A Whole Latte Sass

by Marguerite Labbe

  “You didn’t have to tell me that. I was waiting for you to be ready,” Felipe murmured, the anger draining away from his stance as he rubbed his hands over Trask’s arms.

  Trask relaxed and reached for him. “It’s not like it’s a secret. I just don’t talk about it much. It happened, one more incident in a long string before I finally got the damn hint that if I didn’t get clean, I’d be dead. I know it seems like I dole my life out in small doses. But really you have the crux of it. I abused drugs and alcohol. Got into trouble for it countless times. If we sat here and did a biographical account it, would probably take days, and some of my memories are sketchy at best.”

  “Yeah, I have the gist, but there are gaps. Stuff you really haven’t done more than hint at. Like your family.” Felipe held up his hands as Trask stiffened. “Which is fine for now. I know there were some real bad parts. I can also see what you’ve made of yourself despite your past. I’m not screwing the twenty-two-year-old Trask. I’m pretty damn sure I would’ve told the twenty-two-year-old you to go sniffing elsewhere until you got your shit together. But one damn day, if this keeps going, and I’d like it to keep going, I’d like to know. It’s a part of what shaped you.”

  “I suspect if the twenty-two-year-old Trask came sniffing around, your dad would’ve chased me off with a shotgun, not exchanged concerns.” Trask pulled Felipe closer, relaxing now that the worst seemed to be over. That wasn’t so bad at all. “Though the thought of you with a younger me is one I don’t like. He was a selfish asshole, and you deserve better.”

  He leaned in to kiss Felipe and was shoved back by a hand on his chest. “Oh hell no. We’re not done.” Felipe glared at Trask. “First you had words with my dad, and you still haven’t said what those were. Not really. Neither has he, but I’m guessing part of it has to do with staying the hell away from me. Which brings me back to why you bowed out of Thanksgiving dinner.”

  “Look, I’ll give you the rundown how I remember it.” Trask leaned back against the wall and recited the conversation as Felipe listened with a frown. “I’m sorry if you felt that I was keeping things from you. In my mind it was over with.”

  Felipe cocked his head. “You really told him it was my decision to make?”

  “I really did.” Trask shoved his hands into his pockets as he eyed Felipe. Maybe this would be the end of the grilling and they could put this behind them.

  Felipe was silent a long moment, and Trask could practically see the thoughts tumbling around in his head, he was thinking so hard. “And about Thanksgiving?”

  “What about it?” Trask wasn’t sure he should admit one of the reasons he’d backed off was because of Mr. Suero’s attitude. Felipe would probably insist on him coming, then, and that really wasn’t the only factor.

  “You’re dodging the damn question,” Felipe said through gritted teeth. “What are you doing for Thanksgiving?”

  “There’s a young man who’s going through a real rough spot right now, and he was going to be alone on the holidays.” Trask had gotten used to not having family around for these times, but for Jason, an empty table was a raw wound. “I’ve invited him over to spend the evening.”

  Felipe’s eyes went flat with fury. “Is he cute?”

  Trask frowned. He could not keep up with Felipe’s emotional leaps. “I never really considered it. Even if he was, even if he swung in my direction, and I don’t know that he does, the last thing he needs right now is the drama of a relationship.” And Trask didn’t date within the meeting rooms. If a relationship didn’t work out, he didn’t want to feel like he needed to find another group. It would leave him homeless in a way.

  “So now I’m being overly dramatic.” Felipe’s voice lowered to a dangerous level.

  Trask pursed his lips and studied Felipe’s flashing eyes. That fury was still simmering there. Felipe never acted how Trask expected. He was waiting for curses and arm-waving at the least, not these still waters. There was a whirlpool stirring underneath, and Trask suspected he was about to get caught in the undertow. “Judging from the death glare I’m getting right now, yes, I’d say you are.”

  Felipe grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled Trask closer. For one breathless moment, Trask wasn’t sure if Felipe was going to kiss the sense out of him or deck him, and he couldn’t have said what the hell he’d done to earn either.

  “Fuck you.” Felipe smiled sweetly, let go of him, and sauntered out of the store.

  Trask heard the front door chime and scratched his head. He looked at Sophie, who looked back at him with the same confusion. “What the hell just happened?” She turned her attention to her toys, and Trask sighed. “You’re no help.”

  He went to the door, fully intent on calling Felipe back so they could finish this discussion, but when he got there Felipe’s taillights were already pulling out of the parking lot. “Well, hell.” Trask stared until the red glow disappeared, an uneasiness in his heart and utterly clueless on how to fix it.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “YOU NEED to tell your client he’s a fucking idiot.” Felipe tossed his phone on the table with an irritated huff. “We cannot do everything he wants within the time he wants it and at that ridiculous discount. I’m not working for pennies, and you’d better not either.”

  Abby’s dimples flashed as she set down her own phone. “I agree with your sentiment, but not the phrasing. If we go around telling potential troublesome buyers what we really think of them, we won’t be in business long.” She tapped her nail on the screen. “He may be an idiot, but he’s a potentially useful idiot. I say we use him.”

  “That sounds cold-blooded and devious,” Felipe scoffed. And dammit, intriguing. He looked at Abby with new respect. This was why Abby sometimes managed to best him. Felipe was too impatient to use the devious route.

  Those dimples deepened. “So you’re in, then?”

  It was on the tip of Felipe’s tongue to say hell yeah, but he paused. He really needed to be better about not jumping in headfirst without at least one moment of reflection. “What do you have in mind, Duchess?”

  “Hold that while I get another round of coffee. I want to think this through.” Abby uncoiled her long legs from the seat and stood up. “Another latte?”

  “Sure, why not,” Felipe said without much enthusiasm. The scent of roasting beans in the air was driving him nuts because it kept making him think of his first date with Trask. He missed the jerk. More than he’d missed Dakota when he tried pulling the same bullshit, always making other plans and setting aside their time together. Then he’d just been mad. Now he was all-around discontented.

  To make matters worse, Trask didn’t seem to be all that upset about their argument. If he missed Felipe, it sure as fuck didn’t show. He still texted Felipe, sent pictures of Sophie, asked how he was doing. He’d even called a few times, but he didn’t seem to be moping like Felipe was moping, and he sure as fuck wasn’t groveling. Felipe desperately wanted to see him, but if he heard one more excuse about why some other guy was more important than him again and plans had to be canceled because of it, he might lose what self-restraint he’d managed to hold on to.

  Abby returned and set a cup in front of Felipe as well as a small plate of raspberry thumbprint cookies, cut into heart shapes. “That heart looks like it’s bleeding,” Felipe said moodily as he picked up one and broke it in half.

  “Okay, what’s the problem?” Abby eyed him as she took her seat. “You’ve been in the weirdest mood all day. I can’t tell if you’re mad or sad or just hormonal. But it’s definitely not this potential commission that’s got you all worked up, so spill it.”

  Felipe wasn’t sure if he could open up to her. He usually shared all of his relationship angst with Morris, but it was impossible to whine to someone who was deliriously happy in their own relationship. It wasn’t that Morris and Theo didn’t argue. They did. Theo had a temper, and when Morris decided to get prickly, the spines lingered until he chilled. But they weren’t serio
us arguments. It was more spats that led to incredible makeup sex. At least that’s what Morris boasted about. Felipe wanted incredible makeup sex for himself.

  Felipe eyed Abby. “So there’s this guy I’ve spent the last couple months chasing, and he finally let me catch him.”

  Abby’s eyes widened as she picked up a cookie. “So you and Trask actually did hook up. You know, until the rumors came out about you and Dakota, I never realized you were gay. How crazy is that?”

  “For real?” It was Felipe’s turn to stare at Abby in disbelief. “How many fucking years have we known each other? How many times have you seen me in a skirt?”

  “It never came up in conversation. It wasn’t like we had heart-to-hearts. I didn’t want to assume.” Abby nibbled on a corner. “I mean, when you put it that way, yeah, I guess it’s obvious. But sometimes obvious is overlooked when you’ve known someone as long as we have. You were always hanging out with the girls in high school. Sue me. And Tasha Mack swore up and down that you two were screwing senior year.”

  A reluctant smile crossed Felipe’s face. Tasha Mack. Wow. He’d had a serious soft spot for Tasha back in school. “Actually, Tasha is now Terrence. He’s a dancer in DC and dating an accountant of all things.”

  Abby shook her head as she stirred some creamer into her tea. “The revelations keep coming today. Just between me and you, did you get it on with Tasha, or did you wait for Terrence?”

  Felipe smirked. “A gentleman doesn’t tell.”

  “Ugh, you’re impossible.” Abby grimaced. “Whatever, you’re gay and I should’ve known. I just figured you were a hell of a lot more comfortable with yourself than most guys our age were. So spill it. You’ve been chasing Trask, and I’m guessing caught means sex. So what? He dump you right after? Start acting like a royal jerk? Do I need to stomp his foot with my heel?”

  Felipe was a little touched that she was jumping to his defense. “I don’t know,” he admitted with a sigh. “I can’t remember ever being so worked up over a guy before. I guess it’s because I don’t know where I stand with him. He’s not demonstrative. He’s definitely not into PDAs. But get him in private and he lets loose, oh wow.” Felipe paused to appreciate that memory until Abby tapped his knuckles with her spoon and gave him a get on with it look.

  “I wanted him to come over for Thanksgiving because he doesn’t have family nearby.” Felipe paused as he looked back at his reasoning. “And I wanted him to meet my family, ’cause damn, I really like him, Abby. Maybe that’s too big of a step and I freaked him out.”

  He hadn’t thought of it that way. He’d just gotten Trask to start dating. Just got him naked in bed and suddenly he wanted to spring his family on him. And it wasn’t like Felipe had a small extended family. His family sprawled. And they were all up in everyone’s business. He never thought of it because he was used to them, and guests were in and out of his house all the time and they didn’t seem to be bothered. He just couldn’t see Trask being intimidated by a loud family, no matter how reticent he was.

  Abby frowned. “Your thoughts are rambling again. What happened? You asked him to Thanksgiving and what? He broke it off?”

  “Well, he seemed to be giving it some fairly serious consideration. At least that’s how it looked to me. Then apparently him and my dad got into it, though he denies it was a ‘confrontation.’ And suddenly he’s made other plans.”

  Abby shot him a glare of exasperation. “Why didn’t you lead with that? That tidbit changes everything. So Trask and your dad had words, and I’m guessing you weren’t around if you don’t know exactly what went down. Did either of them mention it to you?”

  “Neither of them told me a damn thing,” Felipe said bitterly and took a sip of his latte. “I had to find out from my little sister. So I snarked at Dad first. He thinks he’s protecting me. Bitch, please, I can protect myself. I’m just asking he give the man a chance, get to know him before he passes judgment. And yeah, I know Lolo is going to throw a fit. But I could be dating the President of the United States and the old man would still throw a fit because he cannot grasp the concept of his grandson being gay. So I’m not giving him any consideration.”

  “I have to admit, neither side telling me would piss me off too.” Abby stared down at her tea. “Okay first, I have to get this out of the way. I hate you, Felipe. I mean that in the nicest way possible. Trask is the sexiest guy at all of the cons, hands-down. I had no clue he was gay either, so apparently I have zero radar, and you managed to snag him. As far as I know, he’s never been snagged by any con-goer.”

  Felipe had to smile at the little boost to his ego. And she wasn’t making any comments about Trask’s age. Felipe was done with that too. If people didn’t like age gaps, then they didn’t have to get involved in that kind of a relationship. He did. He always had once he discovered he clicked better with men older than him.

  “Okay, before we get off track.” Abby met Felipe’s gaze. “So Trask and your dad had words. Your dad thinks he’s protecting you. What did Trask have to say about it?”

  “He said that my dad made his point and that Trask made his in return about me being capable of my own decisions.” Which was cool, though the fact that it was a secret still irked him. “He admitted to getting a little mad and defensive, but he seemed to think it wasn’t much of a big deal. And he seemed genuinely confused as to why I was upset about him not saying anything. Who wouldn’t want to know?”

  “Like I said, I would’ve been irked too if I’d been the subject of an argument and neither my dad nor my boyfriend mentioned it. I’m speaking from experience.” Abby took the other half of the broken cookie. “So what happened next?”

  “He called me a drama queen, so I left.” In pissy, huffy glory, which had felt good at the time, not so much now. There was too much unsaid, and now it was festering. With any other boyfriend, Felipe could have his fit and then return once he’d calmed. But the distance would always be a stumbling block to that response. He’d really have to rein that in if they wanted to go further.

  The corners of Abby’s mouth twitched, but she couldn’t stop the dimples from making an appearance as Felipe gave her a sour look. “Felipe, you are a drama queen.”

  Damn her for having a point. It was something that Felipe usually embraced, but not right now. “I wasn’t being one then.”

  Abby’s brow lifted, and she took a sip of her tea as she waited him out. Felipe replayed the argument in his head. Only he supposed it wasn’t much of an argument, because Trask had gone about it in his usual mild way when Felipe had been feeling anything but mild, and maybe that had irked him too.

  “Okay, maybe I was a smidge of a drama queen, but I had reasons. One, there was something off about Trask from the moment he found out I was subletting the upstairs apartment from my parents. He denied it, but I know it was there. I’d seen it before. Two, there was the whole confrontation with my dad that he neglected to tell me. Three, he’s having Thanksgiving with some other dude who he’d never mentioned before, and he had the audacity to call me dramatic when I called him out on it.”

  But now that he’d replayed the conversation in his head he realized that he hadn’t heard what Trask was trying to tell him. He’d only focused on parts of it. He banked on the hopes of having a good argument and wild makeup sex on the gaming table, and Trask hadn’t bitten.

  It was impossible to argue with someone so fucking reasonable. And Trask hadn’t exactly broken their plans like Dakota used to break their plans. Felipe had invited him to Thanksgiving dinner. All Trask had said was that he’d think about it and get back to him. Just because his answer wasn’t one that Felipe wanted to hear didn’t mean he was guilty of pulling the same shit.

  And Felipe owed him an apology. Fuck. He sucked at apologies.

  He glanced at Abby, who was watching him in amusement. She irritated the hell out of him too. She knew exactly what was going on in his head. “Okay, I get your damn point. You don’t have to say it. I’ll talk to him.�
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  “Well then, my job is done. And when you talk to him, find out about this other dude so I’ll know if I have to stomp him or not.”

  Felipe shook his head. “No… you don’t have to stomp him. If I’m going to be fair, I might as well be all the way fair. Trask did mention that this other guy had nowhere to go.” And he’d acted like a spoiled-rotten teenager, immediately latching on to only the fact that Trask was celebrating the holiday with another man. Now that he wasn’t being such a bitch, he bet it was someone from his NA group and not a potential rival.

  Abby, bless her, did not comment on that bit of asshattery. Instead, she gave him a smile and a shrug. “At least you’re seeing Trask and not that other dude from the Magick Den. The dude that hates cosplayers. I’d have to call you a sellout.”

  “Oh, fuck no, that pain in the ass who’d love to see me out of there? Ryan?” Felipe shook his head. “No, Trask Briscoe, Mr. Tin Man Silver Fucking Fox.” Felipe sighed and then grabbed her hands. “I think you’re my new BFF, for real. When I told Morris I was planning on seducing Trask, he called him an old geezer.”

  “Morris’s taste is suspect.” Abby sniffed in dismissal. “I heard he was engaged to a short line cook.”

  Felipe snickered. He couldn’t wait to repeat that rumor to them. Theo would laugh and Morris would bristle for him. “He’s not really that short. He’s my height, but anyone next to Morris is a shrimp. And as much as I love the gossip about him being a line cook, if I don’t correct that, Morris might kill me. Theo owns his own restaurant and is the chef. You probably heard of it, the Chesapeake Bistro down in Solomon’s Island.”

  Abby’s eyes brightened. “Oh yeah, we ate there all the time as a kid. Family place, right? I used to hang out with one of the daughters, Robin, whenever Dad had business dinners there that went on forever.” Then she held up her hands and shook her head. “Okay, we’re off topic again. Let’s get back to the client.”