Impress Me Not: Neon Underground

Chapter 26

That fire took a while to put out. Melvin had gone for a smoke right after, trying to burn his lungs so he could forget the burn on his lips. It didn't take too long for the bright summer sun to show its face. Melvin loved seeing the sunrise. Most people wouldn't give it as much praise as the sunset. It marked the beginning to a new day, when they would rather stay in their dreams.

Melvin liked the start of a new day. It meant that he could cleanse himself of the previous night. Like a new mask that the light gave to him, he was just a normal man walking down the streets in the sunlight.

The bright light almost helped him forget the night before. Melvin was exhausted, but he didn't wish to go home just yet. He didn't want to sleep. His body was exhausted, yet energized. It was the one moment he felt the most alive.

It was probably best to stay up the rest of the day, anyway. That was the best way to get his sleeping schedule back in order. It was rare for him to stay at work all night. Thankfully no one asked him any questions. He was worried that Devon and George would try to visit him. They loved any gossip they could find, and they had been fascinated with Mateo since the first night they met him.

He didn't want to think his name. The memory of the night left a flare of emotions that Melvin wasn't used to. It reminded him too much of when he was a teenager.

Oh, what troubling times those were.

A ding of a bell brought his mind back to the present. Melvin was surprised he had remembered to put out his cigarette before coming in. He had made that mistake a few times. The owner absolutely hated it.

"Welcome in!" The familiar brunette yelled from across the café. He must have just finished a rush, because he was in a cleaning frenzy now, telling his other workers to do what he couldn't. One of them went over to the register, to see if he was ready to make an order. Melvin passed the register, choosing his usual spot on the barstool against the counter.

"And here I thought you weren't ever going to do the morning shift again," He smirked, waiting for the man to finally turn around.

"You really have to stop smoking," Anton wrinkled his nose. "You're wreaking of it. It's going to fill up my café!"

"It's better than a different smell," he kept smiling.

"You need a cologne or something," Anton said, finishing up his task. Only then did he start to really look at him. His light brown eyes went wide. "Did you work all night or something?"

"It's only work if you don't love it."

"That doesn't mean you spend all your time there," Anton argued. "You look like you just survived a frat party or something."

"I'm surprised to hear that coming from you," Melvin ignored the frat party line. It was funny, but not the point he was shooting for. "I didn't think having a boyfriend would change you so much."

"Or maybe I just missed you?" His cousin gave him a stern look. "At least I always hung out with all of you after my work."

"That's because we all came here to bug you."

"That's not true," he frowned. He always looked so caring towards Melvin. It was endearing. Melvin hadn't had many who worried or cared for him. It was surprising that the two of them had gotten so close. They never knew each other growing up. Anton grew up in Arizona, and he grew up in northern California. Although the states were right next to each other, there was still a lot of land in between them.

And they didn't exactly know that the other existed when they were younger.

They had gotten closer the first year that Anton had come down here to Florida. Melvin had been here a lot longer than him, staying after he had gotten his bartender license. All it took though was him lending his cousin an ear and a different perspective when he really needed it. It was only one night that happened, and it started them talking every week ever since.