Chapter Text
“Only five minutes late, Florenzi? I’m impressed.”
There’s a teasing lilt to her voice that makes Matteo smile despite his hard eye roll. Amira is seated towards the back of a local café, one that he’s never been inside, and he decides he likes the comforting and homey decor.
Almost as much as he likes the warm smell of coffee that wafts around him like a gentle reminder that he’s barely slept in the last few days.
“Are you going to grab a drink?” Amira asks, the kindness in her eyes rivalling the laughter threatening to spill from her mouth. “Or shall I assume you’re prepared to begin despite the dark circles under your eyes?”
He groans audibly in response, but drops his backpack next to the seat across from her and heads to the short line in front of the counter.
His phone buzzes, a text message from Jonas he’s sure, and he tugs it from his pocket to entertain himself while he waits for the line to move.
“David! Can you cover me? I need to take a 10.”
Matteo glances up as the line moves and another guy moves into position in front of the cash register, tying an apron around his waist.
And it’s as if, in that very moment, the world slows.
He’s talking to the woman in front of him, motioning to a flyer in taped to the register, but Matteo can hear nothing but his own heart pounding within the confines of his chest.
He can’t stop staring, his eyes fixated on the way this guy’s smile radiates a warmth and brightness that could rival the sun. His eyes are a deep brown, filled with only the kindness he appears to be extending to the woman in front of Matteo.
He is...wunderschön. If Matteo was asked to choose a word.
The woman accepts her receipt, moving out and away from the line, and Matteo forces himself to the counter, ignoring the heat rising along the column of his neck.
He brings his gaze to meet “David’s” (at least that’s the name scribbled across his name tag) and he can’t help but notice the septum piercing.
Damn. This guy is way out of his league.
Not that he has a league necessarily. For men anyways. Because he’s Straight™.
Kind of.
David is now tilting his head slightly, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth and Matteo is 100% certain he’s missed something.
“I’m sorry?”
“I said,” the guy repeats slowly, his smile widening as he continues, “can I get you anything?”
“Oh, right,” Matteo says, raking his fingers through the flop of hair atop his head, probably making it look even more out of control than it was when he left the flat this morning. “Uh, what do you have?”
David arches an eyebrow in response, slowly turning to glance at the large chalkboard menu behind them before sticking his tongue teasingly in his cheek and saying, “Uh, coffee.”
Matteo silently wonders if Amira will even notice if he simply sprints out the back door, down the block, and locks himself in his room, never to be allowed to socialize in public again.
“Right, right,” he says, laughing in what sounds like a huff while David chuckles, his head tilted in that same endearing way he'd done it earlier. “I’ll take one of those.”
“What size?”
“The biggest you have.”
The guy stops, his hand hovering above the Ipad where he places the orders. Matteo’s gaze shifts slowly to his fingers and the thought of what they would feel like intertwined with his own crosses his mind briefly.
“That’s a lot of coffee.”
He’s not sure why he says it, but Matteo immediately responds with, “I haven’t been sleeping very well lately.”
David’s eyes soften in a way that makes Matteo feel more vulnerable than he has in a long time and he feels his fingers itching to run through his hair again, a nervous habit at this point. He knows his cheeks are pink and he prays he doesn’t notice.
Or will think it’s because it’s freezing outside. Even though it’s not. But it is cold.
David finally clears his throat and Matteo pays for his coffee, pretending not to notice the way his hand tingles when it brushes against his.
“What took you so long?” Amira asks once he manages to sit down, a page of notes already filled out in the notebook in front of her.
“Nothing,” Matteo shrugs, pulling his book from his bag and leaning back casually in his chair. His heart rate is beginning to slow to a regular beat, but he still feels warm and he tugs at the scarf wrapped around his neck. “How did you find this place?”
“My brother works here,” she says, motioning to where her brother is currently steaming milk and Matteo nods. “We can go somewhere else next time, if you want.”
“No!” Matteo responds, sitting up so quickly that Amira’s eyebrows raise, but he hardly notices. His gaze has shifted to where the baristas are all chatting, his cheeks warming when David’s gaze flits across the cafe, lingering on his for just a split second longer than the rest of the room. “I actually think this should be our regular study spot.”