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Raphael makes me feel and want things I have no business thinking about. We’ve been feeding this entanglement for nearly three months. It started with shy glances at the café counter as I passed him his triple espresso with one pump of hazelnut crème and morphed into sweet moments outside the employee lounge and late afternoons when he kept me company as I prepped the café for the next day. A memory of Thursday last week slips into my head.
Another late afternoon shift cleaning the café. Heather, my boss, was gracious enough to hand me a few more hours so I could save up to fix my car. There’s a multitude of things wrong with it, the looming bill I need to pay wildly out of my reach. In a few weeks though, I’ll have enough. If nothing else falls apart.
I grab the broom and finish sweeping behind the counter, letting out a shriek when I see a man leaning against the entryway of the café. “Raphael? Shit! You scared me. How did you get in here?”
His dark chuckles as he presses forward have my dick twitching in my pants, my fingers tightening around the broom handle. Raphael isn’t just intense; he consumes and overwhelms my entire existence when he approaches. “I own the building, Atlas. Or did you forget that?” The jangle of keys reaches my ears and I try to pretend I didn’t just screech like a scared rat.
I am not successful.
“Right, of course. I knew that. I know that.” I’m about to start rambling, spewing off every animal fact I’ve uselessly learned over the past two years during my graduate degree in zoology. What can I say? The random facts keep me grounded, especially in the presence of this silver fox who somehow thinks my full cheeks and thick waist are attractive. I’m not ugly but not as thin as-
Two fingers pinch my chin from across the counter and I freeze as Raphael appears right in front of me, a quirky smile playing on his lips. “Stop thinking so hard, Atlas. I just came to keep you company before you finished up. Why do you keep all the lights off in here when it’s only just after 5 pm?”
I shrug. “People like to still come in here and ask for coffee or bang on the door if the lights are on.”
“So, you clean in the dark?” He laughs, releasing my chin and looking around. “How much more do you have to do?”
“I’ll be done in a minute.” I avoid Raphael’s gaze as I search for the dustpan and complete the tail end of my duties. When I finish putting everything away, an arm snags me around the waist and pulls me into a hard chest. I melt against my lover, a full day’s worth of work taking a toll on my body. Between graduate school, the café, and studying for finals, I barely have time to breathe which is why moments like this are everything.
One of Raphael’s hands sifts into my hair, keeping me pressed up against him as his head dips to the curve of my shoulder. “I’ve missed you, little one.” A shiver runs down my spine at hearing my pet name, the one that slips from Raphael whenever we’re alone.
“You saw me this morning when I ran you coffee,” I joke but I’m not ready to leave this embrace as I wind my arms around his back, my fingers brushing over expensive velvet. At least that’s what Raphael told me it was when I asked this morning.
“It’s never enough time. You going to let me take you out to dinner at some point?”
I sigh, burrowing farther into his hold. That’s been the question of the week, or the past few weeks, really. The mere thought of dining at some posh restaurant where I’ll have to dress up and behave sounds like a bore. I really like Raphael but not the world he lives in. I don’t want the riches, or the attention, or having to play a part. I’m just me. Atlas Stoll. “Maybe. Not tonight. I have finals next week and I need to study.” Excuses. I’m more than ready to graduate. My thesis was completed last semester. Unless I miserably flunk these last tests, I will still walk.
“Mmmm, can I at least walk you to your car?”
I slip from his hold and then offer my hand, trying not to laugh when somehow a man of 40 pulls off that puppy dog look. I couldn’t love this man more if I tried. Wait, love? Ignoring that thought, I allow Raphael to guide me from the café and into the parking lot, the man pressing me against my car to kiss me senseless before watching me get in and drive away.
I’m just happy that my car turned on that night and even happier that the clunker made it to the shelter where I spend most of my nights. Occasionally, one of my classmates lets me crash at their dorm if we have late-night study sessions but that’s far and few between.
How Raphael and I got to this point, stolen moments in his office, the lounge, around the back of the building, and in the parking lot after my shift? I have no idea. I’m not complaining but sneaking around is taking its toll. Raphael is a bomb I didn’t anticipate. I don’t hate it but… I’m starting to spiral. My schedule has always kept me on track but thoughts of my silver-haired god infiltrate my mind when I need to be studying. Or working. Or sleeping. Or anything really.
I think he knows it, only because he’s tried to ask me what’s on my mind a few times and I playfully brush it off. Besides, nothing is wrong. We’re having fun.
Fun where I’m just casually getting fucked in the CEO’s office.
I lean against the wall of this metal contraption, huffing out a long breath. Sitting atop the 15th floor must be a blessing but the elevator ride is much longer than I like. If I had the stamina, I’d be speeding down the steps to run off the excess adrenaline and need coursing through my veins.
“Hey lover boy!”
I jerk back to reality, blinking several times when the elevator stands open, Gerald hanging at the entrance, laughing at my lost expression. We work together at the café but unlike most of my coworkers, Gerald is obsessed with me and my ‘crush’ on Raphael. He has no idea the extent of it. “Don’t call me that, Gerald,” I grumble as I push past him.
“Why? It’s true!” He jokes as he skips behind me. Was I that hyper at 20 years old or is this just Gerald? Who knows? Either way, I’m not a fan. “Look, we’ve got morning rush and you just happen to skip out every time Daddy Pierce needs his coffee.”
I scowl at that. It’s the running nickname for Raphael because everyone has eyes. Everyone can see that that man hasn’t lost his shine. A younger version of me would have never entertained the thought of Raphael at my side. Now? I’m not sure what will happen when this relationship inevitably falls apart. Because it will. My boss’ boss’ boss can’t date me. He might even be that boss’ boss. I just know that when everyone finds out, it’ll be over.
Is that what June meant that it’s a revolving door up there?
Someone claps me on the back of the head as I walk back into the café and I look up to see Heather. My direct boss and the woman who runs this cute little coffee escape gives me a lot of leeway. She also knows the truth about Raphael. However, my break ended nearly 10 minutes ago and I’m a disheveled mess that somehow no one else has picked up on.
“Thank you, Gerald. Please return to the counter. I need to speak with Atlas.” Gerald snickers and points two finger guns at me as he returns to the kitchen where he prepares the fresh bakery items. Heather watches him go, almost as if without her eyes on him, Gerald won’t actually do his job. Then the woman turns back to me, her soft brown eyes giving me a once over. She reminds me of my mother before she passed away, a thicker woman who never lost the roundness in her cheeks. We’re nearly the same height at 5’7” but she holds an aura that I can never match.
A dominance that demands our respect and attention.
Just like now.
