A Hunted Man (The Men of Halfway House)

by Reese, Jaime

  Hunter spent the next morning in court going through the motions, cross examining the last witness and finishing with his closing arguments. Even though he was focused on the case and sticking to the game plan, his mind wandered endlessly to the new hire at the diner. It had been too long since someone captivated his attention so intensely. Eight years in the Marines had honed his ability to judge both situations and people, assess quickly and act quicker—all that was useless when it came to this man. He couldn't figure him out and Hunter wasn't beyond admitting that the mystery was part of the appeal. He obviously wasn't shy since he didn't look away when Hunter caught himself staring, but he wasn't open and outgoing either.

  He seemed reserved, yet semisocial. Cam was always quiet initially, then seemed to offer women ready smiles and conversation while avoiding interaction with the male customers. He hadn't said a word to Hunter on that first day. Other than the moan which had escaped, there was no indication he might like men. Hunter wasn't sure if the staring match was attraction or simply a standoff. He hated not knowing and despised not having control of the situation.

  After finally wrapping up the case, he headed out of the courthouse and walked the block to the diner. He looked at his watch again. It was the first time he made his way to the diner without a thought of having one of Lucy's cookies. Instead, it was the haunting gaze of those soulful blue eyes that drove his steps down the pavement.

  * * * *

  Dammit. So fucking close.

  Cameron stirred the coffee to erase the billionth mistake at his attempt to create a latte art design. He wasn't about to give up, he figured he'd try again on the next order. All morning he'd been working the espresso machine. He was proud of the fact that he was able to handle the machine without being subjected to any of the 'demonic steam' Bill swore would kill his motivation. He was thrilled customers were enthusiastic about having a choice between Bill's traditional American coffee and one of Cam's lattes. He was nowhere near close to earning bragging rights, but he was definitely smiling at the yums of approvals from each of the customers.

  "Cam, we've got another order for a latte," Bill shouted over to him in the corner.

  He steamed the milk in the metal jug until the right texture was achieved while he brewed the espresso shots. He poured the coffee in, angled the mug and started to pour the heated milk into the cup, kicking in a little bit of movement when it was halfway full to start creating the design. With the final tilt of the cup and top off of milk, he swooped a thinner stream down the middle in the opposite direction and successfully finished his first design.

  I did it.

  Cameron couldn't hide the smile that invaded his face. His first finished design and it was absolutely fucking perfect. The medium brown coffee drink surface had a gradient, from dark to white, forming the shape of a heart. He thought about adding a few dabs of chocolate syrup to accent the heart but decided against it, worried he'd just screw it up.

  He took a deep breath to control his overexcited heartbeat. He couldn't remember the last time he had been so damn proud of himself. He walked slowly with the mug to avoid spills, happy as hell at having completed his first after so many attempts that morning. He gently placed the mug on the tray next to the register. He smiled, still admiring the perfect heart floating on the surface. He glanced up, his smile vanished, and he quickly looked away.

  Mr. Regular had placed the order. Shit.

  Seriously, what were the odds of that happening?

  The irony was not lost on him.

  "Oh my goodness, Cam. Is that a heart?" Lucy asked, clasping her hands together.

  Cam nodded and hated the total awkwardness of the moment. His gaydar had been disconnected for the last decade, and he wasn't about to alienate the one guy he was actually interested in until he had a better handle on whether Mr. Regular was even gay. All he saw were questions in those silver eyes and the thought of getting his ass kicked for making an unwelcomed pass was not at the top of his list.

  "Is this what you've been trying to do all morning?" Lucy asked.

  "Yeah, um," Cam said, thinking quickly, "I thought it'd be nice to do this for that customer who was talking about her anniversary thing this morning?"

  "Kathy, the one who's celebrating her first anniversary tomorrow?"

  "Yeah, her."

  "That's so thoughtful of you. I'm sure that would make her morning." Lucy excused herself when she heard the ding from the timer in the back room, and Bill went off to help a new customer with their sandwich order, leaving him alone with Hunter.

  Hunter deflated. The questions no longer lingered in his gaze.

  Cameron thought the best approach would be a professional one. "Can I help you with anything else, sir?"

  Hunter's cheeks flushed with color.

  Cameron cocked his head to the side, questioning. Is the attraction mutual? Or is it something else that's embarrassing him?

  Hunter shook his head, avoiding eye contact. "I just need to pay."

  Cam inhaled and let the smooth tone of Hunter's voice flow through his body. He rang up the items as Hunter withdrew his wallet from his back pocket.

  "That will be six twenty-eight—"

  Hunter placed the money on the countertop while Cameron casually observed each of his movements, however minimal.

  "Sir," he added, remembering to keep it professional.

  Hunter's cheeks flushed with color again.

  Bingo. Cam didn't understand why that one word would trigger a heated flush of embarrassment in the man. Cam reassessed him. Hunter looked to be in his mid-thirties and obviously fit. The whole package was just enticing as hell and a few years didn't matter to Cam anyway.

  Hunter took the tray and made his way to his corner of the diner.

  Cameron watched him open his bag and take out some folders then remove the items from the tray and place them on the table. He ate his sandwich and just stared at the coffee mug. He'd take another bite and would turn the mug as if seeing it from a slightly different angle. He had already eaten half his sandwich, yet hadn't tasted his latte.

  Cam wanted to grab the man and shove the coffee down his throat. Why the hell didn't he try it already? He couldn't hate the taste if he hadn't tried it. He took a deep breath to settle himself. For some reason, he just needed to know Hunter liked it, but all the man did was stare at the damn thing.

  He couldn't take this anymore.

  He took another deep breath then stormed to the back room where Lucy was cooling the cookies she had removed from the oven a few moments before.

  "Are these ready yet?" he asked.

  "Yes, they've already cooled for a bit," Lucy said.

  "Thanks," he said, pulling one of the dry wax bakery tissues to grab one of the new flavored white chocolate chip cookies from the rack. He stomped out of the back room and into the dining area to Hunter's corner.

  He sat there, sandwich finished, still staring at his damn coffee.

  Cameron walked up to him and extended his hand that held the cookie. "You forgot your cookie," he added lamely.

  Hunter looked at him, perplexed. "Thanks," he said as he reached for his wallet.

  "On the house."

  "Thanks," he said hesitantly as he took the offered cookie.

  "Aren't you going to drink that?" Cam asked, pointing to the latte.

  "I like the design," he said with a half smile. "I don't want to mess it up."

  Cameron grabbed the spoon from the coffee dish and stirred the latte, erasing the heart design.

  "Why'd you do that?" Hunter asked mournfully.

  "Just drink your coffee," he mumbled.

  Hunter cautiously raised the mug to his lips for a taste while maintaining eye contact with Cam. "It's really good," he said with a hesitant smile.

  A wave of relief flooded Cam's senses with the approval. Watching Hunter take another sip of the coffee he'd mixed and his unmistakable expression of enjoyment was all Cam needed at that moment. He curtly nodded then retreated t
o the cash register. He withdrew money from his pocket to cover the cost of the cookie and added it to the register then tended to the new customer who had entered the diner.

  Having a few minutes to think about what he had done made him realize how odd his actions were. He sighed. He hated prison, but at least there he knew what to do and exactly what was expected. Here, all bets were off. Cam wasn't sure how he was supposed to act with someone he was attracted to who might or might not be gay. It probably didn't matter anyway, he was certain Hunter thought he had a screw loose at this point based on how he had acted a few moments ago.

  Cam had to find some way to make it up to him and regain possession of his sanity.

  * * * *

  Hunter didn't have a clue what the hell was going on. First, he thought the amazing heart design in the coffee might have been meant for him but Cam quickly pissed away that idea before it had a chance to take root. Apparently, it was meant for some other customer, a woman. Great. The first guy in a long time to light a fire inside him and he was straight. Hunter was bummed and wasn't going to lie to himself. He'd hopelessly stared at the damn design and all he thought about was how much time and practice it must have taken to do something like that. But what the hell did it matter, it was for someone else. He just couldn't bring himself to drink the coffee and make the heart disappear. How sappy was that?

  He'd been so lost in thought he hadn't noticed Cam walk up to his table with the cookie. The man was actually talking to him rather than just taking an order or ringing up the bill. Hunter was stunned at how attractive this man was, in full view without the counter blocking an inch of real estate.

  He almost kicked himself for vocalizing how he felt about the design. He did like it and was upset when Cam stirred it away. That quickly, the heart and whatever it may or may not have represented was gone.

  Hunter finished his coffee and cookie and tried to wrap up the last of the case file he was working on. He looked at his watch and sighed, remembering his afternoon appointment. He glanced over and saw Cam walk to the corner where the coffee machine was stationed.

  Hunter could talk his way out of just about any situation, but here he was, staring at a guy who drove him out of control and gave off all kinds of mixed signals. He took a deep breath then exhaled, not knowing what to do for the first time in his life. He wasn't the kind of guy to give up, especially when he wanted something so intensely.

  His phone chirped on the table…a text message from Jessie reminding him of his appointment.

  He packed up the files, dumped his garbage, and was on his way to exit the diner.

  "Hunter, wait a second," he heard Cam say.

  Damn, there was something about hearing Cam call his name that tightened his chest. He turned and saw Cam standing there holding a lidded plastic coffee cup.

  "Yours was probably cold by the time you drank it so here's one to-go."

  Hunter smiled. He didn't dare hope this meant anything more than someone just giving him a cup of coffee to-go.

  "Thanks," he said, taking the cup.

  "See you tomorrow," Cam said, then walked away without waiting for a response.

  Hunter strolled the block to his office and thought about Cam. Those crystal blue eyes contrasted boldly against his dark, sandy brown hair and light skin. He wasn't thin, but for some reason, his jeans slung low on his hips and his shirts seemed a little looser than those worn by guys his age.

  His age. Hunter didn't want to think about that.

  He finally arrived at the office and dropped his bag on the couch. With a full schedule for the afternoon, he had to get his brain in gear.

  He settled in his chair and popped the lid off the cup.

  Hunter couldn't help the smile that formed on his face once he saw the heart design floating on the surface of the coffee.

  Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.

  Cameron was on auto-pilot. Thankfully, he'd received endless latte orders to keep him busy, trying new designs and perfecting them. So far, he was able to complete heart and rosette patterns. He'd even found it was easy to mix them together for a Christmas tree-like design with a heart tree topper.

  Bill or Lucy would inform him of a new order, he'd take a peek at the patron—girls got hearts, guys got the leafy rosette. No need to piss off some dude with a heart design. And the rude assholes, the ones who wouldn't have the courtesy to hang up their fucking phones when placing their orders with Bill or the ones who acted as if Lucy owed them something for coming in, fuck 'em, no design for them.

  Pissed didn't begin to sum up how he felt.

  Where the hell was Hunter, and why hadn't he come into the diner for the last few days? He'd been thinking endlessly about the man, and it was driving him to the brink of insanity. He could probably manage a day, maybe even two without seeing him. But he obviously couldn't seem to handle three days plus a weekend. He didn't even know if the man was gay. He was so frustrated he'd barely spoken a word since arriving at the diner. Lucy and Bill kept circling him to check up on him and that, too, was driving him crazy. They meant well, but the fucking hard-on in his pants wasn't letting him form a cordial sentence all damn day. Cam just needed to see Hunter. Maybe that would somehow settle him. He'd find some way to figure out if the man was gay or not. Maybe he'd just make a fucking latte penis in his coffee and see if that design perked his interest.

  "Sweetie, you want to take a break?" Lucy asked carefully. "You've been working all day."

  Cameron shook his head. He sure as hell didn't need a fifteen minute break of doing nothing other than thinking about those piercing silver eyes. Fuck.

  "I'm going to be out back cooling the new batch. If you change your mind, just come get me, okay?"

  Cam nodded and finished working the heart design for the thin blonde in the green business suit. Lucy delivered the coffee order to the customer before disappearing to the back.

  Cameron closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He had survived the extra busy morning crowd and typical lunchtime rush without any issues or obstacles. If Hunter hadn't shown up by now, then he probably wasn't going to come in today, and he'd just have to deal with not seeing him for yet another day.

  "Cam, register please," Bill called over from the sandwich station.

  He took a deep cleansing breath. He had a job to do. It was no one's fault he was lusting for a guy who might or might not be gay. He started to walk over to the register and stopped.

  Hunter.

  There, standing at the register with his head down, talking on the phone, dressed to kill in a dark blue suit and blue-gray tie. Cam inhaled deeply and tried to calm his breathing. Damn, the man looked good.

  "They panicked after yesterday's testimony and walked in today wanting to cut a deal. I'll finish up the paperwork when I get in," Cameron heard him say into the phone. "No, don't reschedule anything, I'll just use the time to prep for the other cases. I'll see you in a bit, if anything comes up, just text me."

  Cam walked to the register as Hunter closed and pocketed his phone.

  Hunter looked up and half smiled. "Hi."

  Cameron was mesmerized by those silver eyes. The slight ease at seeing Hunter warred with the sexual tension at being near him.

  Hunter arched an eyebrow.

  Cam realized he hadn't responded. Shit. "How can I help you, sir?"

  Color rushed to Hunter's face as he looked away. Damn, he liked knowing he could unsettle this man with a simple word.

  "Turkey sandwich, cookie, and one of your lattes please," he mumbled.

  "You a lawyer?" Cam asked.

  "Yes," Hunter responded, making eye contact again.

  Cam stood there and assessed him, uncertain if Hunter being an attorney should concern him. He didn't cause Cameron to put up his guard or get the vibe that Hunter could easily be bought or swayed by others.

  "Does that bother you?"

  "I'm trying to figure out if you're one of the good guys or bad guys," he said candidly.

&nb
sp; "I promise I'm one of the good ones," Hunter said softly with a tired smile.

  Cam nodded. One thing he had learned in the last ten years was to trust his gut. "Chocolate chip or macadamia?"

  "Chocolate chip."

  Cameron went to the back and returned with a chocolate chip cookie in a bag.

  "Is Cam short for Cameron?"

  "Yeah."

  "Have you worked on any other designs today?"

  "A leaf looking thing called a rosette. Are you gay?" Cameron froze the moment the question escaped his mouth. He was so preoccupied with the rapid-fire questions and answers he didn't realize the one question his brain kept asking should have remained quiet.

  "Yes."

  His heart pounded against his ribcage and his chest tightened. Now that the question was out of the way, he didn't know what to say or do.

  "Is that a problem?" Hunter asked.

  Cam shook his head. He rang up the rest of the order, gave Hunter his change, then went to his machine to prepare the coffee. He returned a few minutes later with a latte bearing a combo rosette heart design.

  "Nice," Hunter said with a full grin.

  "Are you going to drink it this time or stare at it?"

  "You could take a break and join me to supervise."

  Wait a minute. Is he flirting? Is Hunter flirting?

  "Cam, take your break," Bill said with a smirk, clearly overhearing the exchange.

  Cameron was dazed. He looked over to Bill then back to Hunter. He wanted to sit with him, hell, he wanted to pounce on the man and lick every inch of him. But what if he said the wrong thing or asked another question best left unasked?

  Hunter's phone chirped. He reached into his jacket and read the display. He groaned. "I need to go to the office."

  Cam nodded.

  "How old are you, Cameron?"

  Does that matter? What am I supposed to say? Crap. His brain was getting fried, and damn, he loved the way his name sounded in that sexy-as-fuck voice.

  Hunter's phone chirped again.

  "Damn it. I've got to go."