Page 7 of Almost Love

She resisted an eye roll, because it wasn’t like he knew what this process was all about. “Not really. Here, watch,” she told him and tucked her index finger and thumb under the lip of the tumbler. Lifting it up, she tipped the coffee into the davara and lifted her hand higher in the process, then lowered it again. She looked up to find his wide eyes following the action as she poured from the davara back into the tumbler a few times before she stopped.

“I don’t trust myself to do that without spilling it everywhere.”

“I can get you a teaspoon instead.”

A slight frown drew his eyebrows together. “So the acrobatics you performed was about mixing everything?”

“In a way. It also helps cool the coffee.”

“That’s a lot of work for a cup of coffee,” he mumbled and looked hesitant about reaching for his drink. She fought back a smile and swapped their tumblers, arching an eyebrow when he looked up at her in shock. “Why?”

“Something tells me you’re going to sit there and stare at the coffee instead of drinking it.”

He laughed, his blush deepening and she sighed softly. Hewasendearing, with and without the blush, making it difficult to remind herself that this was a bad idea. Clementine worked on the new coffee while he took a sip of the one she’d already done. The sound of him whistling drew her attention as he said, “I see why you like it.”

She allowed herself to smile—just the slight upward curve of her mouth on one side—before covering it up with her tumbler. She stared at the dark liquid, almost going cross-eyed in the process, because she could feel him watching her.

“Are you sure I don’t make you uncomfortable? Because I don’t want to force you to be my friend or anything.”

“Is that what you’re doing? Forcing me to be your friend?”

“Well…” he trailed off with a nervous laugh, gently twirling his cup. “Maybe notforcing, but I’d like for us to be friends.”

“Why?”

“Why be friends?” He took a sip and added, “Whynotbe friends?”

Why indeed, Clementine? A handsome, charming man wants to be my friend. Why not say yes?

Shrugging, she swirled her coffee for something to do. She had no issues being friends with men or people she was attracted to, but there was something else lingering beneath the surface of thisthingwith Oakley. She knew that if he got past her verystrong defenses, she would not be able to resist him. And then she’d spiral down a hole that was clearly not going to be healthy or smart for her.

“What does being friends with you entail?” she asked finally, licking coffee off her lips. His eyes followed the action before he let out a shaky breath.

“Uh…right. Drinking more coffee together, lots more donuts and maybe even a friend’s discount?”

“Ah, so that’s why you want to be friends. You want free donuts.”

“Discounteddonuts. There’s a difference.”

She shook her head, hiding her smile in her coffee. “I’ll make you a deal,” she told him, lowering her tumbler. “You come up with some donut flavors, and I’ll give you one box of donuts free every month. The rest of the time, discounted.”

What are you doing, Clementine?

“Any flavors?”

“Within reason. I have veto power and if something feels off, I won’t make it.”

He nodded. “And one free box every month?”

“With a ten percent discount the rest of the time,” she added, arching an eyebrow.

“I feel like I’m getting more out of this friendship than you are.”

While it might seem easy on paper, erasing a crush was difficult. How did she tell her heart to stop racing, palms to stop sweating and mind to stop wandering? She had to desensitize herself to all of those pesky feelings and Clementine was sure the only way to do that was to be around him. All the time. Instead of writing him a letter, she would get him out of her system with donuts.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. I’ll say goodbye to this crush in no time. So there!

“I have an addition to this deal,” he countered and she frowned. “You let me take you out one day.”

---