Page 25 of Gratification in Gluttony (Passing Through Cafe #2)

Chapter twenty-five

Tad’s Creepy and Weird Vibe

Before Toni softened and made a complete mess of them both, he carefully pulled out and removed the condoms, tying them off and tossing them to the floor haphazardly. Then he snuggled back into Jude’s body, loving the slide of bare skin and the way they fit together.

Now that the passion had passed, the chill of the morning crept over them, and Jude shivered. “We should get dressed. The others will be up soon.”

“We got time. No one’s awake yet.”

“I’m awake,” a nasally voice said from the hayloft ladder, and both Toni and Jude screamed.

Covering Jude’s naked body with his own, Toni glared at the Anura who stood casually on the ladder, chin propped in her hands as she watched them with bulbous eyes. “Tad! What the fuck? How long have you been there?”

Tad shrugged. “Dunno. There was talking, then there was moaning. You’re done with that, right?” She scowled, mostly at Jude. “You’re scaring away the barn mice.”

“Oh my god.” Jude curled tighter into Toni’s body to hide, and Toni shifted them until he was the only one Tad could see.

“Get outta here, Tad! You can’t just watch people fuck; that’s creepy and weird,” Toni barked, and Tad blinked at him reproachfully.

“But I am creepy and weird,” she said simply. “That’s, like, my whole vibe.” One of her eyes dropped to Toni’s hips. “Nice dicks, by the way.”

Jude crowded against Toni’s back, reaching a hand over his waist to cover his cocks. “Don’t look at his dicks!”

The possessiveness did things to Toni, and he grinned down at his human. “Aw, you don’t want anyone looking at my dicks. That’s nice.”

Jude stared at him like he’d lost his mind, before glowering at Tad. “Go away, Tad.”

“Stop grunting, and I will.” She pointed vaguely at the ground floor. “You’re ruining my breakfast hunt.”

“Just get outta here, you fucking psycho!” Toni roared.

Instead of being offended, Tad smiled eerily. “Careful, Toni, or else I’ll think you’re flirting. And trust me, you would not survive this.”

Honestly, Toni believed her. She was utterly terrifying.

As Tad disappeared back down the hayloft ladder, Toni and Jude released matching sighs of relief. Since the mood was officially ruined, Toni gathered their clothes, handing Jude his as he pulled his underwear, then jeans up his legs. They batted as much hay off their shirts as possible before redressing, and Toni snickered as he picked out pieces of straw from Jude’s curls.

“So are we boyfriends now?” Toni asked hopefully, and Jude blushed, rolling his eyes as he nodded.

“Sure, Toni, we can be boyfriends.”

“I like that,” Toni said as he drew Jude into a kiss. “I mean, my family’s gonna freak, given that you’re human and all, but thankfully, that don’t matter much.”

Concern flared in Jude’s eyes as he brushed hay off Toni’s shoulder. “They’re not going to, like, put a hit out on me or anything, right?”

Toni cocked his head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Okay, so my only knowledge of the Mob is TV and movies, which is probably not accurate. But I need to know if your drug-dealing family is going to come after me or something.”

“Drug-dealing? the Mob?” Toni shook his head, trying to understand. “What are you talking about?”

“Sorry, is that offensive? Like I said, I only know what I’ve seen in movies, and that was the human mafia. I have no real frame of reference for the demon mafia.”

Toni snorted a laugh. “Demon mafia? My family’s not mafia.”

And it was Jude’s turn to be entirely confused. “Yes, they are.”

“No,” Toni said, “they’re not.”

“What?” Jude demanded.

“My family’s not mafia,” Toni explained slowly. “Why would you think that?”

Jude’s eyes widened. “How could I not think that? You’re always talking about ‘The Family’ and how you got out because you ‘couldn’t stomach the family business.’” He splayed his hands as if to say, enough said . “How is your family not the Mob?”

“They’re just not. They’re dramatic, and they take the family business a little too seriously, but they’re not the Mob. To be honest, I don’t even know if we have a mob.” Toni thought about it for a moment. “I mean, maybe. But that’s more Quin’s family territory, not mine. We just sell makeup.”

“What?” Jude shouted, making Toni step back. “I thought your family sold drugs!”

Okay, now Toni was offended. “Why would you think they sell drugs?”

“Because, Toni, you told me once that your dad wasn’t ‘pushing the powder’ hard enough,” Jude said, chest heaving. “How else was I supposed to interpret that?”

“I was talking about eyeshadow,” Toni said, because honestly, that should have been obvious. “It’s our best-selling product. And Pops was all, ‘It sells itself,’ and I was like, ‘No, Pop, that ain’t how consumerism works.’ And he got mad, and then I got mad, and it ruined the whole family vacation!”

“Oh my god, Toni, you’re so ridiculous!” Jude half-laughed, half-shouted. “Everything about you and your life and your family is ridiculous. And I’m so glad your family isn’t the demon mafia.”

Wrapping his arms around his middle, like he was trying to hold himself together, Jude laughed, and Toni couldn’t help but join in. “I didn’t know you actually thought that. When Ollie mentioned it, I thought he was kidding. I thought we were doing a bit.”

Jude wiped tears from his cheeks as he guffawed. “No, Oliver genuinely believes you’re part of the mafia, and that working at the cafe is your cover.”

“That’s so stupid. Like, I’m not even smart enough to pull that kind of thing off,” Toni said, belly aching from laughter. “My family owns a very popular makeup line. My great-great noni discovered a formula for eyeshadow. Long lasting, and it doesn’t crease. It was a huge hit, and the business grew from there.”

“Then why did you leave? You act like it was such a dark, dangerous thing,” Jude asked as he used his shirt to dry his eyes.

“The makeup business is very cutthroat,” Toni said seriously. “I can’t handle it, you know? I had to get out of that toxic environment.”

Still chuckling, Jude captured Toni’s face and dragged him down into a kiss that was mostly teeth. “I love you.”

And Toni’s heart took flight. “Yeah, you fucking do,” he said as he swallowed down Jude’s laughter. “I can’t believe you thought I was a drug-dealer. I’m offended.”

“I knew you weren’t. I just thought your family was. I mean, you’ve said numerous times that you know how to get rid of a dead body. I thought you were being serious.”

“Oh, that actually is true. I got a skeevy cousin, Hari.” Toni made a rude noise. “Real piece of work. I’m pretty sure he actually is a drug-dealer, but my auntie thinks the sun shines out of his ass and he can do no wrong, blah, blah, blah. So we just turn a blind eye most of the time.” Hands on his hips, he shook his head in disapproval. “But I know that if I really needed it, he’d do me a favor, and he could make a body disappear. I keep that option in my back pocket, you know, for a rainy day.”

Jude stared up at him, and Toni pursed his lips and nodded. “So, yeah, I guess that family member’s technically a drug-dealer, but the rest just sell makeup.”

“How is that crazier than your family actually being the demon mafia?” Jude asked, and Toni shrugged.

“Beats me.” Toni’s ears picked up voices coming from the house, and he led Jude toward the ladder. “People are waking up. Better get back before anyone notices.”

“I don’t care if they do,” Jude said, pulling Toni to a stop before he could descend the ladder. “I told you, no more secrets.”

“But I get that this weekend may not be good timing.” Toni pecked his mouth, nuzzling his nose. “It’s okay, baby. You tell Ollie when it feels right, and I’ll do it with you if you want. Or not. Whatever you need.”

“I don’t deserve you,” Jude said, more to himself than to Toni.

“Psh, bullshit. Love ain’t about deserving. It’s about choice.” Releasing Jude, Toni started down the ladder, giving his human a wink. “And I choose you, bitesize. It’s as simple as that.”

The sun haloed Jude in light as he grabbed the top of the ladder and bent down, bringing them almost face-to-face. “Okay, Toni. I choose you too.”

“Good. That’s real good.” With a parting peck to Jude’s nose, Toni descended the ladder, then waited to help Jude down. He caught sight of Tad sneaking through an empty pen in the back of the barn. “Hey, Tad,” he called out, and she poked her head around the gate.

“What?”

“Can you, uh, do me a solid and keep what you saw up there between us?”

Her face scrunched in disgust. “You think I want to tell people that I now know your cum-noise? Hard pass!”

She ducked back into the pen, and Toni figured that was the best he was going to get. So he took Jude’s hand in his and headed toward the house.

When they teleported back to the cafe, Toni heaved a sigh of relief. The human world was fine, but it was nice being back on familiar ground. Mindless chatter drifted around him as everyone prepared to go their separate ways, and Toni wished that he could go to Chicago with Jude.

But they’d agreed that Jude would go back alone with Oliver so they could talk, and Toni wanted to give them the space for it. He’d offered to be there, but Jude had shook his head.

“Oliver won’t react badly,” Jude had said. “He likes you, Toni, and it’s not like he won’t approve or whatever. But he might be hurt that I didn’t tell him sooner, and that’s a conversation for the two of us, you know?”

And he wasn’t wrong, so Toni would head home alone and spread out on his bed all by himself and try not to miss Jude like a limb. Deities, he was such a sap. He’d just spent most of the weekend with Jude, and he’d been inside him less than six hours ago, but he already missed him.

“I wonder if being closed this weekend really hurt the bottom line,” Glyma was saying to Quin, and Toni turned away from where Jude and Oliver were laughing to listen in. “I mean, Saturdays are always so slow, you know?”

“Honestly, I’ve been wondering if we should close Saturdays,” Quin said, a crease appearing between her brows. “The costs of being open and paying the weekend staff sometimes exceed the sales.”

Glyma rubbed Quin’s shoulder. “I bet we could think of something to drum up business. Maybe a Saturday sale or something.”

“Not to butt in,” Oliver said carefully, and Glyma stepped back, allowing Oliver to join their conversation, “but what about hosting events or something? Like an open mic night or booking local bands to play Saturday nights. I know it’s a coffee shop, so maybe live music isn’t the vibe, but—”

“Open mic night?” Quin echoed, and something sparked in Glyma’s eyes, the dreamer in her coming to life.

“Like live poetry readings or interactive art. Zef could sing.” Glyma squealed, yanking Oliver into an exuberant hug. “Ollie, what a great idea!”

“Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Quin said, but she was soon dragged into the hug too.

“There are so many possibilities,” Glyma said as she released them, both Oliver and Quin looking a little dazed. “We could encourage our patrons to take part, though we should have a few things planned so it’s not quiet and awkward.”

“I would gladly sing if it would benefit the cafe,” Zef said, and Glyma simpered.

“Thank you, Zef.”

“Toni and Jude could play a song,” Gem said, and Toni nearly choked.

“What?”

Gem stepped forward, gesturing at Toni and Jude with several of his hands. “Come on, Toni, you’re so talented. And you and Jude have been practicing music together anyway.”

“You have?” Oliver asked, but no one answered him as Gem continued.

“You two could play a song. It would be so great.” Gem clapped his upper hands together.

Glyma leveled Toni with a stern stare. “I didn’t know you could play, Toni. I mean, I love when you sing along to the radio, but I didn’t realize you were so musically inclined.”

Warmth flooded Toni’s cheeks as he shook his head. “I’m not really. It’s just for fun, you know?”

“He’s being modest,” Jude said, stepping beside him. “He’s actually really good. It would be fun to play together, don’t you think?”

“You want to?” Toni asked, and Jude nodded. “Uh, okay, I guess we could do that.”

“Well, there you go,” Glyma said, shaking Quin’s arm. “Zef could sing a song, and Jude and Toni will play. Tad could share one of her short stories.”

“There’s graphic sex and gratuitous violence,” Tad said with a grin. “The crowd will love it.”

“Maybe not—” Quin started, but Glyma was already planning.

“And Bob is really good at interpretive dance; I bet he’d love to share his talents.”

At the mention of Bob, Oliver went deathly pale.

“I write poetry,” Willow added, stepping forward shyly. “I’ve only ever shared it with Krul, but if it would help with the open microphone night.”

“Willow, that would be stupendous.” Glyma beamed at all of them, pink eyes landing on Rusty who hovered near the edge of the circle. “What about you, Rusty? Would you like to perform anything?”

“No,” Rusty said immediately. “I don’t perform.”

“No secret talents to share with the group?” Gem teased, hip-checking him.

With a glare and a flash of his middle finger, Rusty said, “Nope. Unless you count a card trick that a stripper taught me once.”

“What a lovely backstory,” Toni said dryly.

Glyma gazed adoringly at Quin. “I think it’s a wonderful idea, Quin. We already have so many talented employees, and once they get the ball rolling, the patrons will keep it going. Zef can open it up with a song, and Rusty will do his card trick.”

“Hold up, I was joking,” Rusty said, but Glyma didn’t hear him.

“Then Jude and Toni will play a lovely song for us, and Willow can share her poetry. It’ll be perfect.”

“Seriously,” Rusty said, “I wasn’t volunteer—”

“What about my short stories?” Tad demanded, and Glyma patted her bald head.

“You’ll be our reserve, in case there’s a lull.”

For some reason, Tad leveled her evil smile on Toni. “Excellent.”

On instinct, Toni covered his dicks. Tracking the movement, Tad winked at him. Like a coward, he shifted until he was half-hiding behind Jude.

“About the card trick,” Rusty tried again, and Glyma finally acknowledged him, turning her thousand-watt smile in his direction.

“Yes, Rusty?”

His pale eyes widened, and he swallowed thickly, shifting his weight as he curled in on himself. Glaring down at the floor, he scuffed the galaxy floor and mumbled, “I’ll practice, I guess.”

“Thank you,” Glyma said, beaming at all of them. “All of you, thank you so much. Open mic night is going to be amazing.”

“But we still have some planning to do and details to work out,” Quin added in an attempt to bring Glyma back to reality. “So, you all have plenty of time to prepare.”

“Right, we’ll make flyers and”—Glyma pointed at Oliver, Rusty, and Gem—“as the front staff, you need to spread the word to our customers.”

Oliver and Gem saluted. Rusty just dipped his chin, still pouting. Toni squeezed Jude’s shoulders and grinned down at him as Jude tilted his head back to wink up at him.

“We should do the first song we played together,” Toni said, and Jude nodded.

“Agreed.”

As the circle dispersed, Gem trailed after Zef, saying, “Oh, Zef, how’s my birthday dress coming?”

“I am ready to do another fitting if you would like to ride the train back with me,” Zef said as they secured their hair into a high ponytail.

“Let’s do it!” Gem said, waving goodbyes to everyone as he followed Zef out of the cafe.

The moment the front door shut behind them, Oliver turned on Toni in alarm. “It’s Gem’s birthday?”

“Now? No. His birthday’s in a month. Zef’s just helping him get his performance dress ready.” At Jude and Oliver’s confused expressions, Toni explained, “He performs with Zef sometimes, especially on his birthday. At the club in Lust.”

“Oh, good. I thought I’d forgotten it or something.” Oliver blew a relieved breath through pursed lips. “Gem would never forgive me if I did that.”

“No, he would not,” Toni agreed. “Though, speaking of Gem’s birthday, I was thinking of throwing him a surprise party. Thought we could do it here at the cafe?”

Glyma nodded immediately, “Of course, just let us know what weekend.”

“Oh, can we kidnap him?” Oliver said excitedly.

“Kidnap him?” Toni echoed.

“Yeah, like that’s part of the surprise. We kidnap him from his house and take him somewhere fun.”

“Won’t the cafe be an anti-climactic location?” Jude said, hurrying to add, “No offense, of course. I just mean—”

Quin waved him off. “It’s his place of employment. Not that exciting, I get it.”

“I thought he’d like it,” Toni said.

“I’m sure he would,” Jude said, placing a hand on Toni’s arm. “I just thought if you’re going to all the trouble of kidnapping him, then why not take him somewhere else?”

“Like where?”

“The Illian Caves,” Rusty said absently, typing on his phone. When everyone turned their attention to him, his fingers faltered, and he looked up slowly. “What?”

“What are The Illian Caves?” Oliver asked Liel.

“A cave system in the Wrath mountains,” Liel answered.

“Oh, but for a few weeks a year, the moons align just right to shine down through the steam vents and light up the crystal formations,” Willow said, green eyes sparkling. “The colors are so beautiful.”

“Right,” Toni said, “and Gem’s always wanted to see it. How do you know that?” he asked Rusty.

The Pyclon’s tail curled around his feet as he shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t know. He mentioned it once.”

“But is the timing right?” Quin asked.

“If we do it a week before his birthday, it should still work,” Rusty said, reading off his phone. “It’ll be one of the last nights it happens, so no wiggle room if we miss it.”

“It’s kinda pricey,” Toni warned. “That’s why he hasn’t gone himself.”

“And tickets book way in advance,” Willow said sadly. “I’ve only been once, and Krul bought our tickets the year prior. I don’t think there will be availability this late.”

Everyone slumped in disappointment, but an idea formed in Toni’s head. “You know what, I know a guy. He’s the boyfriend of my cousin’s best friend’s sister.”

“The drug-dealer cousin?” Jude asked quietly.

“Nah, different cousin,” Toni dismissed. “I could probably get us tickets, just need to bribe him a little.”

“And we’ll cover Gem’s ticket,” Glyma said quickly. “So everyone would just need to pay for themselves.”

Smiling as the plan came together in Toni’s head. “Yeah, yeah this could work. Oh my gods, Gem’s gonna freak out. But we gotta keep it a surprise.”

“And kidnap him the night of,” Oliver insisted.

“Sure,” Toni said. “We can do that too.”

“I’ll take care of the kidnapping supplies,” Tad offered. “I already have a go-bag ready.”

“How’re we getting to Wrath at three in the morning?” Rusty asked. “The trains don’t run that late.”

“I know how to drive,” Oliver said. “Can’t we rent a van?”

“I got a guy for that too!” Toni exclaimed.

“Do you have a guy for everything?” Jude asked, and Toni brushed off his shoulder haughtily.

“What can I say? Toni knows people.”

“So the weekend before his birthday,” Glyma said, looking at her phone’s calendar. “Saturday night. Well, early Sunday morning technically.”

“If everyone can get to me before the trains stop running, I’ll have the vehicle, and we drive to Gem’s,” Toni said, pulling out his keyring and holding up the pink one. “I got a key to his place, so we sneak in and yell surprise while he’s sleeping.”

“Won’t that traumatize him?” Willow asked.

“Only if he survives the night,” Tad whispered, sending another wink Toni’s way.

And Toni wasn’t touching that with a ten-foot pole. “Honestly, Gem lives for this shit. He’ll scream a lot, but then he’ll be telling this story for years.”

“And he’ll probably be forgiving,” Liel said, tucking his hands into his slacks. “Seeing as we’re fulfilling a lifelong dream of his, right?”

“Exactly,” Toni clapped Oliver on the shoulder. “Good idea, man.”

Shaking his head, Oliver pointed at Rusty. “I only came up with the kidnapping idea. The caves were all Rusty.”

Again, Rusty lifted his gaze from his phone, looking startled as he said, “What?”

“Either way, Gem’s gonna love it.” Excitement swelled in Toni’s chest as he and Oliver snickered conspiratorially.

“Let’s plan on the train,” Oliver said.

“You’re not coming home?” Jude asked, and Oliver’s smile dimmed with uncertainty.

“Uh, I was gonna head to Liel’s. Why?”

Jude darted a glance at Toni. “I just thought we could hang tonight.”

“Oh.” Oliver looked to Liel. “I mean, I’ll be back this week sometime. Can we hang out then?”

It wasn’t the plan Toni and Jude had hoped for, but Toni didn’t want to make things weird by forcing Jude to push the issue. So he winked at Jude, and his human relaxed his stance, smiling at Oliver.

“Okay, that works.”

Oliver beamed at him as he took Liel’s hand. “Cool.”