Flames

Coffee Break, part 1

 "It still feels weird to see kids at these signings." The Amo Coffee event had just wrapped up and it was only Seth, Becky, and cafe staff left, but he still lowered his voice. So far, their coffee blends had been very successful, regularly selling out, and he didn't want anyone to think he was ungrateful. "I mean, we always knew the signings were never going to be all about the coffee, but when it's a kid Roux's age...."

"Let's hope they're not drinking coffee yet," Becky agreed, reaching for her water bottle. It had been a long day but a fun one, and they were probably both overcaffeinated. She rested her head against his shoulder and stifled a yawn. "I just hope at least some of the fans like the coffee. Otherwise that's a whole lot of wasted beans."

"They'll love it," Seth assured her. It seemed like people were drinking coffee younger and younger these days, so he had tried not to assume when fans in their teens or twenties were buying their blends. "And Claudio likes it too, so it's nice to have his seal of approval." Claudio was largely responsible for Seth starting to love coffee and he was always recommending new blends and cafes to them in their group chat.

"We'll have to ask him for some recommendations for when we're back in Europe." Becky grabbed her phone and looked at her schedule. "That's... late May, right? Late May and June? He must have some favourite cafes in Italy, I would think."

"And he can tell us how to order properly too." Seth glanced down at her schedule. "Fuck. I forgot Backlash, Saturday Night's Main Event, and Clash are all in May." Then he kissed Becky's cheek. "But I didn't forget Mother's Day."

Becky beamed. "You never forget that."

Seth kissed her before scrolling to June. "Hey, now. Don't jinx me. I've had a good run so far." When it came to social-media shout-outs, Becky definitely had him beat. Ever since he was criticized for a picture he had posted of Roux, he tended to take a more low-key approach, and he still usually asked someone for a second opinion to make sure his post looked acceptable. Becky, on the other hand, thought nothing of posting eight or ten photos—though after the book debacle, she was much better about double-checking with him to make sure he was okay with her choices. She always asked Roux as well, both for her opinion and her permission. "Nothing to see in late May. Nope. Nothing at all."

"Oh, are you and Roman not talking again?" Becky tried to keep her tone light, but the sparkle in her eyes gave her away. "I had already ordered a special coffee bundle for him and found a set of mugs I thought he and Galina would like, but I can probably cancel it if you're not—"

"Becks."

"I could have included a machine," she continued, cheeks starting to give way to her grin. "But I'm sure they must have a good one. I mean, I know he's not as into coffee as you are, but—"

"Rebecca." Seth swiped back to May. His birthday, only a few days after Roman's, wasn't marked in any special way, but she had also never missed it: not when they were just friends, not when they were in their awkward dating phase, not even if they weren't exactly getting along at the time.

"And you better not have peeked at the Father's Day plans, because Roux has been working very hard on them and you wouldn't want to hurt her feelings, would you? Especially since we'll be overseas that weekend...." Becky finally had to stop to catch her breath, and Seth used the pause to give her a bear hug, shaking her back and forth. "My phone!" she protested feebly. "What do you have against my phones? Isn't enough that you already dropped one in the ocean?"

"It was one phone!" Seth protested. "One phone, one time!" He kissed her and spun her around before setting her on her feet, narrowly avoiding one of the cafe workers. "Sorry. We'll get out of the way," he apologized, stepping closer to the table and drawing Becky back with him.