15. That’s One Hot Latte
FIFTEEN
That’s One Hot Latte
TARA
It was a beautiful day in mid-September. The leaves above were just beginning to turn from a late summer faded green to what would soon become brilliant red, yellow, and orange. A light breeze rustled them as Tara cut through the park on the square as she made her way to Café Mocha. It wasn’t yet cool enough to warrant a jacket, but she was grateful for her long sleeves, nonetheless. Crossing Adams Street, she worked her way through a small crowd heading down the sidewalk toward Jo’s. An hour or so south in Columbus, her Ohio State Buckeyes were getting ready to kick off on what she’d have to label as a perfect day for football. They weren’t yet playing other Big Ten teams, but that didn’t matter to the Buckeye Nation. Buckeye football was Buckeye football whether they were playing Bob’s College or that school to the north, University of *ichigan. Nothing else mattered on any given Saturday.
Tucking her hair behind an ear, Tara held the door open for someone walking out with a tray of four hot drinks before stepping inside the crowded coffee shop. The now familiar scent of Celeste’s rotating blends of delicious coffees welcomed her like an old friend.
Tara had just joined the line to order when the shop bell jingled again. Her friend, Kiro, made a beeline to the back of the shop to Celeste, who stepped out from behind the counter to greet him with open arms and a warm kiss. Kiro wasn’t overly tall, but he still towered over the very petite Celeste.
Happy for her friends, Tara couldn’t resist smiling. Their relationship was a long time coming, she was thrilled they were finally able to connect and open up to each other.
The café was filled with business owners grabbing a quick pick-me-up in the late afternoon or students wearing their headphones and staring into sticker-covered laptops frantically typing away.
Despite being aware of the large number of customers inside, Tara couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched. When she made a slight turn, she was met by a tall, blond man with his sleeves pushed back to the elbows, revealing sexy, tattoo-covered forearms. His sunglasses hid his eyes, but just seeing the form-fitting Henley he wore tucked into his blue jeans made Tara want to fan herself.
Hot as he was, the tattooed man behind her seemed to be taking her in, his eyes focusing on every part of her but her eyes.
She cleared her throat to grab his attention as the line shifted closer to the counter.
His eyes snapped up, and she arched a brow, not the slightest bit amused, no matter how handsome he was. And to think he had the nerve to grin back at her, not even attempting to appear contrite at having checked her out from head to toe.
Dropping his gaze to her mouth, he skimmed his tongue across his teeth.
Was that? Yes, it was.
She swallowed, doing her best to hold back a whimper that threatened to escape.
A bar from his pierced tongue clicked each tooth as it slid back and forth across his teeth.
Her body heated as her imagination wandered.
Oh, what that could do to her.
Her cheeks flushed a hot pink, nearly matching the color of her long, wavy, red hair.
His grin grew wider.
“Can I help you, ma’am?”
Their eyes remained locked until he tilted his head toward the barista, who was trying to get her attention from behind the counter.
“Oh, right. Yes,” she prattled, shooting a dour glance at the smirking tattooed man. “A large café latte, please, with an extra shot of espresso.”
“You bet. We’ll get that right up for you.”
She paid for her drink and stepped away from the pickup counter but felt his eyes on her as she stepped away to wait for her drink.
After he ordered, she overheard the barista call out, “Another large café latte with an extra shot.”
Did he just order the same drink?
Taking advantage of a break in the crowd, Tara made her way over to her friends.
“Kiro!” She called out and greeted him with a warm embrace. “Thank you so much for taking care of my dad!”
“Celeste said you were in town.” Kiro’s voice traveled across the room as conversations lulled. “And I was glad to help. How’s he doing?”
Tara gave him an update on her father, throwing more thank yous to Kiro as she went along.
“How long will he be in the hospital?”
“Another week or more at least, the doctors said.” Tara breathed out a long exhale, then continued. “He’s going in the right direction, but he’s got a long road ahead of him.”
“Large café latte with an extra shot,” the barista announced.
“That’s me,” Tara exclaimed. “Be right back.”
She went to doctor her coffee but again sensed someone waiting behind her as she added sweetener, grabbed a thin wooden stir stick, and mixed it all together. As soon as she dropped the stir stick into the small metal bucket on the counter for trash, she confirmed it.
“Excuse me.”
She turned to find herself standing nearly face-to-face with the hot, tattooed man. He had loosely slicked back, dark blond hair she’d love to run her fingers through while absolutely and hopelessly losing herself in those gorgeous baby blues. Tara stopped noticing anything else when he leaned closer to her. So close, she thought he might actually kiss her right here in the middle of Celeste’s coffee shop. Tara caught a whiff of a cologne that made her lick her lips as she stared right back at him.
His lopsided grin grew ever more confident. She narrowed her eyes, certain he knew exactly what effect he had on her.
She could feel her breath quicken and her body warm in places that hadn’t heated up since, if she were honest, long before she broke up with Ethan.
She liked it, sure, but who was this man? Someone who wanted to make her feel a way she’d like to more than just imagine?
He leaned in far enough to trap her between him and the counter. Any closer, and they’d be touching, not that she would have minded. For sure, they would have been called out at one of those middle school dances for not having eight fingers’ worth of space between them, though he didn’t look like any middle school boy she’d ever known.
Yes, she could have stepped to the side, but she found herself unable to move. She took in the scent of his cologne again. Or was it aftershave? It was a nice, woodsy scent that had her squeezing her thighs together. He dropped his own eyes down to her mouth and back.
He leaned in, his grin widening the closer he got to her, so close she licked her lips as she stared right back at him.
“Sugar,” he said in a deep timbre.
What?
Sugar?
He was kidding, right?
“Don’t call me…” she whispered as she tried to lean back but met the counter instead. Her free hand, not gripping her coffee cup, shot back to grip the counter behind her to maintain her balance as she leaned backward.
Never once taking his eyes off hers, he pulled his arm back and held something up in his hand. Her eyes refocused from his face to the two white sugar packets he held between his fingers.
She stood in front of the condiment station on the counter right behind her. “Ah.” Unable to find her actual voice, her response came out breathy.
For a few seconds, he didn’t move. He just gazed into her eyes. Tara broke eye contact to take in the edges of tattoos peeking out from behind the unbuttoned Henley that hugged his broad shoulders. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing tattoo-covered forearms.
His pierced ears and tongue made Tara wonder what other parts of his body wore jewelry. She limited her own to a few on her ears and her navel.
He licked his lips. A breath escaped hers.
He must have picked up on her thoughts since his grin widened, not seeming to mind that she was taking him in.
Tara’s face flushed.
Again. Damn, it.
He took a step back when she narrowed her eyes but made no attempt to hide the fact that he was appreciating the view. His eyes took her in all the way down her legs and back up her torso, resting a second on her chest before returning to her eyes.
“Excuse me, please.”
As if caught with her hands in the cookie jar, Tara’s eyes widened for a split second. The entire interaction only lasted a handful of seconds, but seemed like minutes.
She stepped aside to make room for a woman wanting to reach the sweeteners behind her. She did her best to ignore the tattooed man while scanning the room for a table.
That smile would kill her.
A tap on her shoulder pulled her from her thoughts. “Glad your dad’s getting better, Tara. Give him my best, would you?”
“I will, Kiro. Thanks.”
“See you later.” Kiro waved as he stepped away.
Seeing someone packing their laptop into a messenger bag, she made for a soon-to-be free table, a hot commodity in coffee shops, before someone else could snag it. Offering her thanks, she pulled out a chair and sat down with her back against the wall. She could have sworn her last glance toward the front made the tattooed man grin even wider.
Dammit .
Tara turned her gaze in time to catch Kiro smacking the tattooed man on the arm, and leave the coffee shop together. Though it wasn’t before her mystery man waved at the trio of older ladies who were fanning themselves as he made his way out the door, sending them into a fit of giggles reminiscent of grade school girls.
“So Kiro knows him,” she whispered with an arched brow. She took a sip of delicious coffee goodness and propped her elbows on the table with her hands snugly wrapped around her latte. Celeste was still behind the counter, so she let her thoughts wander to the man with the form-fitting shirt that showed off all his muscles.
Was his entire chest covered in tattoos as well? What other parts of his body had he pierced?
Her thoughts strayed back to his mouth. She’d never kissed anyone with a pierced tongue before. She took another sip of coffee. Her lips curled up in a smile as the hot liquid traveled down her throat, though she doubted that was the only thing warming her up all the way down to her toes.
“Who put that blush on your face?” Celeste sat across from her, jolting Tara out of her reverie.
Tara cleared her throat. “What?”
“I don’t think that smile is because of the delicious coffee you’re drinking.”
“It’s not. I mean. It is delicious. Um. I’m…”
Celeste raised one eyebrow. “Mmhmm. Right. Spill it.”
Tara scrunched her face. “Spill what?”
Celeste raised both eyebrows now. “The tea. Come on.”
Damn.
Tara shot a friendly glare across the table. She knew when her best friend meant business.
“Come on,” Celeste insisted. “Who is he?”
“Who is who?” Tara blinked a few times.
“Whatever fine man is clearly on your mind.” Celeste rested her forearms on the table and clasped her hands together as if she had no intention of leaving until Tara told her everything.
The shop bell rang, and a customer walked in. Tara glanced up. “You’re busy. A customer just walked in.”
Celeste didn’t even blink. “Noah’s got it covered.”
Tara frowned, already hearing Noah talking to the man who had just placed his coffee order. Celeste knew her too well for any excuse to get her out of this.
“Okay. Fine.”
She released an exasperated breath as if she were being inconvenienced. She wasn’t. Obviously. But she and Celeste have enjoyed at least a bit of drama for as long as they’ve known each other. “Who’s the guy who left with Kiro?”
Celeste twisted her lips to the side. “The guy with the tattoos?”
“And the piercings.” Tara cleared her throat again when her voice cracked. “Yes.”
“Hmm. I don’t know his name. This is the first time I’ve seen him in the shop, but I think he might be a new firefighter,” she shrugged. “A while back, I think Kiro mentioned a new guy was starting soon, which meant Derek was no longer the new guy.”
“Hmm.” Tara took another sip of coffee and returned to the topic of the blue-eyed, tattooed man. “So you don’t know the guy’s name then, huh?”
Celeste turned her head to give her friend a sideways glance as she reached into her back pocket for her phone. “No, but I can certainly find out for you.”
“No!” Tara held out her hands as if pleading. “Don’t say anything to Kiro.”
Celeste laughed at her and set her phone on the table. “Okay. Okay. I’ll keep your secret. For now.”
“Ugh. What is it about tattoos on a man that is so damned sexy?”
“Gurl, I know what you mean.” Celeste pulled back, sporting a dreamy expression. “Wait.”
“What?”
“Did Ethan have any tattoos?”
“Oh, heck no.” Tara waved her off. “He would never add any color to his perfectly toned body.” She rolled her eyes at the last few words.
“Yeah,” Celeste tilted her head to the side. “But was it really that perfectly toned?”
Tara dropped her chin onto her palm. “Yeah. It was.”
“But…” Celeste drew out the word, prompting Tara to continue.
“The expectation was better than the real thing. I won’t lie. I mean, it was still fun, but...”
Celeste waved her hand. “That’s enough.”
Tara blushed again. This time, she hid her pink face behind another sip of coffee.
What was with her today?