Page 38 of Should Our Hearts Catch Fire

Gabe turns beet red, and chuckles. “Baking in general, but yes. Also, coffee. Drinking or making it. Customer service comes naturally to me too.”

Ellis makes a face. “I don’t know how you do it.”

“What?”

“Deal with…people.” He says ‘people’ in a way someone might say ‘excrements’.

Gabe laughs. He has to laugh, overtaken by a wave of affection. God, this man is precious. And so contradictory. But mainly precious.

“Don’t you do the same thing? Being a CEO and whatnot.”

“In a way, but it’s different. I deal with numbers. Proposals. Contracts.”

“Sounds sexy,” Gabe says, then groans. Here he goes again. “I’m sorry. I tend to put my foot in my mouth if I haven’t had my coffee yet.”

Ellis must be getting used to Gabe’s antics because instead of shocked silence, there’s only a short pause, and then he laughs. “Only when you haven’t had your coffee?”

Relief loosening his shoulders, Gabe decides to go with the flow. Ellis already knows what a disaster Gabe is. He might as well be himself.

“It’s rude to call someone out like that, you know?”

Ellis’ reaction isn’t what he hoped for. There’s a hint of a smile, but his mood shifts, something that feels like guilt tainting the air around him.

“I’m a rude person, so…”

Oh.

Gabriel Emmett Cleaver, do not throw yourself at a likely straight man, just to give him a hug.

Repeating the mantra like a prayer, Gabe says softly, “I don’t think you are. I think you’re just…”

“What?”

Hurt. Sad.

Lonely.

“Tired,” Gabe says. It’s safe, and it’s true. “Having your usual?” he asks to fill the silence when Ellis doesn’t say anything. Gabe can feel his discomfort, and kicks himself for being the cause.

Ellis nods. “Please.” He sneaks a peek at the abandoned cinnamon rolls. Gabe notices only because he can’t seem to be able to take his eyes off Ellis for even a single second.

Smiling encouragingly, he nods towards the tray, lifting an eyebrow in question.

Ellis bites his bottom lip, two spots of color appearing on his cheeks. He gives a small nod, looking embarrassed, as though it’s unmanly or something to have a weakness for pastry.

The irony isn’t lost on Gabe. He’d bet his favorite pair of socks that Ellis is secretly a cinnamon roll himself.

He wouldn’t mind getting a bite.

The mood is a little awkward but not unpleasant while Gabe works. He puts a cinnamon roll in a box and draws a smiley face and a little heart on the lid. Ellis follows him to the coffee machine, watching silently while Gabe steams the milk. There are so many emotions Gabe has to keep in check in front of Ellis, and he takes the opportunity to pour them into making the drink.

“I do deal with people sometimes,” Ellis says suddenly as Gabe transfers the milk into the cup. “It’s…unpleasant.”

The fact that Ellis went back to that particular topic gives Gabe the impression something has been bugging him.

“Something happen?” he asks, hoping he sounds laid back and not like he’s dying for Ellis to share the smallest tidbits of information about his life. Which he isn’t. Not even a little. Nope.

Ellis answers with a derisive laugh. “Where do I start?”