"I'm happy I have him in my life, too." Her eyes went soft, and I could tell there was more to the story, but it wasn't my place to wonder. "Here you go. Your boyfriend will be thrilled. I saw the two of you yesterday when you checked in at the hotel. Coffee and croissants… mmm."
I froze, credit card halfway out.
Boyfriend?
I didn’t correct her, paid in silence, then walked out, watching her dance her way back to the espresso machine.
Shaking off the weird encounter and Andras’ words, I returned to the hotel. Diablos was still sleeping when I entered our room. I went to his bed and sat on the edge of the mattress.
“Good morning.” I said, hoping to wake him up with the smell of coffee.
He grumbled, stirred, then slowly blinked his eyes open as the smell hit him.
“Good morning.”
His voice was raspy with sleep, and his hair was messy in a cute way.
“You bought coffee?”
“Yes.” I gave him his cup. “It’s already nine. We need to leave soon, but first, we need coffee and breakfast.”
He sat up against the headboard, and I allowed myself a not-so-subtle second to admire the broad stretch of his shoulders. Fuck, I wondered what he would look like under the shirt.
“Huh?”
“What?” I snapped my gaze up, fearing I’d been caught. But there was a grin on his face, and his whole face lit up.
“There’s coconut milk in my coffee.”
"I remembered you never liked black coffee and you only drink yours with coconut milk." I paused. "Is that still true?"
He didn’t say anything at first, so I turned around. He still had that smile on his face, and it made my lips tug into a grin of their own.
“Yeah, it is. Thank you,” he said quietly.
“You’re welcome. Come eat.”
“When did you get up?”
“Twenty or so minutes ago. I went to grab coffee, and the girl working there was fascinating.” Diablos’s brows rose, and I could feel his thoughts spinning in his head. “Not like that. Even if I’m gay, I still think every person is beautiful in their own way. She had bright purple hair, she hummed and danced. It was…” I struggled to find the right word. “Interesting to see. There aren’t a lot of people like her.”
Diablos looked even more confused, but reached for his breakfast, and I let the moment pass.
After we ate, we got ready and left the hotel. Before heading to our car, we stopped at the coffee shop. I was sure Di wanted to see the girl, but I didn’t taunt him. We got more coffee, and he looked even more energized. I realized why I liked the girl from the beginning. She and Diablos had almost the same aura if I could describe it like that. He was a ball of sunshine when he wasn’t trying to hide behind a mask or when the darkness didn’t envelop him. I always thought that darkness was me, that I was the one who brought it upon him. But I was starting to wonder if I was the only thing.
When we reached our car, we put our bags in the trunk before climbing in and continuing our journey. We would need to sleep somewhere again tonight, but I didn’t know where yet.
“You were right,” Di said.
“About what?”
“About the girl.”
“I know.”
Diablos laughed, and we spent the next few hours drinking coffee and listening to music. At least the road to hell would be spent with good music and Di by my side. I couldn’t complain about that.
***
