Page 7 of Strong Coffee (Coffee Beans & Love #1)

SIX

Brady

“I heard you have a date tonight.”

My head lifted from the espresso machine I was currently trying to fix. Jasmine, one of our baristas, stood a foot away with a wide grin on her tanned face. She had spent time at the beach the day before and the sun had kissed her skin, giving her a healthy glow.

I opened my mouth to respond when Shane came out of the office.

“I heard that too,” he said, looking down at a clipboard in his hand.

“Who has a date?” Presley Serrano and Noah Paige asked at the same time.

We went to the same college and moved into our apartment right out of high school. It was small, barely having enough room for the four of us but it was perfect, and we made it work.

“There is no date,” I was finally able to get out.

It probably was a date but with the guy I used to fuck currently standing there, I didn’t want to rub it in or make things more awkward.

He had been weird ever since our phone conversation the other night.

I still regretted asking him for advice over a guy I didn’t know but wanted to fuck. I should have called Noah or Presley.

“Are you going out for food?” Noah asked, coming up to my side and gently pushing me out of the way.

He took over trying to fix the espresso machine when I clearly hadn’t been doing a good job of it.

Truth was, I couldn’t get Cam out of my head.

Even while I slept the night before, my dreams were on a rolling loop about the delicious man who had generously invaded my body only a few nights ago.

“Maybe?” I crossed my arms under my chest, leaning against the table and watching Noah work. “He’s picking me up at seven and then I don’t know what we’re doing.”

“You should come here,” Presley suggested. “That band you like is playing. What do they call themselves again?”

“Voodoo Machine?” Shane flipped through the papers on the clipboard. “Voodoo Priest?”

“Doesn’t that band exist already?” Presley asked, muttering a curse as a piece of the machine broke off in his hand. “I think we need to cave and get a new espresso machine.”

“We don’t have the money. Not for the type you want anyway.” Shane was our bookkeeper. He usually complained the whole time about money and how we weren’t making enough but he did love the job of keeping track of our finances. He just really loved complaining too.

“Maybe we need to sit down and discuss other ways of making money. We could have bands play on other nights besides Friday,” Noah suggested. He pulled his phone out of the back pocket of his dark blue jeans. A frown pulled at his eyebrows.

“What is it?” I asked, not liking this sudden nervous energy coming from him.

“Nothing.” He sighed, shoving his phone back in his pocket. “It’s fine. Everything is fine.”

Before I could ask any more, he left the kitchen and went out to the main area of the café.

“Do you know what that was about?” I asked Presley and Shane.

“Nope.” They both answered at the same time.

“But I did hear that Noah is seeing someone. He just won’t talk about it.” Presley shrugged. “Who knows?”

His phone took that moment to ding, indicating an incoming text.

The three of us looked at each other, unsure as to who could be texting Presley. Besides his brother, everyone who texted him was in the room with him or at least nearby.

He fished his phone out of his pocket, his eyes widening. “My brother’s in town.”

That would explain Noah’s change in mood.

My stomach twisted. “Oh shit.” I looked the way Noah had gone. “Maybe that’s who texted Noah.”

“Maybe.” Presley typed away on his phone before placing it on the table in front of him. “I love my brother but he’s an ass and I’m still pissed that he tore out my best friend’s heart.”

“No kidding.” Shane nodded to the espresso machine. “Can you fix it? ”

“I don’t think I can, buddy.” Presley sighed, took a step back and glared at the piece of machinery that refused to let him win.

While they discussed the audacity of the failing machine, I couldn’t help but wonder what actually went down between Noah and Presley’s brother.

We were never there for any of their interactions with each other, but we always saw Noah after the fact.

He either had a grin on his face or a scowl. Never in between.

Nikolai, Presley’s brother, was a few years older than us and had left to go to school in another state. He never moved back but visited often. I liked the guy, but I felt protective over Noah, so I didn’t like how Nikolai or Nicky, as we all called him, left Noah.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, pulling me from my thoughts.

Cam: Dinner with Beverly was cut short, so you and I can meet up early. We can do food, drinks, and make a whole night of it.

My stomach did a flip, my heart thumping hard in my chest.

“I know that look.”

I glanced up, finding both Shane and Noah grinning at me.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I rushed out of the kitchen before they could tease me any more on the matter and headed out to the alley behind our building.

Instead of texting Cam back, I called him up.

“Missed my voice?” he asked, instead of giving me a hello.

I chuckled, my cheeks heating over the fact that he knew me well already.

Because I did actually miss his voice. There was something about Camden West that reached a part of me that had never been reached before.

Was this what it was like to finally meet your soul mate?

Could I even call him that when we barely knew each other outside of fucking a couple of times?

“Brady?”

I coughed, rubbing the back of my neck. “Sorry. What happened with Beverly?” It wasn’t any of my business, but I was curious and asked anyway.

“We met up but her sister’s pregnant and ended up in the hospital, so Bev had to get back. We’re making plans to re-do our dinner date.”

“Oh, I hope everything’s okay.”

“Me too.”

“I’d love to meet up early,” I told him. “But…”

“What?”

“Listen, I don’t know what I’m doing. The last guy I slept with is my best friend and while we’re still close, it’s weird.

I also think he’s sleeping with someone else, but he won’t tell me.

Even when I ask, he won’t give me any information.

Not that I have to know of course. I just…

” I was rambling. “I don’t know but I do know that whatever this is, I want to do it with you.

” I sounded desperate and I wouldn’t be surprised if Camden ended whatever was going on between us, right away.

“Brady.” Cam sighed. “I get it.”

My eyes widened, his words catching me off guard. “You do?”

“I haven’t had a relationship since I was married. I’ve had random flings and one-night stands here and there but I had a dry spell for a few months leading up to the moment with you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” He coughed. “I like you, Brady. Do we know each other? No. Definitely not as much as I want to but that takes time. I’d like to give it a shot if you do. ”

“Yes.” My stomach flipped, my nerves jumping under my skin. “I would like that.”

“Good. Did you want to meet for dinner at five and then we can go somewhere else for drinks?”

“I would love that a lot actually.” I checked the time on my phone. That would give me an hour to get my shit together and calm these racing nerves rushing through me.

I wasn’t sure what it was about this man, but he reached a part of me that had never been reached before. Even with Shane, it never felt perfect. Sure, it felt good, but I always needed more, and I knew that he did too. It was one reason why we ended it.

“Okay. See you soon, Brady.”

We said our goodbyes and I disconnected the call.

Leaning against the wall, I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths.

The next hour was definitely going to drag on now that my plans with Camden had been moved up.

A part of me had wanted to suggest that we meet up at my place or even his, because I did want to get to know him.

Sex was one thing but learning more about him was important right now.

I found that I wanted to be his friend. I just hoped that being friends with him wouldn’t result in us not having a relationship.

I couldn’t handle going through what I did with Shane, again. No matter how attracted to Cam I was.