Page 67 of Naked Coffee Guy

“No,” I told him, not even hesitating. Even though he has an endless view of the ocean and a kitchen built for a chef, I love having my own place, where I can control the environment and how I live. I can play music until two in the morning and sleep in until ten—as all my lessons are in the afternoon and I no longer need to wake up early to make the residents of Sunset Bay their morning lattes.

That said, I did splurge on my own espresso machine for my house, because good coffee is non-negotiable.

Also, just because I have my own place does not mean I actually sleep alone. If Mac isn’t sleeping over at my house, I’m sleeping at his.

And every morning after his run, he treats me to a bare-chested stroll through the neighborhood, the coffee I make him in his hand, and a shit eating grin on his face as I watch him from the window, ready to race him back to bed once he’s done.

I pluck at a few chords, then my fingers move into a familiar rhythm. “This next song was written a few years back with the help of someone really special to me. It was originally written as a song about a lying sack of….” I pause, looking at Finn, whose French fry-stuffed mouth is hanging in a grin. “Someone who speaks out both sides of their mouth,” I finish, winking at the kid, “But I’ve recently discovered there are many different sides to a story. Sometimes a lie is because the truth is too painful. Sometimes it’s to protect the people we love.” I look at Mac, offering him a crooked smile. “And sometimes it leads us to something better that we might have missed out on if we knew the truth too early.”

Mac tilts his head at me, and I know he’s wondering what I’m up to. I’ve been practicing this song for the past few weeks whenever he’s been away at the office, so he has no idea what’s coming.

“At any rate, this new song isn’t about any of that, though that was its origin. Now, it’s something a lot more fitting about how I feel about this special someone.”

I wink at Mac, then I close my eyes, letting the music take over me.

I was a broken fool when you came to me

A vacant pool of despondency.

You were uncharted waters, an endless sea

That captured my heart in spite of me.

Your words are ones I’ve never heard

Born from places broken and blurred

But full of hope despite the pain

You unravel the lies I’m quick to claim.

You tell me I’m wanted, that no one compares

And you undo the hurts I’ve suffered for years

My heart has been crushed time and again

But I see a beginning where I once saw the end.

You tell me I’m wanted, that I’m not a mistake

You kiss my hurts and mend my heartache

All the ways that they broke me and tore me in two

You pull me together; you make everything new.

When you say these things to me

You make me want to believe

But the daggers pointed at me

Have become the end of me

When you say these things to me,

You shield me from their harm