Page 44 of Should Our Hearts Catch Fire

“Unfortunately. I’m still surprised they don’t give me a stomachache.” He elaborates when Gabe gives him an inquiring look. “Dairy tends to mess up my digestion.”

“Oh, there’s no dairy. We use soy milk, and oil instead of butter. Can’t really taste the difference.”

“Yeah, I couldn’t tell,” Ellis agrees, sounding impressed.

“I mean, it doesn’t make it much healthier.”

Ellis smiles. “No, I know.” He brings up his phone. “Don’t forget to include my order from yesterday.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Gabe retorts. He totally forgot.

“How about you take a seat? I’ll bring it to you,” he suggests once Ellis has paid. Gabe would love to hold him hostage and talk to him until his brain liquifies, but a couple more people have come in, waiting their turn.

“Okay. Thank you. I’ll be sitting somewhere…” He waves in the general direction of the tables.

Gabe sends him a wink. “I’ll find you, don’t worry.” He may or may not watch Ellis’ retreating, uh, backbody. Sue him, he’s only human. Mostly. Probably.

“Swap?” Zeke asks with a knowing smirk.

“Bite me,” Gabe replies and lets Zeke take over the till, starting on Ellis’ order.

He wills his hands to remain steady as he carries the coffee to Ellis’ table, cursing himself for filling the cup to the brim. Ellis watches him approach with a soft expression that has Gabe almost spilling the coffee. Placing the cup on the table, he pauses when he takes note of Ellis’ strange expression.

“Something wrong?”

“Nothing.” It’s definitely something. “You always draw hearts on the cup. Should’ve known you’d find a way to put one in a drink-in order.” He nods at the heart sprinkled on top of the coffee with cinnamon powder.

Gabe knew those stencils would come in handy even outside of Valentine’s Day. Hopefully he didn’t go too far.

“What can I say; I wear my heart on my sleeve. And coffee, as you can see.” Despite the joking tone, Ellis’ expression looks more serious than amused.

“Yeah, I can tell.” He licks his lips. “You should be careful with it. Someone could take advantage.”

Gabe melts a little at the concern, but a part of him wonders if Ellis is speaking from personal experience. The way his energy just dimmed a notch suggests so, and it takes major effort not to pry.

“I’m not worried. I’m very good at reading people,” he says to put Ellis’ mind at ease.

Ellis’ gaze flicks up before he quickly averts it. “So, what’s with the messages? Do you, like, google motivational quotes and put them on the cups?”

Gabe takes the change of topic in stride. “I used to do that a lot when we first opened. I’d have a list of quotes, and every morning I’d write them on at least three sleeves of cups.” A feeling of nostalgia expands in his chest at the memory. Setting up his business was so exciting and terrifying. “They were a bit repetitive, but the customers loved them. But within a few months we started getting busier and there was no time. So now I only write something when I feel…compelled to do so.”

Naturally, Ellis isn’t satisfied with a half-baked explanation. “Compelled?”

“It’s…hard to explain.”Yeah, very helpful.

“That’s okay,” Ellis says easily. “I probably wouldn’t get it anyway, considering I have the emotional range of a rock.”

Gabe frowns, his protective instincts unraveling. “That’s not true.”

“Huh?”

“That’s so not true. You’re a very emotional person.” One of the most emotional people Gabe’s ever met. “Just because you don’t always show it doesn’t mean you don’t feel profoundly.”

His little outburst is followed by a long stretch of silence and Ellis’ stunned expression. While he wouldn’t take the words back—someone needs to tell Ellis his perception of himself iscompletely askew—he wishes he’d picked better timing. And maybe hadn’t reacted so fervently. It looks a little sus.

“I’m sorry. I keep sticking my beak where it doesn’t belong. I’ll let you work, Zeke is about to kill me if I don’t help.” He points to the counter where Zeke is glaring daggers at him as he hurries to serve a long line of people that has accumulated while Gabe was being a Chatty Cathy. He spins around, striding away and pretending he didn’t hear the soft-spoken, “Gabriel”.

“Everything okay?” Zeke asks with a frown.