Chapter Text
It started raining just after Asher walked in. That seemed right. It was pouring.
“What can I get you?”
He’d gone to his favorite café but now that he was there, he just felt like leaving. What if Paul showed up? God, that would be so awkward. But what was he supposed to do? Never go anywhere again? Give up his own favorite place?
“Do you need more time?”
God, the last thing he needed was more time. Was there an option to just stop time? Maybe wake up in a world where no one knew him?
A pair of hands clapped in front of his face and Asher jumped, blinking at the big guy behind the counter. He frowned beautifully, one eyebrow arched in a clear “what the fuck?”
Asher laughed apologetically, scratching the back of his head. “Sorry. Long day.”
“It’s noon.”
“Long week?”
“Tuesday.”
Asher huffed another laugh. “Sorry.”
The barista, David if his name tag was true, shrugged his big shoulders. “What do you want?”
“Oh. Um…” The last year of his life back?
The big guy sighed. “Your usual?”
Asher deflated a little. No. This was not an iced blonde caramel macchiato day. “Can I just get a regular coffee?”
He’d thought the barista was permanently frowning—it was part of his charm and one of the reasons this was Asher’s favorite café—but then he really did frown, and it was completely different. “Really?”
“Yeah.” Asher pulled his card out, ready to pay.
David huffed but tapped the register.
After paying, Asher stepped to the side, attention drawn toward the rainwater waterfalling down the big windows again.
“You getting just coffee too?” the barista asked the next person, an edge of sarcasm in his deep voice as he filled the cup for Asher, leaving a third for space for milk.
Asher hadn’t even noticed that someone was behind him in line until then, heat rushing to his face. How long had he made this guy wait? Fuck. He should just go home… only he definitely didn’t want to go back there.
The guy in line barked a laugh and stepped up to the counter. “You wish I’d go easy on you.”
The way he said it, with the sideways pull of his lips into a smirk, made it sound lewd and gave Asher chills. The barista, David, on the other hand didn’t seem to notice or care. He handed Asher his coffee and frowned again—the real frown, before rolling his shoulders and cocking his head back to look at the new customer. His eyebrow lifted. “Well?”
The new guy leaned into the counter, to get closer to him. “Quad shot over light ice, light oat milk, 2 pumps of vanilla, sweet cream cold foam, cinnamon drizzle.”
“Mmhm,” David replied, sounding completely unimpressed and unsurprised and hitting a couple buttons on the register. “Anything else?”
“Your number?”
David huffed and to Asher’s complete shock, smiled. Fuck, he’d never seen that either. It was almost enough to make him forget his whole fucking week.
He poured milk into his coffee and moved along, sitting down in a corner table to kill some time.
His phone buzzed and he pulled it out, tapping the screen to life and instantly regretting it.
Chrissy had sent him another screengrab of a conversation with Paul. Christian thought he was being helpful… or maybe just alleviating his own guilt by showing Asher all the shit his ex was saying about him? Fuck.
“Hey.”
Asher looked up, surprised to see the guy from the line standing in front of him. He had his drink in his hand, the straw between his lips and his hip cocked to the side. His nails were painted dark green and his knuckles on his right hand were bruised. He sucked at that straw and Asher’s brain went blank for a second. “Hey?” fell out of his mouth by some miracle.
The stranger swallowed, let the straw go, and nudged his chin at the chair opposite Asher at the little table. “Are you waiting for someone?”
Asher blinked and then smiled, shaking his head and gesturing at the chair. “All yours.” It didn’t even occur to him that there were plenty of vacant ones around them to snag. If he wanted this one, he could take it.
The stranger snagged the back of the seat and pulled, only he didn’t take it away. He drew it out and then sat down across from him, their knees bumping under the table.
Asher sat up straighter to pull his knees back, his mind still reeling. The guy wanted to sit with him?
“My name is Gavin.”
“Asher.” He smiled, more than a little relieved not to be sitting alone anymore. Asher wasn’t really great at being alone. He didn’t like it. His thoughts got away from him when he was alone. He took a sip from his mug and winced, having forgotten what he got.
Gavin smiled. It was sly and pretty at the same time. “So… Why are you punishing yourself with that?”
“Hm? What? I’m not.”
Gavin stirred his drink by the straw, one pierced eyebrow lifting as he waited for another answer.
Asher laughed and sagged back in his chair. “My boyfriend broke up with me.”
Gavin stopped stirring, eyes widening. “You’re kidding. I just got out of a relationship, like an hour ago!”
Asher leaned forward. “Seriously? Mine was a few days ago but, man, I’m sorry.”
Gavin shook his head. “It was sort of a weekend fling with this couple. I mean, I had hoped it would be an ongoing thing but whatever…”
Asher smiled, glad the guy wasn’t broken-hearted at least.
“So, your breakup,” Gavin said, tonguing his straw back into his mouth.
Asher forced his gaze back up to his new friend’s eyes, rather than watching him suck and swallow.
“Who cheated?”
“What?” Asher jumped, bumping the table and almost spilling his coffee.
Gavin’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh. So, you did?”
“No! No, no one did.” Asher smiled but it felt strained now. Fuck. He used to be so good at talking to people. He was known for making friends everywhere he went! But that had been before Paul… “We just grew apart.”
“And this guy broke up with you?”
Asher blinked, not sure why Gavin was putting so much emphasis on the ‘you’ in his sentence. He looked down at himself and then shrugged.
Gavin smirked and sat back, drink in hand, eyeing him. “How long were you two together?”
“Almost a year.”
Gavin pursed his lips. “Did you live together?”
Asher sighed. “Yeah.”
“Who moved out?”
“I did. Why?”
“He dumped you, and you moved out, but this wasn’t like an explosive fight or something?”
Asher laughed. “This isn’t a puzzle. We broke up. The apartment was his, so I’m out.” Out and crashing with a friend until he got a new place.
“Why did you really break up? Do you have a weird addiction? A fetish?” Gavin grinned at that.
Asher laughed harder, for the first time having a conversation about this and not wanting to run away. “No! Nothing weird, no addictions. It just didn’t work.”
“You’re gorgeous.”
Asher felt his face fall blank. “What?”
Gavin nodded, still looking at him. “Your nice, funny, sweet, and gorgeous. Why would someone break up with you?”
Asher smiled and hoped he wasn’t blushing too bad. “Well, why did your couple break up with you?” he countered, sipping his coffee and almost not wincing at it this time.
Gavin shrugged his shoulders. He was wearing a tank top even though it was raining outside. “They’re a couple. They’re in love. They thought they wanted a third but after getting it out of their system, it turns out they just wanted a weekend.”
Asher lost his smile as the man spoke. He said it all like it was boring, but there was hurt there—disappointment. Asher nodded. “I’m sorry that didn’t work out. You seem great.”
“Gorgeous even?” Gavin grinned.
Asher couldn’t help but smile back. “Definitely gorgeous.”
Gavin took another drink of his perfectly executed coffee. This was his favorite café, not just because of location and the cozy dark décor, not even because of the great coffee and food, but because of that beautiful, grumpy barista. David.
He had been casually flirting with David for half a year. He knew David wasn’t taking it seriously and, honestly, that was the only reason it was okay that Gavin kept doing it. He swore, if he ever spotted David outside of his damn job, he would seriously ask him out. But asking someone out at their place of work was too creepy even for Gavin.
And then he’d been completely distracted from the hot barista by the sad guy in line ahead of him.
Gavin was nothing if not impulsive. And talking to Asher, only left him more confused about the situation. What idiot could have dated this guy for a year and let him go? What was wrong with him? He tried to imagine Asher as a jerk or a controlling asshole or maybe even a serial killer, but nothing fit.
Asher took another drink from his coffee and pinched his mouth, putting the barely touched mug back down.
A shadow loomed over them and they both looked up. David rolled his eyes and put an iced blonde caramel macchiato down in front of Asher before taking the regular coffee away with a shake of his head.
“Oh. Um. But I didn’t…” Asher tried.
David drank the coffee Asher had been working on and went back to his post behind the counter.
Gavin grinned. Fascinating! “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him come out from behind there before…”
Asher blushed but watched David too. “Right?”
“Is that your usual?” Gavin asked, pretty sure he knew the answer. Did the hot barista have a crush on this recently dumped sweetheart? Oh, Gavin was feeling his inner cupid coming out to play…
Asher took a sip and sighed, nodding.
“You know, just between us, I come to this café—”
“For the barista?” Asher finished in an awed whisper.
Gavin looked at Asher, nodding.
“Same!” he whisper-yelled, knee bumping Gavin’s under the table and this time staying.
Gavin felt his own pulse jump, surprising him.
“I can hear you idiots,” David grumbled, taking another drink of Asher’s former-coffee.
Asher’s eyes went huge but Gavin twisted to the side to smile back at David. “You could just join us then. It’s not like this place is bustling and with that weather…” He waved at one of the windows, a blur of rain water gushing down it. “We’re making a lonely hearts club. Do you want to join?”
David leaned forward, tattooed elbow on the counter and chin in his palm. He looked just as disinterest as before but asked, “What makes you think I’m lonely?”
Gavin smiled. “I guess, because if I were dating you, I would be here all the time.”
“You are here all the time…” David pointed out.
Gavin’s smile bloomed into a full grin. “Is that your way of asking me out?”
David’s eyes flared just a little, his body tensing when he stood upright again and a hint of a blush spreading on his face. “Drink your damn coffee.” He turned and pretend to clean the espresso machine.
Gavin watched him for another second, his huge shoulders straining the back of that black t-shirt. He picked up his coffee and tongued the straw into his mouth, taking a deep suck.
He was drawn from his thoughts about the barista by the warm feel of attention and cut his eyes to the side to catch Asher watching his mouth. Asher blushed and pushed his gaze down to the table when he realized he’d been caught.
Gavin’s day had started off feeling like it was all going downhill and now he was making two men blush. Yes, this was picking up. “So… What are you into?”
Asher swallowed his sip of coffee and blinked those beautiful eyes at Gavin. “What? Oh, I work at this big distribution center. I basically move shit around and pack orders for other stores.” He smiled. “It’s more fun than it sounds.”
Gavin nodded. “Not what I meant.”
Asher poked his straw at his ice. “Oh. Like after work? Gym, hiking with some friends, I mean, I haven’t gone in a while but I used to and it was a lot of fun…”
Gavin bumped his leg against Asher’s under the table, thrilling again at the way the other guy’s breath caught and his gaze flicked up to his. He had meant to ask what he liked in bed. He was trying to flirt…but there was something interesting about Asher’s answer. “If you liked hiking, why did you stop?” Asher looked surprised. Why? It was the obvious next question, wasn’t it?
“I mean, hiking wasn’t really my thing, I was just tagging along.”
“Did your hiking friend make you feel like you were just tagging along?”
“Hux? No! No, of course not.” He laughed. “God, he’s so nice. I’m actually crashing at his place right now while I…” His smile faded and he sank a little in his seat. “It’s not that we grew apart, or that my friends did anything, I just… sort of stopped showing up for a while?”
Gavin had made a hobby out of studying people, out of understanding people. He set his coffee to the side and leaned forward, forearms on the table between them, and looked right up into Asher’s face. “We’re strangers. If you don’t want to see me again after today you never will.” Asher started to reply, inhaling like the idea hurt, and Gavin smiled and shook his head, continuing before this kind person could assure him he didn’t want that. “Why did you break up? For real. Not the socially correct answer or the one you’re going to tell everyone you know—not the one you and this guy agreed on—not the one he’s saying—just… between you and a stranger, why?”
Asher stared back at him and Gavin could see him deciding how to answer, if he really could, and then what the real answer even was. A grimace rippled across his face, tears misting his eyes. “He broke up with me because… He says I cheated on him. He was always jealous, always paranoid, always accusing me… I tried to—” He cut himself off with a press of lips and a shake of his head. “We broke up because he’s a bad person,” he whispered, words no less strong for their quiet.
Gavin’s heart ached. He nodded and touched Asher’s hand on the table, seeing the relief on the man’s face when he squeezed it. “Good. He sounds like an asshole. You can do better,” Gavin said, keeping his hand and their new nearness. “Can I taste your coffee?”
Asher exhaled a relieved laugh, rubbing away a tear that hadn’t quite fallen and offering his drink. “Of course.”
Gavin took a sip and hummed, nodding in approval.
Asher grinned, looking even lighter and brighter than before.
“Okay, now tell me about the hiking friends.”