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“My sister?” He paused, so Wren nodded to show he was understanding. “She plans to come in here all the time with her, erm…her daughter? Soon-to-be daughter? I don’t…she’s adopting,” Percy flailed. “I don’t know what to call her right now.”
Wren softened even more toward this lumbering moron. He wanted to hug him, which was definitely new. Wren was a touchy-feely guy, but he wasn’t a hugger. Not of strangers, anyway. “I think daughter works just fine, don’t you?”
Percy bit his lip and shrugged, his gaze dropping to his feet as he took a fortifying breath that made his shoulders rise all the way up toward his ears. “She’s called Lila. She’s…six, I think? I haven’t been the best uncle with details. Anyway, she’s Deaf. The girl, not my sister.”
No shit, Wren thought sarcastically, but he kept that one to himself too, mostly because he remembered little Lila. She and…he couldn’t remember the mom’s name…had come into BrewBiz a few times that week. Lila always got a princess cookie, and her mom always got an affogato.
“I know her,” Wren said.
Percy groaned. “That’s what I was afraid of. The moment everyone in there learns Penny’s my sister, they’re going to hate her for the spectacle I’ve caused.”
Penny and Percy. Wren couldn’t help another laugh. Fuck, that was cute. He bit his lip to stop the noise spilling past his throat. “A couple weeks ago,” he said slowly, stepping a bit closer to Percy, “we had this group of—we call them Yoga Moms. I don’t think they actually do yoga, but they always come dressed up in their bright-colored spandex, and most of them have babies in strollers.”
The corners of Percy’s lips twitched. “I think I know the sort.”
Wren’s eyes squinted with his grin. “They came in here and lost their fucking minds when one of my coworkers refused to use his voice. We ended up having to throw them out, and I damn near called the cops by the end of the argument.”
“Bloody hell,” Percy breathed, and though Wren couldn’t hear that, he read it off his lips surprisingly well.
Wren grinned. “So, the fact that we didn’t need to call the cops on you has you way ahead in my book.”
“That’s not exactly a high bar, mate,” Percy said, his expression stressed. “I wasn’t trying to cause a scene. I just…I didn’t know. Then I felt like a right fucking idiot, then I terrified that poor bloke behind the counter.” Percy rubbed his face again, then dropped his hand like it was searing hot. “Fuck. I am so sorry.”
Wren took a step closer and, very slowly, with all the caution he’d ever been capable of, curled his fingers around Percy’s wrist. The man looked like he needed a hug, and it was taking all of Wren’s willpower to hold back. “Perce. Can I call you Perce?”
His cheeks pinked. “Er. No one ever has, but okay.”
Awww, this poor man. Jesus, he needed better friends. “Will you be around much?”
“Here?”
Wren nodded. “Here.”
“Well, I…suppose I…” He blew out a puff of air, and Wren became profoundly aware that Percy hadn’t pulled away from his grip. No, he’d leaned into it. “I’ve moved one of my offices here so I can be close to Penny and Lila. That’s why I learnt all that bloody fucking BSL. BSL,” he said and groaned loudly. “Fuck, how did I not know?”
Wren laughed very softly and stroked his thumb over Percy’s wrist. He watched as the man’s pupils dilated slightly. The way his lips parted. Wren was well versed on when someone was a sure thing, and while he wasn’t in the habit these days of hooking up with random hearing strangers who made fools of themselves at his work, he was starting to consider Percy might be a special case.
“I have a good idea,” Wren said.
Percy nodded. “Alright. I could use a good idea right about now.”
“Have dinner with me.”
Letting out a small choking sound, Percy stepped toward him instead of away from him. “D’you really think that’s a good idea? Won’t your friends be upset with you?”
“I don’t let my friends dictate who I eat with. And I think you need to vent a little more. I also think you might not know a lot of people around here, and the ones you did meet today aren’t your biggest fans right now. That will change when I go back inside and tell them what happened and why, but they might need some time with it.”
Percy slapped his free hand over his face and dragged it down with another groan. “I honestly should just crawl into a hole.”
Wren laughed and squeezed Percy’s wrist before finally letting go, watching what the man did when he withdrew his touch. He swayed. He swayed closer to Wren.
Yeah, he was a sure thing. Wren just needed to make sure that Percy understood that it was a onetime thing only. He did not do repeats. Ever.
“Give me your phone,” he ordered.
Percy obeyed like he was born to do it, and Wren felt his dick twitch behind his boxers. He was currently wearing the thin café uniform pants, so if he wasn’t careful, he was going to be very obvious.
It took Wren fifteen seconds to open up a new contact, and he quickly put his name and number, then fired off a text to himself. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and he buzzed with anticipation. Handing it back with a small grin, Wren kept himself close to Percy’s personal space. “Text me,” he said. “Technically I can stream calls through my CIs, but I can’t understand voices that way for shit.”
