Coffee and Cafés - Book Two of the Café Latte Trilogy

Ristretto

Anthony finished up his talk about the beans and said, "Well, we have another ten minutes, so if you'd like I can make you a taller drink with your favourite espresso, and then I'll put together a little box of samples for you to take home."

I pointed to the Ethiopian bean. "Can I buy a big bag of that one, please?"

"Of course!" Anthony smiled, as Angelo chuckled next to me. "What coffee would you like now?"

I perused my options, but settled for a mocha, wanting to see how the coffee bean mixed with the chocolate. Angelo opted for a Malaysian bean in a latte, and Anthony happily got to work making those for us.

"How are you feeling?" Angelo asked. "You have had a lot of coffee."

I grinned. "I could probably vibrate out of my chair right now, I won't lie. How are you doing?"

"I had about half as much as you," Angelo checked his little cups to see what volume he had consumed. "But I'm not as practiced as you are with caffeine, so right now my heart is pounding." He winked at me. "But that often happens around you."

"God, that's bad," I groaned at it, but secretly I was pleased. Anthony handed us our coffees and excused himself to fetch the bag of coffee I wanted. Angelo gave Anthony his credit card, and I protested, but Angelo simply said, "I'm allowed to buy my boyfriend gifts. Especially when that gift is coffee."

I blushed a little, but accepted the gift happily. I was buzzing with happiness and caffeine, and Angelo's hand was at my lower back as we walked out of the coffee shop together. I felt so warm inside, even though the temperature outside had dropped a little bit. I sighed happily, winding my arm around his waist. "This was a wonderful, wonderful date."

Angelo kissed my forehead. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, tesoro."

"You're doing everything in your power to make me fall head over heels, aren't you?" I teased him, and his cheeks turned a little pink as if to confirm my words. I grinned. "Knew it."

*****

I went back to Angelo's with him after our date. I liked Angelo's flat; he lived by himself in a one-bedroom place, so we went to his when we wanted to avoid Raven hearing anything. His flat was so beautifully him; from the navy blue and deep red accents, to the framed photos of Cinzia and his family, to the billion recipe books on his counter. It smelled like cedar, coffee, and roses, and I inhaled deeply whenever I walked in, feeling the comfort wash over me. It smelled like him.

"You always sniff my flat," he laughed, walking in behind me and taking his shoes off.

"I like the smell," I protested. I liked when Angelo took his shoes off; there was something so cute about seeing him fully dressed in his usual classy attire, but with socks with animals printed onto them. He told me once that Fliss and Della always bought him socks for his birthday and Christmas, so he had dozens of pairs of cute animal-print socks. The socks he currently wore had little foxes on them, and I loved it.

"Would you like dinner?" he asked.

I brightened even more. "Yes."

Angelo smiled warmly and selected a recipe book from his collection, flipping the pages with his elegant fingers until he found what he was looking for. I peered over to find it was a seafood pasta dish called buranella. "That looks so good," I said eagerly.

He laughed and kissed me. "I love cooking for you; you're always so appreciative."

I kissed him back, forgetting immediately about the food as his fingers threaded through my hair. Making a happy noise, I pressed myself against him, my arms wrapping around his neck. I felt him pull away slightly as though to insist on cooking dinner, but then I heard him sigh as he gave in quickly and put the book down. His hands slid to my ass and he pulled me up onto the counter, stepping between my legs to kiss me firmly.

"You are a very nice distraction from dinner," he teased me as he pulled away.

I went to joke that there was something else he could eat, but Angelo's phone ringing distracted us both. Quickly, his face fell, and he rushed to his jacket to retrieve his phone. "Hello?" he asked, answering it quickly. "Ciao, mamma. Va meglio?" He paused while his mother answered and said, "Va bene, sarò lì presto. Ciao."

He hung up and took a deep breath. "Alright, my father is going in for a double bypass surgery. Mamma says we can fly out now. If I book flights for Cinzia and I, would you be able to drive us to the airport so we do not have to pay the parking fees?"

"Of course," I nodded, hopping off the counter. "Want me to call Cinzia while you pack?"

"Please," he said, kissing my hand. "Thank you, baby."

I smiled and took my own phone, quickly dialling Cinzia's number. She answered after it barely finishing one ring, so I knew she was waiting by the phone. "Hey, Cee," I said. "Your mum called, your dad's going to have a double bypass surgery. Angelo is packing now and we'll come pick you up in half an hour to get to the airport. Is that okay?"

"I'm packed and ready," she replied, sounding very tense.

"Are you holding up okay?" I asked, concerned.

Cinzia sighed. "Me, yes. Fliss, not so much. Della doesn't know yet, but she knows something is wrong. I don't know, it's going to be complicated - this is the first time they've both had to deal with a family member being sick."

"If they need anyone to talk to, I've got my phone on me," I reminded her.

"Thanks, Tom," she said, and then sighed again. "I'm going to get my shoes on and nervously pace for twenty minutes. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay," I replied. "See you soon." I hung up and called to Angelo, "All good! She's ready whenever we are."

Angelo's voice came back from the bedroom. "Thank you! There's a flight out at five, and one at seven, so it just depends on how quickly we get there."

I heard the slight crack in his voice, so I quickly rushed into the bedroom and held out my arms. He gratefully scooped me up, holding me tight to his chest. He squeezed me tightly and I felt my heart ache for him. "Would you like me to come with you?" I asked.

"You have no idea how much I would like that," he sighed. "But I should focus on my sister and mother right now, they'd want it to just be us."

"I'm only a phone call away," I reminded him. "The moment you need me, I'm there."

Angelo kissed my cheek gently and said, "I am a very, very lucky man."

*****

Author note: Just so we're all aware, my Italian is pretty terrible and I apologise for any translation errors :')