Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Luca
“Are you sure that you don’t want me to stay?” Dawson asked quietly.
“Bro,” Luca drawled. “I’m fine. Go up and shower. Or hell, take a hot bath, whatever. Just relax. We worked our asses off today.”
“Yeah, but you have to be up early for the surf competition. I could close tonight,” Dawson offered.
“You opened and worked a double,” Luca pointed out. “Go! That’s an order. I’m your boss, remember?”
Dawson snorted. “Sure, boss.”
Luca could only grin in response. He didn’t often pull the boss card.
It never worked well for him. Being friends with all his employees kind of sucked at times like this.
Yes, Luca was tired, but he had another reason for wanting Dawson to leave.
The coffee shop was scheduled to close in five minutes.
Brad had been nursing a cold cup of coffee for an hour now.
Cutting his eyes to the back table and then to Luca again, Dawson grinned. “Oh, I get it.”
“It’s not like that,” Luca argued.
Walking to the back area, Dawson grabbed his backpack off the hook. “I won’t wait up.”
Pushing his friend, Luca tried not to blush. He and Brad weren’t going to do anything close to what Dawson was thinking. It was time that they talked though. Or at least Luca had run out of time putting off the talk that they were going to have.
Dawson was gone a minute later, leaving Luca alone in the shop with only the one man that Luca didn’t want to be alone with. He sighed but lifted the apron he wore over his clothes off.
He hung up the apron then marched back to the front of the shop, nearly tripping over his feet when he saw Brad locking the front door.
“I can do that after you leave,” Luca said, hoping that Brad would get the hint.
Brad turned and smiled.
Fuck! No one should be that damn attractive. It was a sin against humanity that such an attractive package was hiding an asshole on the inside.
Strolling forward, Brad kept his gaze on Luca and Luca tried very hard to ignore the way that Brad’s hips rolled and his jeans tightened around his groin. It was really important that he didn’t focus on what Brad’s jeans were hiding. Hell! Luca’s mouth was practically watering at the thought.
“Eyes up here, boy.” Brad snapped his fingers in front of Luca’s face.
Damn it! Luca took a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly. He centered himself before opening his eyes to meet Brad’s. “We’re closed.”
“I noticed.” Brad smiled again. “I locked the door, remember.”
“It’s against company policy that anyone is here after hours that is not an employee.”
“I know the manager,” Brad quipped.
Well, this wasn’t going to get them anywhere.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Luca leaned against the counter that separated them.
Fine, he would let Brad say whatever was eating him then Luca didn’t have to worry about it again.
Although Luca was going to miss giving the older man a hard time.
It was fun when Brad scowled at him while biting his tongue. “You got something to say? Go ahead.”
Shoving his hands into his pockets, Brad rocked back on the heels of his feet. “Sure. Here is what I want to say.”
Luca braced himself for another humiliation. Or jab at him. At the little part of him.
“I’m sorry.”
Luca waited.
Brad stared back at him.
“Okay?” Was there more? There had to be more. The tension between the two of them was still damn near suffocating.
Brad’s shoulders slumped. “I thought this would be easier. I should have known that you don’t make anything easy, do you?”
How should he even answer that? Life wasn’t easy in general. Luca knew that and Brad must as well. Plus, it wasn’t Luca’s job to make Brad feel better about being a dick. Fair? No, Luca knew he should let go of his grudge. Would he? Maybe. Eventually. Luca shrugged, giving Brad no real clear reply.
“That tracks.” Brad yanked his hands out of his pockets as he started to pace. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. You are such a little punk.”
Luca was offended by that. He was a punk? No, this just proved that Brad didn’t really know Luca at all. He was just about ready to kick Brad out of the coffee shop when Brad kept on talking.
“I move here. Start my life over. It should have been easy. Just pass the certifications and work. Get back on track,” Brad mumbled.
Luca realized that Brad wasn’t even talking to him.
“It was that damn smile you wore. That shocked look on your face when you ran into me before you lit up in front of my eyes. So fucking sexy and I just wanted a taste. I should have known better.”
Okay, it was horribly wrong of him except Luca was starting to get a little thrill out of hearing Brad’s words. He was human, and a hot guy was talking about how he’d wanted Luca. Of course he was getting a kick out of it.
“And your mouth,” Brad continued. “That fucking mouth tasted so good. Felt even better. Shit! Holding you down on me! Making you take me deeper. I still think about it. Jack off remembering it!”
Luca cleared his throat. He was totally getting hard just hearing Brad’s side of their night together. Damn body betraying Luca. He didn’t want to want Brad.
Brad whirled. “This is all your fault!”
“Okay.” Sure. Whatever.
“And that damn smile. Stop smiling at me like that!” Brad ordered.
“Am I smiling?” Luca knew he was.
“What do you want from me?” Brad asked. He was practically yelling.
“Nothing,” Luca replied simply. Brad didn’t owe him anything after a quick hookup. Luca also didn’t owe Brad anything in return.
Shaking his head, Brad snorted. “Nothing? I said I was sorry.”
He had. Luca leaned across the counter. “But did you mean it?”
“Of course I did.” Brad leaned closer too, his blue eyes sparkling.
Licking his lips, Luca dropped his gaze down and back up. “You don’t sound like you’re sorry about hooking up with me.”
“Why would I be sorry about that?” Brad asked. His voice low and husky. “That was one of the best nights of my life.”
“Then what are you sorry for?” Luca needed the answer. The right answer.
“For scaring you away. For hurting your feelings,” Brad replied. “I messed up that night.”
Like a bucket of cold water being thrown on him, Luca was transported back to that night. The way that Brad had reacted had been instinctual. A natural reaction. Luca needed to remember that. Brad wasn’t the man for him. Luca wanted a Daddy.
“What just happened?” Brad asked. “The look on your face changed.”
“I accept your apology,” Luca said softly. “I’ll try to be nicer to you.”
“Nicer?” Brad grinned.
“I haven’t put laxatives in your coffee yet so don’t expect too much. I was already being nice.”
Brad pressed his lips together. He was still leaning over the counter even though Luca had pulled back. “Did you think about doing that?”
Luca shrugged. He hadn’t. That would have been wrong. And probably gotten him fired. Brad didn’t need to know that.
Placing his hands flat on the counter, Brad pushed up until he scaled over the top.
“What are you doing?” Stumbling, Luca’s back hit the edge of the opposite counter where the espresso machine sat.
“What changed? Why did you suddenly accept my apology?”
“Why did you suddenly give an apology?” Luca challenged.
“Because I owed it to you,” Brad said. He stalked forward, caging Luca against the machine. His sexy spicy scent had Luca’s stiff cock growing even harder.
“That’s it?” Luca asked.
“Now you answer.”
Brad braced his arms on the counter. One on either side of him. Luca was trying to be good. Trying to do what was right. It was hard with Brad so close. He smelt good. Luca wanted to lean into that scent. He couldn’t though. Not when it would only end up with Luca getting hurt again.
“So what is it, baby?” Brad asked, dipping his head low to whisper in Luca’s ear.
Truth time. Luca pressed his palms against the center of Brad’s chest. “Because I remember that look on your face when I said that word.”
Brad stopped pushing against his hands. “What?”
“The disgust,” Luca reminded him. “The way you jerked away.”
“You caught me off guard,” Brad said.
“I’m sure I did,” Luca replied. “It wasn’t on purpose.”
“I know that. It isn’t your fault,” Brad told him. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You don’t believe that.”
“Yes I do,” Brad insisted. He seemed to think for a moment before coming to some kind of decision and nodding. “It wasn’t the first time that I heard it.”
Wait. What?
“It wasn’t the first time that I was called that.” Brad’s breathing picked up.
With Luca’s hands still pressed against Brad’s chest, he could feel the quickness of Brad’s heart. The unsteady breathing ghosted against Luca’s neck.
“I had a boy once,” Brad whispered.
“What the fuck?” Luca breathed out.
“He was beautiful. Like you. I was his Daddy and he was my boy. My whole world. I thought we were going to be together forever. That we were building something strong. I gave up everything for him,” Brad confessed.
That… Luca hadn’t expected that. “I’m sorry.”
“He betrayed me,” Brad shared. “Used me. Took everything from me.”
Luca shook his head. “What do you mean?”
“He didn’t like me being away from him so I spent less time at work. Less time getting my hours in for my certifications. I was put on probation all because he was afraid I’d meet someone else if I wasn’t with him.”
“You didn’t know,” Luca said.
“I didn’t know that he was using me for my money. Even going as far as spending it on other guys.”
Luca hissed. He could never understand cheating. If you wanted to be with someone else then break up. Cheating…there was never a good reason to cheat.
“And I let him because he called me Daddy.” Brad’s voice broke.
“He didn’t deserve you,” Luca said softly.
“He…he admitted to just be pretending to be little just to get me interested in him.”
Fuck! That was so unfair to Brad. To any Daddy. “Fuck him! What an asshole!”