by Noah Steele
“Olly, that was amazing!” Aiden shouted as he ran from behind the register to hug me. I tensed, rocking back at the force of my best friend’s excitement, but managed to avoid being tackled to the ground. His early morning gym hours with Derrek seemed to be paying off.
I smiled as I straightened upright, awkwardly hugging him with one arm as I tried to steady myself. “Are you still updating your website with new chapters before reading here?” he asked.
“You check my website?” I asked.
“You’re my best friend and I support you, of course I check your website.”
I shot him a look from under a raised eyebrow and he grinned at me on his way back to the register. I barely had time to turn toward some tables that needed cleaning before an elbow met my shoulder from behind. I whipped my head around, and a beaming brunette boy nearly dropped the tray of empty mugs he held up with a single arm.
Theo, the only part-timer left over from when Jolt was still a bookstore, looked like the smile he wore might crack open his slender face. “I know I was there when you wrote it, but hearing it out loud is kind of amazing. I’m really happy for you!” His smile, though manic, was contagious, and I couldn’t help but smile back as I flashed a quick peace sign in thanks.
“I still can’t believe people are listening,” I said. “It doesn’t feel real.”
“You’ve been putting so much into it! That kind of love for what you do shows, Olly. I should know.”
Theo’s soft eyes flickered briefly with a light that made me feel like I was looking in a mirror. Since the bookstore closed before Aiden reopened it as a coffee house, Theo’s band, Plastic Stars, had all agreed to put more into making it big. Their new single even got radio play on the local indie music station.
Aiden almost passed out when he found out his part-timer was also a member of his favourite band. Theo had been around so much when the bookstore closed that when Aiden told me he was moving in with Derrek, Theo jumped at the chance to take over his room and live with me. We’d gotten really close over the winter.
“Thanks,” I said as he continued toward the back room with his tray. “It just doesn’t feel like real life.”
“Since when does your real life match up to other people?” Theo called as he slipped through the door.
I nodded to no one as I turned toward the dirty tables again, pulling a cloth from a pocket on my apron. I glanced around briefly as I swiped some crumbs away to sweep later, taking a couple mugs by the handle into my free hand.
I was thankful that the place seemed like it was starting to clear out. We were all supportive when Aiden told us his plans for the store, but nervous about another coffee house opening in the neighborhood.
Turned out I had nothing to worry about.
It felt like we’d barely opened our doors for the first time before Jolt was the place to hang out for a drink. People were over bars and clubs, and Aiden was still in touch with booksellers to keep our mini-library stocked with a cool mix of books. I let my eyes wander again as I left the table and ducked between customers making their way to and from the front door.
The remodel made the place look completely different. It was hard to believe I was standing somewhere I’d spent so much time over the last few years. Everything felt lighter, brighter, and full of electricity. The rich, dark wood that made the bookstore feel cozy and classic had all been swapped out for something warmer and more inviting, and the wall behind the small stage had been knocked out to make room for a second window at Theo’s suggestion.
It made me nervous that people would be able to see me read from the street, but I got used to it, and it meant a lot more foot traffic from curious pedestrians. The rows and rows of dark shelves had been torn down to make room for a carpeted reading nook, with just a few shelves lining the soft lavender wall that stretched across the back of the cafe, the one thing I hounded Aiden about when I saw the buckets of barely-grey paint he and Derrek had settled on.
That, and the creamsicle orange chairs and sofa. I couldn’t work somewhere without a pop of color, and customers seemed to love it.
The bell above the door jingled, and I turned to see Derrek stride in, flashing his signature grin. A few heads turned to stare as he passed, and my chest shook as I laughed softly to myself. He was hot, and he knew it.
As soon as the weather warmed up, he ditched his jackets for tank tops if the sun even hinted that it might be out longer than a few seconds, and nobody was complaining. He made a show of swooping an arm across Aiden’s shoulders at the register, a few phones snapping not-so-discrete pictures of their hasty kiss before he disappeared into the back room, probably to pick up his next delivery order between instructing new drivers at Motorsport Park.
A cluster of guys huddled in a small circle by the door compared their photos, and my mouth dropped when Derrek stopped behind them, took one of their phones, and snapped a selfie before he was out the door again, leaving them all red and reeling.
“Control your beast, Aiden,” I joked as I walked past the register.
“Don’t worry, he’s leashed most of the time,” Aiden said with a wink, and my mouth dropped into a soft ‘O’.
“You two…” I trailed off as I shook my head and slipped into the back room, leaving my two dirty mugs by the sink where Theo was busy with headphones and tray after tray of dirty dishes.
I left quickly, passing short lines of people on my way to the bathroom, where I quickly threw open a stall door, slammed it shut behind me, and leaned my back against it.
I took a long, sharp breath in through my nose before letting it all out through my mouth, slumping forward as I exhaled. My apron buzzed, and I pulled my phone out of the front pocket to find a text from Aiden.
Aiden: Feeling ok? Saw you duck out. You can ditch early if you need to.
I forgot just how well we knew each other. I thumbed at my screen and tapped out a quick reply.
Oliver: I’m fine! Just tired, was up late writing. I can help close. :)
It wasn’t totally untrue.
I had been up late writing a new chapter to post before the next open mic, but I’d also been swiping through profiles on Knight for the first time in a while. I tapped absently at the edge of my phone, hastily clicking the app open.
Before my dashboard even loaded on the screen, a loud creak from behind me rooted me to the ground, frozen, and I nearly dropped my phone. Shoving it quickly back into my apron, I spun and left the stall, rushing past the customer who’d come in to wash my hands and head back to work.
I didn’t think I wanted to be recognized on Knight, a popular gay dating app, while at work, anyway, and brushed it off as a sign from the universe that it wasn’t the right time—although it never seemed to be the right time.
“Whatever, time is fake,” I muttered under my breath as I walked quickly down the narrow hall from the bathroom to the storefront, my head down as I noticed a dim glow in the pocket of my apron.
I’d forgotten to close the app.
I planted my feet too late as I skidded forward, one arm searching and finding no grip on the wall beside me as the other crashed into something dark and heavy on my other side. I clamped my eyes shut, bracing myself for the incoming thud against the wooden floor, but it never came.
I’d barely fallen halfway forward before I gasped and grunted, the air leaving me as a thick, black-sleeved arm held me up. The silver glimmer of a thin zipper flashed into view when I opened my eyes, but the boy who’d caught me was already back on his way before I could say anything.
He was several inches taller than me, his black hoodie pulled tight across broad shoulders and a trim waist. His arms looked every bit as thick as they felt when he’d lifted me to my feet, and his legs were just as muscular, visible even through his black denim shorts.
I clapped a hand over my mouth too late as I let out an audible gasp that made him stop and turn. His face was obscured by his black hood, but I could make out a chiseled jaw and lips that looked soft despite t
he distance he’d already put between us.
“Hey, thanks!” I called, taking a step toward the wall of a boy in front of me.
Without a word, he turned again and rounded the corner.
I slumped against the wall behind me, a few customers stepping over my outstretched legs to pass as I scorched a hole into the wall across from me with my eyes. Maybe I let everyone get into my head about dating again. Maybe I was reading into the simple kindness of a stranger.
Maybe that stranger felt every bit as electric as I did when he caught me.
Maybe he was about to say something when his lips, soft and pink and pouty, parted just slightly.
“Maybe I should just get off the floor,” I said, wrinkling my nose as I pushed myself to my feet.
I untied my apron, pocketing my phone, and hung it on a hook by the door to the back room as I passed Aiden and Theo behind the counter.
“I think I’m leaving now after all,” I said quietly, scratching the palms of my hands as I made my way out the front door before waiting for a response. They’d be fine. I’d text in the morning.
My phone buzzed as I began the long walk from Jolt to my apartment, the cool spring night brushing sweetly against my cheeks, and I quickly yanked it from my pocket to find a new message waiting for me on Knight.
My face lit up as I unlocked my phone and opened the app as fast as I could, the aftershocks of that hooded stranger’s pouty lips and powerful arms making my chest rattle.
OnePunch: I’m taking you out.
That was it.
My already thin frame deflated as I puffed my cheeks and exhaled. I stared blankly at the message as I took careful steps, the sidewalks oddly free of people for such a nice night.
I didn’t know what to say.
When I looked up to find I’d walked a block in the wrong direction, I turned back and moved my thumb to lock my screen again as a new message popped into view under the first one.
OnePunch: Glad you didn’t hit the floor.
It was him.
I rounded the corner and jogged the rest of the way home, phone heavy in my hand as I forced myself down the street, through the building lobby, and into an elevator.
Reading to a crowd of friends and strangers twice a month was second nature, but as I sank to the ground again in front of my closed apartment door, the current still running through me suddenly sparked out.
It had to be a trick or something.
A guy like that would never go for a guy like me.
But it couldn’t hurt to make sure.
