Page 12 of Strong Coffee

“Really?”

“Yeah.” He coughed. “I like you, Brady. Do we know each other? No. Definitely not as much as I want to but that takes time. I’d like to give it a shot if you do.”

“Yes.” My stomach flipped, my nerves jumping under my skin. “I would like that.”

“Good. Did you want to meet for dinner at five and then we can go somewhere else for drinks?”

“I would love that a lot actually.” I checked the time on my phone. That would give me an hour to get my shit together and calm these racing nerves rushing through me.

I wasn’t sure what it was about this man, but he reached a part of me that had never been reached before. Even with Shane, it never felt perfect. Sure, it felt good, but I always needed more, and I knew that he did too. It was one reason why we ended it.

“Okay. See you soon, Brady.”

We said our goodbyes and I disconnected the call.

Leaning against the wall, I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths. The next hour was definitely going to drag on now that my plans with Camden had been moved up. A part of me had wanted to suggest that we meet up at my place or even his, because I did want to get to know him. Sex was one thing but learning more about him was important right now. I found that I wanted to be his friend. I just hoped that being friends with him wouldn’t result in us not having a relationship. I couldn’t handle going through what I did with Shane, again. No matter how attracted to Cam I was.

SEVEN

Brady

The hour I waitedfor my date with Cam went extremely slow.

He ended up texting me the location of a restaurant that wasn’t too far from Coffee Beans & Love. It was a Korean place and somewhere I had never been before. I wasn’t sure what to expect when it came to the food, but I was always willing to try anything at least once.

When I was about to leave work, he texted again and said he was running late. I then decided to go home and quickly take a shower and get changed.

When I was putting on my shoes to leave, the door to the apartment opened. Shane, Presley, and Noah entered the small space, their voices falling over each other as they argued.

“I can fix the machine. I just need a few days,” Presley insisted, kicking off his running shoes.

“We can get a new one,” Noah suggested.

“We can’t afford a new one,” Shane threw at him, his eyes flicking my way. Something flashed in them, something I didn’t want to explore, and I thought he didn’t either.

“What’s up?” I asked, sitting back on the couch and crossing my arms under my chest.

“You going on a date?” he asked instead, letting his gaze roam over me.

Noah and Presley stopped arguing, probably wondering if their friends were about to get into a fight.

“I am.” I waited a beat before continuing. “You going to make this weird for all of us?”

Shane opened his mouth, closed it, and let out a loud sigh. “No. Sorry.” He looked at Noah and Presley. “I am sorry. I just…I met someone, and it’s been weird.” He lifted a hand, stopping us from badgering him with a whole bunch of questions. “I don’t want to talk about it. Not like anything is happening anyway but it’s still…weird and I am sorry.”

I stood and closed the distance between us. Pulling him in for a hug, I squeezed him. “You better be or I’ll kick your ass.”

He chuckled, returning the embrace. “If this guy hurts you though, I will make him disappear.”

I grunted, rolling my eyes. “I know.”

“We’re good?” Noah asked, playing on his phone.

“Yes,” Shane and I answered at the same time.

“What are you doing?” Presley pulled the phone from his hands. “We can’t afford this.”

Before they began arguing about the espresso machine that we desperately needed, I said goodbye, and quickly left the apartment.

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