Page 2 of Strong Coffee

“Not scolding. Just reminding.” His voice turned gentle then. “I love you, Brady, but you need a break. We’ve all been working hard at getting our café, bar, whatever you want to call it, going and we’re getting therebut we do need to take some time off every now and again too.”

“Right.” I scoffed. “Says the guy who doesn’t even know what taking a break actually means. When was the last time you had a date with yourself, Shane?”

A deep chuckle sounded in my ear. If it had been a year before, that sound would have sent a tingle throughout every inch of me. But now, it did absolutely nothing. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Things with Shane could be simple. We knew each other better than we knew ourselves. But we seemed to work better as friends than as a couple. It was like we knew each other too much to make things work between us. That was what I told myself anyway. It helped me sleep at night. Really, we weren’t good for each other. He wasn’t my soul mate. I wasn’t overly romantic, but I did long for the day that I would meet someone who could give me everything I needed and in return, I would do the same for them.

“You still there, Brady?”

I cleared my throat, my body stiffening over the fact that Shane had probably said something, and I missed it. “Yeah, I am.”

“See? You’re distracted. This date is perfect for you.”

“I would rather be on a date with someone,” I mumbled.

“I can join you…” His words trailed off, hinting at something we could never give each other.

“Nah, I love you, so thank you, but I would rather be here alone than to fuck that up again.”

“Listen, it wasn’t just you,” Shane reminded me.

“I know but…” I coughed. “Yeah.” He often told me that it was both of us. We couldn’t be a couple as much as we loved each other. But it wasn’t the same. You could love someone but not beinlove with them.Thatwas our problem.

“I get it. We’ll both find someone that makes us happy but just know that I will always love you, Brady.”

“I don’t want to talk about this again.” Maybe that was the issue. I didn’t want to talk. I wanted to fuck. That was it. I just wanted to have a good time. Like most of my friends and business partners, I was happy with being single. For now.

“Alright, grumpy,” Shane grumbled. He quickly said goodbye and disconnected the call.

I sighed, putting my phone away and scrubbing a hand down my face. I was going to pay for that when I showed up at work the next day.

Our friends said that Shane and I fought like an old married couple sometimes. While I appreciated where he came from and how he looked out for me, I didn’t need another father figure. Ihada father, and he was the best fucking father there was. I couldn’t ask for better. Part of the problem was that Shane didn’t have a dad of his own and felt that he needed to take over that role. He would never admit it, but he needed someone he could care for. He needed a dog or a cat. Or even a plant. Or better yet, he needed his own father figure in his life. Maybe it was him who needed to be taken care of.

A sharp pain erupted through my stomach, like it usually did whenever I felt guilty. I quickly sent Shane a text apologizing and telling him that I was happy I had someone like him to look out for me. He didn’t respond but that was fine. I could make it up to him somehow later on. Right now, I was focused on having this date with myself like I had been told to do.

After I placed an order of food and beer, I was picking away at a plate of french fries, when the hairs on the back of my neck tingled. I knew that feeling. It happened often enough in my twenty-five years on this planet, I could tell when I was being watched. Not that I was drop-dead gorgeous or anything, but I had a certainlook about me. I was tall, had a swimmer’s body, even though I didn’t swim, and had tattoos covering most of my torso and arms. My black hair constantly fell into my eyes, but I refused to cut it. My favorite genre of music was punk rock and death metal. All metal really. So, I definitely fit the part.

That familiar tingle never went away as time went on. I wasn’t sure why I would be watched. Especially at a restaurant like this one. It was fancier than what I was used to, but the guys had made the reservation. I didn’t want to be rude, so I accepted. The staff had been nothing but nice to me so far and never looked at me with judgement or anything with how I looked.

Glancing around the open space of the dining area, I searched for the source, for the person staring me down. For the very reason why I suddenly felt like every inch of me was being scrutinized. When my eyes landed on the cause for this sudden feeling, I swallowed hard.

A large man was leaning against a wall on the other side of the vast expanse of the dining area I sat in. He was near a hallway that had a sign hanging from the ceiling marked ‘Staff Only’. He was dressed in a dark suit, the fabric hugging every inch of him like it was made for his body specifically. He held a phone in one hand, while his other scratched his stubbled chin. He stared at me with an intensity I had never felt before. He couldn’t be looking at me though. There was absolutely no way I was the center of his attention.

I looked around me, wondering if maybe I had been imagining things. There was no way this beautiful specimen was focused on me when there were so many other people in this restaurant. Especially when I could never be his type. He looked to be rich and like he had money seeping from his pores, while I looked like I had just rolled in off the street. Sure, I dressed nicely enough, but owning a coffee shop didn’t magically have me andmy partners filthy rich. It was taking time but all of us were stubborn as hell, so we got by well enough and refused to give up.

I quickly sent Shane a text, letting him know that some guy was staring at me and asked what I should do. As soon as I sent the text, I realized I probably should have texted one of my other friends, but I knew that Shane would be pissed that I didn’t go to him for advice first. It didn’t make sense, given our history and all. Shane, being Shane, responded that I should go for it. Even though our phone conversation didn’t end overly well, I could always count on him to give me advice whenever I needed it. Even if he was pissed at me.

Icouldgo for it, but I wasn’t exactly sure how to do that. It wasn’t like I had people lining up to sleep with me, so dates had been few and far between lately. Especially when trying to get a business up and running took most of my time.

Signaling the waiter over, I ordered another beer. If I was going to go for it like Shane suggested, I needed some liquid courage. Not that two beers would do a whole lot, but it would help a bit at least.

After the waiter came back with my beer, I took a long swig, watching the mysterious man. He was still looking my way but every now and again, he would glance down at his phone and scowl.

I found that I wanted to wipe that scowl off his face and replace it with a smile. Or better yet, have a groan fall from his lips.

My dick twitched, not expecting to react so suddenly to this stranger.

I wasn’t sure why, but Ihadto meet this man. Even if I never got his name, I had to meet him in one of the best ways I knew how.

I had to fuck him.

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