Page 8 of Strong Coffee (Coffee Beans & Love #1)

SEVEN

Brady

The hour I waited for my date with Cam went extremely slow.

He ended up texting me the location of a restaurant that wasn’t too far from Coffee Beans & Love. It was a Korean place and somewhere I had never been before. I wasn’t sure what to expect when it came to the food, but I was always willing to try anything at least once.

When I was about to leave work, he texted again and said he was running late. I then decided to go home and quickly take a shower and get changed.

When I was putting on my shoes to leave, the door to the apartment opened. Shane, Presley, and Noah entered the small space, their voices falling over each other as they argued.

“I can fix the machine. I just need a few days,” Presley insisted, kicking off his running shoes .

“We can get a new one,” Noah suggested.

“We can’t afford a new one,” Shane threw at him, his eyes flicking my way. Something flashed in them, something I didn’t want to explore, and I thought he didn’t either.

“What’s up?” I asked, sitting back on the couch and crossing my arms under my chest.

“You going on a date?” he asked instead, letting his gaze roam over me.

Noah and Presley stopped arguing, probably wondering if their friends were about to get into a fight.

“I am.” I waited a beat before continuing. “You going to make this weird for all of us?”

Shane opened his mouth, closed it, and let out a loud sigh.

“No. Sorry.” He looked at Noah and Presley.

“I am sorry. I just…I met someone, and it’s been weird.

” He lifted a hand, stopping us from badgering him with a whole bunch of questions.

“I don’t want to talk about it. Not like anything is happening anyway but it’s still… weird and I am sorry.”

I stood and closed the distance between us. Pulling him in for a hug, I squeezed him. “You better be or I’ll kick your ass.”

He chuckled, returning the embrace. “If this guy hurts you though, I will make him disappear.”

I grunted, rolling my eyes. “I know.”

“We’re good?” Noah asked, playing on his phone.

“Yes,” Shane and I answered at the same time.

“What are you doing?” Presley pulled the phone from his hands. “We can’t afford this.”

Before they began arguing about the espresso machine that we desperately needed, I said goodbye, and quickly left the apartment.

Holding my cell in my hand, I kept checking it to see if I got any new texts from Camden.

A part of me feared that he was going to change his mind and cancel our date tonight.

I wasn’t usually this paranoid but my confidence was seriously lacking and I wasn’t sure how to get it back where he was concerned.

Shoving those annoying thoughts to the back of my mind, I opened the Uber app and ordered a ride. I could have driven myself but with the way I was currently feeling strung out with anxiety, I thought driving might not be the best idea.

While I waited for the car to pick me up, I put my phone away and rubbed the back of my neck. I took several deep cleansing breaths, trying to ease the nerves rushing through me.

It had been a long time since I had been on a date.

And I definitely never dated Shane. We fucked and that was it.

While it worked for most people, it didn’t work for me, but I had no idea how to tell him that.

Not until it was too late, and we went our separate ways without actually talking about our… issues.

Before I could dwell any more on the matter at hand, my Uber pulled up in front of me. When I sat in the car, the driver tried making small talk. I answered as best I could, carrying on the conversation that I knew I would forget about once I saw Camden. It was your typical small talk.

How was your day?

What do you do for a living?

This weather is nice today. Wouldn’t you agree?

What’s your favorite sport?

When the driver pulled the car up in front of the Korean restaurant, I couldn’t even remember the answers I had given him.

I quickly muttered, “Bye,” and left the car. Looking around me, I couldn’t see Cam anywhere. I checked my phone and saw that he hadn’t called or texted me.

Leaning against the brick wall near the entrance, I took a moment and played a game on my phone. It was something that kept my mind at ease. It was my little way of meditating. It got my mind off of anything that stressed me out, case in point, this date.

“Hey, handsome.”

My stomach flipped, my head slowly lifting to find Cam stalking toward me.

My mouth fell open at the sight of him. He wore black pants and a blood red dress shirt.

The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showcasing thick forearms. It had crossed my mind to walk up to him and give him a hug, but I wasn’t sure how he would feel about that, so I stood back and waited.

He tilted his head, probably wondering what the hell was going through my mind.

The longer he stared at me, the more nervous I became.

Could we just skip dinner and go back to his place?

Or even mine? While I wanted to get to know him better and I was hungry, I just needed that physical touch from him more.

I couldn’t explain it and I didn’t even bother trying.

Camden took that final step toward me. He was close enough that I could smell a hint of his spicy cologne.

“You’re nervous,” he murmured, his voice low and deep. His eyes dropped to my mouth, his nearness practically pulling a moan from my lips.

“I haven’t been on a date in quite some time.” I thought a moment. “In fact, I don’t even know when the last time I went on a date was.”

“The last person I dated, was my ex-wife.” Cam reached for my hip, pulling me closer. “But I already told you that.” He took a step forward, pushing me back until we ended up in the shadows of the alleyway.

“The last person I fucked before you, was my best friend.” I wasn’t sure why I said that but with the growl that left Cam’s lips, I couldn’t help the way my dick jumped at the jealousy rolling off of him .

“Do you miss him?” Camden asked, pushing me up against the wall.

“Do you miss your ex-wife?” I threw at him, pressing my fingers against his tight stomach.

“You trying to make me jealous, Brady?” he asked, tilting his head.

“I don’t think I need to try that hard to make you jealous.” I hooked my fingers into the waist of his black dress pants and pulled him closer.

He chuckled, leaning his forehead against mine. A slow breath left him, almost like he was trying to regain control. Control neither of us had.

“How’s your ex-sister-in law?” I asked, enjoying being this close to him again.

“I just got off the phone with Beverly before you showed up. She said her sister is doing well and that the baby is perfectly healthy. It was a false alarm.”

“Oh good. I’m glad.”

“Me too,” he murmured.

“What are we doing?” I asked him, my skin tingling over my muscles.

Cam pinched my chin, tilting my head back to meet the hard impact of his mouth. “Right now,” he whispered against my lips. “We’re just existing.”