8. Jake
Jake
Iwas so anxious I couldn’t sleep last night so I got up early, did a workout and showered and it was still only six am. We’re meeting at seven so I still have some time to kill.
Or I can just go and sit there and wait for him like a lovesick loser. Lovesick? Am I?
Nope, definitely not that. This is just an honest instant infatuation with a man. Something I haven’t had in a long time. I'm just meeting for coffee and conversation and from there I’ll see what’s going to happen. It may lead to an actual date or friendship.
There has to be something around here I need to do. Maybe, laundry. I’m sure there’s some dirty clothes in the hamper and now is a better time than any to do them. I can start the load and by the time I get back they’ll be more than ready to go into the dryer.
But that’s not what I do. Once I’m dressed, I bypass the laundry room and head straight to the door, picking up my wallet off the bookcase and slipping it in my back pocket.
The last thing I get is my keys off the hook and I’m out of my apartment, with only Victor on my mind.
So much so I don’t even remember getting to the café until I walk through the door.
My eyes roam the inside, moving from table to table then to the very short line at the counter.
He’s not here yet. I step in line behind the woman in workout clothes.
She must sense my presence and her head turns to look back at me.
Her eyes take in my entire body, then she bats her lashes at me, unaware that she’s barking up the wrong tree. She has nothing I want.
“Good morning.” She steps closer to me, swaying her body slightly.
“It is,” I answer back, not bothering to add anything else to it. I’m not here for her, nor do I want to be.
She lifts her finger and starts twirling her hair with her finger. “They have the best coffee here. But I haven’t seen you here before. I’d be glad to give you a recommendation.” She steps even closer to me, her breasts rubbing against my arm as she places her hand on my chest.
Forward, eager and definitely not wanted by me.
I take hold of her hand and remove it, then release my grip on her.
“Not needed. I know exactly what I want. And before you offer anything else, I’m not interested.
” Her eyes go wide in shock and her cheeks turn red.
Fuck, I’m an ass. “It’s nothing against you, but I’m not attracted to women.
” “Ma’am,” the young redhead at the counter calls and the woman in front of me quickly turns her back to me and steps up to the counter.
I want to apologize but decide not to. It’s not worth it. I didn’t misread the situation and there was no reason to let her carry on when she clearly doesn’t have a chance.
When it's my turn I step up to the counter, there’s a plan already in my head. One I devised yesterday. Last night we kept sending messages back and forth. Not all at the same time but randomly throughout the night. We took turns asking and answering questions about ourselves.
I kept mine basic, choosing to learn what he likes to drink.
Which coffee he prefers. His favorite dessert.
If he figured out what I was doing he never let on.
Or, it could be because I mixed them in with other questions like what made him become an accountant?
How does he like being self-employed? You know, the basics of getting to know you questions.
He had the same ones for me. Well, not so much the coffee preference, but what made me become a firefighter.
If I’m originally from here. If I have brothers or sisters.
He told me how he has one sister who’s expecting and he can’t wait to be an uncle.
The only part he hates is that he doesn’t live closer to her. I can get that.
“What can I get for you, sir?” The barista gives me a warm smile that spreads from ear to ear.
“Can I get a large Caramel Macchiato, with an extra shot of espresso?”
“Anything else?”
“Yes. Can I place an order for another coffee and pastry and have you bring it over when my…” I pause for a second hesitating as to what to call him. “...my date arrives?”
“Normally, the answer would be no.” Then she leans across the counter and whispers. “But why not. Just give me a wave and I’ll get it ready and bring them over.”
“You’re the best. I’m trying to impress him.”
“I’m sure you already do,” she laughs softly.
I quickly tell her his coffee order and some pastries to bring over when he arrives, pay her, then step to the side. Once I have my drink in hand, I turn and look over toward the corner I was in yesterday, thankful to find the table empty.
A win if you ask me. I was sweating thinking I’d have to kick anyone out of the chairs.
The only plan I had going for me if it was occupied was pulling the firefighter card.
I save lives for a living so giving up your chair for me is the least you could do.
If that didn’t work the only other option was flexing my muscles.
Getting arrested as he walks in the door isn’t exactly the way I want our date to start. Sorry Victor, can you bail me out of jail? Somehow I think that’ll have him running in the opposite direction, far away from me.
I sit down in the chair facing the door and wait. My hands wrap around my coffee cup, soaking up the warmth, as my eyes stay locked on the door. My knees bounce nervously under the table.
All I can think about is how easy it was to talk to him through messages. But now we’ll be face to face. What if I stumble over all my words or say something stupid? What if a huge snot booger comes flying out of my nose and he sees it? Or I belch so loudly and it stinks?
“Get it together, Jake,” I mumble under my breath before picking up my phone and checking the time. We still have a little over ten minutes before we’re supposed to meet. I open my messages just to make sure he hasn’t canceled. But nothing. Just the good night message he sent me yesterday.
My fingertips tap against the edge of my cup in sync with the beat of the music playing through the speaker.
I glance down at my phone to see only a couple minutes have passed. Time seems to be frozen making sure my panic has plenty of time to marinate and grow.
In a matter of minutes, we’re going to be sitting across from each other. He’ll see every reaction I make and I’ll see his. I already know I’m going to do something stupid. It’s inevitable. What if he walks through that door and immediately has regrets?
I close my eyes, centering myself as I take deep breaths, then exhale slowly. I repeat this over and over until I hear a familiar throat clearing. My eyes pop open to see him standing there, hand on the back of the chair and a smile on his face.
“Again you’re lost in thought. You better be careful, anyone could sneak up on you.” Victor lets out a soft laugh as he pulls the chair out and sits down across from me.
“Well, lucky for me, it was you.” I can feel my face heating up as I speak with him.
My eyes drift over to the counter where the barista is standing, gesturing toward Victor.
I know she’s asking if that’s my date, and I give a gentle nod.
She replies with a thumbs up and my attention returns to Victor.
“Do you have a signal set up to ditch our coffee date?”
I cough, caught off guard by his question and the utter absurdness of it. If anyone would have a ditch plan it would be him. Well, in my mind anyway. I always think of the worst case scenario. Some call it a character flaw but I call it being realistic.
“No, not at all.”
I bite my lip as I gaze across the table at him. He just sits there with a smile that makes every crazy thought in my head vanish.
His eyebrow raises. “Then what is it?”
Before I can answer, I’m saved by a metaphoric bell. “Good morning , gentlemen. Here you go.” She sits another coffee in front of me, then places Victor’s matcha in front of him, along with a plate of pastries consisting of blueberry muffins, coffee cake, and croissants.
He just smiles at me as he picks up his drink and takes a sip. “That’s what the questions were for last night. And you remembered exactly how I liked it.”
I shrug. “Maybe.”
“Did you order this before I got here? Because how did she know to bring it over?”
I just nod, my mouth somehow forgetting how to form words.
“Earth to Jake. Are you okay? Cat got your tongue?” he asks, playfully.
“Sorry, umm, yeah. I ordered it when I arrived and asked for it to be brought over when you got here. You know, trying to impress you.”
Victor reaches across the table, taking my hand in his, letting his thumb stroke across my skin while his fingers press into my palm. “I like it. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Instantly, all the self doubt I was having starts to fall away and I feel more in the moment than I ever have.
He doesn’t let go of my hand and I don’t pull it away either. We just sit there, hand in hand, as we sip our drinks.
“So what’s it like?” he asks.
“I need more than that, Victor. I can’t read minds.” I give him a wink as I pick up the blueberry muffin with my free hand and take a bite. It’s warm. Just the way I like them.
“Sorry,” he says, his eyes fixated on my mouth. “Being a firefighter. Running into burning buildings, saving lives. Bringing people back from death.”
I sit there for a minute. Trying to compose my thoughts.
“Rewarding. Scary. Stressful. But I love every minute of it. There are days I come home utterly exhausted. Not just physically but mentally as well. There are days when in the heat of the moment I question why I chose this profession. But then after it’s over and I look around at the people and the scene, I know I wouldn’t want to do any other job. ”
“You really love it. I can see the way your face lights up.” He’s right, I do. It’s all I ever wanted to be growing up. “Have you ever met with any of the people you rescued?”
I take another sip of my coffee.
“I’ve had them stop by the station after they’ve recovered and thank me.” I lift my hand and rub it along the back of my neck.
“You don’t like hearing them thank you. Do you?” He tilts his head to the side as he studies me.
“It’s not that. I just don’t need to hear it.
Seeing the look in their eyes after they’re safe tells me all I need to hear.
It’s when it goes past the simple thank you.
Like now. I have someone, no clue who they are, and for months they’ve been sending gifts to me.
They know so many details from my order at my favorite coffee place, my favorite snack to my favorite author to read.
It’s past thank you and moved on to crazed stalker. ”
He swallows, his Adam’s apple moving up and down as he does. “Crazy. And all you want is for it to stop?”
“Yeah. But, I will say thanks to them for stalking me. I bypassed my favorite place and came here yesterday. Because of that, I met you.”
“Do you have any clue who it is?” he asks, picking up a croissant and taking a bite.
A tiny bit of chocolate remains on his lip and I don't know what overtakes me, but I reach across and wipe it off.
He opens his mouth and takes my thumb into his mouth, licking it off.
My cock twitches and I suck in a breath of air.
“Sorry,” he says after releasing my thumb. “So, why aren’t you dating anyone now?”
I laugh. Guess we’re changing the subject, or maybe he’s caught off guard by what he did too.
“Well the answer to your first question is no. If I did, I would’ve told them to stop already. As for the second, it's hard. My schedule is crazy and I haven’t really wanted to date since my last boyfriend.” I rub my lips together then blow out a breath of air. “Until you.”
“That makes me happy.” His face brightens as he speaks.
“Why aren’t you dating anyone?”
“I had a crush on someone.”
“And, do you still? Do I have competition?” Please, please say no.
“No competition. He doesn’t even know I exist. The crush was one sided.”
“It sounds complicated, but I’m glad he doesn’t know you’re crushing on him. Now I have you all to myself.”
Over the next hour, we talked non stop. We tease each other and argue over which’s better: DC or Marvel. Which house we’re in. He’s Gryffindor and I’m Slytherin. And over the course of it all I find myself falling harder for him.
He glances at his phone and grimaces. “I hate this but I need to go. I have a meeting in an hour and I still need to prep for it.”
“It’s fine, I understand. I still need to get home and get some things around my apartment done. Can I walk you out?”
“I’d like that.”
We both stand and head out of the café, straight to his car.
“I had fun,” I tell him as he stands by the driver's side door.
“I did too.” He hesitates for a second. “Can I see you again?”
“There’s nothing I want more.”
“I know your schedule is busy and I’m more than willing to work around it. Even if it’s just for coffee.”
“Would you like to come over tomorrow before my shift starts? Maybe have some lunch. I can cook or order delivery. That is if it fits in your schedule.” I shove my hands in my pockets and rock back and forth on my heels.
“I can make it work. But only if you’re comfortable with me coming to your home.”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t.”
“Then it’s a date, Jake.”
“So tomorrow it is. I’ll message you my address.”
He smiles and there’s silence between us. His eyes are locked on mine and I step closer to him.
“Victor, can I kiss you?”
“Please.”
That's all I need to hear. My hand reaches out, slipping around his head, pulling his face closer to mine as I press my lips against his.
The kiss is soft and gentle at first. Each of us taking our time, savoring it. His arms slip around my waist as he presses his body against mine and our kiss deepens.
When our lips pull apart we’re both breathing heavily.
“I definitely want to do that again,” he says with a raspy breath.
“Me too.” I let go of his head and take a step back. “Tomorrow.”
He smiles at me, then opens the door to his car and gets inside. I stand there like an idiot with a goofy grin on my face until he pulls out of the parking spot. Only then do I head to my truck, excited for what the future is holding for me.