Page 9 of Strong Coffee (Coffee Beans & Love #1)

EIGHT

Camden

Not being able to have dinner with Beverly, didn’t sit well with me.

We had been meeting once a month ever since we got divorced.

I was sure people thought it was odd how close we still were.

I even called her parents Mom and Dad and her sister often told me that her baby would still refer to me as Uncle Cam.

I loved all of them like they were my own flesh and blood and I couldn’t ask for a better extended family.

My parents were also grateful for it because a lot of people didn’t have it so easy when they came out.

I was more than thankful for the support.

While Brady and I sat in silence, I couldn’t help but take in his appearance.

He wore dark blue jeans, a black dress shirt that wasn’t done up, with a band T-shirt on underneath it.

When I asked him about the shirt, he had told me it was a heavy metal band that played at Coffee Beans & Love every chance they could.

Brady looked my way every so often. There was a red tinge to his cheeks, and it was because of me that it was there in the first place.

He smirked, his eyes shining with lust that I couldn’t wait to explore later.

But for now, we were going to have some food, some drinks, and go somewhere to listen to music and have more drinks.

“Does Coffee Beans & Love have bands play there often?” I asked him, thinking we could go there after food.

“We’re trying to make that happen. We’re doing whatever we can to get it out there that we welcome any and all events,” he explained, giving me a small smile.

“So it’s not just a café but a bar too?”

Brady chuckled, running his hand through his shaggy black hair.

“Well, that’s a funny story. We named it Coffee Beans & Love because we love coffee and had every intention of keeping it to coffee and baked goods only.

There had been an event in town that came to our café and we were so busy that we had to turn people away.

We lost a lot of business that day. So, we decided to buy the building beside ours and expand Coffee Beans & Love.

We then turned it into more of a coffee bar I guess you could call it.

But we didn’t really want to go through the hoops to change the name, so we just stuck with Coffee Beans & Love even though we don’t serve just coffee or baked goods anymore. ”

“I’m glad your business is doing so well.” I sat back in the booth, taking a sip of my whiskey. “I know how hard it is to get off the ground.”

“It’s been very hard but I’ll never forget those customers who helped us grow. Sure, we still have issues from time to time and money isn’t rolling in as much as we’d like but it could be worse. ”

“It definitely could be.”

We continued talking about our businesses.

I liked listening to him and seeing how proud he was of Coffee Beans & Love.

It was amazing to me that four friends who grew up together and went to school together, also decided to own a business together.

That could make or break a friendship, so I was happy to hear that Brady was still close with his best friends.

While I didn’t overly like how close he was with this Shane fucker, we all had a past. I couldn’t fault him for that.

I enjoyed spending time with Brady, so I didn’t want this night to end anytime soon.

Beverly had texted me a few times, giving me advice and tips and offering suggestions to help me relax.

It was just who she was, and I loved her even more for it.

If this thing with Brady became something more than us just fucking, I hoped the two of them could become close too.

“How’s your food?” I asked Brady, noticing how he was pushing around the noodles on his plate but hadn’t taken a bite in a few minutes.

I had him meet me at a Korean restaurant. The food was delicious, but I especially liked the quiet and warm ambiance of the place.

“It’s good,” he muttered, staring down at the plate in front of him.

“Are you sure? If it’s not your thing, we can go somewhere else.”

He looked up then, quickly shaking his head. “No. The food is delicious. Thank you for the offer but I’m fine here.”

“Then what is it?” He had gone to the bathroom about ten minutes ago and came back in a different mood.

“I’m just nervous.” He shrugged, pushing his dark bangs out of his eyes. “That’s all. ”

We had been talking about our businesses but after that conversation finished, he became quiet. His timid and shy demeanor did something funny to me. I found that I wanted to protect him at all costs.

“You don’t need to be.” Before I could stop myself, I slid out of my side of the booth and went up to him. “Move over.”

“What are you doing?” he asked but did as he was told and slid across the seat.

“Listen.” I sat, taking his hands in mine and forcing him to look at me.

“This is new. This is new for both of us. Like I told you, I haven’t dated since before I was married.

It’s been a while for me. But I like you.

A lot in fact. I’m not going anywhere. I know your situation with your best friend is a little weird right now…

” My voice trailed off, unsure what else to say to reassure him that we could have some fun without making things too serious.

“What are you wanting out of this?” Brady asked, his dark eyes meeting mine.

“I don’t know. Am I looking for a relationship? I have no idea but whatever we do, I promise that I’ll only be with you and no one else while we’re fucking. If it ends, it ends. But in the meantime, I am yours and only yours.”

“Okay.” He let out a slow breath. Maybe he thought that I wanted a piece from him and others at the same time. Sure, I had fucked around before, but I meant what I told him. It was just him and that’s it.

“So, Brady. Tell me more about yourself.” I grabbed his hand and placed it on my thigh, needing some sort of connection with him.

“What do you want to know?” he asked softly.

A protective instinct came over me. He wasn’t this quiet the first night I met him or even tonight in the alleyway. I didn’t like this nervous energy coming from him, but I didn’t know how to fix it .

“Do you like owning Coffee Beans & Love with your friends?” As soon as I asked that question, it was like something had completely changed in him.

“I fucking love it. It’s been hard, which I’m sure you know that, seeing as you own your own businesses, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.

We are in need of some new equipment though.

Did you know that an espresso machine, a good one anyway, can cost thousands of dollars?

I’m going to have to sell my soul to get one before my friends lose their minds over it.

” He rolled his eyes at that, which only made me smile.

“Sorry.” His cheeks reddened. “I’m rambling and I know you already asked a bit about it but I can talk about Coffee Beans & Love for hours. ”

“Good. I’m glad.” I covered his hand that was on my inner thigh. “Keep talking. I want to know everything.”

Brady laughed.

“You think I’m kidding?” I pushed his hand higher up my thigh.

His eyes dropped to where his hand rested, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed hard. “You’re not, are you?”

“No.” I turned toward him, pushing his hand even higher until it bumped my crotch. “I don’t joke about this shit.”

Much to my surprise, he pulled his hand from beneath mine and brushed his fingers over the bulge in my pants.

“Ending it with my best friend, Shane, hurt more than I ever thought it would. I know he’s moved on but every now and again, he’ll make comments that make me wonder if he misses what we shared.”

“Maybe he does. Maybe you do too.” I bit back a groan as his fingers continued moving ever so slightly over my crotch .

“Maybe.” His eyes lifted, catching mine. “Maybe I just want to be enough for someone.”

Those words were soft and tugged at my heart. “You will be enough. I promise.”

“How can you make a promise like that? You hardly know me.”

I opened my mouth to respond but no words came out because he was right.

I didn’t know him that well. And he didn’t know me that well.

But that was how most relationships started.

Didn’t they? First, you were strangers, then maybe you became friends or maybe you started dating right away.

A lot of blind dates led to romance. You start as strangers, then if it went well, it could eventually turn into marriage.

Then, maybe a divorce, but I had already been divorced once and refused to do that again.

“I don’t know how I can make that promise,” I finally said. “But I’m promising you that anyway.”

Brady’s gaze fell to my mouth. “I’m enjoying this time with you. So, whatever happens I just want to have fun and I want it to come naturally.”

“Every relationship is work,” I told him.

“When I was married to Beverly, even though we didn’t have sex often, it didn’t matter.

We still had to work to be happy. And I was happy with her.

I’m not like a lot of people. I don’t need sex to have a relationship.

Sure, that intimacy is nice and it’s fucking mind-blowing with the right person. But it’s not a necessity for me.”

“It’s not for me either.”

“Good and now that we have that sorted, tell me more about your business.”

Brady chuckled. “I already told you everything.”

“I want to know every single detail, Brady.”

“Really?” His smile widened. “Why?”

“Because I want to know you.” I learned that he and his friends went to college all for different things that had to do with owning a business of your own.

His one friend wanted to be a mechanic if this business idea didn’t succeed. But not just any mechanic, he wanted to design his own vehicles. He loved tinkering with engines and anything that he could take apart and put back together.

Another friend wanted to be a lawyer because he loved arguing and thought he could get paid for it but didn’t want to go through all the schooling. He hated being told what to do and just wanted to argue whenever he could.

Another friend went to school because his parents wanted him to but he had no idea what he wanted to do in life.

So when Brady suggested that they all should go into a business together, his friends jumped at the chance.

I found that I could listen to Brady speak for hours.

I enjoyed hearing about his life. I also hoped that maybe I could meet his friends and that they would approve of me.

I didn’t share much of my life but that was fine with me.

My life wasn’t overly exciting anyway besides doing pretty well for myself at such a young age.

I wasn’t sure where the need for more came from though. It wasn’t like Brady and I were officially dating or anything. Even though this was our first date, I hoped it was the first of many.

Only time would tell but I looked forward to this journey.

And I hoped that he would be willing to take this ride with me.