Chapter Two - Coffee Shop

Chapter Two

“And then Elliot came in all caveman-like and said, who’s fucking their ex?” Kim gossiped over a steaming cup of hot chocolate later that day in her coffee shop, The Grind.

Her manager and long-time friend Freddy grabbed another massive cookie and passed it to her. With a smile of thanks, Kim took the offering.

“No shit?” Freddy exclaimed as he went back to tidying up the counter. “What did you say?”

Freddy was gorgeous, tall with a muscular build, and far too many tattoos for polite society. He had that bad boy vibe down to a science. Back in the day, he’d rebelled against his parent’s wishes, smoked far too much weed, and somehow ten years of his life slipped away.

Now, at twenty-eight, Freddy was pulling his life together. Not only was he almost finished with his Bachelor of Science at the community college, but he’d also cut back on the weed and booze so he could help more at The Grind.

Kim couldn’t have made it through the last few months without him. Rolling her eyes, Kim tried to keep the envy out of her voice when she replied, “You know how utterly in love he is with my sister. All Mandy had to do was bat her eyelashes at him, and the next thing I knew, the sexual tension in the room was so thick I could cut it with a knife.”

She tried to pass it off with nonchalance, but she worried her tone might have been a touch harsher than usual. Freddy’s lips pulled downward into a frown, and he stopped wiping the counter.

Fuck, Kim thought to herself. The last thing she needed was to get someone else involved in her pity party. What was the matter with her?

With a look of confusion, Freddy watched Kim as he answered, “I would say that Brand looks at Mandy like Nate looks at you. Kim, why are you here at six on a Friday night? As much as I love talking to you,” he added quickly to assure her, “you haven’t closed out on a weeknight since before you were married.”

Much to Kim’s horror, tears began to sting the back of her eyelids. She bit the inside of her lips chanting to herself internally, I will not cry! I will not cry!

“Hey.” Freddy’s tone swapped from confusion to real concern. “Did something happen to that asshole, Andrew? His trial hasn’t started yet, has it?”

Kim’s lower lip trembled as she shook her head. For once, her slime-ball ex-husband wasn’t the cause for her upset.

Guilt ate at her as she tried to reason with herself. Technically, nobody had upset her.

“It’s not Andrew,” she said at last.

“Don’t tell me that Nate hurt you?” Freddy asked, puffing his chest a little while balling up the rag in his hands. “I don’t care if he has an inch or two on me. I will kick his ass.”

Kim laughed despite the traitorous tear slipping from her eye. Freddy was built in a way that kept the ladies coming back day after day. He could hold his own in any fight. “Not to worry, Wonder Boy, you don’t need to save me. Nate hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Wonder Boy?” Freddy made a disgusted face. “It’s more like Wonder Man.”

“That only works if you are married to Wonder Woman,” Kim said with a straight face, knowing that Freddy would smile.

“She won’t have me,” he said, with that famous bad boy grin that had the women in New York flocking to their coffee shop, “But the joke’s on her. I took her magic rope.”

Kim pretended to plug her ears. “I don’t need to hear about your bondage plans.”

Freddy’s grin widened into a genuine smile. “Fine. If you won’t tell me, I won’t pry,” he said at last.

“That’s bullshit and we both know it,” Kim replied saucily.

Freddy shrugged and went back to where he’d left the rag wadded up on the counter. For a moment, he worked in silence while Kim finished her cookie.

“You know—”

“Hey,” he began, just as she’d started speaking. “I’m sorry, go ahead.”

Kim picked at her fingernail for a moment, a sure sign that she was nervous. “Do you still want to buy the place?” she asked, waving her arm to indicate the coffee shop.

Freddy’s eyes widened. “Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I know that it’s special to you…”

Kim put a hand up, stopping him. “I want you to have it. I just—can I have some time to work out the logistics of buying me out?”

Freddy whooped, tossing his rag in the air. Then, coming over to where Kim was sitting, Freddy lifted her clean off her chair and twirled her around.

Kim, caught up in the excitement despite her earlier mood, laughed and threw her arms around his neck to steady herself.

“Crazy boy!” she teased. “You’re going to drop me and then Nate will have to come in here and kick your ass.”

“She’s not wrong,” Nate’s voice rang out from the front of the shop. “Freddy, why are you manhandling my wife?”

Freddy, not deterred from his earlier excitement, gently put Kim down and then bounded over to Nate, enveloping him in what could only be described as a bro-hug.

“I could kiss you, man!” Freddy said with enthusiasm.

Nate laughed and took a big step backward. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll pass.”

His eyes darted to Kim, but she was quick to avert her gaze. “Wow, look at the time! I didn’t realize how late it had gotten.”

Freddy gave her a quizzical gaze that she did her best to ignore.

Nate moved in close, slipping an arm around her waist and leaning down to kiss her cheek.

Immediately, Kim stiffened.

“Hey, I’ll just…” Freddy didn’t even bother to make an excuse as he flipped the sign to Closed and slipped into the back.

“I can just meet you at home,” Kim said brightly—too brightly.

“Kim.” Nate’s deep voice filled with concern and love only caused Kim’s tears to reappear.

“Can you lock up?” Her voice wobbled and Nate wrapped his hands around her pregnant belly, pulling her back into his embrace.

It took less than a minute before Kim melted into him, the pent-up emotion from a long day getting the best of her as she turned and cried into his white Eton button-down.

“We need to talk about this.” His voice was low and urgent. “I can’t stand to see you this way.”

She shook her head, getting makeup on his pristine shirt.

“Damn it.” She brushed against the stained fibers with her fingertips.

“I don’t give a fuck about the shirt, Kim. I care about what’s going on with you.”

The jealousy, hurt, and disappointment boiled up inside of her. Kim knew Nate loved her. Yet, this was the first time that he hadn’t picked her over everyone else.

It was stupid and selfish of her to over-react like this. Logically, Kim knew she was blowing things out of proportion. However, the little girl inside of her—the one who never was enough for her crackhead parents and later her drug dealer husband—could only see that, once again, she was second best.

Before she could stop herself, Kim blurted out the truth. “No, Nate, you don’t care about what’s going on with me. You care about what’s bothering her. Let’s not pretend here.”