Page 15 of David

“Is there a problem with your coffee, sir?”

The way she calls him ‘sir’ makes me think of high thread count sheets, a massive bed, a dim room, and him shirtless with a whip.

The pleasurable variety.

“There’s sugar in it.”

His voice is clipped, his eyes not once diving in my direction.

He didn’t mean it––buying me cookies. He just wanted to make a statement about how bad he had it.

Asshole.

“No one put sugar in your drink, sir,” the woman says, disheartened.

“Let me call you back,” he mutters before ending his phone conversation and holding her gaze for a moment, his silence more telling than anything he’s said before.

Without a word, she collects his ruined drink and walks away, ensuring that she gets it right this time.

No errors are allowed.

Draped in silence, he watches her doing her job.

I’m convinced there was no sugar in his coffee.

Besides, he didn’t seem that upset outside.He even had a couple of sips.

Plus, I know this place. It serves some of the best coffee in town. It has good employees. They wouldn’t mess with his drink.

He just needed a pretext to walk in.

“Maybe coffee is not the best choice for you. One of those calming teas might do it for you,” I find myself talking. “Chamomile, for instance.”

He doesn’t react to my comment, yet he must know I’m staring at him.

Clearly looking for trouble.

No reasonable person would approach this man right now. He no longer smiles. And whoever was on the phone with him didn’t do much for his mood.

Maybe he’s one of those characters who go off on whoever happens to be nearby when things don’t go their way.

Insufferable, bossy man.

He doesn’t even dignify me with a glance, his hands stuffed into his pockets.

His response couldn’t be clearer.

And since I have nothing to lose…

“I don’t need your cookies.”

My blunt comment makes the corners of his lips twitch with a suppressed smile.

“You couldn’t have possibly believed me,” he says, not looking at me, preoccupied with how his espresso trickles into the porcelain cup.

“I actually could. You look like a gentleman.”

His eyes come to me, barely warm from the smile tugging at his lips.

---