Page 41 of Should Our Hearts Catch Fire

So, yeah…he’s used to people confiding in him. But it’s another thing entirely to have a person you’re crushing on confide in you.

“Your ex is an idiot for cheating on you,” he says at last. It’s not lip service—he means it. If Ellis washis…

“Guess I had it coming,” Ellis says. “I’m not exactly the most attentive boyfriend.”

“There are better ways to ask for attention. Doesn’t mean she had to go and fall on another guy’s dick.”

Ellis’ eyes widen, his mouth falling open.

Gabe lets out a groan. “And I’ll stop talking now.”

“Please don’t,” Ellis says so quickly Gabe doesn’t even have time to panic. “I…like talking to you.” He mostly whispers the last part, but Gabe’s spent so much time with his eyes glued to Ellis’ lips he could probably read the words anyway.

Gabe’s stupid face splits into an even stupider grin, his heart thundering. “I like talking to you too.”

For a moment, time stands still, something important stretching between them. It feels like they’ve crossed a line, leaving the employee/customer territory and moving into an uncharted one. One that Gabe would like very, very much to explore.

The sound of someone speaking makes them both flinch. Gabe searches for the source, seeing five people walking into the café at once, followed by Zeke who is, as per usual, late for his shift. When he spots Ellis, he grins like the dick he is and waves.

Ellis looks like he’s coming out of a trance, but manages to wave back.

“Didn’t you say twenty minutes?” he says to Gabe.

Gabe heaves a sigh. “I was wrong.”

Ellis huffs. “I take it back. Your job sucks.”

It would be so easy to end the whole interaction on a humorous note, to keep the banter going.

Gabe finds he doesn’t have the strength to do it. He looks at Ellis and he just…wants.

“Well, seeing you makes it better, so…you know…” He pushes the cup and the box towards Ellis. “You could keep coming here. Make my job a little less sucky.”

Ellis seems to have stopped breathing as he stares at Gabe, reaching for his items. “I’d think the opposite is true.” And fuck, he sounds so resigned, like he actually believes it.

“You’d be wrong,” Gabe says firmly. Unable to help himself, he brushes his fingers against Ellis’, who shivers at the contact. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow.”

Chapter 9

Zeke is annoying ona good day, but when Gabe offers to do the opening shift on a permanent basis instead of alternating how they normally do, he becomes positively insufferable.

“That have anything to do with Mr. Grumpy popping in first thing in the morning?” Zeke asks with a smirk.

Gabe doesn’t dignify it with an answer. Zeke should be grateful, given how much he hates mornings.

Seeing Ellis bright and early the next morning makes suffering through Zeke’s constant bullying totally worth it. Gabe’s high spirits last for hours, until Zeke manages to burn their last batch of red velvet cookies because he got sucked down the rabbit hole of funny cat compilation videos.

Insert a dramatic sigh.

Gabe has a moment of panic (aka being a complete and utter moping mess) when Ellis doesn’t show up on Friday. MaybeGabe said something weird yesterday that freaked him out? Wouldn’t be the first time his big mouth scared someone off.

But then Ellis turns up amidst the morning rush, way later than he ever has and looking a little disheveled, like he worked late and slept for shit. And fuck, Gabe wants to feel sorry for him, but the whole messy appearance is doingthingsto him. He starts to wonder if this is what Ellis looks like first thing in the morning, all soft and warm with sleep, and probably grumpy as hell without a drop of caffeine in his system. Fuck, why is that so cute?

It’s not lost on Gabe that Ellis found the time to come here despite being in a hurry. His heart leaps to his throat when Ellis’ eyes find his over the queue, tired and underlined with dark shadows, but brightening when they see Gabe.

Gabe grins like a lovestruck idiot, but it’s worth seeing Ellis’s reaction, his cheeks changing color and lips curling into a heart-stopping smile.