Luca Chessman has been longing for love his entire life. The only problem is-he can't seem to find a guy that likes him the same way.
With his family cafe, Chessman's, struggling to keep afloat and no help from the bank, he's slowly accepting the d...
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"I'm telling you, it's the best place to go." Troy says, holding up his hands.
River snorts. "Yeah, minus all those insect bites you got. Swear you're allergic to them, those pictures Demi sent in the group chat were rough."
Demi lays her hand on her boyfriend, Troy's arm. "Don't worry we went to the pharmacy and grabbed some antihistamines and lots of afterbite. He was right as rain after the first couple days and the moaning had died down."
"I did not moan," he protests.
"You did," Demi hides her smile and then kisses his cheek. "But it's okay, you were in pain and clearly extremely irritated."
Alex leans forward on the table, clearing his throat quietly. "So would you go back to Portugal?"
Demi hums. "Most definitely, so beautiful. The weather was amazing and the beaches. Wow, they're a whole new level of amazing!"
A part of me is jealous as I listen to their conversation. I can't even remember the last time I went abroad on holiday... if I've ever been at all. I think we went to Spain when I was a child but apart from that, I haven't really left these borders.
But Demi and Troy have worked hard these last couple of years and they definitely deserve a break.
Alex turns to River and beams at him, once upon a time I used to wish he looked at me like that. Now I realise that they're made for each other and I can no longer be bitter about true love, especially when they're both your best friends.
"Maybe we should go," Alex comments. "I've never been to Portugal, I've always wanted to visit Lisbon. It looks incredible there."
River swipes his hand down Alex's arm gently and nods. "Then let's go."
I sink in my chair a little bit. The future of getting on a plane and flying to another country feels so far from my current situation right now. I doubt I'll even get there. But one can dream, one can pray that somehow Chessman's has a turn around and we double our profits.
"What's been going on with you?" Troy asks as he glances at me. "You seem incredibly quiet."
Alex drags his eyes away from his boyfriend and nods, his expression falling into a soft frown. "Yeah, what's the matter, Luca?"
I suck in a breath and shake my head. "Nothing, sorry. Just a lot has been going on lately at the cafe and I've not been sleeping much." I find myself admitting. "But things should be getting better soon."
All of their eyes light up in my direction. "The bank gave you a loan?" Demi asks in a high pitched tone.
My teeth find my lip. "Not really."
"Oh," she deflates into her seat.
Demi has been working at Chessman's for the last couple years but since we needed to source more money to pay for the mortgage and the resources to keep the place running, we had to cut some of her shifts. She was incredibly understanding because she knows the struggle that we've been going through.
