Page 18 of Praise You

"I'm doing great," I tell her.

"Same here," Nate pipes in.

"Good, good. It's almost Thanksgiving break. Which means it's almost time for finals and that's when everything gets crazy around here, so I wanted to take the time to reach out today. Please don't forget that my door is always open to you."

She leaves my office just as quickly as she appeared; the door closing softly behind her.

"Well, I guess I'll actually leave this time." Nate laughs heading back toward the door again.

"See ya later, Nate."

Stepping through the door to Brewz, I stop short, inhaling the aroma of coffee beans that surrounds me. Brewz is down the street from BU, and today's the first time I've decided to try it. I'm not a big coffee drinker, but there are days like today when I crave something filled with caffeine.

I step to the back of the line, glancing around at the shop around me. There're floor length windows allowing the sunlight to brighten the whole room, with chairs and couches throughout. There are also little tables all throughout the room. I'm scanning through the crowd when my gaze lands on Ronan and his friend Noah. They're sitting at a small table by the window, both of them mid laugh.

My palms grow sweaty, so I quickly wipe them on my slacks before looking away. I avoid making eye contact as I make my way to the front.

"What can I get for you today?" the young woman in front of me asks.

"Hi. This is my first time here. What is a customer favorite?" My eyes track the menu on the wall behind her but nothing really screams out to me.

"The iced caramel macchiato with drizzled chocolate is pretty amazing." His voice hits my ear and I have to suppress the tremble that wants to work its way through my body.

Turning around, I smirk at Ronan, who's standing really close behind me. "That sounds like it's filled with a lot of sugar."

"Oh, it is, but it's also so damn delicious. I promise if you're wanting the best at Brewz, it’s the best."

"What if I don't like sweet?"

Ronan licks his lips, my eyes immediately tracking the movement. My dick twitches in my pants and I chide myself on reacting to him this way.

"I'm sure I could help you find some things that aren't sweet as well." He winks at me before his eyes get wide.

Holy shit. Was he trying to flirt with me?

"Oh, uh… Sweet sounds good." I turn back to the woman at the register, telling her I'll take what he said. I use my phone to pay before turning back toward Ronan and getting out of the way.

"Do you come here a lot?" I ask as we stand by the window.

"I'm here most days. Plus Noah—" He jerks his head in Noah’s direction, still sitting at the table. I look over to where he's sitting, but he's not looking at us. He's typing away on his phone. "He works here, so some days I'll stop by to see him while he's on break."

"Do you not see him a lot at home? I thought he was your roommate, too?"

"He is. But he's got a new boyfriend, plus school and work. Our time together has been pretty limited." He shrugs, glancing a quick look over at Noah. The barista hands me my drink, then turns on her heel and walks back behind the counter. "Try it. I want to see if you like it."

Nodding my head, I bring the straw up to my lips before taking a small sip. Flavors explode on my tongue and I moan loudly, the sound escaping my mouth before I can stop it. Ronan's eyes go wide again and he shifts them away from me.

"This is really good." I take another sip of the drink, this time holding in the moan that wants to break free.

"I'm glad I could help. Do you have any plans for Thanksgiving?"

"Not really. I'm planning to hang out at home. Watch some movies." Fuck, I sound really boring.

"So, basically, what you did for Halloween?"

With a belly laugh, I shrug. "Basically. It's a little different when my family lives in another state. What about you? Are you going back home?"

"Uh, no." Ronan glances toward the table where Noah is sitting, then turns back to me. "Noah isn't able to fly home for the holiday, so my roommates and I decided to stay here as well so he's not alone."

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