by Luna, David
Several hours later, he was in the middle of making a batch of cranberry almond muffins and daydreaming about his past, when Maya bustled into his kitchen with a cup of coffee, ordering him to drink up. “Have you tested your levels in the last couple hours?”
“Yes, ma’am, I have, and thanks for the coffee.”
She hopped up on his kitchen stool and leaned back against the counter. The pose would have been provocative, had she been trying and had he been the receptive type--though she hadn’t been, and he wasn’t. His Maya was a short little thing, but she was curvy with a flawless peaches and cream complexion. She was his best friend and business partner, not to mention he was gay, so while he had never been even remotely attracted to her, he knew she was gorgeous with very little effort on her part. Even in her work attire of the cafe’s t-shirt and her skinny white capris, she was beautiful.
Their business, the Sugar n’ Spice Café, fit right into their little neighborhood row of shops. Maya had been a barista in college, and she’d always secretly wanted to open her own coffee shop once she was out of school. One night, while they were drinking entirely too much Two Buck Chuck from Trader Joe’s, she’d let slip what she wanted, thinking it was rather silly and she’d eventually get over it. Braden had immediately latched onto her idea and told her he’d always wanted to become a baker when he was done with school.
That had been the beginning of their combined dream, which had inadvertently helped them both decide to become business majors. They spent freshman year getting to know each other, studying together, and making a business plan, which they solidified by senior year. Less than a year after graduation, they opened Sugar n’ Spice, thanks to a lot of hard work, long days and nights, and a series of lucky breaks, including the cafe location opening up and their ability to put down a large down payment on the loan, which expedited the approval. Word quickly spread in the neighborhood about Braden’s decadent pastries and Maya’s artistic espressos and specialty drinks, and before long, the cafe bustled with customers.
Braden put down the coffee she’d brought in and finished what he was working on. He set the timer for the muffins and cleaned up his workspace. After a while, he realized she wasn’t going to give him back his privacy, and he lifted a brow in silent inquiry until she huffed out a breath and sat up.
“I’m worried about you, Bray.”
“Worried enough to leave the floor to Lala?”
She snorted out a laugh. “It’s Layla, and you damned well know it. She’s getting better. More confident, less spacey, I swear. And it’s 2 p.m., so it’s dead right now… but yes, I’m that worried.”
He gazed over at her and could see she was telling the truth. He knew that look in her eyes. If he didn’t cut her off at the pass, she’d go full-fledged mama bear on his ass, and at that point he was hanging on by a very thin thread and didn’t have the energy for the whole routine.
“Look, I don’t know…”
“Don’t tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about, Bray.”
“Baby girl, I was going to say, I don’t know what’s going on with me. I’m in some sort of a funk, and I’m trying to wrap my mind around it.”
She harrumphed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, we need to figure it out, because I don’t like it, and I want to fix it.”
“I don’t like it much myself, but I’m not quite sure it’s going to be an easy fix.”
She sighed and slipped off the stool and into his arms. For a little thing, she could hug the stew out of him, and he loved her all the more for her concern and affection. She was the touchy feely type, and she brought that side out of him as well. So much so that people had often commented they were a cute couple, because they would often stroll hand in hand when they were out in public or be caught hugging or touching in some other way. They’d known each other since their first day of college, freshman year, nearly nine years ago. They’d met in their Business 101 class, after she’d tripped on someone’s bag in his row and landed nearly face first in his crotch.
He’d immediately taken to her when she snorted out a laugh while still face down in his denim. With an, “It’s so nice to meet you,” to his dick, and then an, “Oh, you too,” to his face, he couldn’t resist her playfulness. He remembered how rosy her cheeks had gotten in her embarrassment but how he’d immediately loved her sense of humor.
He’d responded with, “Well, you’re not really our type, if you catch my drift, but we’re both still very happy to meet you, and we’d love for you to sit next to us and chat before class starts.”
She’d laughed at that and taken him up on his offer. By the time that first class was over, he knew they’d be friends for years to come.
Coming back to the present, he squeezed her tight, kissed the top of her head and shrugged. “I’ll figure my shit out, eventually. Until then, I’ll probably be a bit broody and play loud music and stay away from Lala as much as possible.”
“That is why we kept the kitchen far enough away from the front, hmm?”
“What, my orneriness? I reckon that’s reason enough to have the kitchen away from the customers. That and the fact that I don’t like people, other than you, baby girl, and I feel more comfortable in a kitchen than anywhere else in the world. Having it somewhat removed from the hustle and bustle of others probably keeps us both sane, don’t you think? You no more want me talking to customers than I want you touching my whisks.”
Smirking, she grabbed his face in her hands and placed a smacking kiss on his lips. “I think it’s been far too long since someone’s touched your whisk. Not to mention, you just said more to me in the last ten minutes than you have in a week. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to distract me from the reason I came back here to begin with. Maybe you need to get laid, Bray.”
“Christ on a crutch, Maya, don’t start with that shit.” Just thinking about trying to start dating again made him feel a bit sick to his stomach. He’d resigned himself to being alone; perhaps not forever, but for the foreseeable future. He was utterly unlucky in love, and he had enough on his plate right now without adding anything else to the mix.
“No listen, I think it would be good…”
“Don’t, Maya. You know I’m no good with one night stands. I’m not ready for anything romantic either.” He’d escaped from an abusive relationship by the skin of his teeth, a little over a year ago. That, coupled with the other short relationships he’d had in his life, warned him away from trying anything these days. The problem with that was he was lonely. He might not feel ready for anything romantic, but that didn’t mean he didn’t miss it, that feeling of coupledom. He was a complete introvert, so he wasn’t big on social situations, but he had always loved the feeling of being in a relationship, even though he’d never really had a good one. He loved coming home to someone or someone coming home to him.
As much as he didn’t like people in general, he loved taking care of the small group of people he did let into his inner circle. His grandmother had always called him a romantic, though he wasn’t sure that the description fit. He just knew he preferred being with someone to being without; which is why this self-induced dry spell was hard in the first place. It didn’t feel natural, his being alone, yet he didn’t want to chance fate again, at least not for a little while longer. The look in Maya’s face said that she didn’t like his answer or didn’t believe it.
“I think you’re ready, but you’re scared. It’s been well over a year now, Bray. You know damned good and well most guys are not like Eric. He was awful, and I know I don’t know half of what he did to you. What I do know is that he was mentally abusive, physically intimidating, and he was extremely jealous of our friendship and did his best to push me out of your life. I have a feeling that if I knew the extent of what he did to you, I’d probably want to kill him, or at least have Cooper kill him.”
Braden mentally rolled his eyes. He loved his best friend to distraction, but when she got into her protect
ive mode, she could be overbearing. It probably ran in the family. Her brother was a Green Beret in the Army. Braden didn’t know what that entailed, if he was being honest with himself, but he knew it wasn’t a cakewalk and that being in Special Forces was no joke. Maya’s pride in her brother wasn’t misplaced.
Braden had met Cooper several times over the years, though he hadn’t spent much time with the man, one on one. He was much like his sister; gorgeous, kind, gregarious, loyal, and protective. They were both talkers, lookers, and go-getters. Maya was the “face” of the Sugar n’ Spice Café, while Cooper was the “face” of the security company he co-owned. They were charismatic and social and they drew people in, which was a very useful tool to have in your back pocket, when owning or co-owning your own business.
Braden sighed. “There’s no need for you, or your soldier-boy brother, to kill anyone. My relationship with Eric is over and has been for a long time. I’m over it.” OK, that wasn’t true, but it felt good to say. The truth was that he wanted to be over the relationship, desperately, and he was annoyed that Maya could see the truth.
Maya shook her head. “Honey, you’re not over it, because you haven’t moved on. I think it’s time for you to start dating again. Not counting the last several weeks of funk, you’ve been more like your old self, your pre-Eric self, lately. I’m so grateful for that.”
Braden rubbed the back of his hand across his forehead. “Yeah, I get it, I do. I know where you’re coming from, but I don’t think I’m ready like you seem to think I am. I can’t trust my judgment, not with my track record.”
Maya put her hands on her hips in frustration. “Track record? Are you kidding me right now? You had no way of knowing what kind of guy Eric was. He fooled us both, for a long ass time. Only when you moved in together did things start changing. You were seeing him for several months before that happened, and he seemed great, even to me. You are not to blame, Braden!”
“Easy, mama bear. You never liked him, and I guess I should have paid more attention to that fact, as you’re a much better judge of character than I am, obviously. The reality is, before Eric there was Owen, and before Owen there was Nick. Don’t you see the pattern there? I see it clear as day, and it spells out my utter inability to pick someone suitable for me. I don’t want the stress of it all. It’s not worth it. It just never seems worth it.” What he didn’t say was that he was pathetic, and too scared to try to move on. He didn’t trust his judgment, that was completely true, but he also felt too paralyzed with the fear of disappointment and the possibility he might end up with another Eric, to make any sort of move to find someone new.
In all of those relationships, he’d actually been the one to approach the men and hit on them. Sure, he was an introvert, but what he knew about himself was that he didn’t like being alone and felt better when he had someone in his life, so in order to get that, he’d made the decision, once he went to college, that he would go after what he wanted to get him where he wanted to be, which was in a committed relationship. He’d had that kind of confidence back then and approaching and flirting with men was hard and took guts, but the end justified the means. Now though, now he no longer felt that confidence.
“Your happiness is worth it, Braden. Eric was a psycho, but Owen and Nick just weren’t right for you. There was nothing really that wrong with them. They were both just macho dudes, and neither of them were ready for a serious relationship. That just makes them stupid, immature jackasses, not bad judgment calls.”
“The fact that one of them cheated on me, the other completely lost interest and just up and left one day, and the last one nearly killed me doesn’t speak well of my track record, OK? So, can we just drop this discussion, please? My head is killing me, and I’m grumpy as fuck now, so I need you to back off before I blow a gasket!”
He’d been pacing back and forth and finally stopped to look at her. She had tears in her eyes, a trembling hand covering her mouth. Fuck! He didn’t think he was that harsh. What had he said?
She whispered, “Nearly killed you?”
A tear slid down her cheek, as he grabbed her in a tight embrace. Oh fuck him sideways, he didn’t mean for that to slip.
“I didn’t mean that literally, Maya. I just meant he was sucking the life out of me. He didn’t want me baking at home, because that was ‘our time’. He didn’t want me seeing you, because that was also ‘our time’. I never dressed right or said the right things. I’m not going to lie to you and tell you he never got violent, and you already know that, but I’m going to spare you the details and just assure you that I was never in danger of him killing me. I didn’t mean it like that and I’m sorry I used those words. As soon as he began knocking me around, and I understood that it wasn’t going to stop, I got out of there as quickly as I could manage it. However, I’m still not confident in my ability to choose a guy that’s good for me, so until then, I’d rather just steer clear of relationship entanglements.”
There were a couple things he failed to mention during this conversation. One was that the only real reason Eric let him leave when and how he did was because he had filmed Eric attacking him that final day. He had an insurance policy that made it very hard for Eric to threaten his way back into his life. Eric had a high profile job, and he knew when he had to step back or risk his livelihood with the truth coming out.
What he also failed to mention to her is what worried him the most. It scared him to death that he was attracted to Eric’s type. He was attracted to the macho, physically imposing, tough guy. It’s just how he was built, both physically and mentally. Braden was 5’9” and slim, or what some might call slight. He had a runner’s body because he was just that, a runner. Perhaps it was because he was small in stature that he’d always seek out someone much bigger and stronger than he was. He wanted a mate that could protect him if needed--funny how that had royally backfired on him. He knew that if he tried to begin a new relationship with the type he was actually attracted to, he would be facing the real possibility of getting himself into another Eric situation. Frankly, he’d had enough of that to last him a lifetime.
None of it really mattered, anyway. She didn’t need to know the details of his insurance policy and if she was smart, which she was, she already knew his type from his past relationships. It didn’t take a genius to see that all of the men he’d dated were big, muscular tough guys. One of them hadn’t even been out of the closet, for fuck’s sake. Yeah, he sure knew how to pick ‘em.
She watched him closely, and he knew from the look on her face that she knew when to retreat and come around from the other side at a later date. He could see her planning her next sneak attack as they stared each other down. “I’ll let this conversation go, for now. Just know that we’ll be discussing this again, and soon. Now, I can see the headache written all over your face. I’m assuming ibuprofen will do because you don’t look like you’re gonna keel over with a migraine.”
He nodded while he smirked at her. She shrugged, knowing that he knew enough about her to know her tactics, which is mostly the reason why she spelled them out so blatantly for him to begin with, he was sure. She walked over to a corner cabinet and proceeded to pour out a couple ibuprofen from the giant bottle he kept there. She walked back over to Braden, picked up the forgotten coffee and held them both out to him. He took them from her and kissed her on the forehead, before tossing back the pills with the caffeine.
Maya loved being in business with her best friend. It took some time in the beginning, but the running of the cafe was now a well-choreographed dance. They managed to balance their passion for their work, with the hum drum daily aspects of running a successful business. They played to each other’s strengths and the fact that they were both workaholics meant that neither of them shirked their responsibilities. There were things they split equally, and things they let the other person handle.
Maya had to break up her daily routine so that she didn’t get bored, whereas Braden was very happy to stay in the kitchen
all day, baking all of the pastries for the café. He also did his own side jobs, such as specialty cakes and desserts to order, though, much to her amusement, he was picky with what he chose to take on. So help anyone that asked him to make a damned cupcake. Maya chuckled thinking about how much he hated cupcakes and all the froufrou TV shows that celebrated them.
Maya was the “face” of their venture. She was a natural at her role and loved what she did every day. She handled not only the front of the cafe, with some help from her part time staff, but she also did all of their advertising and promotional sales.
It was her day to place orders for the cafe. Braden placed his own orders whenever he needed more stock. Layla handled the front during a lull, and Maya sat in the back office finalizing her order with their distributor. She printed out her invoice and started looking for their monthly invoice folder. It was usually on top of the desk. After a thorough search, she couldn’t find it. She checked her own desk drawers and was still unable to locate the damned thing. She opened up one of Braden’s drawers, saw the folder and yanked it out of there. She didn’t have a firm grip on it, however, and all of the invoices for that month fell out onto the floor.