A Whole Latte Sass

by Marguerite Labbe

  Dakota was deep in conversation with Brenden, looking as if he couldn’t decide if he wanted to strangle his brother or brain him with his clipboard. Personally, Felipe would pay to see both. Mended feud or not, Brenden had a takedown waiting for him.

  “Those two just need to bone and get it over with,” Morris said as he came up beside him.

  Felipe did a double take, looking between Morris, who watched the brothers with an expression of aggravation, and Dakota, who was drilling his finger into Brenden’s chest, his face red as he ranted. “Have you lost your mind? They’re brothers.”

  “Not really. Foster brothers don’t count, not even when they keep up with their foster family. And they didn’t even meet until they were halfway through high school. They may say the words, but I don’t think either one of them ever considered the other a brother.” Morris clapped his shoulder. “I heard Brenden yoked you with Abby. How’s that going to work out?”

  Felipe tried to look away from the drama unfolding in front of them. He couldn’t hear what was being argued, but both Dakota and Brenden were on fire. And the way Brenden looked at Dakota… no, no way. Morris was out of his mind… maybe.

  “I need you to tell me if I’m crazy.” Felipe finally turned away. His brain could not be expected to process both him and Abby, and Dakota and Brenden in one day.

  “Yes.”

  Felipe scowled up at his friend. “What do you mean, yes? I haven’t even given you the question to that scenario.”

  Morris grinned and lightly punched Felipe on the shoulder. “Because the answer to that question from you will always be yes.” Felipe shot Morris the double bird, and Morris just laughed. “Okay, give me the scenario.”

  “I’m thinking about going into business with Abby Albion.” Felipe gnawed on the corner of his lip as Morris let out a low whistle.

  “Yep, certifiably nuts… though—” Morris broke off, his voice thoughtful. “You’re both driven and ridiculously talented, and you don’t actually hate each other. If you both can let go of childhood grudges, I can see it working.”

  Felipe breathed a sigh of relief. He could depend on Morris’s opinion. The man was as steady as they came. He cocked his head as Brenden stalked away. Holy fuck, was Dakota checking out his ass? Felipe turned his back on them as Morris shook his head with a snort. “Christ, this is bizarro world today. I can’t handle it.”

  Chapter Twelve

  TRASK KEPT a firm grip on Sophie’s leash as he glanced around the convention hall. Vendors and artists bustled around like a stirred-up anthill. It always amazed him how quickly a con got set up and taken down, moving with the precision of a dance. He spotted Ryan, loading full boxes onto a handcart, and walked over feeling a little self-conscious. He hadn’t planned on coming today. He’d led Joe’s anniversary meeting, then took care of some business at the Den, and when Gillian came in to relieve him, found himself driving out to Dahlgren instead of heading home to put his feet up.

  He’d told himself it was to help Ryan out, but halfway to the con, he’d admitted it was really to see Felipe. He’d learned that lying to himself only led to bad things. And he was not about to start that nonsense with Felipe.

  Ryan glanced up in surprise as Trask neared. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to surprise a certain someone.” Trask eyed the products that remained to be packed and the rest of the boxes to be loaded. “And I figured I could give you a hand so it won’t take so long for you to head home. I’m sure Reva is working her usual magic in the kitchen.”

  Ryan shook his head as he crouched down to hold out his hand to Sophie, who sniffed it curiously. “I’m glad you finally got around to getting another companion. It’s about time.”

  “Sit,” Trask commanded, pointing to the ground, and Sophie plopped her wiggling butt down. Trask fished a treat out of his pocket and she popped right back up. “Good girl. She’s a smart one, listens, but her attention span doesn’t hold for long. Not that I can blame her. She’s been doing pretty good at the Den, don’t you think?” He got her to sit again and gave her the half piece of biscuit.

  “I do. She’s a beaut,” Ryan approved, making Sophie ecstatic with a full-body rub. “You never said where you got her.”

  Trask chuckled, knowing how this would throw his friend. “Felipe gave her to me. She was his favorite puppy of his dog’s litter, and he saw my pictures of Spaz. So he introduced us, knowing what the results would be. Devious imp.” It still made Trask marvel at how easily he’d fallen for his ploy.

  Ryan shot him a startled look and then eyed Sophie thoughtfully. “Maybe he’s not so bad. He seems to be prodding you out of your rut.”

  “What is that doing here?” Brenden appeared out of nowhere and pointed an accusing finger at Sophie. “I know you don’t need a service animal, Briscoe, so unless you’ve got a good reason, get it out of here.”

  “It’s too cold for her to wait in the car,” Trask objected. “Have a heart. I’ll keep her out of the way while I help Ryan load up.”

  “You’re not even on the roster.” Brenden frowned, looking at his clipboard as Sophie sniffed around his feet with a little whine for attention. “What are you doing here?” Brenden unbent enough to crouch and hold out his hand to the puppy, and his eyes softened as she pressed in close for a little loving attention. She was not people shy at all, which was good because sometimes there were all kinds of folks coming to the Den.

  “You’re here!” Felipe’s joyful voice cut through Brenden’s incipient lecture. He bounded through the milling vendors and con staff, his black robes swirling around him. Not many could pull off a full Draco Malfoy costume and look as sexy as Felipe did. Though Trask wished he’d ditch the platinum-blond wig. He loved Felipe’s dark curls. Heedless of his costume, he fell to his knees before a madly wiggling Sophie. “I’ve missed you, baby. Look how big you’ve gotten. Tin Man’s been taking care of you, hasn’t he?”

  Tin Man…. That wasn’t the first time Felipe had referred to him that way. Where had that come from, Trask asked himself as he watched the reunion.

  “I see where you rate in the relationship,” Ryan said in an aside as he hefted another box.

  “Never get between a man and the love of a dog.” Trask met Felipe’s gaze. Felipe’s smile turned wicked, and he leaped to his feet again. Trask’s heart thumped hard.

  “Suero, how many times do I have to tell you that you’re supposed to exit the con with the other attendees?” Brenden asked in a voice thick with exasperation as he threw up his arms. “Does anybody follow the rules around here?”

  “I don’t know how you can keep track of all your own rules.” Felipe rolled his eyes. “You must have them tattooed on your spleen.”

  “Well, it’s not like they’ve changed much.” Trask came to Brenden’s defense. He got it; it was a safety issue. Brenden wasn’t a complete martinet. Dogs and nonattendees should be out of the way as the breakdown happened.

  “You and Brenden and your rules.” A teasing glint came into Felipe’s eyes. “It’s a good thing you two never hooked up. You’d never be able to find each other’s dicks.”

  Trask stifled a chuckle as Brenden turned his stern eye on Felipe. Trask knew why he had his rules, though he had no idea what drove Brenden.

  “You and you. Go.” Brenden pointed to the puppy and Felipe, and then he turned that finger on Trask. “And you too if you’re not loading.”

  Felipe held out his hand for Sophie’s leash. “I’ll keep an eye on her while you help Ryan and Cranky finds someone else to harass.”

  Trask’s lips twitched until Brenden turned that steely eye back on him. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

  “No problem.” Felipe stole a quick kiss in front of everyone, winked, and then snapped his fingers at Sophie. “Come on, girl. Let’s go cause a ruckus outside.”

  “No ruckuses, shenanigans, or running amok,” Brenden called after him. “Do you hear me, Suero?”

  Trask shook his head and st
arted packing as another renegade vendor caught Brenden’s eye. “What does he think he’s doing trying to take that scaffold down by himself?” Brenden hurried off to deal with him, his voice carrying across the empty hall as he berated the vendor and called for Dakota to help.

  “That man is going to give himself a heart attack before forty if he doesn’t chill out,” Trask said, neatly organizing the games as he went with the ease of long practice. He really needed to try out that new Pandemic expansion. Maybe he’d break it out this week and test it with whoever was hanging out in the back of the Den at the time. The designer had made several games that always left him wanting to play another round as soon as he finished the first one.

  “That’s Brenden’s problem.” Ryan lifted another box onto the trolley and then stood back to eye the remainder. “We did pretty good today.”

  “Always glad to hear that.” Trask wouldn’t call himself rich, but investments he’d made had paid off, and the collections he had in storage were worth quite a bit. He made a killing online. The biggest plus, though, was he made a living off hobbies he loved.

  “How was the meeting? Old Joe made it another year, huh? How many is that?” Ryan asked as he locked up the money box and buried it in a crate.

  “Meeting was good. Joe’s got thirty-one now.” Trask remembered when a year seemed like an impossible lifetime. When Joe had latched on to him, Trask had been out of hope, out of time. He’d go a month or two of being clean, even once managed to make it almost a year, and then dove right back into hell. That man had saved his life. He might be a cantankerous old bastard, but there wasn’t a damn thing that Trask wouldn’t do for him except start using again.

  “So you and the kid… that’s actually a thing?”

  Trask wished Ryan wouldn’t put it like that. It made him feel like an old lecher. “We’re feeling it out. He seems to have no reservations, which is probably good because I have them all.”

  “Just as long as none of the reservations have anything to do with whether or not you’d be good for him.” Ryan shot him a pointed look. “Your past is just that, your past. Long gone. You’re not that guy anymore, so don’t judge yourself by that.”

  Trask was oddly touched by Ryan’s words and not sure how to respond, so he merely nodded and kept on packing. “Besides,” Ryan continued, “I think he needs to consider whether or not he’s good enough for you.”

  “Give him a chance.” Trask sat another box on the trolley and strapped it down. “Look past his age and the fact that he’s a cosplayer and get to know him. There’s more to him than people think.”

  Ryan looked as if he were about to argue and then paused. “I still have reservations, but you’re right. If you’re serious about this, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. You’re usually a good judge of character.”

  “I think you’re reading way too much into us.” Trask stepped back and looked around to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything. “We’ve had a couple dates. We’re not jumping into anything serious, just enjoying each other’s company.”

  A faint smile crossed Ryan’s face. “Okay, my friend. Let’s get this loaded so you can go find your boyfriend. I do have to remember Morris considers him a close friend. Morris wouldn’t put up with a genuine jerk.”

  After they loaded up, Trask shut the back doors to the Magick Den’s van and thumped his fist against the panel. “You’re good to go.” He gave a thumbs-up to Ryan. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Ryan stuck his hand out the window and waved as he pulled away. Trask had saved him a little time by helping him pack up. Now he could head home early, lock the van in the garage, and spend time with his fiancée. Trask and Ryan would worry about unloading the product in the morning.

  Trask turned and searched the shadows under the streetlamps for Felipe. He was walking around the perimeter of the building with Sophie sniffing every bit of greenery she could find at the extreme end of her leash. He’d donned a cape with a hood, and if he wasn’t at a con, he’d look sinister; now he just blended in.

  Trask shoved his hands in his pockets and made his way toward him. He wasn’t entirely sure what prompted this last-minute plan to come up here to see Felipe, other than he just wanted to see him. It had been a couple of weeks, and the nightly conversations and morning texts were just not enough anymore. Besides, if Trask was going to go meet Felipe’s family for the holidays, and it looked more and more like he was going to cave, he’d like more than three dates behind them. Time was counting down. They had the game next weekend, and then it was Thanksgiving.

  “Hey,” he called softly to Felipe as he got closer. “Nice cape, though I love the whole look.”

  Felipe turned around, sweeping the hood off. “Yeah, I figured since it was getting colder it would be nice to have and not ruin the look.” He cocked his head. “I wasn’t expecting you. I thought you had a thing to go to.”

  “I did.” Trask dropped a kiss on Felipe’s lips, and before he could pull back, Felipe locked his arms around Trask’s neck and kissed him until Trask’s thoughts spun. He stared down at the self-satisfied expression in Felipe’s eyes and tried to collect his scattered wits. “I uh… wow, I forgot what I was going to say.”

  Felipe’s smirked widened and he patted Trask’s cheek. “You were talking about after your thing.”

  “Yeah… I thought maybe we could catch dinner together.” Someplace where they could take the food out to the car and linger for a couple of hours without pissing off the waitstaff. He didn’t want to leave Sophie alone.

  Felipe glanced down at Sophie. “You’ve been taking good care of her. I can see how happy she is with you.”

  Distracted, Trask looked down at the puppy. “Yeah, she keeps me on my toes. She’s pretty amazing. Into everything and chewing apart all her toys.” Not to mention his headset, a pillow, and an old sneaker he didn’t even remember he had.

  “That’s what the smart ones do.” Felipe was watching Trask in an inscrutable way. It was a bit unsettling. Usually he was very easy to read. Despite the toe-curling kiss he’d just given Trask, he was starting to wonder if Felipe wanted to take a step back from this… whatever they had going on. “You had me pining for you today. I don’t do pining. And I sure as hell don’t admit it if I get into such a high school state.”

  Trask smiled slowly and reached for Felipe’s hand. He didn’t try to pull away. “Is pining when you can’t stop thinking about the other person?”

  “Yep, and long to be with them.” Felipe squeezed Trask’s hand.

  “And you wish they were there so you can share something small and silly that happened during your day, that probably means nothing to anyone, but you just like sharing it with them and they listen anyway?” Trask asked as he drew Felipe closer.

  “That would be it.” Felipe slid his arms around Trask’s waist. “I kept walking by your table to the point where Ryan started shooting me looks like he meant to brain me.”

  Trask chuckled because he could just picture it. “Well if that was pining, you weren’t doing it alone.”

  “I was really hoping you’d say that.” Felipe kissed the fluttering pulse at Trask’s throat. “And since you did, how about we pick up some takeout from the Indian restaurant everyone is hanging out at, and then you can drive me back to my place.”

  The innuendo in Felipe’s voice called to him. Yes. Every part of Trask’s body focused on that one answer, but Trask pulled back to look at him to be sure this was what Felipe wanted. Pure male satisfaction and certainty stared right back at him. This was a temptation Trask was happy to succumb to. “I didn’t bring any protection with me.”

  “That’s okay,” Felipe said with a wicked grin that stoked the banked fire that had been smoldering ever since Trask decided to head up to Dahlgren. “I have plenty.”

  Trask captured that smirking mouth in a quick kiss and headed toward his car before Felipe could give everyone another show. “Is it far to your place?”

  “It’s just o
ver the bridge in Maryland.” Felipe gestured vaguely in the general direction of the river. “Let me text Morris and let him know I caught a ride home. Did you want to pick up the takeout or raid the fridge later?”

  Trask had been to the Indian restaurant Felipe was talking about, and he was tempted. They had the best food in the area and plenty of vegetarian options. But if they went there, Trask would have to be sociable for a good thirty minutes while they waited. Felipe was an outgoing soul. The complete opposite of Trask. He’d be drawn into conversations with no effort, and Trask didn’t feel like being any more sociable than he already had today. He’d bared all at the anniversary meeting, and now he wanted Felipe all to himself and some quiet time. Pure selfishness.

  “As much as I’ll miss the dinner, I want you more.” Trask opened the door for Felipe. Okay, that made it sound like all he cared about was screwing him. “I mean, I want to spend time with just you, on top of wanting you.”

  Felipe laughed and slid into the car. “I’ll take that both ways. Don’t worry. I’m sure there is plenty to raid in the kitchen.”

  Trask caught a squirming Sophie and attached her to the seat belt harness. When she got bigger she’d be able to see out of the window when she stood, but for now, Trask distracted her with several toys she could gnaw on so she wouldn’t torment him with her occasional whine. He always felt so bad when she did.

  “You put the dog in a harness?” Felipe asked with a note of incredulity. “That takes all the fun out of riding in the truck.”

  Either Felipe managed to train the puppies to stay off him as he drove or he didn’t notice the distractions. Trask rubbed the top of Sophie’s head and slid into the seat beside Felipe. “You ever wrap your car around a tree?”