Chapter Fourteen #2
“I’m okay,” he said, nodding slowly. I got the feeling he actually meant it. “It’s weird. I think it kind of helped? I’ve never told anyone about Michael before but I think talking to you kinda helped me process some of it. I don’t know… but I’ve been sleeping better.”
“You hadn’t been sleeping?”
“I had, just not well.” He shrugged. “I didn’t realise it until I started sleeping better, though. Like I’ve started waking up actually feeling rested. It’s weird as fuck.”
“You mean you don’t need a billion cups of tea to get you through the day?”
“Nah, I’m still drinking those. It’s fucking habit at this point.
” He grinned and I felt my stomach flip.
Alex slid the green travel mug across to me.
“Here. For you. One large latte with an extra shot. And you can keep the mug—I got a bunch of them delivered yesterday to sell. If you bring it with you next time, you’ll get ten percent off.
We’re trying to encourage more people to bring their own cups when they get drinks to takeaway—just reduces the town’s waste a bit. ”
“Thanks,” I said as I took the coffee and raised it to my lips. “And thanks for bringing it. You didn’t have to.”
“I know,” Alex said. “I wanted to.”
His words made something in my chest tighten sharply, like I’d suddenly been caught in a vice, but I didn’t have time to figure out why because Kane had suddenly appeared in the dining room door and was pointing at me with an outrageous smile.
“Oh my God, do you have coffee? How did you get coffee?” He walked over to us and sat down in the chair Cas had recently vacated.
“I do have coffee,” I said, taking a long, deliberate sip of it. It was still hot but I ignored the way it superheated my tongue because it didn’t fit the aesthetic of the moment and I wanted to wind Kane up. “Very good coffee.”
“Dick. I want coffee.”
“Well, next time you should ask your boyfriend to bring you some,” I said.
“I fucking can’t. Austin’s in London all bloody week and…” Kane froze, suddenly looking between Alex and me like he’d just worked something out. “Boyfriend? Are you two…?”
I looked at Alex, who chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Bit bloody late to deny it now, isn’t it.” He turned to Kane. “Yeah, we’re together. Hey, I’m Alex.”
“Kane,” Kane said. “No Jude, please, I fucking hate that name.” He stuck his hand out across the table.
“And I remember you—not only do you have a fabulous coffee shop, but you’ve also turned Henry into some sad, mopey puppy who just sits around our cottage sighing forlornly and staring out the window. ”
“What the fuck?” I cried. “No, I bloody don’t.”
Kane pulled a face and sighed overdramatically. “Oh, woe is me, I miss my sexy boyfriend and his coffee and his ability to read me for filth from a hundred miles. I’m so lonely and sad.”
Alex snorted. “Yeah, that seems about right.”
“What? How can you say that?” I asked, turning to Alex and pretending to be hurt.
“Easily. You’re doing it now. I’ve only ever met one man who can pull off pouting, and it’s not you.”
“Oh? Who is it?”
“My friend Theo, you’ll meet him if you come down the pub. He’s… a character.” The smirk on Alex’s lips told me there was more to that statement but I didn’t have time to enquire further because Tamsin arrived.
“How do you have coffee?” she asked, sitting down next to Kane with a plate full of food. She was in a pretty cream gown ready for this afternoon with a large zip-up hoodie thrown on over the top, and the juxtaposition was perfect.
“Henry’s boyfriend brought it for him,” Kane said.
Tamsin looked between us wide-eyed and then grinned. “Aw, are you jealous because Austin’s in London and you have to deal with drinking shitty catering coffee like the rest of us?”
“Aren’t you jealous?”
“I mean a bit, but it’s worth it to see you suffer.” She picked up one of the sandwiches and examined the contents. “Do you think it’d kill them to make sandwiches without mayo in them? Or do something other than a beige buffet?”
“Is it that bad?” Alex asked, glancing over his shoulder at the long table to one side that’d been laid out with food.
“It’s fine,” Tamsin said. “If you like beige.”
“Hey, they did that salad the other day. That had colour in it,” Kane said with a wry smile. “Granted, it was kinda grey and brown, but still.”
“Seriously? This place caters fucking weddings,” Alex said. “And they charge a bloody fortune for those. How the fuck are you being stuck with this shit?”
“That is one of life’s great mysteries,” I said, wondering whether inviting Alex to stay for lunch had been a mistake—if only because I didn’t want to poison him.
“It’s because they spent all the catering money on Henry,” Tamsin said teasingly.
“Definitely,” Kane said. “We should make Henry buy us all lunch to make up for it.”
“What? I’m not doing that.” I laughed. “If anything, the catering budget went on costumes.”
“Of which yours are the most lavish,” Kane said. “I literally spend half my time wandering around in a shirt covered in paint while you have a million coats.”
“Okay, who designated this pick-on-Henry day?” I asked. “Because you all suck and you’re making me look bad.”
Alex chuckled. “I don’t think they could’ve made you look any worse than you’d already done yourself.”
“Point taken,” I said, looking over at him and feeling my stomach flutter again.
Kane and Tamsin were now talking about their favourite lunch buffet options as the rest of the room began to fill.
I lowered my voice and leant a tiny bit closer to Alex.
“Thanks for staying. I appreciate it, even if the food might be rubbish.”
“It’s fine. And if it’s really that bad, I can message you what sandwiches we’ve got every morning and bring them up at lunchtime. I can’t feed everyone and it’d be a dick move to undercut the caterers, but I can probably sneak food in for you, Cas, Kane, Tamsin, and Gemma.”
“Seriously?” I stared, my body tumbling through a kaleidoscope of emotions. “You’d do that?”
“Sure. I’ll start Monday.”
“You’re amazing, Alex. Thank you.” I really wished I could lean over and kiss his cheek, but I didn’t know how he’d react. I just settled for finding his hand under the table and squeezing it quickly.
His cheeks flushed pink and he shrugged. “Don’t mention it. It’s not a big deal.”
“Yes, it is,” I said. “And I really appreciate it.”
Alex smiled softly and nodded. “Then you’re welcome.”