Page 78 of A Coffee Away

She’d been paramount to my healing process, always there to tell us which step to take next. Sometimes I was tempted to ask her about my past. She had to know things I didn’t, but based on everything she’d explained, I was the one who had to remember. And she’d made sure my loved ones knew the importance of letting me heal on my own.

Memories, she said, were easy to change and manipulate, and the perspective of other people could affect my perception of the past. Only I could remember them as they were.

She walked to the door and opened it for me. “It’s been a pleasure getting to know you, Robbie. I know we’ve never talked about this, but you have wonderful people waiting for you to remember them. They loved you.”

My chest grew lighter at her words, and something deep within me stirred. There were people I’d forgotten. People who loved me.

I remembered Mom’s words: “You were so happy.”

What was I missing? Who was the man I drew again and again? And those dreams. Could they be real memories? Of eating out and salsa dancing. Of house music and lasers. Of laughter and friends.

Chapter 21: To Love Again

Esteban

The door swung open.

Robbie dried his feet on the coffee-bean carpet. A glance at Gaby was all it took for her to take over my order as I grabbed a towel and dashed toward my head-to-toe drenched boyfriend.

His cream shirt was soaked. He’d catch a cold in no time. I always fought with him about this. He loved the rain and never carried an umbrella. His immune system wasn’t as strong as mine, and he’d always get sick. Sometimes I wondered if he did it so I’d turn into this obsessed caretaker. He loved to be pampered.

“God. You’re soaked.” My chest almost touched his as I pushed the small towel into his hands.

He chuckled. “Don’t worry. It’s nothing.”

“I’ll get you another towel.” I ran behind the counter and came right back. I pulled up the sleeves of my burgundy Henley shirt and gently patted his wet hair. “It is. You know you’re prone to getting sick.”

He widened his eyes. “Esteban? How do you know that?”

I froze, and my heart pounded like crazy.

Fuck. It slipped.

I cleared my throat. “Everyone’s prone to getting sick if they get sopping wet like you are.” I continued drying his hair, then took a step back. “Now, go to your table, and wait for me. I’m going to treat you to one of my specialty brews.”

His body responded immediately. Goosebumps rose on his arms, and it was clearly not from the cold. He got pleasure from my dominant side. It was one of the many things that drove me wild about him.

Robbie accepted me as I was and knew I’d take care of him no matter what.

When he sat, something feral stirred within me. Something I hadn’t felt in a long time. The compliance and the way he obeyed set my whole body on fire. He was made for me, and I for him. I missed it.

My hands ached with the need to touch him. My cock throbbed to be inside him. To claim back what was only mine. A shudder of desire ran through me as I remembered the way he came undone for me. His moans as I cuffed him to the bed and pleasured him with my mouth. The way he took all of me.

I rolled my shoulders back and composed myself before going back behind the counter. I’d prepare his favorite.

Gaby darted her eyes between us and bumped my shoulder playfully. “Behave. Your eyes speak for you, and this is no place for what you’re thinking of.”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t hide my grin. She knew me well.

Drinks in hand, I made my way across the café.

Robbie’s khaki jeans wrapped his thighs snugly, and his tight ass fit the high chair in an oh-so-sexy way.

“Here. They’re mochas with oat milk.” I sat next to him.

“My favorite.” He sighed, lifting the cup to his mouth. “It smells heavenly.”

Robbie took a sip, then closed his eyes. He’d told me countless times how the creamy, sweet taste of chocolate mixed with the bold flavor of coffee fired his taste buds. How the silkiness of it as it slid down his throat made it feel almost like sin itself.