smiling as his eyes fluttered open and a soft expression of joy spread across his face when he realised it was me.

"Hey," he said croakily. "You're back."

"I am," I said, kissing his temple again and noting he didn't feel as hot as he had that morning either. "And Novel Tea is still in one piece. In fact, I think I made myself rather useful. Although I do hate your coffee machine, and I'm sure the feeling is mutual."

He chuckled dryly. "It can smell fear. You have to show it who's boss."

"Oh it already knows, and it's not me."

He smiled and tilted his head, lifting up slightly to ask for a kiss. I pressed my lips softly against his and he sighed happily. "Thank you for today. I love you."

"I love you too," I said. "Anytime you need help, just ask. You know I'll always be here for you. You're stuck with me."

He huffed out a laugh as he sank back into his blanket fortress. "There are much worse people to be stuck with."

"Exactly." I winked, my heart aching with fondness as Alex yawned. "I'm going to make some noodles. Do you wany any?"

"Maybe? Which ones are you going to make?"

"Just the simple ones with soy sauce and sesame oil." They only took fifteen minutes to make and had become of our recent easy, simple comfort meals.

"Yes please," he said. "Not a big bowl though."

"No, just a little bit." I leant over and kissed his head again. "Then shall we watch something? Your choice."

"Okay." He nodded. "I'll find something."

I smiled as I stood up and walked towards the kitchen, listening to Alex muttering to himself as he began to scroll through Netflix.

This really was what love was about, taking care of each other even when one of you was tired, snotty, and gross. I knew Alex would do the same for me, because we loved each other more than words could ever say.

And in the end, that was the most important thing.