I was just about to retract my invitation when his lips curled into a shy smile.
“Sure. Coffee sounds great. I can meet you there in about twenty minutes?”
“Great,” I said, trying to keep the relief from my voice. “I’ll be waiting.”
Only then did I leave the bar, and as I walked toward my truck, I couldn’t help but raise my arm in a fist pump. I had to remind myself it was just two guys meeting over coffee, but even the smallest win could feel like your greatest victory. Now I just had to endure the next twenty minutes and hope like hell he wouldn’t stand me up.
9
Foster
“Everything okay?” Mina asked when I returned to the main area.
“Yeah, everything is fine,” I told her as I grabbed the broom to start sweeping the floor.
Mina made a noncommittal noise but turned her back on me to go do whatever it was she thought needed to be done. I attempted to put all my focus on the task I’d taken on, but I couldn’t concentrate. Not when I felt like I was about to explode.
“He asked me for coffee,” I blurted and winced at my outburst.
“Who did?” Mina asked, but the glint in her eyes told me she already knew.
“Stellan. The, uh, the sax player.”
Her perfectly sculpted eyebrow shot up. “Really? I didn’t know you two were friendly.”
“We’re not. Not really, anyway. He, um, he helped me with my car the other night.”
“What was wrong with it?” Ted, the bouncer, asked as he walked by carrying a bag of trash to take it to the dumpster.
“The starter went out. He helped me get it towed to the shop.”
“What was he doing here so late? I thought he’d left already.”
“He did, but he came back because he’d left his sunglasses behind.”
“Seems to be a reoccurring theme with him,” she quipped.
“Wait a second,” Ted said, and I noticed from his posture he was getting into overprotective mode. “You were in the parking lot, alone, with a dead car?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, but he helped me and then took me home.”
“Next time, call me. I live less than ten minutes from here. I could’ve come and helped you.”
“Um, thanks. I didn’t want to bother anyone, though.”
“It’s never a bother. I’d rather get a call at three in the morning that you’re in need of assistance than hear the next day something happened.”
I furrowed my brows. I hadn’t expected him to get so upset over the fact I didn’t bother to call him for help. He and I barely talked, so the idea never crossed my mind. But knowing I had him in the wake of another emergency had me breathing just a tad bit easier.
“Ditto, but we’re getting off track here. Are you meeting up with him?” Mina asked.
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. Should I?” Even though I’d told him I’d see him there, part of me was regretting that decision.
“Why wouldn’t you? It’s only coffee. What’s the worst that could happen?”
I pursed my lips. How did I explain to her my confusion? She had a committed relationship she was extremely happy in and confident about. I saw the way she laid a firm kiss on Erica’s lips, staking her claim to anyone who dared look in her direction. When Jennifer and I first started dating, I had no problem showing public displays of affection. But the longer the relationship went on, the less I touched her. It got to the point where I barely held her hand or placed mine on the small of her back as we walked somewhere. When it reached that state, I knew it was the beginning of the end of our relationship, and I should’ve left then. But my cowardice won, and it caused me to stay.
“I’m not sure,” I finally said lamely.
“Aside from the fact I’ve seen how the man looks at you like he wants to eat you for three square meals a day? I’m not too sure either,” Ted added.
I scoffed. “No, he doesn’t, and even if he did, how could you tell? You’re posted up by the door.”
Ted cast me a wicked grin. “I notice more than you think, boy. And trust me. He looks at you like a man who’s starving and you’re the feast.”
I shook my head even though my cheeks started to flame. “You make him sound like a cannibal. What could he possibly eat of mine, anyway?”
Mina and Ted both laughed as I stood there in confusion. “Oh, you sweet, innocent soul. He’s going to eat you alive,” she said as she wiped her eyes.
“I hate you both,” I grumbled as I returned to sweeping the floor.
Ted continued to chuckle as he grabbed the trash bag to take it outside, and Mina went to do whatever it was she had to do. I finished sweeping the contents into the dustpan and emptied it into the only trash bag Ted hadn’t changed yet before grabbing the dust mop to give the floor a little shine.
As I continued to work, I thought about the comments Ted and Mina made. And the jokes about eating. It took me back to a time my friend Liam was going into great detail about a hookup he had with a man he met off an app, and suddenly I knew exactly what Ted was referring too. While the idea of a tongue in my ass should’ve horrified me, I found myself more curious than anything. And even though I’d never wanted to make my bed rock with any other man, I wasn’t opposed to the idea.
And suddenly images of Stellan and me in bed together filled my brain until the temperature in the bar rose by ten degrees and sweat was beading on my temple.
Bad idea, I told myself. Going for coffee is a bad idea.
It wasn’t like I was going to drop my pants and lie on the table right in the coffee shop, though. Why not go and see why he invited me the first place? But as we finished up, I was still undecided.
“Which coffee shop are you going to?” Mina asked as we traipsed through the parking lot toward our cars.
“What makes you think I’m going?”
Mina smirked. “Because you’d be a fool not to? Besides, it’s only coffee, and it’s always nice to have a new friend.”
“True.”
But how did I explain to her my problems? Not only was I newly single and trying to get back on my feet, but I was also struggling to understand why the first person to get some sort of reaction out of me in a long time happened to be a man.
“Just try not to think too much about it,” Mina said as if reading my mind. “Have a good time, and maybe he’ll give you a private concert.” She winked.
I chuckled and shook my head. But she did have a point. Most of my friends I’d met because of my relationship with Jennifer, while the others had moved away as soon as we graduated. Or they were busy with their own lives. While a few of us met up while we could, it was few and far between, and we mostly kept in touch through social media or texts. So to actually have someone to hang out with would be nice.
Ted insisted on standing by to make sure my car started, and after I pulled away, I drove a few minutes before turning into a parking lot. The coffee shop loomed ahead with its big windows and flickering sign that advertised it was open twenty-four hours. I killed the engine, took a few deep breaths, and then mustered up the nerve to get out.
“It’s just coffee,” I told myself, and had to fight the urge to slap myself in the face to snap out of whatever feelings had consumed me.