Page 10 of The Prince and the Double Shot
I sighed and set the blender down. “Sorry, I was just… Nothing, man. I’m just surly, you know that.”
“Sure, Cher.” He slapped my back, walked over to the grinder, and poured some beans in. “You’ve barely said ten words all day. It’s been like working with a ghost instead of my old friend Zane. We’ve known each other long enough to know when something is annoying us, haven’t we?”
“It’s not like we’re besties,” I bristled.
“No one is besties with you, bro. You make sure of that, but you’re usually still friendly. At least, most of the time. Did something happen to send you in a tizzy?”
“I might have a… I’m having a drink with someone tonight.” I threw the rag back into the sink.
“A date?” He cackled. “Yassss!”
“No,” I answered too quickly. “Not a date… date. Just a drink and…” I shrugged.
“A fuck. A drink and a fuck?”
“No, man. I doubt that,” I chuckled.
“Is he hot?”
“He’s not ugly.” I sighed. “Yes, he’s pretty hot. But it’s just a… We’re just having a drink and getting to know each other. He’s the new guy.” I shrugged and leaned against the counter. Itwasn’t like I could tell Mateo that I was doing this because the owners asked me.
“Which one? There are a lot of them.”
“The new gardener.”
“Ah, I’ve seen him when I come into work. Yeah, he’s quite handsome and in his thirties, maybe? When are you meeting him, and better yet, why are you meeting him?” He turned and raised his eyebrows at me.
“He’s new and I thought I’d… It’s just a drink.”
“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. Maybe you might even start to believe it. It sounds like a date.”
“Oh, I believe it. Trust me, we are cut from very different cloth. But he seemed nice enough. Maybe even a little shy… Maybe? Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll scare him off pretty quickly.”
“When?”
“Five minutes. I guess I should…”
“Get the fuck out of here, Romeo.”
“Have I told you that I hate you today?”
“Nope.”
“I hate you.”
“You say the sweetest things.”
“Alright,” I took my apron off and balled it up before throwing it behind the counter into the small bin we all used. “I’m gonna… go, I guess.”
“Have fun. Dude, you should totallytryto have fun.”
“Alright, enough. I’ll catch you later, Mateo.”
His laugh followed me out of the door and into the lobby. Mateo was alright. I liked almost everyone that I worked with, it was just my secrets that stopped me from being better friends with those guys. We all had a lot in common, that was for sure. But if they knew who I really was, they might not like me as much as they did. I wouldn’t. So, I kept them, like everyone else, at arm’s length. It was safer for them – for me.
I walked through the hotel and glanced at the bar. Shit…
He showed up.
