Chapter 9 #2
“If you’re worried about me, then take me home now and go get some sleep. You’re not in the right frame of mind to work on a new drink now. You can do that tomorrow.”
She was right. He should give up on making drinks now, but that didn’t mean he was going to sleep. How could he when all he could think about was how good Caleb looked sitting next to him, and the way he looked right into Rhys’s eyes as he waited for an answer to his questions.
The next day, Rhys had a lot more customers than he’d had during the week.
There were lots of weekend tourists in town.
The leaves weren’t near their peak yet, but they were beginning to turn, and the weather was gorgeous.
Plenty of people were ready to get out to apple farms, pumpkin patches, and local harvest events, and plenty of them made a day of it with a stop in town.
Rhys didn’t have any time to work on his festival drink during the day, so he ordered a pizza for dinner and decided to spend the evening working.
The shop didn’t open until eight on Sundays, so he’d have some extra time in the morning, not that he usually slept in.
He liked keeping his routine the same every day.
He’d scribbled down a few ideas when he’d taken a break for lunch. He tried each of them, adjusted things, tried again, and repeated the process, but not a single one was any better than what he’d come up with the night before.
How the hell was he going to create a drink that would be competitive?
He needed the perfect flavor and the best ingredients, because he wasn’t going to put a bunch of flashy things together or top his drink with a whipped cream mountain.
That wasn’t his style, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t make a phenomenal drink.
It just meant his choices needed to be perfect.
Usually, he didn’t have a problem creating something he was proud of, but there was so much pressure this year.
Agnes needed to calm down. The town wasn’t suddenly going to double its tourist revenue just by winning a lot of ribbons at the festival.
She wanted bragging rights because she and her sister were fiercely competitive.
But that shouldn’t mean Rhys had to stay up all night coming up with fall-themed concoctions.
He sighed. Agnes was putting on extra pressure, and so was the fact that Cloud Nine was open and thriving, but was either one really the problem? This shouldn’t be so hard. Rhys loved making coffee.
As if wanting to add to how bad he felt, what had been a gentle rain turned harsh and wild. The wind blew huge raindrops against the shop’s windows, and Rhys shivered as though he could feel the rain on his skin.
He watched the storm as he pondered what was missing from his creations. Did he really need Caleb’s style matched with his analytics to create a winning entry? Caleb’s lights were still on. Was he working late again too?
He could walk down the street and tell Caleb he’d changed his mind, but Caleb might have already figured out his entry and no longer want a partnership.
Even if he hadn’t, all the other reasons Rhys shouldn’t work with Caleb were still there.
Nothing had changed about how flustered he felt when he saw Caleb or how hard a time he had making compromises or working with others.
And what if he did something crazy that let Caleb know how badly Rhys was crushing on him?
No way. He couldn’t risk that. Whether they were behind the counter at Frost + Foam or Cloud Nine, they’d be in close quarters.
He might easily give himself away. Even if Caleb were interested, that would be a disaster.
He couldn’t date Caleb. Not with the whole town watching, not with the stakes so high one of them could lose everything if it went poorly.
He needed to keep working on his drink. It didn’t matter that he was tired and frustrated and not at his best, but he wasn’t going to stop until he had something viable.
An hour later, all he had was some burned espresso, a drink that tasted like shit, and cinnamon spilled all over the counter. He grabbed a towel, slapped it against the edge of the counter, then tossed it across the shop. This wasn’t working. Why couldn’t he figure something out?
He was good at making coffee. It was supposed to be his thing. If he couldn’t even make a good fall coffee, then what could he do? Tears stung his eyes, and he felt ridiculous. He was crying over coffee. It wasn’t like it was the first time, but it still felt insane.
He needed to get out of there, but he couldn’t leave the store in a mess.
In an angry frenzy with tears streaming down his face, he cleaned the shop.
Then he leaned against the counter and tried to get himself together.
Maybe he needed to talk to someone, but who?
It was too late to call Tessa or Jonah or anyone else.
They all had early mornings like he did.
He knew what Tessa would say. She’d tell him to go see Caleb. He glanced at the windows and saw lights still on at Cloud Nine. Was Caleb really the only answer? Rhys couldn’t embarrass himself at the festival. That might be even worse than embarrassing himself in front of Caleb.
If they worked together, their entry would be amazing. Tessa was right about that. No one would be able to beat them. Winning would be good for their stores and good for the town.
As he looked out through the rain at Caleb’s shop, all the reasons he shouldn’t do this faded away. They had to work together. He could be brave. He could step out of his comfort zone. He needed Caleb. He’d fucked up, and he had to fix it.
Without grabbing a coat, he rushed out of his store and ran through the pouring rain all the way to Cloud Nine. He knocked and waited a few seconds. When Caleb didn’t respond, he knocked louder, using both fists. Caleb had to be there. Rhys needed him.