Chapter 6
Adrien
“Large, quad, non-fat mocha,” Adrien called out as he set the hot beverage on the counter.
Micah placed a pastry next to the drink, completing the order, then went back to the register as he handed Adrien a cup to start the next latte.
For the next half hour, the two worked through the line that had formed during the late afternoon rush, with Micah sliding in to help Adrien between ringing up customers. Business had picked up now that the cold was setting in at the end October. More people wanted warm drinks.
Luckily Greg and Antonia were still on. Adrien had arranged the schedule so that the college students who worked midday shifts overlapped with the baristas who opened the store in the morning and who came in to close. The two assisted with sandwiches and salads between cleaning and restocking.
It had been like this for the last three weeks. Adrien and Micah bantered and worked together with a rhythmic ease. They’d become a well-oiled machine. Then, after closing up shop, they’d walk home together, sharing jokes and worries.
They’d become…friends. But that hadn’t dampened Adrien’s attraction to Micah. If anything, it had intensified.
Adrien loved Micah’s gentle laughter at the antics of the college kids working the midday shift. And his heart squeezed with sadness every time Caleb came in and ignored Micah. The man tried to act like it didn’t bother him, but Adrien could see that Micah desperately wanted to connect with his son. Adrien had to fight the urge to hug him on those days.
Whenever Adrien caught Micah smiling at a customer, or when Micah’s muscles flexed while he lifted boxes of supplies, Adrien’s stomach fluttered and his dick stiffened with arousal.
It was an inconvenience for sure. But so far, Adrien hadn’t acted on any of those feelings. He enjoyed their budding friendship too much. And their compatibility as friends clearly carried over to the way they worked together.
The problem was, Adrien wasn’t the only person who noticed.
“Dang,” said Greg as he walked from the kitchen area to the register. “You guys were beasting up here! You got through the line hella fast without screwing up any of the orders.”
Adrien paused restocking the shelves on the freestanding wall behind the register and looked at Micah who shrugged, a bemused look on his face.
“I just remembered which order went with which drink is all and paid attention to which drink Adrien was on.” Micah lifted a syrup bottle and wiped beneath it.
The short and stocky redhead grinned as he untied his apron, looking between Adrien and Micah.
“I mean, yeah, I pay attention too, but when it gets that busy, I’m bound to mess up at least one drink,” Antonia chimed in as she walked in from the kitchen. “But you two working together, it was like a choreographed dance.” She tossed her dirty apron in the bin beneath the clean ones hanging on a wall.
Then the tall dark-haired beauty turned to them, eyes sparkling. “Y’all are super cute.” She winked.
Adrien looked over at Greg who had a knowing look on his face.
What are these kids implying?
“Yeah, super cute,” echoed Greg as he balled his apron up and shot it through the air like a basketball, missing the basket by at least a foot, then groaning. “If you’re into that kind of thing,” the kid said, looking between Adrien and Micah, wagging his eyebrows.
Damn.
“Uh, guys, Micah and I, we uh—” Adrien stammered, refusing to look at Micah as his cheeks heated.
“’Scuse me, boss. Just gonna grab my bag.” Antonia went to grab her purse from a small locked storage cabinet under the register, and Adrien moved out of her way, backing into Micah’s broad firm chest. Heat pooled in his belly at the contact.
Antonia slipped her purse onto her shoulder. “We’re really happy for you two,” she said in a loud whisper, beaming.
“But, guys—” Adrien heard Micah say behind him.
“Just promise us you won’t be weird like Max and Paul if things go south?” Antonia pleaded, her palms pressed together.
Well, hell. Adrien hadn’t even known the two men who worked the opening shift had been dating.
“Yeah, when Antonia and I overlap with them at the start of our shift, things are pretty tense,” Greg said, sounding serious.
Adrien sighed, putting his hands on his hips, his shoulders slumping.
He hoped the customers hadn’t noticed the tension. The few mornings Adrien had come in to do some paperwork during the guys’ shift, he hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. But then again, Adrien hadn’t noticed a whole hell of a lot over the past year, at least not until Micah showed up.
He didn’t have a problem with his staff dating each other or hooking up as long as it didn’t impact their work. And after having dated not one but two staff members himself, he’d have been a hypocrite to tell them otherwise.
But that was beside the point—he and Micah weren’t dating. As the boss, he shouldn’t be dating any of his staff anyway. He’d learned that lesson the hard way.
He needed to set the record straight before things got out of hand.
“We’re not dating,” Micah shouted from behind Adrien, beating him to the punch.
Adrien winced at the emphatic declaration from Micah. He told himself it was because customers sitting out in the store were sure to have heard. That was the only reason Micah’s panicked and vehement denial made Adrien’s insides seize up.
“Who isn’t dating?” a warm authoritative voice asked.
Adrien turned to find Gabe standing at the register. In loose-fitting jeans and a collared shirt with a fleece zip-up vest over it, he looked every bit the preppy lawyer.
His brows were knitted together in concern, and his thin lips were pursed as his hazel eyes sent daggers to Adrien’s left where Micah stood looking uneasy.
Great. Just great.
“Okay. Greg, Antonia. Micah and I aren’t dating. Working well together and chatting doesn’t translate into a relationship.”
Antonia lifted an eyebrow and Greg shrugged—both seemed unconvinced. But, to Adrien’s relief, they headed toward the door without another word.
Luckily the midday rush had slowed, and there was no one at the register behind Gabe. Adrien rounded on him next.
“Gabe, glad to see you,” Adrien said. The snicker that came from Gabe indicated he was well aware Adrien was lying through his teeth. “Why don’t you go back to my office and wait for me? We can chat there.”
Gabe inclined his head and headed to the small office, which was more like a pantry, off the kitchen area of the café. Once Adrien heard the office door close, he turned to Micah whose face was a deep shade of red.
“I’m sorry about that,” Adrien said quietly.
Micah grimaced. “Nothing to be sorry about. I just—I don’t know how—I mean—” He stopped speaking, sighed, then stepped closer, his eyes glued to Adrien’s. “It doesn’t bother me that they thought we were together,” he said in a low, intimate voice that only Adrien could hear. Micah smiled. “It’s kind of flattering they think someone like me would even be worthy of someone like you. I just hope the rumor doesn’t spread and cause you any trouble.” His smile wobbled as he took a step back and greeted a customer who had come up with their empty coffee cup for a refill.
Whoa.
Adrien wanted to ask Micah more. Wanted to know why Antonia and Greg’s assumption didn’t bother him. Wanted to insist that anyone would be lucky to have someone as kind, hardworking, and handsome as Micah for a partner. But his brother was waiting with his own questions, so Adrien headed back to his office.
***
“Really, Adrien? The jailbird,” Gabe hissed just as Adrien walked into the office and closed the door. He leaned against it, facing his brother.
“Good to see you, bro. What are you doing here?” Adrien asked calmly as Gabe stood with his back to Adrien’s messy desk, hands on hips as he shook his head.
“Jesus, Adrien.” He continued on with his tirade like Adrien hadn’t spoken at all. “I can’t believe you’d even consider getting involved with a guy like that, especially—” Suddenly, Gabe stopped.
Adrien stiffened, wondering what his brother had stopped himself from saying.
Gabe’s posture drooped, his voice sad as he continued. “I was just worried at the prospect of you dating someone—” Gabe stopped again and held up his palms as Adrien narrowed his eyes at him.
“Someone with a checkered past.” Gabe paused, then continued quietly. “Especially after Reggie.” Gabe lifted his eyebrows, waiting for Adrien to fill in the blanks but Adrien swallowed and prevaricated.
“I don’t know what you mean by ‘after Reggie.’ Sure, I’ve been a little withdrawn since Reggie died but—”
Gabe cut him off, his voice tense. “It started way before Reggie died.”
Adrien stared at Gabe, his jaw tense and his breathing labored before he looked away, focusing on a small crack in the wall. He couldn’t admit the truth to his brother, couldn’t ever reveal how weak, useless, and pathetic he really was.
“You changed, little brother. You’d jump when he spoke too loudly at Sunday brunch. You stopped spending time with your friends. You stopped spending time with me and Erica.” Gabe took a step toward Adrien, but Adrien held up a hand. He didn’t want Gabe touching him. He didn’t need Gabe. Didn’t need anyone. He was fine. Reggie was gone. And he’d never be weak again.
Adrien swallowed a huge lump, his vision blurry, and he hugged himself to keep from falling apart at his brother’s words. He looked down at his shoes, a flash of his last argument with Reggie in this very office playing through his mind… He’d worked so hard to hide his shame, his weakness, from his family.
He drew in a shaky breath and looked up at Gabe whose face was filled with pity. Adrien’s resolve hardened at that look.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now, tell me why you dropped by so I can get back out on the floor.”
Gabe just stared at him for a moment, disbelief on his face. Then his features shuttered, and he retreated, perhaps sensing he’d pushed Adrien too far.
***
“Okay, talk to me,” Micah demanded as he and Adrien slowly walked through the quiet neighborhood on their way home.
Adrien had known the other man would eventually ask him why he’d been quiet for the rest of their shift. He’d been a wreck, messing up drink orders, dropping food, and ringing customers up for the wrong item. As the shop owner, Adrien obviously knew the recipes and the price of each item on the menu. But he’d been distracted. Shocked that his brother had guessed that something had been seriously wrong between Adrien and Reggie.
They’d moved on to the topic Gabe had initially come to discuss: their mother’s sixty-fifth birthday party. After giving Gabe a few options for meeting times that might work for him, Adrien thought he was fine. But after he’d gotten back out on the floor with Micah, he couldn’t erase the image of his brother’s face from his mind. Knowing that he’d done a poor job of hiding his shameful secret made Adrien’s head spin.
By the time the shift ended, he was a wreck.
He was glad to be going home. But he also knew from experience that when he was alone with his thoughts, his mind wandered to dark places that he found it difficult to come back from.
He didn’t want to be alone tonight.
He looked up at Micah’s patient, open face.
Could he trust Micah?
His head said not likely, but his body, urging him to brush against the man walking beside him, whispered yes. Adrien tiptoed out onto a limb, praying he didn’t fall.
“My brother. He just brought up some stuff when we talked, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.” He breathed in deep, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets and ventured another step. “My fiancé, Reggie. He died last year,” Adrien said, his voice low and halting.
“Fuck, I’m so sorry.” Micah stopped walking, right in the middle of the street, eyes wide in shock.
“I’m not,” Adrien said without forethought.
Micah blanched, then looked unsure as he took a step back like Adrien might hurt him. If only Micah knew what an actual wimp Adrien was.
Adrien chuckled.
“Shit, I’m sorry. That sounded bad. It’s not what you think. You’re looking at me like I’m an ax murderer or some shit,” he said, running a hand through his hair.
Micah stuck his hands in his pants pockets.
“Well fuck, Adrien. I don’t know, man. You did just basically say you weren’t sorry your fiancé is dead. And you’ve been acting weird all night…”
Adrien nodded in agreement at that, but then he met Micah’s questioning stare. “I didn’t do anything to precipitate his death. He just… He wasn’t very nice to me. I wasn’t sad after he died. I was actually relieved.”
Micah’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean he wasn’t nice to you?”
Adrien swallowed and looked away, pulling his light fall jacket closer to ward off the chill brought on by the memories of Reggie’s angry face. Phantom pains throbbed on his body from where the man’s fists had connected with Adrien’s flesh. Adrien needed to purge the poison of this memory, so he revealed his dark secret to Micah.
“He hurt me. Like, physically.” The silence hung heavy between them, and the longer it went on, the more embarrassed Adrien became.
Adrien thought Micah might be the one person who wouldn’t see him as weak for what he’d let Reggie do to him, but his continued silence said otherwise. Then Adrien heard a brief shuffle against the pavement before he was enveloped in warm, strong arms.
Micah’s arms.
At first, he was too surprised by the contact to react. He’d been fantasizing about this very thing, being in Micah’s arms, for weeks. But when Micah squeezed him and pressed his palms against Adrien’s back, fitting Adrien to his slightly bigger body, Adrien exhaled and wrapped his arms around Micah’s broad middle. Having someone to lean on, mentally and physically, made Adrien’s body limp with relief. The secret had trapped him and tied him down like a straightjacket.
But Adrien felt unbound in Micah’s embrace, the words he’d spoken releasing heavy invisible chains he’d been lugging around since the first time Reggie had bruised him.
Micah began to rock Adrien, running his palms up Adrien’s spine, then to the back of his head, cradling him, making him feel so safe. Adrien almost wept. He’d needed this. Needed to be held and comforted. But he’d been too afraid and ashamed to seek it out.
“I had no idea this is what was on your mind all night, Ade,” Micah whispered against Adrien’s ear. It was the first time Micah had ever called him by a nickname, and it made Adrien’s hands tingle, made him press closer to Micah.
But Micah did the opposite, pulling away slightly but still holding Adrien in his arms. “I’m worried about you,” he said, looking down at Adrien, concern on his face. “Is there anything I can do to help take your mind off things?”
Adrien tussled with himself. He knew exactly what he needed, but he was afraid of what he’d find behind that door if he opened it.
He didn’t know if he could trust his feelings about Micah. But Micah’s earnest, softly spoken question coaxed Adrien out of his fear and made him feel safe enough to ask for what he needed.
“Do you want to come over and hang out?”