From the Ashes by Daisy Harris

as home.
    Michael lined up three espresso pitchers, twisted the filters into place and started the water. With a sputtering hiss, the machine cranked to life. “Yeah, and why is the dog your problem?”
    Oh, for that Jesse wanted to smack him. “I like the dog. She’s a sweetheart and deserves a good home. With people who love her.” He didn’t know why he got so emo when he talked about Char, but his face heated. “I’m not going to ditch her just so I can find a place to live faster.”
    A crush of customers pushed into the store, so Jesse and Michael fell into silence while they worked. Jesse was so busy filling orders and running cards that he didn’t notice Tomas had left his seat until Tomas was standing right next to the espresso machine.
    “I have to go to work.” Tomas smiled and held up his empty paper cup. “Refill?”
    Jesse checked the clock. Wow. It was almost eight already. To Michael, he said, “Take the register for a sec?”
    Michael scowled, but Jesse didn’t care. He filled Tomas’s cup and, when Michael wasn’t looking, grabbed a chocolate muffin out of the refrigerator. At the edge of the counter, he handed both to Tomas.
    “See you tomorrow?” Jesse didn’t envy the twenty-four-hour shifts of Tomas’s schedule. He hoped he didn’t disturb Tomas’s sleep cycle too much with them living together.
    “Sure thing. I can meet you after your shift, and we can go to the pet store.” Tomas leaned across the counter, his eyes dark and full of suggestion.
    “No way.” Jesse shook his head. “Go home and get some sleep when you’re done. You’ve got four days off, we can go some other time.”
    Tomas caught his hand. He wove their fingers together. “Yeah, and four days is plenty of time to lay around and do nothing. It’s only a few hours between when I get off work and you’re free.”
    Jesse narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure?”
    “Of course.” With a lascivious smile, Tomas lifted their clasped hands to his mouth and kissed Jesse’s knuckles. “I want to see you.”
    Holy fuck. Jesse glanced around to see if anyone was looking their direction. He was out as gay and had been since he got to Seattle, but he’d never been this obvious in public.
    “Hey.” Jesse remembered his question from the night before. “Where’s your family from?”
    Tomas tilted his head and smiled brightly, flashing those sexy teeth. “El Salvador. Thought I’d told you already.”
    “Maybe you’ve forgotten, but we only met the other day.” Jesse may have batted his eyelashes, but he wouldn’t have admitted it to Michael.
    “How could I forget?” Tomas crowded him back against the counter. Right when Jesse thought Tomas would molest him in front of everyone, Tomas kissed him on the cheek. “See you later.”
    Sexy bastard.
    Jesse held on to the counter so his knees didn’t give out. He was blushing like crazy but managed to get himself together well enough to walk back to the espresso machine.
    “Can I work the machine for a while?” Jesse had been dealing with customers since his shift started. It was his turn to zone out.
    “Fine,” Michael snapped. His manner was so curt, the hippie girl at the front of the line flinched.
    She mumbled she wanted a chai tea, and Jesse filled her reusable, eco-friendly cup while Michael took her money.
    “What the hell?” Jesse’d seen Michael get all up in arms about things in the news or customers that had treated him badly, but he’d never seen Michael so grumpy for no reason. “Did I do something?”
    Michael poured some beans into the grinder and flipped it on so the noise filled the coffee shop with a grating whir. The smell wafted strong enough to give customers a contact buzz, but Michael’s attitude was cold and dreary.
    “So, your roommate is straight, huh?” He turned to help the next customer before Jesse could come up with an answer.
    Well, no. Obviously, Tomas wasn’t straight, but Jesse didn’t see why it was any of