Page 32 of Mitch

With my spare hand, I checked the labels, before handing him his drink.

“Cinnamon Dolce Latte for the Cream Puff, Chai Tea Latte for the pain in the ass, and Tuxedo Mocha with an extra shot of espresso for the photographer,” I said, flashing a grin.

Archie came around to receive his drink, smiling. “Thanks, man.” he said as I nodded.

“Yeah, don’t get to used it. I needed the caffeine and my mama didn’t raise an asshole.”

Penn chuckled as he took a sip of his drink, his eyelashes fluttering as he moaned in satisfaction.

The sound went straight to my cock, and the memory of my fantasy this morning resurfaced.

Not now!

“God, I swear these things will fixanything,” Penn said as Archie nonchalantly grabbed the suitcase, whistling as he pulled it back behind the counter to put it in the office no doubt, like he had yesterday.

Which left Penn and I alone for the moment.

“It’s like six am, Penn. What do you need to fix already? The day hasn’t even started.”

Penn sighed, running his fingers along the heated cardboard.

“If you only knew...” His voice was wistful, yet sarcastic.

Clearly whatever was bothering him was stressing him out.

“Try me.”

Penn sipped his drink again, twisting his lips as he gazed up at me as if contemplating what to say.

Or rather,howto say it. But he thought better of it.

He sighed, shaking his head as he murmured. “Stupid fucking porn.”

The adult in me knew I should probably leave it alone, whatever it was clearly was none of my business.

But the immature asshole in me could not very well leave well enoughalone, and of course, I steamrolled through that admission like I was scoring a touchdown.

“Really, Cream Puff? Your panties all in a bunch because the WiFi cut you off too early or something?” I teased.

“Oh my God! I didn’t just say that out loud! Oh my God!” His cheeks turned pink, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

I reached out, setting my free hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, sweetheart, it happens to the best of us,” I taunted him, flashing him a wink.

His cheeks reddened as he groaned. “I am so fucking bad at this!” he said, turning around, and practicallyrunning the other way.

“Bad at what?” I called out, as he huffed, scampering behind the counter.

I swung my tripod off my shoulders, setting my coffee down on one of the tables in front of the big bakery window. The sun had started to peek up and I knew I didn’t have much time to get the shot I wanted.

“Nothing!” he called out from behind the counter, and I couldn’t help but smile, hearing the embarrassment in his voice.

He looked so damn cute when he blushed like that.

I unzipped the tripod, hurrying to set it up to get my shot. I’d just gotten everything set up when the light hit the window, like a firework. I knew once I got the photos downloaded for the day, seeing those bright blue letters amidst the sparkling sunrise, it would be stunning.

And just like most things in life, it was over in a literal flash. I’d stopped the moment, even if only for a fraction, embedded in photography forever.

As I disassembled the camera from the tripod stand, I had to wonder if that wasn’t some weird metaphor for my life.

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