Mr Garcia
Five thousand would get me out of the dorm, if even for a few months.
Oh, fuck it.
“Okay, one night,” I agree.
Porsha’s grin widens. “Fantastic. We start your training tomorrow.”
I close my eyes.
What the fuck did I just agree to?
Sebastian
I walk into the restaurant at exactly 7:00 a.m. Spencer and Masters are already seated at our usual table in the back. These breakfast meet-ups are all we seem to be able to squeeze in these days.
Time with my two best friends is precious.
Julian Masters and Spencer Jones.
We’ve been close since childhood. They’re the brothers I never had.
Julian has children, and now a wife, so all his spare time is taken up, and Spencer is newly married to his wife Charlotte who is pregnant. He needs these breakfasts with us to survive. She’s busting his balls and it’s hilarious.
“Hey.” I smile as I fall into my seat.
“Hmm,” Julian grunts while reading the paper.
“Can you stop being so fucking grumpy?” Spencer asks him as he butters his toast. “I’m sick of grumpy fucking people. They piss me off.”
“What’s grumpy about that?” Julian asks. “I said hi.”
“Oh, my fuck. Can you even hear yourself? It’s your tone,” Spencer rolls his eyes.
Julian fakes a smile. “Feeling a bit precious this morning, are we, Spence?”
“I am, actually. Good morning, Seb. How are you, my dear friend?” he asks sweetly.
I chuckle as I lay the serviette out on my lap. “Morning, boys.”
The waitress appears. “Can I take your order?”
“I’ll have the omelet and a fresh juice,” I say.
“Same.”
“Make that three,” says Julian.
She smiles and disappears.
“So, what’s new?” Spence asks, taking a sip of his coffee.
“Nothing.” I yawn and stretch. “I’m tired.”
“Not sleeping well?” Spencer asks.
“No, I’m fucking good to go.”
“Yeah, well, enjoy the peace.” Spencer blows into his coffee. “I have no doubt that Charlotte is trying to fuck me to death. By the time this baby is born, I won’t have a dick left. There will be two mothers in our family.”
Julian smiles as he reads his paper. “Ah, pregnant sex. Is there anything better?”
“Sleep, Masters. I would like some fucking sleep once in a while,” Spencer sighs. “I’m running on fucking empty here.”
“What a hardship. A hot and horny wife.” I roll my eyes. “Give me a fucking break, will you?”
“More coffee?” the waitress asks, holding the coffee pot up.
“Please.”
“Thank you.”
The waitress pours us our coffees and leaves us alone.
“Oh.” I smile. “Buddy has a girlfriend.”
“He does?” Spence sits up. “This is his first, right?”
“He called me last night, he’s that excited.” Buddy is my sister’s son. His father left when he was two, and I’ve been his stand in dad ever since. We catch up a couple of times a week. I couldn’t love that kid more if I tried.
“He’s bringing her over on the weekend,” I say.
“What do fathers say when they meet their child’s first partner?” Spence frowns.
“Fuck off,” Masters says flatly, never taking his eyes off the paper. “Plain and simple. Fuck you and fuck right off.”
We chuckle.
Julian hasn’t had it easy. His daughter Willow puts him through his paces with her bad partner choices.
“Well, I’m excited for him,” I smile wistfully. “Apparently, she’s the best thing since sliced bread.”
“Aren’t they all when you’re at that age?” Masters asks.
“What are you guys doing today?” Spence asks.
“Same shit, different day.” Julian shrugs.
“Well,” I pause and rearrange the napkin on my lap. “After I leave here, I’ll be driving across the city, through peak hour traffic, to go to a café to be served by the hottest woman I’ve seen in a very long time. Who,” I add, “makes the worst coffee I have ever fucking tasted.”
They both laugh at me.
“You drive all the way across the city for bad coffee?” Julian frowns.
“You couldn’t even call it coffee. I could literally die from this shit, it’s that bad.”
Spencer raises a brow. “Jesus, she must be hot.”
“She is. Way too wholesome and young for me, though.”
“Why? How old is she?”
“I don’t know.” I twist my lips as I run my hand over my stubble. “She would be in her mid-twenties, at a guess.”
“That’s not too young,” Spencer replies.
“It is.” I frown. “I’m in my late thirties. If I asked her out, she’d probably think I was a creep.”
“That’s because you’re fucking creepy,” Masters mutters dryly.
“My point exactly.” I hold my coffee cup up towards him. “Anyway, I have a plan.”
“Such as?”
“I’m going to keep going back there until she asks me out.”
“Atta boy.” Spencer pats me on the back. “Persistence pays.”
“That’s if you live through the coffee,” Masters says as he turns the page of his newspaper.
We finish our breakfast, and before long, I find myself driving to Kensington to the café. I’m not quite sure what it is about this girl, only that I’ve thought about her constantly, which is weird in itself. I don’t think about women… ever.