Fire and Freedom - Book One of the Café Latte Trilogy

Chapter Thirty-Five - Jasper

"We're talking about relationships," Jenny said, and then grinned. "Not that you'd be able to input anything into this conversation."

"Ha, ha," Ross said sarcastically, and looked around, confused. "Jesus, Luce. The place is dead."

"It's shut, idiot," Jenny said fondly. "We've got more people coming."

Ross grinned, his smile as devilishly handsome as ever. I tried not to start when he looked at me. "Glad to be back?" he asked.

"Yes," I said, thankful that I hadn't lost the ability to speak. "It's nice seeing everyone again...you look well."

"I am well," he confirmed, and then eyed me from head to toe. "So do you."

"Thank you," I said, swallowing nervously.

I heard Lucie cough slightly, and both Ross and I looked at her. "Umm," she said, clearly trying to think on the spot. "You boys couldn't be angels and do something for me, could you?"

"Depends on what you want," Ross said, but took his coat down from the stand.

"I left the sign outside saying that we're open," Lucie clearly was pleased that she had constructed a ploy to get us alone. "Can you go fetch it?"

I looked at her in exasperation, but it was clear that she would keep thinking of ways to get us both alone with each other. "Sure, Luce, that sounds like a two-person job. Back in a moment."

"Don't you have a coat?" Ross asked, as I headed towards the door.

I shrugged. "It's not that cold outside. Wuss."

"Still your usual charming self," Ross said, following me as I opened the door and walked outside. "So, Tom said you did really well in your finals. Glad that it's all over?"

"Yeah, it's nice to be free from essays," I said offhandedly, trying not to look at him as we both headed down the street. "Lucie's sure as hell smooth."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him smile. "She means well."

"How're things at Social?" I asked him, trying to find something to talk about that didn't include our previous relationship. "I saw Aaron a few months ago at a wedding, he was best man. I didn't get to speak to him much, though."

Ross shrugged, locating the sign that Lucie had been talking about and pointing to it. "There it is. I don't know how things are at Social, I left about three months ago. I'm putting together my own company. We've got offices and everything."

"You quit Social?" I was shocked, leaning on the free-standing sign instead of picking it up. "Wow, congratulations! Is your company in competition with Social?"

"No," Ross replied, and smiled. "I didn't fancy going up against a behemoth like that. It's mostly just advertising, we work with the brands directly to help their marketing strategies. It's going well, we've got a few clients set up."

He dug in his pocket and brought out a business card holder, sliding one out and handing it to me. "Here. Anyway, you shouldn't be congratulating me - it's your party. What's your plan now uni is over?"

"God knows, I've had some offers - I might take one just to tide me over while I figure out what I want to do." I looked at the business card. It was black and glossy with his name and the company name embossed in gold. "Joss?"

"Mm," Ross nodded. "It's going through the initial hype phase at the moment. Hopefully that'll sustain itself for a while."

"What's the name for?" I asked. "I mean, I'm guessing something combined with Ross?"