Better latte than never, p.12
Better Latte Than Never, page 12
“I’m sorry.” Enzo closed his sketchbook, but his eyes were lowered. He seemed off.
Probably because Finn had just brought up his ex again after they’d spent the night together. How could he be so stupid?
“Do you want me to make you breakfast or are we going to hit the cafe?” Finn tried changing the subject.
“I don’t know. How is your coffee?”
“Terrible, but I make a mean scrambled egg.”
“Sold.”
They went back inside, but Finn couldn’t help feeling like he’d missed something important.
Chapter 15
“Well, what do you think?” Enzo emerged from his bedroom, tugging on the sleeves of his black suit jacket. Although it felt a bit snug around the shoulders, he was glad it fit at all. It had been years since he’d last worn it.
Nat looked up from sealing yet another box. She’d be gone by the end of the month, and how was it June already? Spring had barely sprung and now it was summer. The common areas were a mess of packing material—half-filled cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, and duct tape. Enzo had been trying not to think about it, although having to wade through a maze of boxes to get to his bedroom made it hard to avoid.
Who else would he ask about his fashion choices when she was gone?
He swallowed down the lump in his throat. That wouldn’t be the only thing he’d miss. She was his best friend. They’d watched so many bad movies in this living room, eaten so much ice cream over break-ups in that kitchen, and had so many fights about whose turn it was to clean the bathroom. This place wouldn’t be the same without her.
And he knew, no matter what she told him, that they wouldn’t be as close once she left. It was one thing to say she’d keep in touch, but it wouldn’t be easy to drop everything and hang out after work. Nat would be moving an hour up north. Making plans would now take an effort, and Enzo knew from experience that over time it would be harder and harder to keep their easy friendship once that happened. Unless, of course, he got this job and saw her every day at work.
“I think it’s a little bit formal. We’re not Wall Street.” She put her finger on her chin and thought about it. “But too formal is probably fine for an interview. You want to put your best foot forward.”
“I guess.” Enzo played with the buttons on his jacket. The plain blue tie he’d put on was already choking him. He couldn’t imagine the two-hour train ride dressed like this. He’d have to bring a hanger for his jacket and get fully dressed right before going into the building. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to an interview. I don’t know what to expect.”
“Well, my boss is really chill. He’ll probably be the one to conduct the interview.” Nat went back to taping up her boxes. “He’s a Mets fan, though, so don’t mention the Yankees.”
“Those are football teams, right?”
Nat gave him the middle finger without looking up from her work.
Enzo laughed as he sat on the couch. Then he sprang back up, concerned about wrinkles. He didn’t have time to find a dry cleaner and get this spruced up. “I’m still not giving up on my art though. I still dream of making it big.”
“Have you maybe considered that actually working in the field is how you ‘make it’ with your art?” Nat gave him a stern look.
He opened his mouth to reply and then closed it again. Nat would only get pissed off if he pointed out how she’d slowed down with creating original art. He didn’t want all of his creativity to be used up on creating project for the company, with very little left for himself.
“Besides, you’ll be working with me. Can you imagine the kinds of things we could make together?”
She sounded so excited. Enzo couldn’t bring her down with his own doubts.
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation before Enzo could decide how to respond. He froze, momentarily forgetting that he’d invited Finn to stop by to help him prepare for his interview. Now he’d have to introduce Nat to Finn, and he hadn’t even had a chance to tell Nat that he and Finn were sleeping together. Well, slept together. It had only happened once, but that was due to timing and not any lack of desire.
Enzo got up and opened the door to reveal Finn holding a paper bag with the cafe’s logo on it. “I brought pastries.” He looked Enzo up and down with fire in his eyes. “Nice suit.”
Enzo swallowed. When he invited Finn over he hadn’t known Nat was going to be home finishing her packing before the big move at the end of the month. If she wasn’t right behind him, he’d immediately be dragging Finn down the hall to his bedroom.
“Finn. Let me introduce you to my roommate.” He needed to warn Finn before Finn got inside and pounced, although Enzo rather looked forward to said pouncing.
Finn’s lips made a little O. “Right. Your roommate.”
Enzo stepped back to let Finn into the living room. “Watch your step.”
“This looks a little bit different from the last time I was here.” He walked over to Nat, who’d gotten up from kneeling to greet him. “Hello, I’m Finn.”
“Also known as Morgan Heart, I hear.” She grinned at him. Enzo had told her that fact immediately after Finn had revealed it, although they hadn’t had the chance to discuss Enzo’s more complicated feelings regarding Finn’s true identity. “You know Enzo is a big fan of your books, right?”
Enzo felt his face go red. Now he wished he hadn’t told her. “Nat.”
“Really? I thought he threw the last one against the wall.” Finn flashed a smile at Enzo, probably to show he wasn’t serious. He held out his hand. “Would you believe that I hear that a lot?”
She laughed as she shook his hand. “I’m Nat. I’ve known Enzo since he was a snot-nosed seventeen-year-old who couldn’t find the library.”
“I asked her for directions, I think the first week we were on campus.” Everything had seemed so large and intimidating, and Nat had made it seem like home. Damn, Enzo was going to miss her.
“I am honored to meet you.” Finn held out the bag of pastries. “I had intended to ask Enzo to give these to you later, but I’m glad I’m able to deliver them in person.”
“Nice, you got the good stuff.” Nat looked into the bag and nodded approvingly.
He took Finn by the arm, touching smooth skin as Finn was wearing a short-sleeved polo shirt. Enzo started to sweat inside his suit jacket. He needed to get this off as quickly as possible ...for a variety of reasons. “Finn’s going to help me prepare for the interview.”
“I’m going to ask him questions without real answers and look disappointed with whatever he tells me.”
Nat snorted and covered her mouth as she laughed. “It won’t be that bad. They’re going to want to know your skill level, discuss your portfolio, show you around the office, that kind of thing.”
“What would you say is your greatest weakness?” Finn deadpanned.
“Oh, it’s totally that I’m a workaholic,” Enzo snapped back.
She continued to choke with laughter. “Stop it, both of you.”
Enzo waved as he led Finn toward the end of the hall and his bedroom. “Catch you later.”
Halfway there, he realized Finn had never seen the chaos of his bedroom. Last time Finn had been here, Nat had been at work and they hadn’t made it past the living room. Then again, that had been before they’d had sex.
Sex in Finn’s amazing bedroom in his amazing fucking house that overlooked the water. Enzo’s shoulders tightened the closer they got to his door. Finn had a cleaning lady, and fancy hardwood floors and a robe. Enzo had a bed tucked in the corner and a room filled with art supplies.
“Hey, so my room is kind of a mess.” Enzo stopped with his hand on the doorknob.
“I really don’t mind,” Finn said.
“No, seriously, it’s...”
Finn got close to him, his lips on Enzo’s ear so Nat couldn’t hear from the living room. “Enzo, if we don’t get inside, I’m going to peel that suit off you right here in the hallway, and I’m pretty sure that would freak out your roommate.”
Oh. When he put it like that. Enzo opened the door and all but fell into his room, Finn right behind him. “Seriously, don’t mess up the suit, I need it for tomorrow!”
Finn laughed. He found the bed—which Enzo had actually made that morning—and sat on the edge. “Then take it off for me. Strip while I watch you put it away nice and neat.” His voice lowered with each word.
Enzo shuddered, his entire body flushing with heat. All right, there was a kink he didn’t know he had. He shrugged off the jacket, conscious of Finn’s eyes on him, tracing his body like a pencil across a sketch pad. Remembering Finn’s order, he put the jacket on its hanger before tackling his tie.
His fingers tangled in the fabric, like they’d forgotten how to undo a knot. Enzo swallowed, his entire body heating under Finn’s gaze. He decided to put a little wiggle in his movements, twirling the tie before folding it, to Finn’s laughter.
“Is that your stripper act?”
“Just call me Magic Enzo.” Enzo started down the buttons of his white shirt. “And you’re wearing too many clothes.”
“That’s intentional.” Finn leaned forward. “I want you naked before me.”
Enzo shuddered, his arms stuck in his sleeves as he tried to shrug the shirt off. Man, Finn’s voice alone struck every one of his nerves. He sped up, needing to get naked as soon as possible.
“Don’t rush,” Finn instructed. “You don’t want to wrinkle those slacks.”
“Never,” Enzo agreed, undoing his fly and pushing the black pants down to his feet, slowly, although it drove him insane to do it. His skin felt hypersensitive as the fabric scraped down his legs, and his dick strained against his boxers. And so far, all Finn had done was look at him.
Finally, he’d stripped himself completely, and although the last fold on his pants was a bit sloppy, Enzo didn’t care. He climbed out of his underwear and raised his arms, as if to say “like what you see?”
“Get over here,” Finn ordered, his voice now a low husky growl.
Enzo took his time, his steps slow, a grin on his face as he knew how much this drove Finn insane. When he got within arm’s reach, Finn took him by the hips and drew him close. Before Enzo could speak, Finn’s mouth was on him.
“Oh,” he gasped, not expecting the sudden warm heat closing around him. He grasped Finn’s shoulders, his fingers digging in tightly against the soft fabric of Finn’s shirt.
Fuck, Finn still had all his clothes on, and here he was sucking Enzo down like a goddamn popsicle. His entire body thrummed and he arched up on his toes, but there was nowhere to go. Finn had him by an iron grip.
Not like Enzo wanted to escape. But oh god, did he want to thrust, to feel more of that delicious friction against his skin. He also didn’t want to hurt Finn.
Finn pulled away for a moment, his hand taking the place of his mouth. He looked up at Enzo with those beautiful blue eyes, so tender, and that was when Enzo knew he was in trouble. He couldn’t let this man go.
“Come for me. In me,” Finn said. He kept his eyes raised as he leaned forward and mouthed Enzo again, first with nuzzling kisses along his length, a tease before he once again engulfed Enzo almost to the root.
Enzo wanted to maintain eye contact, to watch Finn as he worked this delicious magic with only his lips and tongue. But Finn was good, too good, and Enzo squeezed his eyes shut, letting himself feel. His orgasm started at his toes, a swirling living thing that inflamed all of him, his balls tightening as he came with a sharp gasp.
He nearly collapsed where he stood, but then Finn was there, catching him and tumbling him onto his own bed. “You,” Enzo muttered, trying to go for Finn’s fly.
Finn caught his hands. “Allow me.”
Now it was Enzo’s turn to watch.
ENZO DIDN’T REALIZE he’d dozed off until he snapped awake. He blinked at the bright light coming in through his bedroom windows, and for a moment wondered why he’d been napping in the middle of the day. Then he remembered.
The other side of the bed was empty, but when he sat up, he found Finn still in the room. He’d pulled his jeans back on, sadly, but not his shirt or socks. It gave him this fresh, just-fucked looked that made Enzo want to tumble him back into bed right now.
“Finn?”
“I have a confession to make. I peeked.” He gestured to the canvas currently covered with a blue painter’s tarp.
Enzo flushed, this time for another reason. Finn had seen the painting Enzo was working on, the one of Finn himself. He slid out of bed, buck-naked, to walk over to that side of the room and pull off the tarp.
He’d captured Finn in his seat at the cafe, his laptop leaving a glow on his face. Large chunks were missing, and he’d spent weeks trying to get the right shade of blue for Finn’s eyes.
“I’m honored,” Finn said. “And a little humbled. Your work is amazing.”
Enzo shrugged and looked away. “Thanks. It’s supposed to be the first day we met. Something about you made me want to paint you.”
“I understand that sentiment.” Finn grasped Enzo by his wrist and pulled him close. “If I could paint, I’d have made a masterpiece of you.”
“And that’s why you’re the writer,” Enzo whispered. “Come back to bed.”
Finn went willingly. Enzo took one last glance over his shoulder at the painting. It wasn’t quite right, and if he’d started it today, Enzo knew it would be totally different. He’d seen more of Finn—what his face looked like enraptured in pleasure, how his eyes smiled at the sight of something he loved, the curve of his hip, the deftness of his hands. Enzo could have captured Finn’s soul, if he’d waited.
Maybe he’d scrap the painting and start over.
Chapter 16
Finn hit the coffee shop early the next morning. Enzo would be off to his interview, but Finn was at the point where he couldn’t rely on Enzo’s magic alone to write. He had a deadline now. Angie had loved his outline and his chapters and had sent them off to the publisher.
He felt the crushing weight of it, their expectations of him. Finn had cranked out bestseller after bestseller. His name meant something. But with each book he worried that this time would be different, that he wouldn’t hit the best seller list, and everyone who’d invested so much in his career would lose everything.
If he thought too much about it, his chest grew tight and he had trouble breathing. Better not to think about it, to let the joy he’d found once again in his words to overtake him.
Leon noticed her eyes first. From across the cafe they glowed with an unearthly light - green as moss, clear as water flowing through a stream. Something inside him shifted, and the moment she looked his way, Leon knew his life would never ever be the same.
“What can I get you?” She finally reached his table, coffee pot in hand. Now he could take the time to appreciate the rest of her face, the brush of freckles across her slightly pointed nose, her Cupid’s bow lips that gave him a terse smile, the wispy red of her eyebrows, a shade darker than her hair.
“Your phone number.” He winked.
She rolled her eyes. “Like I’ve never heard that before.”
Leon knew he’d made a mistake, but like always, his mouth had run off before he could think about the words falling from his lips. He reached out and grasped her wrist, and they both looked down at his fingers on her skin. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like an asshole.”
It could have gone wrong then. Instead, she smiled, extracted her wrist and said, “Just for that, I’m getting you the most expensive thing on the menu.”
He laughed as she danced away. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Finn stopped typing and stretched out his fingers, needing them limber to keep banging out words. He looked around the half-empty cafe, nodding at Tami and her son, who smiled in his direction. There were a few other regulars around, but luckily he’d missed the morning rush.
Enzo had given him a gift with his inspiration. It had broken through the block in Finn’s brain and let him create again. But now only he could do the hard work of putting one word after the other, until he had eighty-thousand of them that told a coherent story. He’d probably have to throw a rough draft at his publisher by the end of the month, but at least he’d have something submitted and his contract fulfilled.
His phone buzzed, and Finn smiled at the text from Enzo.
“Made the early train. Hopefully won’t have any delays.”
Finn tapped back a response. “Relax. You’ll be fine.”
A pause as three little dots appeared. “You always know the right thing to say. Still nervous though.”
“Remember what we practiced,” Finn typed.
“...Oh you mean afterward. :)”
Finn laughed. He’d gone over some typical interview questions with Enzo before leaving, but it had been their earlier activities that had him smiling all the way home.
He had to enjoy it while it lasted. Enzo would get this job; of course, he would. He was amazing, and they would be fools not to snap him up. Then he’d be gone, out of Finn’s life. And even if it wasn’t this job, there would be another, or some other opportunity. Or Enzo would get tired of being with an older man. He’d want someone younger, who could keep up with him in bed. Something would happen, and Finn would be alone again.
He’d known it from the beginning, from the moment they met. It couldn’t be anything serious between them. Finn would enjoy the moment, accept the gift, maybe dedicate his next book to Enzo. But he could not let another man into his life like he had Theo. That way lay heartbreak, and Finn couldn’t do it, not again.
Running his finger over his phone screen, he struggled with what to say. Something light and teasing, but encouraging. Damn it.
“You’ll do great,” he typed. “Remember you don’t need them. They need you.”
