Dangerously Sweet (MxM)

Chapter 8

"I'm sorry?"

He peeked over at me, grinning wider. "I was confused at first, after hearing the orders," he matter-of-factly stated. I noted his carefree attitude as if he was placing a coffee order instead of walking a previously imprisoned man to his freedom. I couldn't help but think this was just another day of work for him, and suddenly it was me feeling pity for him. 

How much of the carefree attitude was a ploy? A mask to hide behind. Was it possible for someone with a light, airy energy to be surrounded by so much darkness consistently?

 "Sending you home...well, that's a big risk," he pulled me from my train of thought with his explanation. "A massive risk. A risk Sorren would never take. Yet..." his eyes glanced over at me again, "Today he's taking that risk and here I am wondering why?"

We walked through the hallway, taking occasional turns as he spoke. I began chewing nervously on my bottom lip, assessing the other man's words. The truth is, I was wondering the same thing. I never expected to just be released, so spontaneous and carefree, as if without a second thought.

"I've known you for maybe five minutes, and already I can understand."

I scoffed, watching him closely. 

"You don't know anything, and you don't know me," I challenged. He chuckled to himself in response. 

We reached the large double-door entrance of the building, where two guards were posted. As we neared, they opened the doors for us to pass through. Outside there was an all-black SUV with dark window tint waiting, the engine already running.

"Besides, isn't it kind of frowned upon to have such a casual conversation with an ex-prisoner? I would imagine in your line of work, the fewer words the better. I can't imagine others would be too happy to learn of our chat."

The man I was speaking to opened the back passenger door, ushering me inside. I threw my foot up, heaving myself up into the cab to take a seat. 

I looked back at the man, who winked at me. "Then I guess it pays to be close to the boss, but I'm sure you would understand that," he teased before shutting the door. The vehicle drove forward immediately, away from the chaos. 

____________

Just like that, I was back home and to my 'normal' routine.

Even so, I had spent the entire night tossing and turning in bed, trying to make sense of it all. The meeting. The kidnapping. The white-haired man. The time with Sorren.

The kiss.

I felt crazy, but after everything I'd been through over the last 24 hours, that was the most prominent memory. The thought of Sorren's lips pressed against mine left me feeling just as light-headed as I had felt when the kiss happened. 

I stood leaning against the counter of the cafe, daydreaming about said man's lips when the front door of the shop opened up. I was pulled from my daydream and I dragged my gaze up to meet our most recent customer. When doing so, I couldn't help but notice the recurrent face in the corner. The same face which had been there all morning, since I opened the cafe. The same eyes I kept making contact with, suggesting they were always waiting, always watching. 

It left me feeling uneasy. The man in the corner ordered a coffee early in the morning when he first arrived but it's been hours since and he's yet to order anything else. He barely spoke ten words to me since I first laid eyes on him, and considering the whirlwind of a day I had yesterday, I could only assume the worst from him. 

I took the newest customer's order and quickly made it. I had given Sarah the day off today since she ended up staying the entire day yesterday while I was... indisposed.