many people flooded the little coffee shop come seven o’clock on a Friday night. He wouldn’t have even guessed that there were that many people in Rock Bay, let alone people who wanted to watch nervous teenagers and wannabe singer/songwriters sit on a stool and attempt to entertain. The shop was warm and filled with the smells of coffee and warmed muffins and a mix of perfumes and colognes. It was almost too much, but still somehow pleasant.
“Here you go, Lex.” Tally handed his most recent order slip, an orange mocha, to Lex who put it in his queue. He bagged the sugar cookie the woman had ordered with it and handed it to her with a smile. “Your drink will be right up.”
He and Lex were kept ridiculously busy taking orders and making hot drinks. It was a good thing that he’d had a few days to learn the contents of the pastry shelves, because there was no way that Lex would’ve been able to keep up with the drink making if he had to dish out muffins and cookies as well. Tally only hoped that no one ordered a sandwich because he would probably have to make it, and he was so rushed that he’d most likely do it all wrong.
They worked well together, busy as they were. It was a kind of well-timed counterpoint dance behind the counter: Tally working the register, dishing up desserts, and giving Lex drink orders while Lex made the drinks and lined them up neatly on the counter with handwritten stickers that described the contents.
The customers seemed to be used to Lex’s methods, and went very smoothly, even with the hectic pace. Tally liked working there with Lex, watching how organized and relaxed he was. Tally hoped things were going to keep getting better. He’d already figured out a few days before that he really enjoyed the job, and Lex finally seemed to be warming up to him—not exactly tropical, but not the deep freeze they’d had the first few days, either. He could only hope that he was finally getting somewhere with his mystery of a boss. Lex brushed by Tally and gave him a half smile that sent Tally’s stomach spinning. Professional. Friendly. That’s it. Knock it off, dumbass. He figured if he just kept giving himself that lecture, eventually it would sink in.
I
T WAS an unavoidable fact. Tallis Carrington was going to drive Lex insane. Every day it got harder not to touch—the kind of touching that he’d told Amy was off limits. He wanted to test Tally’s hair and see if it was as soft as it looked, run the pad of his thumb across too prominent cheekbones, brush his lips against Tally’s pulse, and inhale that mind-numbing scent he’d been trying to ignore. Lex couldn’t believe how stupid he was. Tally knew he was gay and seemed to have no issue with it, but that didn’t mean he’d want Lex pawing him—and pawing was exactly what Lex wanted to do. It didn’t seem to matter that he couldn’t bring himself to trust the guy’s motivations. His body didn’t notice his mind’s ambivalence. Hell, his body hadn’t noticed all those years ago when Tally was an outright asshole. Of course it was responding now that, at least on the surface, he seemed to be genuinely nice.
Lex knew it had been a mistake to ask for his help at the open mic night. He should’ve just had Amy do it like he always had before. The whole night had been torture, worse than the past five days combined. Smelling Tally in the heat of the crowded shop, bumping up against him constantly as they worked together in the cramped space that had only seemed to shrink in the crush of the crowd—it was testing his willpower like nothing before. Lex wasn’t sure if he was going to make it much longer before he did something he’d regret forever, like maybe throwing Tallis Carrington on the ground and taking every drop of his frustration out in a punishing kiss.
He was foaming a latte, the fourth pumpkin spice of the night, when he felt Tally’s presence behind him, close and warm and looming. Tally brushed up against
“Here you go, Lex.” Tally handed his most recent order slip, an orange mocha, to Lex who put it in his queue. He bagged the sugar cookie the woman had ordered with it and handed it to her with a smile. “Your drink will be right up.”
He and Lex were kept ridiculously busy taking orders and making hot drinks. It was a good thing that he’d had a few days to learn the contents of the pastry shelves, because there was no way that Lex would’ve been able to keep up with the drink making if he had to dish out muffins and cookies as well. Tally only hoped that no one ordered a sandwich because he would probably have to make it, and he was so rushed that he’d most likely do it all wrong.
They worked well together, busy as they were. It was a kind of well-timed counterpoint dance behind the counter: Tally working the register, dishing up desserts, and giving Lex drink orders while Lex made the drinks and lined them up neatly on the counter with handwritten stickers that described the contents.
The customers seemed to be used to Lex’s methods, and went very smoothly, even with the hectic pace. Tally liked working there with Lex, watching how organized and relaxed he was. Tally hoped things were going to keep getting better. He’d already figured out a few days before that he really enjoyed the job, and Lex finally seemed to be warming up to him—not exactly tropical, but not the deep freeze they’d had the first few days, either. He could only hope that he was finally getting somewhere with his mystery of a boss. Lex brushed by Tally and gave him a half smile that sent Tally’s stomach spinning. Professional. Friendly. That’s it. Knock it off, dumbass. He figured if he just kept giving himself that lecture, eventually it would sink in.
I
T WAS an unavoidable fact. Tallis Carrington was going to drive Lex insane. Every day it got harder not to touch—the kind of touching that he’d told Amy was off limits. He wanted to test Tally’s hair and see if it was as soft as it looked, run the pad of his thumb across too prominent cheekbones, brush his lips against Tally’s pulse, and inhale that mind-numbing scent he’d been trying to ignore. Lex couldn’t believe how stupid he was. Tally knew he was gay and seemed to have no issue with it, but that didn’t mean he’d want Lex pawing him—and pawing was exactly what Lex wanted to do. It didn’t seem to matter that he couldn’t bring himself to trust the guy’s motivations. His body didn’t notice his mind’s ambivalence. Hell, his body hadn’t noticed all those years ago when Tally was an outright asshole. Of course it was responding now that, at least on the surface, he seemed to be genuinely nice.
Lex knew it had been a mistake to ask for his help at the open mic night. He should’ve just had Amy do it like he always had before. The whole night had been torture, worse than the past five days combined. Smelling Tally in the heat of the crowded shop, bumping up against him constantly as they worked together in the cramped space that had only seemed to shrink in the crush of the crowd—it was testing his willpower like nothing before. Lex wasn’t sure if he was going to make it much longer before he did something he’d regret forever, like maybe throwing Tallis Carrington on the ground and taking every drop of his frustration out in a punishing kiss.
He was foaming a latte, the fourth pumpkin spice of the night, when he felt Tally’s presence behind him, close and warm and looming. Tally brushed up against
Similar Books
