He cleared his throat, turning away again. “There’s milk and sugar on the counter. Stay as long as you like.”
He went back to stocking the case. They didn’t speak for a few minutes, although Seth’s music filled the silence and kept everything from feeling too awkward. Seth was usually better at mindless small talk than this, but his guest’s presence had him strangely off-kilter.
“Pretty.”
Seth looked up from his task to find Riley watching him again. He felt his cheeks go hot against his will. “Um. What is?”
Riley pointed upward, and it took Seth a second to realize he was pointing to one of the speakers in the corner of the ceiling.
Seth relaxed, pressing a hand to his cheek and willing the warmth to go down. “Oh, the music? Thanks. I can share the playlist with you.” He grabbed his cash drawer and started setting up the register. “I like a mellow mix in the morning, you know? Unless I’m extra tired, and then we’re going pop divas all the way. Get the blood flowing.” He did a little shimmy in demonstration, stopping when he only received a blank stare. “What are you into?”
It took a moment for Riley to answer. “Everything. Nothing. I’m in the forest a lot. Have to be quiet. No music.”
The words were a little disjointed, but they were more than Seth had been expecting. He paused in the act of loading the till to look fully at his guest again, who was already watching Seth closely.
Always watching, this one.
“You like to…run in the forest?” Seth asked, trying to parse through Riley’s meaning.
After a moment of hesitation, Riley nodded. “Running.”
Seth grinned. “I run too. Sporadically,” he amended.
“I’m faster,” Riley said immediately.
That surprised a laugh out of Seth. “I’ve no doubt. I prefer more of a slow trudge. It’s the arm swinging that gives the illusion of a run.” He gave a little demo, laughing again at how dorky he knew he must look.
Riley didn’t laugh with him. He was staring so intently that Seth suddenly wondered if he had flour on his face. He touched a hand to his forehead to check. Sometimes he smeared it there when he wasn’t paying attention.
“I like your headband,” Riley said after another moment, a roughened edge to his voice.
Seth tried to remember what he was wearing today. A tangerine print, he was pretty sure. “Thank you.”
“And your hands.”
“My hands?” Seth looked down. “Oh, my nails, you mean! You can borrow some polish, if you like. Next time you come in.”
Seth had a bad habit of giving makeup away to customers after compliments. But he’d made genuine friends that way—his gorgeous pal Sascha came to mind, the little minx—so maybe it was actually agoodhabit.
And it seemed like maybe Seth had a friend in the making here, albeit an unconventional one. It was nice to have company as he opened. Even with his intensity, Riley had Seth weirdly at ease. He didn’t seem to expect to be entertained or catered to. He didn’t seem to expect anything at all, except to be in Seth’s presence.
Seth’s alarm went off, and he hurried to turn his sign over. He had customers almost immediately, which was a relief.
First there was Violet, an alarmingly early riser for her age. She gave him and Riley both long, appraising looks, then ordered a black coffee and a glazed donut, immediately claiming one of the other tables with her laptop.
Next was an older man who ordered a bacon roll and a cherry turnover to eat in. Seth served him up, turning around to hide his gleeful smile that all three of his tables were seated after only ten minutes. He didn’t do a victory dance, exactly, but it was a close freaking call.
If he rearranged that plant in the corner, he could probably fit another two-seater in here. Maybe it would be worth doing. His business was mostly intended for takeaway, but it was cozy having a little crew here with him.
Seth turned back around to find Riley at the counter, leaning in over the till.
Jesus.
Seth kept himself from yelping in surprise, but only barely. Hesomehow hadn’t noticed the inches Riley had on him before, but the kid was really quite tall. He should have been gangly, even, but the breadth of his shoulders matched his height. They were really quite…impressive, those shoulders. Seth hadn’t been filled out like that at nineteen; that was for sure.
Stop. Perving.
“Thank you, Seth,” Riley said quietly, his dark eyes as intent as ever. He’d set his empty plate and cup down neatly on the counter. Seth hadn’t even seen him eat the scone.
