CHAPTER ELEVEN
IT’D BEENa little over two weeks since Will moved into his new place. Two weeks of Patrick trying to convince himself that everything was fine—they’d had their fun, and now it was over. Exactly as they’d agreed.
Except Patrick was anything but fine.
He’d known going in that it would mean more to him than just sex, and he’d been so fucking stupid to think he could handle it when their time inevitably came to an end. He’d been so sure Will felt the same, despite what he’d said, but the weeks without hearing from him would suggest otherwise.
Everywhere he looked in Ben’s flat reminded him of Will and what they’d done together. It may have only been twelve days in the end, but Patrick had fallen so hard it might as well have been months. Staying in Will’s old room made it ten times worse, and even Cleo’s uncharacteristic show of affection felt like pity. She’d taken to sleeping curled up beside him, sighing as she settled along his front, as though she couldn’t believe how pathetic he was being but suffered it anyway.
He resisted the urge to shove her off the bed. Partly because he liked the company, which pissed off Ben no end, and partly because she would no doubt scratch him and take some skin with her.
Cleo wasn’t the only one acting strangely around him. Ben kept giving him concerned looks, as though he was minutes away from pinning Patrick down and making him talk, but thank fuck he hadn’t done it yet, because that was the last thing Patrick felt like doing. He needed to lick his wounds for a little while longer and then move on.
He hadn’t seen Will since he’d left, deciding it would be better if they kept their distance for a while, especially as it appeared Will felt the same. Patrick wasn’t going to be the one to initiate contact, at least not yet anyway. He’d been tempted to call a few times, had hoped Will might change his mind and call him, but neither of those things had happened, and it was probably for the best. But it still sucked.
His phone vibrated on the coffee table, and he picked it up, smiling a little as it flashed Christian’s name on the screen. “Hey,” he said, sitting up a little straighter as he answered. “What’s up?”
“Look I hate to ask on your day off, but I’m on my own. Max called in sick, and you know how rammed we get at lunchtime. Any chance you could come in?”
Patrick sighed and glanced over at the clock—eleven fifteen. The lunch crowd would begin trickling in soon, with the mad rush between twelve fifteen and one thirty. He’d never worked a Wednesday since he’d started there, usually he went running in the morning and lazed around in the afternoon, but he didn’t feel like running today. Fuck it, maybe a change would do him good.
“Yeah, why not. I guess the extra cash’ll come in handy.”
“Awesome, see you in a few.” Christian hung up, and Patrick hauled himself up off the sofa. Maybe he’d go for a run later. It might be cooler then, anyway. It would also keep him occupied while Ben went over to Will’s later for their monthly poker night.
By the time Patrick arrived at the coffee shop, there were already a few people waiting in line, and he hurried to ditch his stuff in the back room.
Christian shot him a grateful look as Patrick slipped behind the counter and started to take orders. “Thanks man, you’re a lifesaver.”
“No problem.”
They worked nonstop for the next hour or so, until the worst of the rush had passed. The place was still busy, but at least Patrick had time to catch his breath a little in between grilling paninis and working the coffee machine. Which was why he immediately noticed when the door to the shop opened and Will walked in.
Patrick almost dropped the latte he was pouring, recovering just in time not to burn himself. Will looked good—shirtsleeves rolled up and the top two buttons undone, revealing tanned skin. It seemed an age since Patrick had been able to kiss that spot at the base of Will’s throat, since he’d been able to touch him at all.
“Hey, you all right?” Christian followed Patrick’s gaze toward the door. “Oh shit. Is that…?”
“Yeah.”
Christian took the coffee out of Patrick’s hands and set it on the counter. “I’ve got this, if you want to take a break?”
“What?” Patrick looked away to find Christian staring at him meaningfully. “Oh right… um… yeah, okay. Thanks.” He glanced back over at Will. It must mean something that he came to Patrick’s work, right? There were other places to get coffee, but Will had come there.
Will sat down at one of the tables without getting a drink first, which Patrick could only assume meant Will was waiting for him.
Unfortunately Patrick didn’t realize how wrong he was until it was way too late.
“Hey.” Patrick smiled hesitantly as Will’s head snapped up. He felt his heart rate pick up as Will met his gaze, and Patrick remembered looking into those dark eyes as Will lay pressed against him. He swallowed thickly and forced himself to calm down. “It’s good to see you.”
“Oh, hey, Patrick. Um….” Will’s gaze darted to the door and back, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I didn’t think you worked on Wednesdays.”
It took Patrick an embarrassingly long time for the meaning of that sentence to sink in. He felt his cheeks flush and a lead weight settle in the pit of his stomach.
Not here for him after all, then.
“I don’t normally.” Patrick forced himself to take a small step backward, putting some distance between them and plastered a big smile on his face that probably looked as fake as it felt. “They were short-staffed so I came in to help out.” Patrick knew he should leave before he made things even more awkward, but he hadn’t seen Will in over two weeks, and it was harder than he thought to turn around and walk away.
“So,” he said instead. He gestured toward the empty table in front of Will. “Not getting a drink? You know I’ll have to ask you to leave if you don’t buy something soon.” Patrick tried for a teasing tone, but he was uncomfortably aware how far short it fell.
