Read Online A Hunted Man (The Men of Halfway House) by Jaime Reese - Free Book Online
Authors: Jaime Reese
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been working the espresso machine. He was proud of the fact that he was able to handle the machine without being subjected to any of the 'demonic steam' Bill swore would kill his motivation. He was thrilled customers were enthusiastic about having a choice between Bill's traditional American coffee and one of Cam's lattes. He was nowhere near close to earning bragging rights, but he was definitely smiling at the yums of approvals from each of the customers.
"Cam, we've got another order for a latte," Bill shouted over to him in the corner.
He steamed the milk in the metal jug until the right texture was achieved while he brewed the espresso shots. He poured the coffee in, angled the mug and started to pour the heated milk into the cup, kicking in a little bit of movement when it was halfway full to start creating the design. With the final tilt of the cup and top off of milk, he swooped a thinner stream down the middle in the opposite direction and successfully finished his first design.
I did it.
Cameron couldn't hide the smile that invaded his face. His first finished design and it was absolutely fucking perfect. The medium brown coffee drink surface had a gradient, from dark to white, forming the shape of a heart. He thought about adding a few dabs of chocolate syrup to accent the heart but decided against it, worried he'd just screw it up.
He took a deep breath to control his overexcited heartbeat. He couldn't remember the last time he had been so damn proud of himself. He walked slowly with the mug to avoid spills, happy as hell at having completed his first after so many attempts that morning. He gently placed the mug on the tray next to the register. He smiled, still admiring the perfect heart floating on the surface. He glanced up, his smile vanished, and he quickly looked away.
Mr. Regular had placed the order. Shit.
Seriously, what were the odds of that happening?
The irony was not lost on him.
"Oh my goodness, Cam. Is that a heart?" Lucy asked, clasping her hands together.
Cam nodded and hated the total awkwardness of the moment. His gaydar had been disconnected for the last decade, and he wasn't about to alienate the one guy he was actually interested in until he had a better handle on whether Mr. Regular was even gay. All he saw were questions in those silver eyes and the thought of getting his ass kicked for making an unwelcomed pass was not at the top of his list.
"Is this what you've been trying to do all morning?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah, um," Cam said, thinking quickly, "I thought it'd be nice to do this for that customer who was talking about her anniversary thing this morning?"
"Kathy, the one who's celebrating her first anniversary tomorrow?"
"Yeah, her."
"That's so thoughtful of you. I'm sure that would make her morning." Lucy excused herself when she heard the ding from the timer in the back room, and Bill went off to help a new customer with their sandwich order, leaving him alone with Hunter.
Hunter deflated. The questions no longer lingered in his gaze.
Cameron thought the best approach would be a professional one. "Can I help you with anything else, sir?"
Hunter's cheeks flushed with color.
Cameron cocked his head to the side, questioning. Is the attraction mutual? Or is it something else that's embarrassing him?
Hunter shook his head, avoiding eye contact. "I just need to pay."
Cam inhaled and let the smooth tone of Hunter's voice flow through his body. He rang up the items as Hunter withdrew his wallet from his back pocket.
"That will be six twenty-eight—"
Hunter placed the money on the countertop while Cameron casually observed each of his movements, however minimal.
"Sir," he added, remembering to keep it professional.
Hunter's cheeks flushed with color again.
Bingo. Cam didn't understand why that one word would trigger a heated flush of embarrassment in the man. Cam reassessed him. Hunter looked to be in his mid-thirties and obviously fit. The whole package was just
"Cam, we've got another order for a latte," Bill shouted over to him in the corner.
He steamed the milk in the metal jug until the right texture was achieved while he brewed the espresso shots. He poured the coffee in, angled the mug and started to pour the heated milk into the cup, kicking in a little bit of movement when it was halfway full to start creating the design. With the final tilt of the cup and top off of milk, he swooped a thinner stream down the middle in the opposite direction and successfully finished his first design.
I did it.
Cameron couldn't hide the smile that invaded his face. His first finished design and it was absolutely fucking perfect. The medium brown coffee drink surface had a gradient, from dark to white, forming the shape of a heart. He thought about adding a few dabs of chocolate syrup to accent the heart but decided against it, worried he'd just screw it up.
He took a deep breath to control his overexcited heartbeat. He couldn't remember the last time he had been so damn proud of himself. He walked slowly with the mug to avoid spills, happy as hell at having completed his first after so many attempts that morning. He gently placed the mug on the tray next to the register. He smiled, still admiring the perfect heart floating on the surface. He glanced up, his smile vanished, and he quickly looked away.
Mr. Regular had placed the order. Shit.
Seriously, what were the odds of that happening?
The irony was not lost on him.
"Oh my goodness, Cam. Is that a heart?" Lucy asked, clasping her hands together.
Cam nodded and hated the total awkwardness of the moment. His gaydar had been disconnected for the last decade, and he wasn't about to alienate the one guy he was actually interested in until he had a better handle on whether Mr. Regular was even gay. All he saw were questions in those silver eyes and the thought of getting his ass kicked for making an unwelcomed pass was not at the top of his list.
"Is this what you've been trying to do all morning?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah, um," Cam said, thinking quickly, "I thought it'd be nice to do this for that customer who was talking about her anniversary thing this morning?"
"Kathy, the one who's celebrating her first anniversary tomorrow?"
"Yeah, her."
"That's so thoughtful of you. I'm sure that would make her morning." Lucy excused herself when she heard the ding from the timer in the back room, and Bill went off to help a new customer with their sandwich order, leaving him alone with Hunter.
Hunter deflated. The questions no longer lingered in his gaze.
Cameron thought the best approach would be a professional one. "Can I help you with anything else, sir?"
Hunter's cheeks flushed with color.
Cameron cocked his head to the side, questioning. Is the attraction mutual? Or is it something else that's embarrassing him?
Hunter shook his head, avoiding eye contact. "I just need to pay."
Cam inhaled and let the smooth tone of Hunter's voice flow through his body. He rang up the items as Hunter withdrew his wallet from his back pocket.
"That will be six twenty-eight—"
Hunter placed the money on the countertop while Cameron casually observed each of his movements, however minimal.
"Sir," he added, remembering to keep it professional.
Hunter's cheeks flushed with color again.
Bingo. Cam didn't understand why that one word would trigger a heated flush of embarrassment in the man. Cam reassessed him. Hunter looked to be in his mid-thirties and obviously fit. The whole package was just
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