Chapter 16
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
PATRIOT
I t’s Tuesday, and my first task of the day is the morning coffee run. From the moment I walk into the office just before 10am, I’m intercepted by Anna, giving me a list of orders for herself, Hank, the head of our PR team Anthony, a contractor who’s come in to guide us through some of the elements of our NYCC booth that they designed, the Editor-in-Chief Quentin Prosser, and a bunch of others. I frantically took it all down in my phone’s notes app.
Within minutes, I’m at the favorite coffee house of the Excelsior team, rattling off an order for one grande Americano, Hank’s Columbian blend with hazelnut syrup, one flat white with soy milk, three iced latte’s, one with caramel, one with pumpkin spice, and one as is, but with half the usual ice; a small latte with oat milk, another Americano but can I get three of ‘those little milk pods too’, and a hot hazelnut latte with soy for myself.
As I wait for my order to be prepared in full, I lull into a dazed, thoughtful energy, the same vibe that my day had started with.
Waking up as my alarm went off, my mind shot awake with recollections from the night before. I lay there letting my phone beep and trill away, as I remembered how sweet and excitable Will was sharing a part of his world, how fierce he got when he felt I was threatened, and the sex…oh my god, the sex.
Well, almost sex, I guess. Mouth stuff counts, right? At any rate, it was amazing, and I found myself imagining more with him. Once I got sorted, once everything was fine and we’d talked properly, that is.
And maybe that could be with him. It feels like being with him could open a whole new world, too, and that’s kinda exciting. Not that I think it’s for me, necessarily. I do feel like there’s an element to it that reminds me of cosplay, but there’s definitely a lot more to it, like a mindset. But then, some cosplayers I know say they also kind of get into a different mental space, living their characters as much as simply dressing as them.
And while maybe I’m not a Pup myself, I thought the world of it was charming, and maybe we’d discover there are other things that are more me. It feels like, with Will, I could definitely find that together with him. Like he can help open a whole new world to me, both externally and internally, or does that sound too weird?
My thoughts are broken by a bang at my bedroom door from an angry Amanda (she’s really not a morning person), prompting me to get out of my head, switch off my still beeping alarm and get on with the day, the preparation, routine and then wild rush as I got in the office taking over and giving my mind something else to linger on.
But with the order placed and nothing to do but scroll through my phone as I wait, my mind starts wandering again.
Will is funny, sweet, gorgeous and oh so hot, the things we might do…but is that all I want out of a partner? Sure, I only just started to get to know him, but even in that brief amount of time, he came across as insightful and mature despite his years, just still very boyish and able to have fun.
Like, what was that thing he mentioned? Why does it all have to happen at once? I realize he’s got a point, but despite seeing that, I still feel the need for getting all my worlds in line. My professional and work world are steaming ahead, and maybe there’s a chance my creative world will follow along with that, perhaps even connected to that if Hank gets his way with me. But my social world and my romantic world are definitely languishing, partly due to my focus on the first two worlds of my life. I need to get the entire multiverse of my life all in sync, because if part of me rushes ahead, maybe I’d lose sight of the others? After all, Arran warned me about how focusing on his career made him lose the great love of his life, and honestly, I feel like that could already be happening to me.
I’ve been dating, sure, but never anything serious. I’ve not had time. And now, with everything going in my life…
I stare at the text again, pondering if anyone will even ever be able to love me again. Wondering if I’ll wind up alone forever…
“Jesse!”
I startle from what I was looking at, my eyes darting around trying to find who called my name, before realizing it’s the barista in front of me, tilting her head to one side, her blue undercut falling to her shoulder as she stands there presenting my large coffee order in carry cases.
“Sorry,” I say as I fumble to get a hold of the heavy cardboard trays filled with coffees, very mindful that three of them are iced and I should try and get back to the office fast before the proximity to the hot ones alone causes them to melt.
I make my way towards the exit, only half paying attention to the world around me, as I start listing the paths before me to try and bring my worlds into unison.
Julio: sweet, funny, hot as all get out, and adorably simple. Shahid: clever, sage, cute and with an organizational mind I could learn from. Will: sexy, interesting, and fun, maybe able to open my world to all kinds of new things. Arran: okay, just kinda crushing on him, and I guess he doesn’t seem interested, but maybe that’s just because of the whole professional relationship we have, but he seems open to friendship, maybe it could become more? Perry, Tom and Seth: I mean, perhaps that’s the perfect choice, being polyamorous, if I find it so hard to limit myself and choose just one path, why not choose several. And then there’s Hank…
I’m brought back into the now with a yelp. The door swings open, plowing into my hands and knocking the coffees clean out of them as the door narrowly misses my nose. I jump backwards, causing me to slip and fall onto my butt. I watch the cups smash open as they hit the floor, spraying wildly but miraculously missing me. Instead, the legs of a nice, navy suit get soaked from ankle to knees and dotting further up, as I continue looking on to see the wide open mouth of a startled man in his late 20s, dark brown skin, brown, almost black eyes watching in horror, tightly shaved black hair on his head. He watches the coffee soaking into his pants, before slowly raising his face to meet mine as I scramble to get up.
“Oh my god, I am so sorry, I can’t—I don’t—” I stutter, my mind racing towards the possibilities of what could come next. Is this man going to shout at me? Oh my god, will I have to buy all the coffees again? Will work think I’m stealing if I claim the expenses twice? Or maybe this guy is going to punch me.
Instead, the handsome man dripping in an assortment of coffees bursts out laughing.
“No, no, my bad. I really should have been paying attention, but once I get talking on the phone, well, I can be a bit of a chatterbox, my momma used to say,” it’s then I notice the cellphone in his hand. He pushes it into his pocket, then offers me his hand to help me up.
As I’m drawn up to my feet, I realize he’s the same height as me, and we stand a little too close. But before I can get too awkward, he just smiles at me, flashing me a set of brilliant, perfect white teeth. Perfect, but for the faintest gap in between the two front top teeth. He’s still holding onto my hand.
“Hi. I’m Luther,” he says, breathily.
“Jesse. Hi, I mean. That’s my name,” I stammer, “Jesse, that is. Not hi. That would be weird.”
He laughs that deep, booming laugh of his again, and I can’t help but smile. It’s truly infectious.
“Well, hi, Jesse. Sorry about the mishap. Can I get those again for you?”
“Hi,” I breathe, mesmerized. “Oh, I mean, I can’t ask you to do that, I got a work order, I got them for a bunch of people.”
“Well, I would sure hope all that coffee wasn’t just for you. Honestly, I owe you. As I say, my mistake. And I’m a big believer in making reparations for our mistakes,” he smiles, moving toward the barista’s bar, hand gently in the small of my back, guiding me to join him. I’m aware of another of the coffee shops staff rushing out with a mop, wet floor sign and irritated expression, but I’m paying more attention to this man touching me, his wide hand feeling warm in the small of my back. His thick biceps and shoulders look barely contained in his wonderfully tailored suit jacket, his shirt underneath a bright, warm orange that perfectly compliments both the navy of the suit and his skin tone. His collar is undone, the buttons undone lower, revealing just a touch of collarbone on a thick, strong, wide chest.
“Jesse, what was it you were having?” He smiles at me, and for a moment, I’m lost.
“Oh, oh right,” I fish out my phone from my pants, and read out the order to the barista again.
“And a decaf cold brew for me, thanks. With a shot of caramel,” Luther turns to me, grinning, a twinkle in his eye. “What can I say, I have a sweet tooth.”
I gulp hard. Am I in a rom com right now?
Luther walks me back to the office, helping me carry the coffees. This gives each of us a free hand so we can drink our own coffees too, and with the sun out on a surprisingly warm day in the city, it’s actually really pleasant.
“Honestly, you didn’t have to do this?” I say, smiling at him.
“Not at all, Jesse,” Luther returns the smile, “I really just wanted to spend a little more time with you anyway.”
“Oh?”
“Well, yeah. It’s not every day you bump into a cute guy in a cliche rom com meet cute situation,” he laughs.
I choke on my coffee. Did he just say I was ‘cute’? “Ha, you noticed that too, huh?”
We talk about romantic comedies for a little bit, our paces slow to stretch out our time together.
“So, besides watching every romantic comedy ever made, what is it you do, Luther?”
“Well, I suppose I’m a journalist still,” he says, cryptically.
“You suppose?”
“Well, I’m actually running for local office, for my home neighborhood up in the Harlem. I’m down here for a meeting when I bumped into you.”
“Local office in Harlem, huh? I actually live in Harlem,” I say.
“No kidding? Well, hopefully I can count on your vote?” Luther jokes, smiling at me sidelong, but honestly, he could ask me to do anything right at this moment. I’m putty in his metaphorical hands.
“Well, it’s the least I can do after ruining your nice suit,” I say, nodding down at his pant legs, which are, I fear, irrevocably stained by the mix of coffees and syrup shots. “What made you want to run?”
“For office? Oh, I just think it’s time I gave back, you know? Times weren’t always easy for me growing up, but thanks to the strength of my community, I got myself up and went to college. Came back and would report on local events, and how our community was being served and failed by the police or the mayor’s office. But it didn’t feel like enough.
“Walking around, I’d still see the same trouble, the same neglect, with a sheen painted over the borough, just enough to make the casual observer think that Harlem was ‘on the rise again’, and problems were a thing of the past.
“I guess I realized we need someone from the neighborhood to help the neighborhood, and maybe that someone had to be me, you know? I’ve been around, I’ve made the contacts, maybe I can achieve something important there. Instead of seeing the same old cycles turning again and again, maybe I can help break that.”
I look at Luther with a mix of attraction and awe. As he shares his reasons for running, and his deep love for the neighborhood he calls home, it’s impossible not to see the politician in him, and for once, one you can believe in.
“Wow. And here I am just trying to make silly little comic books,” I mumble, feeling slightly intimidated by how completely together this guy is, and only a little older than me.
“Don’t be ridiculous. What you do is important too, in its own way. And hey, I loved Excelsior comics when I was a kid, and some of those films have been amazing too. They’re no rom coms, but hey, everyone loves a good blockbuster now and again.”
We reach the front entrance to the office, and Luther steps in front of me, turning to meet my eyes. He hands me the tray with the other coffees on, and I thank him. He turns to leave.
But after two steps, he spins on his heel, hands in pockets, and comes back to stand in front of me, crowding my space slightly. “Look, I know this might be a bit forward, but I can’t deny the power of the rom com meet cute magic. I’d really like to see you again, Jesse.”
“Me too,” I sigh, and oh man, do I mean it.
Luther pulls out a card from his pocket, flashing it before me. “Here’s my number,” he says, and he goes to give me the card before realizing both my hands are now fully occupied. Instead, he takes a step closer, and he’s all up in my space. I feel his breath on my neck, my eyes not leaving his as he gently puts the card in the pocket of my pants. “Call me, Jesse. Any time. I’d love to hear from you.”
“As a constituent?” I joke.
“Hopefully, a bit closer than that,” and he lightly kisses my lips, and I feel myself relax into him. As he pulls away, his lips curl into a smile. “Much closer.”
He steps back and waves, before turning and striding down the street, leaving me gobsmacked and dizzy in his wake.
Did…did I just find another one?