Play With Me - Brittany Cournoyer Page 0,25

of my relationship with Jennifer, while the others had moved away as soon as we graduated. Or they were busy with their own lives. While a few of us met up while we could, it was few and far between, and we mostly kept in touch through social media or texts. So to actually have someone to hang out with would be nice.

Ted insisted on standing by to make sure my car started, and after I pulled away, I drove a few minutes before turning into a parking lot. The coffee shop loomed ahead with its big windows and flickering sign that advertised it was open twenty-four hours. I killed the engine, took a few deep breaths, and then mustered up the nerve to get out.

“It’s just coffee,” I told myself, and had to fight the urge to slap myself in the face to snap out of whatever feelings had consumed me.

“It’s not a date,” I muttered out loud, hoping it’d kill my nerves and still the jitters that shook my hands. “Just coffee. Hot bean water isn’t exactly romantic.”

Unless it was served while you were naked in bed after a night of being twisted in the sheets together. Not that that ever happened when I was with Jennifer. There was never any breakfast in bed or any meals eaten together in our room.

But I couldn’t think about her or the time we spent together. She was the past, and my focus needed to be about what was happening now. And what was presently happening was the fact I was meeting a man for coffee. A man who made my dick dance and inspired thoughts of his tongue in certain, intimate places.

“It’s just coffee,” I had to grumble to myself again, a weak attempt to deflate the body part that was currently dancing in my pants.

As I walked toward the building, I caught myself looking through the windows, hoping to catch a glimpse of the tattooed sax player. But when I didn’t see him, I felt panic rise in my throat. What if he didn’t show? Or figured I was going to stand him up and left before I could arrive?

My hands started to shake again, but that time it wasn’t from jitters. It was from the possibility of going inside only to not see the long-haired, tattooed man waiting for me. And only then did I admit to myself how much I loved seeing it hanging down around his shoulders as he played. And the fact I wanted to run my fingers through it should’ve scared the hell out of me, but it didn’t. If anything, it only amped up my curiosity about everything even more.

With another deep breath, I forced my hands to steady as I pulled open the door, and I was greeted with the stench of stale coffee and fried food. Before I could even look around at the shop, I felt eyes on me, and I slowly turned my head toward the right.

There, seated in a booth nestled in the back, was my knight in tattooed armor. He waited for me just as he said he would. I couldn’t stop my lips from turning up in the corner as my feet propelled me toward him.

It’s just coffee.

But could I blame myself for wanting it to be more?

“For an all-night diner, this coffee isn’t too bad,” I babbled.

Ever since sitting down across from him, I felt awkward and unsure of myself. Sure, we’d talked before, but this time felt so much different. We’d made an effort to spend time together in a casual setting and didn’t have the safety net of my car issues.

“My bandmates and I sometimes stop here after a gig if we aren’t in any hurry to get home.”

I was taking a sip of my coffee. It was piping hot, and after adding one packet of sugar, it was perfect. “I don’t even know what your band’s name is.”

Stellan chuckled lightly and leaned back against the cracked red vinyl of the booth. “It’s The Messengers.”

“Nice. What kind of message are you guys trying to send?”

“That you can enjoy jazz at any age. It’s not just for one generation, race, or gender.”

“I like it.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You really didn’t know?”

I shook my head. “No. Mina would just say ‘the band from Saturday will be here again’.”

“Ahh. I see. Well, now you know.”

“There seems to be quite a bit I don’t know about you, now that you mention it.”

Stellan tilted his head to the side, causing his