"Hey Ryan, you look good," I say with a broad smile because, fuck, he does look good, grouchy but good.
"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at work?" And that's exactly why I am here. To prove that he's what's most important to me and that sometimes, work can wait.
"Well, since I've won this big case, I can ease up and reevaluate some things. And the first one is that I can't let you start your day without your favorite Caramel Latte and something sugary to brighten your morning." He eyes me suspiciously, then drops his gaze to the coffee cups and brown paper bag in my hands.
"That's all for me?" Doesn't he realize that his one-cocked eyebrow makes me wanna drop to my knees in front of him right here on the street?
"Nope. After my last visit, I owe the guys an apology, so that's my olive branch."
"That's… very thoughtful of you." The look of shock on his face right now is actually kind of cute. "Well, you must be in a hurry to go back to the office. I'll take them in." He offers while reaching out, making grabby hands at the coffee cups and donuts.
“I have time to say hi and apologize. Don’t worry about that.” His eyes are growing bigger every second. I want to laugh but restrain myself. Boy, he won’t know what hit him at the end of my crusade. “Let’s go.” I open the door and wait for him to enter first.
As I go in after him, I’m not surprised to find all of them in the waiting area, shooting daggers with their eyes in my direction.
“What the hell are you doing here again?” Carter grumbles as he crosses those thick tattooed forearms over his chest. Clearly, he’s not happy to see me this morning. I wonder if he forgot his coffee, too. I hold out the box of donuts to him. There, there, grumpy, I think to myself. Turning toward the others I prepare my opening statement.
“For starters, I want to say how sorry I am about how it went down the last time I was here. I shouldn’t have spoken to any of you that way, especially Ry. I wish there had been another way I could have handled all that, but this stubborn guy over there didn’t give me much of a choice. So, to show you how sorry I am, I brought all of you your favorite coffees and lots of donuts.”
Turning to each of my boyfriend's colleagues, I hand them a to-go cup. "Carter- large americano, one sugar, Gavin- espresso, no sugar, Nyx- hazelnut frappuccino." Turning to my love, I see his jaw slightly dropped open, making me smile as I approach him.
"How did you…" He tries to ask, but then he looks at the writing on his cup that I press into his waiting hand—My Pretty Boy.I can see emotions run across his face. I want to reach out and touch his stubbled jaw, to trace the outline of his lips with the pad of my thumb, but I don't because now is not the time to push. Stepping back from temptation, I shove my hands into my pants pockets.
“So, I think my work here is done. Until next time.” Shooting Ryan one last look, I head outside and across the street to the little deli I know these guys live off to organize lunch to be delivered to the shop with a special little note for my beau.
Yeah, I’m going to woo the shit out of him.
I can't reverse what I did in the past few months. I got so caught up I didn't notice how unhappy Ryan was. It's like even though we were together, my mind wasn't there, it was always the case, we weren't our usual selves. I was too tired for sex, too tired to go out when I did manage to make it home, I was neglecting him without realizing it. It's something my siblings helped me realize.
I need to make sure he knows that won’t happen again. I don’t want to see that indifferent expression he gave me ever again.
RYAN
“What the fuck was that?” Carter asks, stunned, still holding the unopened donut box. “Actually WHO the fuck was that? Because your boyfriend has never brought any treats before, and how the hell does he know what my coffee order is?” These are all valid questions I’d also like to know the answers to.
My eyes drift back outside, but he's gone, and I'm just staring into the street while my co-workers discuss the possibility of pod people, which, after THAT I'm more likely to believe in this case. I'm so lost in my thoughts I don't register Nyx moving to stand beside me until she nudges my shoulder with a half-eaten chocolate donut in her hand.
"He's not giving up without a fight, Ryan. All this…" she gestures to the coffee and donuts everybody is tucking into, "is a love bomb, likely the first of many. I love this for you. It looks like Cap came to play." She saunters off, leaving me once again slack-jawed… and I still haven't had my damn coffee.
I stare at the words scrawled onto the side of the cup:My Pretty Boy.Fuck, I miss hearing the words. The way he would rasp against my ear as he slammed into me…
The bell over the door chiming loudly drags me from a daydream likely to have me sporting a tent in my jeans for the rest of the morning. Shaking my head to get my brain back online, I head to my station and start prepping for the day ahead. Let’s hope I can keep my head in work mode and not on my boyfriend… ex boyfriend.
Thankfully, my first client of the day was a chatty Cathy. I was two hours into a cartoon cat riding a unicorn over a rainbow on Betty's shoulder. Betty is eighty-six years young and wants to show her grandkid, who just came out as gay, that she's an ally.
I'm not exactly sure how the cat and the unicorn played into her proclamation of pride, but I'm here for it. Betty is kind of a badass. I wish my grandma had been this cool. I'm pretty sure if my grandma had been alive when I came out as gay, she would've thrown holy water on me to exorcize it out of me.
Just as I finish going through the aftercare document with Betty for the third time, the bell over the door chimes again, and Ash from the Deli walks into the shop carrying a massive tray of sandwiches and subs.
“Here you go, guys,” he announces brightly, setting the tray on the counter with a wide smile before handing a smaller bag to me. “Bon appetit,” he calls out, leaving us all dumbfounded, all but Betty, who is currently chowing down on a turkey on rye.
“WHAT’S IN THE BAG, RY?” Gavin yells over the counter before bursting out laughing. The dude never misses an opportunity to act out a line from a movie, even if it’s not a box. And he’s the furthest thing from Brad Pitt with his bear posture, man fur and all.
Staring at the bag in my hand, I slowly open it like it contains the severed head Gavin was expecting. Thankfully, it’s just a takeout box, and it smells amazing, making my stomach rumble and reminding me I didn’t eat any of the donuts earlier. Taking it out, I notice a piece of paper under it. A receipt, maybe? Looking at it, I quickly recognized Drew’s handwriting.
Pretty Boy
Enjoy your lunch Ryan,
