“I could never deny you,” he said before reaching around to stroke my clit. At the same time, he pumped into me, and I came for the third time that night while seeing stars behind my eyelids.
The last word I heard before drifting off on a bed of clouds was, “Mine.”
CHAPTER25
Mia
I stood at the center of my café with butterflies in my stomach. It was two weeks after the gala and the night I agreed to move in with Brutus. The following morning would be the official opening of Cup of Joy.
I surveyed the space, counting wooden tables with black chairs. My stomach rumbled. What if black was the wrong color? This place was supposed to spark joy in my customers, not bleakness. A tiny hint of panic rose in my throat. It was entirely too late to call the furniture store I’d worked with to pick out a new color.
“I can feel your anxiousness, baby.”
I jumped as Brutus came up behind me. For as big as he was, he had a way of blending into his surroundings and moving so quietly you could forget that he was even there. Not that I’d forgotten. The way my body tingled was my alarm system that he was near. It was just that my mind raced in about thirteen different directions.
“I can’t believe in just a few short hours this place will be open for business,” I confessed.
I looked around the space with the tables lining the wall on one side and sat facing the windows on the opposite side of the room. The area at the center remained open, showing off the wooden tiling and giving the café an open air feeling. At least, I hoped that’s what it did.
At the front of the shop, all the way across from the door stood the ordering counter. Specialty bags of coffee from the farm I worked and bought from in Colombia sat on the counter. I’d carefully written in calligraphy the opening day menu. We offered various types of coffees, espressos, chais, and smoothies made to order.
The glass case next to the counter stood empty. The following morning, I would fill it with the beautiful and delicious pastries provided by a local baker who worked from home. Mentally, I went through everything that was stocked in the back refrigerators. We had enough milk, cream, syrup, coffee beans, and more to last us for quite some time.
“Oh my God, what if no one shows up?” I blurted, my eyes going wide as I looked around the room. “I put so much of my life savings into all of this. And that’s not including the business loan for this place.”
Brutus moved in front of me, his bulky body filling my vision. He took my hands into his, squeezing them. “It’s going to be amazing.”
“How do you know?” Even the assurance in his voice wasn’t quite enough to overcome the sudden fear that gripped me. This had been a dream of mine for so long that it was becoming a reality was almost too much to take in. “I know it’s silly. It’s just a coffee shop. Those pop up every day, right?”
Then the statistics on how many businesses fail each year ran through my head.
“Breathe,” Brutus ordered.
I exhaled, my shoulders deflating slightly.
“Cut all of that negative shit out of your head right now. Remember all of the reasons you wanted to open in the first place. Hold on to them. That’s all you need.” He kissed each of the knuckles on my right hand.
The tension in my muscles relaxed. “You’re right.”
I shifted from one foot to the other as I looked around. Still, something felt off. Everything was in its rightful place. The syrups were lined up against the coffee bar right next to the shiny, barely used espresso machine. Coffee beans rested in the coffee grinder, waiting to be ground first thing in the morning.
In the far corner of the café, closer to the door sat three plush chairs with the coffee table at the center. The space was the perfect coffee corner for small gatherings of study groups. I envisioned friends wanting to catch up, retirees finding a space to consume their morning beverage while people watching in that spot.
“Something’s missing,” I said. But I couldn’t put my finger on it.
Brutus kissed my hand again before stepping away. “You’re right.”
A sharp inhale split the air around us. The panic began to clog my throat again.
“There is something you missed.” He said it but there was a grin on his face. How could he smile like this was a joke?
I spun around, following the direction he walked. With his back to me, he picked up something on the table. When he turned to me, he had a large, black box. He moved closer and pulled back the cover of the box, revealing what was inside.
“Oh my …”
“Back in Mexico,” he started, “you said you had to have a chess set for your coffee shop.”
I smacked my forehead. That was it. That’s what had been missing.
