Too Sweet Pt. 03

"Hmm, is this you turning one of my lines against me?"

"I would never," she giggled. I remembered the mocha she had made me and took a sip of it. Perfect, as always. Kit could really make the hell out of a coffee. She smirked at me and pushed a tendril of hair that had escaped her braid off her face.

I loved the way the dappled sunlight played over the auburn silk of her hair and the speckled cream of her cheeks. She saw how I was watching her and blushed slightly at my attention. Adorable. Heart stoppingly adorable.

"Kit, I," I started, but my phone lit up with a text. She glanced down to hand it back to me and her eyes widened. She bit back a smile and slid it across the table where I couldn't put anything together fast enough.

A text from Ira, right there on the lock screen, "You left the ring on the fucking kitchen counter. You're going to lose it before you work up the balls to even ask her."

"Um," I blinked and looked up at Kit's little grin. She just watched me expectantly and didn't help. "Yeah, that was supposed to go better the second time."

"Third time's a charm?" she suggested.

"Eso espero," I groaned.

...

I woke up to an annoying buzzing sound. I eventually located Kit's phone on my nightstand and squinted at the screen. Incoming Call From: Danger Danger Danger.

Huh.

"Ethan, man, I thought we talked about this," I said into the phone, keeping my voice low and controlled but clearly letting my anger in.

"You sleeping at the foot of her bed like a good little dog?" Ethan growled at me.

"Sure," I chuckled meanly. "I don't have to prove anything. I don't have to abuse tiny women to get off, either. Does that make you feel strong?"

"She's a fucking slut," he hissed at me. "The shit she let me do to her is depraved. You're getting my sloppy seconds."

"You really don't know what you had, do you?" I made myself laugh instead of yelling at the guy. He wanted a rise out of me. "That's fine, man. I'm not intimidated by other men. How's that going for you? Finding enough virgin partners to keep your dick from wilting?"

"Where are you? I'll fucking show you how I feel about other men," he snapped.

"Oh, sorry dude. I'm taken," I said, playing up some mock disappointment. "You could try Grindr if you're that hard up?"

"I'm not a faggot," he snapped. I laughed.

"You define it however you need," I said soothingly. "You'll figure it out. Sometimes it takes some time."

"Fuck you, faggot!"

"No, you aren't listening. I'm not single. You can't fuck me," I reminded him. "There's lots of fish in the sea. You'll find your man."

"I fucked your girl up the ass," he growled at me. "She screamed like a fucking whore."

"You sound like a real catch," I dropped the playful act. He could call me faggot all night long, but I was a lot less willing to play when he attacked Kit. "What kind of man needs to prove himself by hurting someone who can't fight back? You're a fucking coward."

"I'll show you a coward. Meet me-"

"No, you won't," I cut him off. "I'm not a teenager. I'm not going to go fight you after school. Stop calling."

I hung up.

...

Kit

Teddy got a lot of texts.

I guess he didn't tell everyone that I had his phone. I didn't answer or open any. From the lock screen previews, they were all from his friends around town sending memes and jokes or just chatting. Weird. I couldn't imagine keeping up with so many people on purpose.

I made coffee all morning, riding on a pleasant autopilot and occasionally chatting with Ben. He and I really worked well together. In a way that was likely very sad, he was probably the closest thing I had to a best friend.

Ugh. Boring, sad Kit. Can't keep friends unless they are forced to spend forty hours a week in the same room with her.

Anyway.

Mike slipped in somewhere in the afternoon rush. He spent some time hitting on Ben, who was effectively stonewalling him without straight up rejecting him. It was a masterclass in both customer service and cool disinterest. When Ben wouldn't play, Mike turned to me with a grin.

"Kit! You coming to the Garage tonight? There's a new thrash band playing," he said. "You into thrash?"

"I can take it or leave it," I said neutrally. Realistically, no, I wasn't into thrash, but I could usually enjoy any kind of rock show. "I open the shop tomorrow. No shows for me tonight."

"Ah, this job must suck," Mike groaned, looking around the little place. I suddenly felt very protective of the exposed bricks and shabby furniture. "Dealing with assholes all day for pennies? No thanks."

"I love this job," I told him. "And I make enough for what I need." I heard Ben chuckle on the other side of the bar.

Mike arched an eyebrow at me. "You could make more if you got a degree."

"I have a degree in business administration with a double minor in art and accounting," I informed him. "From a four year, private college that I attended on an academic scholarship, even. I like making coffee with it. Did you want to order one?"

"Hmm, I'm being an asshole, huh?" he asked with a grin.

"I wouldn't say that while I'm standing here in my apron," I answered diplomatically. Ben cracked up. "It's pretty mean-spirited to mock service jobs to two baristas, though."

"Ben owns the place. What are you going to do? Work here until you die?" he asked.

"Maybe," I said and shrugged. "I guess I'll be here until Ben says otherwise. I like making coffee. I've done enough work that I hated to know that enjoying my job is worth a lot."

"Fair enough," Mike said and shrugged. "She really doesn't put up with shit, huh?" he asked Ben. "You think that's why Teddy likes her?"

"I'm not going to talk about Kit like she's not here," Ben scoffed.

"You're a bitch today," Mike groused. "Who pissed in your cheerios?"

"You," Ben answered icily.

"You think Ted will go to the Garage tonight?" Mike asked me.

"That's a Teddy question. Maybe, but he has work in the morning, too," I told him. "He had to get a degree for his job, so maybe it's valuable enough for you to respect it. It was a two year degree, though. Is that enough?"

"Shit, I hit a nerve," Mike said. He actually looked a little deflated to realize he wasn't being the fun kind of asshole. "Sorry."

"You owe her a sale and a tip," Ben said over my shoulder. Mike rolled his eyes, ordered a latte, and tipped me the full cost of the drink. I drew a cute little kitty face in the foam to show him I wasn't really angry. Mike took the mug and looked down at the drink in surprise.

"Oh, shit. You're, like, really good at this," he said.

"I am," I said and shrugged. "Stick around. Teddy will be here in a bit."

...

Teddy

Ethan didn't call back all day. Even though I knew she was safe, I couldn't wait to get to the coffee shop to check on Kit that afternoon. Something about the way he had mocked her wormed its way into my brain. That primal part of me that wanted to protect her was on overdrive.

I found Kit smiling and making coffee, surrounded by steam and sunshine. God. I needed to paint that scene. The goddess of caffeine with her little smirk and laughing eyes.

"Ted!" a voice stopped me before I got to the line. I was going to have to wait for Kit to be free, anyway, so I turned to Mike with a smile.

For as much as I had reason to hate him. Mike always seemed more sad than anything else. I didn't hate him. I wasn't all that interested in getting close again, but I could be friendly. He was looking thoughtfully at his nearly empty mug when I sat down.

"Your girl, um, I mean, Kit makes good coffee," he said. "She drew a fucking cat in mine."

I beamed with pride. My beautiful Kit and her perfect coffee.

"Yeah, she's the best barista in town," I agreed.

"I was kind of an asshole about it to her," he said with a guilty look. "I mean, she put me in my place, but that was still a shit move."

"Apologize to her, dude. She's not my property," I said warily.

"I did," he sighed. "I'm trying to be less of an asshole. It's not going great."

"Ah, well, change takes time," I told him.

We chatted about nothing in particular for a while until we got to people we both used to know. A thought occurred to me.

"You're in the kink scene around here, right?" I asked. Mike seemed a little surprised by the question, but he nodded. "You know a guy named Ethan? I don't know what he looks like, but he's aggressively straight, a dom, and maybe has a bad reputation for how he treats subs."

"Um, I might. Why are you looking for a straight dom?"

"He's harassing Kit," I explained.

"Oh, shit. I'll put my ear to the ground. I don't deal with the straight side of things, you know, ever, but I can find out if he's still active and where he hangs out," Mike said.

"I'd appreciate it," I said and moved on to another subject.

Someone, I really hoped Kit, planted a kiss on top of my head and giggled behind me.

"You shampooing with salt water, querido?" Kit asked and sat beside me. She leaned on my shoulder and sighed happily.

"Solo estoy sudado," I answered.

"¿Sudado significa, um, 'sweaty'?"

"Context clues for the win," I confirmed and kissed her temple.

"She speaks... Spanish...?" Mike said, but he didn't seem to be asking a question. He looked a little devastated.

"You good there, Mike?" I asked.

"Oh," he shook himself a little and smirked. It had an edge to it. "Yeah. Just contracting diabetes over here. Where did you two meet?"

"Just by chance," I answered. "She looked like my punk rock dream, so I talked her into going to a show with me."

Kit rolled her eyes and giggled. Mike cleared his throat and forced a smile.

"Yeah, she seems perfect for you," he said weakly.

"You ok, Mike?" Kit asked. She sat up and tilted her head to one side as she looked at him. "You look really pale."

"Um, yeah, maybe I'm still hungover," Mike laughed. "You up for a show tonight, Teddy? Kit already turned me down because she's a responsible coffee wizard."

"I'm not a wizard, but I do have work at the crack of dawn. Maybe we can catch something on a Friday or Saturday sometime?" I answered. Mike nodded as though he had been expecting that. "What kind of show? Corrine and Phoebe are usually up for Thursdays. Maybe Foz if it's something he likes."

"Foster hates me," Mike reminded me. "Corrine likes thrash, though, and Phoebe likes Corrine. I'll call her."

"Foster doesn't hate you," I said with a wince. That might not be true. Foster had very little tolerance for Mike's games.

"Yeah he does," Mike laughed. He stood up and picked up his empty mug. "I have to get going. I'll text you if I figure out anything on that guy you asked me about."

"Kit has my phone right now," I warned him. "Don't text anything you'd be embarrassed for her to see."

"What? Why does she have your phone?"

"We're both avoiding people," I said with a shrug. Kit snickered and cuddled to my side until I put my arm around her.

"That's, um, quite the move," Mike chuckled uncomfortably. "I'd fucking die before I handed over my phone. Got it, no thirsty midnight texts." He offered a little half wave, dropped his mug in the dish bin at the bar, and left.

"You doing something mysterious with your weirdly obsessed ex?" Kit asked me. She was wearing a crooked little smile and her eyes were sparkling with laughter.

"He might know Ethan," I explained. "Just gathering some information."

"Oh," Kit's smile turned to a pursed frown. "You don't have to save me from Ethan."

"I know that," I told her and pulled her close to rest my chin on her head. She felt so, so small in my arms. "He called again. I'm going to keep answering until he stops."

"Hm," Kit sighed. "Well, be careful. Ethan is dangerous."

"I'm not planning on confronting him in person," I reassured her.

"Speaking of calls, you get a shit ton of texts," Kit giggled and handed over my phone. I scrolled through and answered a few.

"My sweet, friendly Teddy. So popular," she teased me.

"No calls from my mom?" I asked.

"Not that I can tell. You got a few spam risks, but that was probably someone selling car warranties or whatever," she told me.

"Good," I breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm going to email her tonight and lay out the boundaries again. Hopefully I'll be brave enough to take my phone back after that."

"You're so brave," Kit murmured. "Needing some help with this doesn't change that. I have your back, querido."

"Gracias, diosa," I whispered and wrapped her in my arms. I held her and let the tension in my guts creep away. "Kit, I think you should get a new phone number. That guy Ethan may not stop no matter what either of us do."

"Probably," she sighed. "Seems like a big hassle."

"I'll add you to my phone plan," I offered. "It'll save both of us some money."

"Oh, wow," Kitt giggled and pressed her face on my chest. "That's a serious step. You know getting someone off your phone plan is harder than a divorce, right?"

"We better stay together, then. Bound by the vows of a holy cell plan," I chuckled.

"Well, your texts with your brother suggest I ought to consider long term plans with you, anyways," she teased me.

"I swear I'm going to do that right at some point," I insisted, feeling a little heat in my face. She tipped her head back to kiss my cheek.

"So, I think Mike is really jealous," she said. "But he still seems desperate to be my friend."

"He's lonely," I said. "He was a handful in highschool and he burned a lot of bridges here on his way off to better things. It seems like he's respecting our relationship. You hang out with him if you want. I'm not going anywhere with him unless you're there. I wouldn't put it past him to get drunk and make a move."

"You're the sweetest," Kit chuckled. "I trust you, but I do appreciate the consideration."