Too Sweet Pt. 04

"Well, it looks like he asked all the other people," I pointed out and motioned to Ira. "Maybe he got to the last one."

"No, your bear didn't ask me to do anything but find out where Ethan hangs out," he answered. It was weird when he dropped his cocky act and just talked. "I'm here because I heard enough stories about the guy when I was poking around to worry about you and Ben being here alone."

"I, um," I wasn't sure what to say to any of it. I wiped my hands against my apron and settled on just shrugging.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry to invade your privacy like this," Mike said with a hint of his usual cocky grin. "You're engaged to a guy who tends to bring out the best in everyone. We aren't going to let you get hurt. Let us help."

"I hate this," I grumbled.

"I'm not surprised by that," Mike snickered. "You can buy me a cup of coffee if that makes you feel any better."

"Latte?" I asked him.

"Surprise me. Make me something interesting," MIke challenged me. "Something you like."

I grinned and hopped back behind the bar to fiddle with the grinder. I was happy to have the distraction.

"What are you doing?" Ben asked curiously.

"Making something to knock the smug out of Mike," I giggled and measured out beans to grind extra fine. I tamped them down and pulled the shot quick. Ben watched me with his head tilted to the side.

"Like, half a shot?" he asked, looking at what indeed looked like half of a normal shot.

"Nope!"

I pulled a second one and carried both back to Mike. He squinted at the drink suspiciously.

"Just espresso?" he asked with a chuckle. "That's your favorite drink?"

"I just like coffee in general, but this is one of my favorite preparations," I told him. "This is a ristretto. Sip it slowly."

"Is it like Turkish coffee?" he asked and picked up the demitasse to sniff it.

"No, Turkish coffee is a boiled preparation. This is a type of espresso," I explained. I picked mine up and sipped it. The bold, balanced flavor and dark crema warmed me in ways the temperature couldn't. I sighed happily. "Try it. It's good, I promise. It's not bitter like normal espresso, but it will be very strong."

Mike tried the drink hesitantly. He looked thoughtful for a moment before a smile spread on his face.

"Oh. Wow," he said, genuinely surprised. "I don't usually go for black coffee of any kind, but this is delicious."

"I can make your lattes with ristretto shots. Just remind me," I told him.

"Can I get ristretto and pictures in the foam?" Mike asked.

"Only if you stop hitting on Ben," I told him. Mike coughed in surprise. "He and Ira are back together. Don't fuck it up for them."

"Why does everyone think I'm a homewrecker?" Mike laughed after he managed to clear his throat. "I've never been the other guy!"

Mike said that loud enough that Ira put down his work and joined us.

"Really, Mike? Really?" he pushed.

"Ok, but to be fair, I didn't even know that time," Mike amended. "That was an exception. I'm not looking to lose the only coffee shop that can make what is apparently my new favorite drink, I will lay off any and all baristas and their respective partners, ok?"

"What drink?" Ira asked me curiously. I pretended to sigh and went back to the bar to pull ristrettos for him and Ben.

"Is this hard?" Ben asked, sipping his and grinning. "Can we put it on the menu?"

"It's just a shot ground finer and pulled with half the water," I told him. "I'll show you-" The bell on the door interrupted me. I grinned at the figure backlit by the sunny street.

"Hey, Smokey!" Mike greeted Teddy. "It's a real party at the shop today."

Teddy looked tired. He smiled and sat at the table with Ira and Mike. Ben and I were standing by the counter, ostensibly still working, but really just chatting with our friends while the small handful of regulars ignored us. I made Teddy a raspberry mocha and dumped it over ice in hopes of cooling the flush in his face and getting a smile.

"Hola, querido," I said and set the drink in front of him.

"¿Café con hielo?" he asked me. "¿Pensé que solo tomabas café caliente?"

"Sólo lo bebo caliente. Puedes beber lo que quieras," I said and shrugged. "Hubiera hecho un affogato, pero no vendemos helados."

"Gracias, diosa," he chuckled and pulled me down to kiss my cheek.

...

Ben

"So they just exclusively speak Spanish, now?" Mike asked me and Ira. He looked like he was trying hard to look unbothered.

"When they're being cutesy, yes," Ira said and rolled his eyes. "Hey, Ted! Reign it in."

Teddy glanced at Ira and smirked. He swept Kit into his lap and leaned in to whisper something to her. Kit's eyes widened and she giggled. Ugh. Adorable.

"I'm at work, querido," Kit admonished him, but she was still laughing. "Let me go."

Teddy righted her back to her feet.

"Ben, I didn't count. How many drinks do I owe?" she asked. She was obviously tallying up how many drinks she had just handed out with a little frown. "Four ristrettos and an iced mocha? I think?"

I waved her off, "Don't worry about it. We're testing a new menu item."

"Um, ok, just the mocha," Kit mumbled to herself and started towards the backroom to get her wallet.

"Kit, stop. It's fine," I told her. "I don't know why you're still paying for Theodore's drinks at all. Haven't you noticed I never charge him?"

"Ok," Kit said awkwardly and scooted back behind the bar to start cleaning again. I huffed a little laugh to myself and squeezed Ira's shoulder. He looked up at me and I flicked my eyes back towards his table. Ira excused himself. I followed him a few minutes later.

"Are you working from here tomorrow?" I asked him quietly.

"Yeah, Foz has, you know, important boss shit to do. You'll just have me here for a bit," he answered.

"Come stay with me tonight?" I asked him. "I'll bring you to work in the morning."

Ira glanced over at Teddy and Mike before he slipped a hand to my leg to trail up and squeeze the inside of my thigh with a hungry grin.

"You don't have to ask me twice," he said with that edge of a growl that made my stomach twist. "It's been too long."

"You've been busy with work," I reminded him. "I'm always home by a decent hour."

"I know," he sighed. "I'm sorry. I swear I'll make more time for you as soon as I can."

"It's ok," I reassured him and pushed his white blond hair out of his gray eyes. "Maybe I can get Kit to take over for a few days when you're done with this project. We could go somewhere."

Ira caught my fingers and brushed a kiss over my knuckles with that devastating smile.

"Yeah, let's do that," he agreed. He glanced at an email that popped up on his screen and winced. "Benji, baby, I'm sorry. I have to take care of this."

I forgot we were being low key for a moment and leaned down to kiss the top of his head. "It's ok, I have work to do, too."

I got back to the bar and started on some paperwork at the register. Kit slid up next to me and fixed me with an amused look.

"What?" I asked her.

"Are we pretending you and Ira aren't in the corner being adorable?" she asked me softly. I felt myself blush.

"We aren't, um," I trailed off when I realized how sick I felt at the idea of denying our relationship. "We aren't adorable. We're manly."

"So manly and so adorable," Kit agreed. "I tell Teddy all the time that he can be both."

"Ah, well, that's different," I grumbled.

"It's not, but I'll go back to ignoring it," Kit said and shrugged. "You look happy together, though.

"We are, but we weren't before," I said quietly. "We're taking it a little slow. Everyone else may not be so happy to see us together."

"Everyone else definitely already knows," Kit pointed out. "Well, maybe not Teddy."

...

Ira showed up at my place late in the evening. He had some back to the office after Kit and I left the shop for the day and, apparently, had run by his house to change clothes .

I let him in with a grin. He kicked the door shut behind him and somehow managed to pick me up and throw over his shoulder on the way back to the bedroom.

"Ah! Wait! Ira, put me down!" I laughed. He put me back on my feet in the bedroom and grinned up at me. "What the fuck was that? I didn't know you could pick me up."

"That was the effect of me watching you at the coffee shop all day," he purred and slid his hands under my shirt to ignite the skin of my back. "You're so graceful when you work. So confident and so hot. I had the hardest time not imagining the things I wanted to do to you."

Ira was slowly stripping me as he dripped those sweet words into my ears. He had me naked before I formulated a response.

"No one has ever called me graceful before," I gasped out. Gangly, sure, but graceful? No. I was one of those kids who thought he would eventually grow into his limbs. I definitely didn't look like that was going to ever happen.

"Everyone else has failed to notice, then," Ira said. His hands were tracing long lines up my arms, down my torso, and over my hips. He squeezed my ass lightly and then caressed my thighs. "They're all walking through the Louvre and missing the Mona Lisa," he went on and leaned forward, sliding one hand up to the back of my neck as he kissed me. I was already melting, but Ira pushed hard with that kiss, like he wanted to devour me. I panted when he broke it off.

He gently moved me to sit on the edge of the bed. That was another thing I loved about Ira. He could take charge without pushing me around. I hated that shit. Once I was seated where he wanted me, Ira peeled off his own shirt.

He was watching me watch him strip. I swallowed hard as his skin was revealed. The firm lines of his muscles, the way he smirked as he made deliberate eye contact and stroked the obvious bulge in his pants, I was already shaking.

"Benji," his voice had dropped to the gravelly octave I only associated with sex. I whimpered at just my name and he bit his lip. "God, you're beautiful. I spent all day thinking about this moment."

He didn't take anything else off, he just closed the distance between us and ran his fingers over my collarbone and circled one sensitive nipple. He grinned when I shivered and he flicked my piercing.

"I want to suck your dick," he purred and slowly lowered his hands until he grazed my aching erection. "And I want you to cum in my mouth. Can I make you feel good, baby?"

I was staring at him in a haze, a little too focused on his hands to parse the question. When I figured out what he was saying, I managed to respond, "What about you?"

Ira smirked, but it was a soft, fond little movement. He knelt in front of me and gently teased my length with just the tips of his fingers.

"Don't worry about me," he chuckled. "I'll get off on watching you."

"Yeah, ok," I stammered. Ira was already too far for me to really pay attention. He brushed a kiss on my tip and then blew a thin stream of cold air over me. I choked on a ridiculous giggle. Ira flicked his eerie eyes up at me and grinned.

"You want to know how weak you make me?" he whispered, kissing me more firmly now and slowly dragging his tongue down to the hair below. "These long, graceful legs, so soft and so strong at the same time. I'm shocked I haven't been arrested when you wear those shorts."

As he spoke, Ira ran his hands from the sensitive skin of my inner thighs down my legs and back up, squeezing lightly as he went and ending by lifting me up slightly to cup my ass with both hands. Somehow, he managed to keep teasing me with kisses and light nips between his words the whole time

"Ira," I gasped out.

"Yes, baby," he chuckled. "I love how you moan my name."

He looked up at me and smirked before swallowing my entire dick.

"Oh, shit," I whimpered. That feeling never failed to surprise me. So tight and warm, with the light vibration of his ever-present gravelly groan and the sucking of the occasional gag. I let him control the pace. Ira moved slower than seemed like it could be comfortable for him, letting me linger as deep as I could possibly go while he gently rocked and let his hands roam.

"Fuck, you're so good at that," I moaned.

Ira slowly backed up, releasing me with a pop. He panted slightly, with spit and tears on his face from where he gagged himself. He was flushed pink with the effort and his hair was wild. He looked like a debauched angel between my legs.

"You like that, Benji?" Ira purred. He leaned his head on my thigh, catching his breath and stroking me with his hands. "I could do it all night if we go slow like that. You want to see how long I can go without air?"

"I'm not a sadist," I scoffed and ran my fingers through the soft, long part of his hair. It was slightly damp with sweat and starting to lose the careful, smooth texture he styled it to every morning, returning to the messy waves he woke up with. The waves only I got to see.

"I didn't say 'fuck my face,'" Ira giggled and squeezed me enough to make me moan. "I said 'let me choke myself on that dick.'"

"Shit, Ira," I moaned weakly. "You sure you're not a bottom?"

"I am for you, baby. I'm whatever gets me between your legs," he said and dove back down. He made good on his promise, gagging himself enthusiastically while I struggled to stay upright. Ira knew exactly how to push me to the edge and keep me there, stopping immediately when he sensed I was close to pull me back until I was nearly sobbing.

"Fuck, enough! Let me cum, Ira, please!" I groaned as he once again backed away from tipping me over that edge. He chuckled and sent vibrations that felt like static through my groin. He slid back and grinned up at me.

"Aw, thought we were doing this all night, Benji. You tapping out already?"

"Yes," I hissed at him. "Finish me off."

"Yes, sir!" Ira snapped a cocky salute at me and I rolled my eyes. But he did swallow me again and that time he sucked in earnest.

The suction and squeeze on top of Ira's usual gravelly growls were just right. I clenched up and stuttered a warning that Ira just ignored. He let me thrust deep into his throat and unload.

Ira kissed his way back up to my mouth and claimed it with his usual, insistent kisses. I didn't realize he was moving me until we were stretched out in the bed with his arms around me and my head on his chest. He shifted a bit uncomfortably, rearranging the jeans he was still wearing.

"I can take care of that for you," I murmured, still feeling hazy and far away.

"Nope. I told you I would get off on watching you," he chuckled. "Now I'm regretting leaving my pants on for that."

"Oh," I giggled. "Gross."

"No, not gross," Ira corrected me. He was trailing his fingers on lazy patterns over my skin that were sending cozy, sleepy feelings to my brain "Hot. But now I'm sticky. So maybe gross. Shower?"

"Hm, yeah, in a minute," I sighed and snuggled closer.

...

Kit

I liked having everyone stopping by the shop as long as I didn't think about why they were there. Ben seemed overjoyed to have Ira around even if he was trying to hide it. It was sweet to see Ira drop his usual sarcastic veneer to share soft, stolen moments with Ben. I was happy to have Teddy nearby when he could be, though his job kept him away more than the others.

Foster cane when he could, but it was usually just Ira and Mike keeping watch.

It lasted into the middle of December. The weather was turning colder, but it was still mid fifties by mid-day. I took my breaks outside if at all possible to get a break from the people.

Our patio was full that mild day, so I walked around into the closed alley between the buildings to soak in some quiet. I was admiring the collection of graffiti on the bricks. I knew some of the artists as regulars at the shop. It thrilled me to see art out making room for itself like that. Like when you see beautiful weeds thriving in the cracks of the city.

"You changed your number, baby." The voice that said that came from the open end of the alley and it drove icy nails through me.

"Leave me alone," I snarled. Oh, good. Fight won out. I was expecting freeze.

Ethan snickered and leaned up against the entrance. He looked like he always did, unassuming, kind of plain, but with unbelievably cruel eyes. Well, maybe that last part was just my memory.

"You're a barista now? Thought you finally got a grown up job," he said. He looked me up and down with a sneer. I felt his eyes on me and knew he was imagining me naked. I resisted the urge to cross my arms over my chest. I wanted to look like he didn't scare the shit out of me.

"You're getting fat, too," he sighed. "That faggot who answered your phone isn't keeping you in line. You need a real man to take care of you."

"Leave me alone," I repeated. Don't engage. Don't let him draw you into a conversation.

Don't let him win.

I was trapped, surrounded by brick walls on three sides and the only exit blocked by Ethan. I also knew from unfortunate experience that he could and would overpower me if he got his hands on me. Ethan was already creeping closer to close that space between us.

He had his hands up like I was a horse that might spook if he moved too fast. I imagined myself stomping his chest in and grinned. He hesitated at the change in my expression.

"I'm not going to be as easy to hurt this time," I told him in a growl. I was irritated by the tremor in my voice. He smirked and started moving towards me again.

"Baby, I never did anything you didn't want," he purred. "You just don't like to admit what a whore you are."

Don't rise to the bait. Don't do it.

"Back off!" I tried to raise my voice, but it was still a strangled sound in my throat. Maybe I could attract enough attention to scare him.

"Come on, I just want to talk to you," he kept his tone so smooth and reasonable. I knew that tactic. He stayed calm and I looked hysterical. "You owe me a conversation."

"No. Leave me alone!"

He was close now, just a yard away. I had to get past him before he grabbed me. I needed to distract him enough to do that.

"Fire! Fire!" I shouted as loud as I could. Sure enough, I heard the scuffle of shoes on concrete almost immediately. Ethan sneered at me and tried to step forward to grab me, but I was already pushing past him to the small group of curious onlookers who wanted to see a fire.

He still grabbed my elbow and gripped it hard. He shot me that hard look he used to give me. The one that I had, at one point, found intriguing enough to let him lure me into scenes I wasn't sure I wanted.

I didn't play along that time.

"Let go! Don't fucking touch me!"

"You're hysterical," he said evenly, but he knew he had lost control of the situation. I was going to sow chaos.

I didn't see Mike sprint into the alley with Ira on his heels. Ethan noticed the two men approaching and dragged me in between.

"Let her go," Mike said and advanced on us looking cold and measured like a wildcat stalking its prey. Ira was wearing a vicious grin so unlike his usual sarcastic amusement that he was nearly unrecognizable.

Ethan measured his chances, looking from Mike and Ira to the group of confused coffee shop patrons behind them. I felt the painful grip on my arm release and he shoved me forward.

I stumbled to Mike and Ira, but I didn't want to hide behind them. I was furious at being cornered. The rage was tight in my stomach and it demanded blood.

"Fuck off! We're done! Stop calling me! Stop coming here!" I heard myself shouting before I really planned on it.

"Aw, you brave now that all your fuckbuddies are here? You fucking whore," Ethan snickered at me.

"I have lots of friends now. I'm not alone anymore. I don't have to settle for you."

"That's temporary. You know that," Ethan chuckled. "How are they going to feel about you when that act you put on slips? I know who you really are, baby, and I love you anyway."