Chapter Two
~Bailey~
Can I have next Friday night off?” Sierra asked over my shoulder as I watched him cross the street, struggling to open the door and disappear inside. “Well?”
“Well, what?” I turned to face Sierra and laughed, as she stood with her hand on her hip and impatiently tapped her foot on the floor.
“Friday night? Jordan finally asked me out, we’re going to see a movie and then dinner at that new place that just opened up across from the mall. So?”
“Sure.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Sierra asked, following on my heels into the back kitchen.
It had been a while since a man had turned my head and distracted me to the point of total ignorance to everything around me. I liked it. It was nearly impossible to wipe the silly grin off my face long enough to answer Sierra.
“Nothing,” I snorted, placing the last few mugs into the dishwasher and turned it on. “Are you talking about Jordan, as in your brother’s best friend, Jordan?”
“Yes.” She grinned impishly.
“That’s like messing with a can of gasoline and a blow torch. You do realize you’re asking for big trouble, right? When Jason finds out you two are dating, he’ll go absolutely bat shit crazy.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Because,” I laughed at her out-and-out gullibility. “Brother’s don’t like their baby sisters going out with their best friends. Guy code. It’s just not done.”
“How would you know? Did you date your brother’s bestie?” she asked with a snicker, hip checking me before yanking out the trash bag and tying it.
I gave her one of those taciturn stares that revealed everything without speaking a word. My heart sank forcing me to look away, a strong feeling of guilt still raw in my gut after all this time. Sadly, my brother, Brock, had ceased all communication with me since the night he found me and Stephen, his best friend at the time, together in a less than glamorous position. I shivered at the thought and walked out of the kitchen with Sierra hot on my tail.
“I’m going to do you a favor and drop the subject if you will, too.”
“I’ll ask Nick. He needs the hours and he hasn’t worked a Friday night in forever.” That was my way of changing the subject tactfully.
“Uh oh!” Sierra announced. “That guy left his debit card in the machine.”
“Which guy?” I questioned, crossing my fingers in my mind hoping it was him.
“The one from the radio station,” she turned the card between her fingers. “And if you tell me you didn’t notice him, you’re full of shit, because he noticed you and noticed you noticing him, noticing you…or something like that. You know what I’m saying.”
“He did?” I feigned indifference while a warm fuzzy feeling of excitement rolled in my belly. “I’m sure he’ll be back for it.”
“I think you should take it over there and return it to him,” Sierra handed me the card with a cheesy grin.
“Why would I do that?”
“I only work here, you’re the boss,” she informed, wiping the counter with a disinfectant wipe.
I was actually considering going across the street when I realized that I didn’t know his name and it wasn’t written on the debit card. Damn it, why hadn’t I had the thought to introduce myself?
“Put it in the register,” I told Sierra, and dropped it onto the counter before she took our conversation further. “I don’t have time to be tracking down customers who leave things behind.”
Sierra could see right through my bullshit. I had never been good at hiding anything from her. Besides, the heat I felt in my cheeks was evidence I couldn’t deny.
“Whatever you say,” Sierra giggled. “But I saw the way you looked at him.”
“I didn’t look at him in any way,” I protested. “He wouldn’t be interested in me, so let’s drop it, okay?”
“Are you lacking brain cells today? You’re hot and you have an amazing bod, why wouldn’t he be interested in you?”
“Not every guy that walks in here and smiles at me is gay, you know?”
“And not every guy that walks in here is repulsed by you,” Sierra placed her hand on my arm giving it a sympathetic squeeze. I hated people treating me like the fragile wings of a butterfly. “Is it your leg that’s bothering you?”
“Hell no!”
“You want him, you know you do,” Sierra playfully slapped my arm and giggled.
“We’ve wasted enough time,” I exclaimed, grabbing a stack of empty cookie sheets before going back into the kitchen. “I’ll start the muffins and turn on the oil for the donuts, while you brew a fresh pot of dark roast and get busy.”
“Yes sir,” she kidded with a military salute.
My heart nearly sprang from my chest each time the door chimed, bent over the sink washing the cookie sheets with bubbles up to my elbows. I would peer over my shoulder and breathe out a thwarted sigh when it wasn’t him. How crazy was I acting? I had only gotten one glance at the stranger, looking into his soft brown eyes, yet I could describe him to a tee. He had wavy, messy, dark hair, the foundation of a beard and he had a tall, slim build. His attire was business casual in dark blue jeans with a white t-shirt and navy-blue blazer. I was lost in thoughts of his lips touching mine, his hot breath scorching my face, and the beat of my heart the only sound in the room. Sierra called my name and I opened my eyes waking from my daydream.
“Bailey, you have a customer,” Sierra used a singsong pitch.
“Be right there,” I called out, wiping the bubbles from my hands with the tail end of my apron.
Good lord above it was him. Heat flooded my cheeks as I walked up to the counter. He was beautiful, five maybe six years my senior, ten at the most. His striking sharp features were enhanced when he smiled, his incisors resembling a vampire’s fangs, sexy as hell. I imagined him biting into my flesh and a delicious shiver raced along my spine.
“How can I help you?” I asked somehow without tripping over my tongue.
“I’m pretty sure I left my debit card here,” he softly spoke, his voice sophisticated and warm.
“Let me see.” I opened the register drawer and looked at his card sitting on the small stack of twenties, wondering how long I could keep him here. “Do you know the last four digits on the card?”
My stranger’s brows lifted, his smile fixed in place. “Sorry, I don’t.”
“If you have an old receipt, the last four numbers should appear somewhere on it.” Sierra was fast to offer her help.
“I may have one in my wallet,” he said, taking it from his back pocket he opened it.
Looking over at Sierra, she nodded towards his wallet, a frantic look in her eyes. I followed her gaze and smiled at the sight of his driver’s license tucked into a windowed pocket. But damn, the overhead light was glaring off of the plastic window obscuring my view. I wanted to tear it from his grasp. I had to know his name.
“Here we go,” he handed me an optician’s receipt, his name and address printed near the top. Nolan Brahms. “Good thing I didn’t send it in to the insurance yet.”
“You left it in the machine,” I smiled handing him the card, the tip of his thumb touching mine for a millisecond, just long enough to send another shiver sprinting up my spine.
What were the chances that Nolan was gay? Could I be that lucky? If my gaydar was sending me the right vibes, that look in Mr. Brahms eyes was the most suggestive I’d seen in a very long time.
“Thanks,” he slid the card into his wallet. “Nolan Brahms, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Bailey McAllister.”
“Did you want a coffee or something while you’re here?” Sierra asked, bumping her shoulder against mine. “The muffins are half price until six.”
“I have to get back to work,” Nolan offered with a smile. “But I’ll take a raincheck?”
“Sure thing,” I answered quickly, stamping a smiley face onto one of our coffee cards and offered it to Nolan who took it with a nod. “Your tenth cup is free.”
“That gives me nine more opportunities to come back,” he held up the card and winked.
Now if that wasn’t a confirmation that Nolan was interested, I don’t know what more he could have done aside from jumping over the counter and laying one on me. I handed him a stack of cards with a gleaming smile.
“Could I interest you in a lifetime membership?”
Nolan returned my smile and we laughed.
~
~Nolan~
A few days later I stood in line with a card covered in happy faces, waiting my turn while I watched Bailey creating a specialty coffee, topping it with froth and swirling a design on top. Dipping my hand into my jacket pocket I took out my pen, hesitating long enough to give Bailey one last glance before writing. Sierra smiled as I handed her the card.
“One free coffee,” I pointed to the card and she flipped it over. “What do you think, will he break my heart and say no?”
Sierra examined the card and giggled. “He’s an idiot if he does.”
The ten hearts on the backside of the card had been traced in pink highlighter, while I was thinking of places I’d like to take Bailey. I had written one free date between the hearts while I stood in line after deciding to keep it uncomplicated. Yes, it was probably the cheesiest way to get a date and I could have simply walked up to him and asked, but what fun would that have been?
“One black coffee and the probability of a yes coming up,” Sierra winked as I moved to the side, allowing the next person in line to step into my place.
The espresso machine made a loud hissing sound as Bailey frothed up skim milk and smiled to Sierra as she leaned into his ear and spoke. She placed the card on the counter beside the coffee cup he was working on and walked away leaving him with narrowed brows, the look of questioning etched onto his face. Quickly but carefully, Bailey topped the coffee cup with foam and powered it with cinnamon, passing it onto a waiting customer with a smile. After cleaning his hands off on his apron he picked up the card and flipped it over. A smile creased the corners of his mouth, spread into an amazing grin as he turned and searched the crowd. When our eyes met, I raised my brows and mouthed, “Well?”
“When?” he silently mouthed back.
“Saturday?”
He nodded and pointed to his watch, mouthing, “What time?”
I held up the fingers on one hand and Bailey nodded his agreement. Saturday at five, I was pleased and by the look on Bailey’s face, so was he. He held his pinky to his mouth, his thumb to his ear and mouthed, “Call me here.”
Come Saturday morning, I kept busy by washing and vacuuming my baby. A metallic purple Charger SRT Hellcat that I bought when I moved into the house. I did have a two car garage to fill after all and why the fuck not? She was so special, I only took her out for Sunday drives and when I went over to Tag’s, mainly for the sake of teasing him. She was gleaming as I leaned into the backseat and squirted a touch of new car smell from a spray bottle onto the carpeting. A hand slapped my backside and I smacked the back of my head off the door frame as I jumped and turned.
“Tag, you bastard,” I rubbed my head. “What brings you by?”
“I was in the neighborhood,” Tag bent and looked inside the car. “I got your message about the photo. Where you going?”
“Who says I’m going anywhere?” I closed the car door and polished the handle with my cloth.
“Princess is getting all dolled up,” Tag nodded towards the car. “And it’s not Sunday. Besides, you cancelled poker tonight. It must be something important enough to ditch your buddies.”
Tag wouldn’t let it go. I knew this for a fact. Not only was he a nosy bastard, he cared. He had been acting the role of a big brother ever since the night Erik and Tag’s arch nemesis Claudios played tonsil hockey in Dyson’s living room. I almost forgot how that performance messed with his life that night, too. He and Fletcher nearly split over that.
“Okay,” I threw my cloth at Tag’s head and he snatched it with his hand before it hit him in the face. “I have a date, happy?”
Tag smiled from ear to ear, taking the cloth and draping it over the tail of the car before leaning against it. At least he had enough respect for a man’s baby to protect her from potential scratches.
“Yeah, I’m happy,” Tag folded his arms over his chest. “Where did you meet this guy? And for the love of all that is holy, tell me this one isn’t a fucking model.”
I laughed, “Not a model, he’s a barista at the coffee shop across from work. And that’s all I’m telling you until I get to know him better. Then, if it doesn’t work out, I don’t have to explain jack-shit to you or anyone else.”
“I won’t push, but I will tell you,” Tag came closer and draped his arm over my shoulders, stepping me to the back door of the house. “I hope it works out. Now, make us a pot of coffee and tell me about this photo you need.”
~
In the entranceway to the coffee shop, Bailey leaned with his shoulder against the window, his ankles crossed casually and his hands tucked into his pockets. A smile was cemented on my face as I pulled up to the curb and gave the horn a tap, the beep caused Bailey to turn with an equally brilliant smile.
“Nice wheels,” Bailey leaned into the open window. “You’re late.”
“I know, sorry,” I snickered. “A friend came over and stayed a bit later than planned, so I was late having my shower and-”
“I’m teasing,” Bailey interrupted. “I’ve only been waiting a few minutes. So, where are you taking me?”
“Get in and I’ll tell you.”
I waited while Bailey climbed into the seat beside me, the soft scent of his minty cologne invited my nostrils to inhale deeply.
“I love that new car smell,” Bailey sniffed. “There’s nothing else quite like it.”
Only the smell of you, I thought as I started the engine and pulled away from the curb. I opened the console between us and handed Bailey the newspaper.
“I thought we could go to the drive-in, and maybe go for a pizza first?” I suggested. “You can pick the movie.”
“Sounds great,” Bailey scanned the newspaper page I had folded to the exact spot. “I was in my teens the last time I went to the drive-in. Could have gotten lucky that night too, but we got kicked out after sneaking in friends in the trunk. I spent the entire next day trying to clean nacho sauce out of my dad’s upholstery.”
He made me laugh, “Maybe you’d like to do something else instead.”
“Nope,” Bailey shook his head. “It’s classics night at the triple screen. How do you feel about seeing Chinatown and The French Connection? Or screen two is playing Hombre and The Wild Bunch if you’re into old westerns.”
“You choose,” I insisted as we drove into the parking lot of my favorite pizza joint.
I suggested we have our pizza boxed up and eat it while we waited for the movies to start. I liked classic movies, I loved pizza, but I liked the idea of Bailey and me sharing the same air in the confines of my car even more. Bailey sat nervously taking small bites from his pizza, uncomfortable with eating it in my car. I assured him that I would have never suggested it if I was worried at all. He was adorable.
“Okay, but this is really nice leather, pizza sauce wouldn’t look good on it.”
We went into the snack bar before the first movie started and Bailey cast me a cringe face pointing to the tank of nacho cheese sauce and we shared a laugh. I bought us a bucket of buttered popcorn and a bottle each of soda, as well as an outrageously huge box of Smarties. I opened the box and poured the Smarties into the popcorn container, the best of both worlds, salty and sweet with the added bonus of milk chocolate. Each time we dipped our hands into the bucket our fingers would collide, a spark of longing shot along my arm all the way to my groin causing a smile to crease my lips. I felt like a boy again on my first date, suddenly shy and unsure of myself. Then Bailey wove his buttery fingers into mine and we sat silently watching the movie and holding hands. Unfortunately, that was all that happened, no make-out session like I visualized a hundred times in my mind.
“No kiss goodnight?” Bailey opened the car door, ready to step out into the cool night air.
“Sure,” I slid as close as the center console would allow and kissed Bailey on the left cheek. “I had a great time, I’ll call you, okay?”
“I’ll be waiting,” Bailey smiled and climbed out, closing the door and leaning into the open window. “Drop into the shop for a free coffee before work tomorrow if you can.”
“I’m sure your boss will be thrilled with you giving away free coffee, you’ll be dipping into his or her profits.”
“His profits,” Bailey clarified. “And I’m sure he won’t mind one bit.”
“See you tomorrow night then.”
~
~Bailey~
“Yo, boss!” Nick shouted from the front counter. I hated when he called me that and more so his deplorable use of the English language. “Gots someone here wants to talk at ya.”
“Jesus, Nick,” I came through the kitchen doors with a tray of donuts, ready to tear a strip off him and shoved the tray into his hands. “If my grade ten English teacher heard you, she’d have a heart attack. Where did you go to school, the back alley of the Burger Barn?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Nick snickered as he rolled his eyes. “Some guys over there waitin’ for ya. A black coffee for him and what you want?”
“No coffee for me,” I had my fill for the day, my snarky mood was beginning to show. “I’ll have a green tea.”
Once I got a load of Nolan sitting on one of the chunky sofas by the fireplace, I could feel my mood miraculously shifting for the better and a smile curled the corners of my mouth. He was dressed in a powder blue shirt with a navy blue skinny tie and black slacks. I’ll admit, there were times I wished I had a job where I could dress in nice clothes and the occasional suit, and then I would grind a fresh batch of coffee beans and I’d get over it in a hurry.
“Hello,” I came around the back of Nolan, resting my hand on his shoulder as I circled and sat down beside him. “You couldn’t have arrived at a better time.”
“Well, hello,” Nolan sat forward with his elbows on his knees, his hands folded together. “Have a bad day?”
“No thanks, had one already,” I waited while Nick set our hot drinks on the table and left.
“Tell me how bad.”
“First, the order from Whole Bean was late, then the thermostat on the oven broke and I had to wait nearly two hours for a repair guy to get here. Then the part he needed was an hour away, so by the time he got it repaired, it was nearly lunch. Thank God we prep the night before and I had donut batter resting in the refrigerator, but I was running up and down the stairs baking freaking muffins in a regular oven…”
Nolan watched me the entire time with the sweetest smile on his face as I ranted, he looked well amused. I gave him a roll of my eyes and sipped my tea. Nolan put his hand on my knee and squeezed.
“Sorry you had a bad day. All’s good now?” he asked, seeming to truly care. “Where was the owner while all this was going on, shouldn’t he have been here instead of leaving you to take care of his problems? I mean, it’s not really my business, but you should have been sleeping.”
“Nolan,” I assumed he knew. “This is my place, I own it. I’m the boss, which makes it my problem.”
“Oh, sorry,” Nolan pulled his hand away. “But in my experience most bosses remain behind the scenes. This is a pretty sweet setup you have here. You must make a killing with the amount of office buildings on this street alone.”
“I do okay,” I sipped on my tea, watching the way Nolan’s lips puckered slightly in the most provocative way as he blew over the surface of his coffee, before he took a careful mouthful. “Before I forget, I have to go to a dinner on Thursday night, it’s a friend’s birthday. Nothing formal, but I was told to bring a date. I’d like you to come with me if you’re not busy.”
“I would like that,” Nolan held out his hand. “Toss me your phone.”
He took my phone and punched his number into my contacts, then he handed it back with a huge shit-eating grin. That was when I noticed his eyes, I mean really noticed them. Not just the color but their depth, the way they radiated a gleaming sex-appeal when he smiled. Nolan sat back with his mug, his eyes fixed to mine as I looked at the screen on the phone.
“What’s up, doc?” My brow lifted as I set my phone down, remembering the famous line from my favorite childhood cartoon. “Are you into Bugs Bunny?”
Nolan finished his coffee and placed the cup on the table. “Text me where and when, and I’ll meet you there. I better get to work before they send out a search party.”
“Okay.”
Nolan’s eyes followed a tall, blond man as he came through the door, his eyes narrowing when the guy wiggled his brows and grinned. I looked to Nolan hoping he couldn’t see the little green-eyed monster stirring jealousy in my gut.
“Jeff,” Nolan acknowledged with a nod of his head as he stood.
“Nolan,” the blond replied in a sarcastic tone. “The usual?”
“Yes thanks,” Nolan smiled and turned to face me. “He works with me at the station. Don’t forget to text me, okay?”
“I won’t forget.” My eyes glanced back to the blond, he was handsome and I crossed my fingers hoping to God he was straight.
“By the way,” Nolan stopped a few feet short of the door. “You don’t need an excuse to text me.”
“Okay.” I gave him a glowing smile and watched as the door closed and he ran across the street.
Nolan’s blond friend was leaning on his elbows on the counter, he and Sierra were talking and laughing. Sierra tossed her head back and laughed at whatever this friend of Nolan’s had said, and by the way Sierra was responding to him, I had to conclude he was every bit the heterosexual I had been hoping him to be. I shook away my insecurities and went into the back so I could text my friend and let him know I was bringing a date.
Unfortunately, the party got cancelled. Disappointment weighed heavy in my heart like a brick as I sent Nolan a text.
Me: Party’s off. Maybe another time.
Nolan: That sucks.
Me: These things happen, what do you do?
Nolan: We could meet somewhere anyway.
For a moment, I wondered if Nolan was smiling as much as I was. I had expected him to tell me another time was fine and then I would sit in the empty space of my bedroom contemplating how to spend my Thursday night off. More than likely, I would have end up going downstairs to the shop and creating new coffee blends.
Me: Great. Where and when?
My brow creased as I read the words on my phone, they sounded too desperate, would he think the same? I rolled my eyes willing myself to take this whole dating Nolan thing with a more laidback attitude. Until I read Nolan’s next text.
Nolan: There’s a little bar at Mills End and
Porter St, meet me there at 7?
Me: See you then.
Nolan: Can’t wait ☺
I had typed the text with as much cool vibes as I could achieve, all the while wanting to do back flips and high-fives in the air when Nolan ended his text with a cheesy smiley face.