Page 184 of Candy Hearts, Vol. 2

CHAPTER 6

BEN

A few days passed, Cody and I texting nearly nonstop. By Thursday, I was desperate to see him again, and to that end, I stopped by a coffee shop called Brewed Awakenings on my way to work and grabbed coffee for both of us. When I made it to the courthouse, I was given directions by a very kind person who pointed me to where the clerks sat. I found Cody behind a wooden divider, similar to a bank tellers’ counter, deeply engrossed in telling a story to a coworker, his back to me.

When she spotted me, I smiled and nodded, gesturing toward Cody with the coffee in one hand and tilting my head in his direction. The coworker held up a hand to stop him. "Um, who’s this?"

"What are you talking about?"

She nodded in my direction.

Cody spun in his seat to face me, a smile blossoming on his face. "Hi."

I gave him a grin and placed the coffee cups down on the ledge of his window. "I brought this for you."

The coworker leaned forward and smiled warmly at me. "So you’re the new boyfriend."

Cody’s cheeks blazed red. "I… I mean… He’s not… It’s not like that."

Her eyebrows shot up. "No? Didn’t you spend hours last weekend gushing about how much you like him?”

He turned to her, his eyes wide. " Sophia. "

She grinned mischievously. "What? We’re all adults here."

He stared daggers at her for another second before turning to me, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes briefly. "Okay, yes. Hi. Hello. How are you?"

I let out a little laugh. "Better now that I’m here."

Cody’s face relaxed into a smile. "No thanks to Sophia."

I grinned again and quirked an eyebrow at her. "We’re all adults here. Right?"

Cody let out a hmph sound and turned his focus back to me. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to say hi and bring you coffee."

His cheeks pinkened again. "Thanks for the treat."

I leaned against the counter and put the coffee on his desk. As I did, I noticed family photos on his desk, and an assortment of fidgets and trinkets. A little dinosaur sculpture—Spinosaurus—a few stuffed succulents with smiley faces, and a light-up llama. "Coffee was just an excuse. Seeing you is the real treat."

His blush deepened and he picked up the cup. It was still steaming as he took a slow sip. When he put the cup down again, he wrinkled his nose and coughed a little.

"Uh oh. Don’t like it?" I grimaced.

"No, it’s just… It’s black. I like milk and sugar."

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know how you liked it and I didn’t want to ruin it.”

He shrugged. "It’s okay. We have that stuff in the break room." Cody stood and glanced at Sophia. "Will you?—"

She waved her hand and cut him off, smiling widely. "Go."

Cody gestured to a door behind him. "Want to see the break room?"

"Sure." I was happy to get a peek behind the scenes of Cody’s life.

As he pulled open the door, Sophia called out. "Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do."

He shot her dagger eyes before ushering me through the door and leading the way to the break room. We made our way through the winding halls of the courthouse building, eventually turning left into the break room. I would never be able to find my way out without Cody, and I said so.

He went to the refrigerator and took out a container of creamer. "You get the hang of it eventually." Methodically, like he’d done this a thousand times—which he probably had—Cody poured French vanilla creamer into his cup, followed by three packets of sugar. I made a mental note on how to make his coffee perfectly as it turned a golden blonde color and he took a sip, letting out a satisfied sigh.

"Better?"

"Much."

We chatted quietly as he drank his coffee, not about anything in particular, just the usual pleasantries, but as we talked, I couldn’t stop my eyes from watching his lips. I wanted to kiss him, right there in the break room. I didn’t know if it would get him in trouble and I didn’t want to risk anything, so I practiced restraint, instead leaning close to him while we talked and finding ways to touch him gently—a graze of my hand against his, touching his arm or shoulder as we joked, brushing a lock of hair from his forehead. He smiled and responded in much the same way, putting a hand on my chest as I made a joke. Other courthouse employees came and went and he introduced me to each one, all of whom had a warm smile for Cody.

Eventually, we’d drunk our coffees, standing there at the break room counter, and he glanced at the clock with a sigh. "I should probably get back. I’m sure Sophia is burning with curiosity about you. She’ll have a thousand questions."

I laughed and threw my cup in the trash. "Will you at least walk me out to my car?"

"Of course."

I followed Cody through the building again, stopping when he opened the door that led to the parking lot. Taking a deep breath of the warm spring air, I pointed toward my car. "I’m there."

It was Cody’s turn to follow me, and we stopped again when we reached my car, both of us quiet, Cody shifting from foot to foot and looking at the asphalt under his sneakers. "Thanks for coming by," he said finally.

"I’m glad you didn’t mind it. I was worried it might have seemed weird. You know, forward or intrusive."

He grinned and shook his head. "Not at all." Our gazes locked for a second.

"Can I kiss you goodbye?"

Cody’s smile widened. "Yeah, of course. You know, just… keep it PG."

"No accosting you in the parking lot of your job, got it." I leaned in and kissed him gently, Cody inhaling sharply through his nose as our lips touched.

A moment later we parted. "Are you free tomorrow evening? You could come to my place this time."

"That sounds perfect." I said my goodbye and slid into my car before backing out of the parking lot. As I made it onto the main road, I glanced in my mirror and saw Cody still standing there, watching me leave. My chest ached and I could hardly wait for the next day.