Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 7

little fun.
    "See ya, Rachel," he said to the barista behind the counter, glancing at the front door when he heard the chimes ring out as it opened. Jimmy was there, still wearing his scrubs from the hospital, and looking like he needed a few days off just as badly as Scott did.
    Grinning as he ambled in, running a hand through the mess of dark, wavy hair that was falling into his eyes, "My timing is perfect, I can see." Jimmy told him as he gave Scott a little pat on his ass and walked over to the counter, offering Rachel a wolfish grin as he leaned in a little, "Double tall—"
    "Latte, make the little heart with the foam. I know…" she told him, shaking her head with a laugh as she went to work at the espresso machine. "You're lucky I haven't cleaned up yet or you'd be getting burnt coffee and an old cookie." she added, pouring the steamed milk into the paper cup as the espresso finished brewing.
    "I'll take your old cookies anytime." Jimmy told her, waggling his eyebrows at her. The man flirted with everyone he encountered, and seemed to favor Rachel because she flirted right back.
    " My cookies are hot and fresh, I'll have you know."
    "I'll have to sample those sometime…"
    Rachel cast a glance at Scott who was watching the two, looking amused and rolling his eyes at their banter. "You wish," she informed him, adding with a grin, "And my fiancé might not appreciate that…"
    "No shit? He finally popped the question?"
    Rachel bit her lip around another grin, nodding as she showed off her small diamond ring, "Last weekend."
    "About damn time." Jimmy told her, laughing as he leaned in, kissing her cheek, "Congratulations, sweetheart."
    "Thanks, Jimmy." Still smiling, she swirled the foam over the top of his latte, making two hearts this time and sprinkling it with nutmeg and cinnamon before sliding the cup across to him, letting him look before he snapped a lid over it.
    "Can't believe you didn't tell me." he accused Scott.
    "Just found out this afternoon, jeez."
    "Fine, you're forgiven."
    They batted at each other and laughed, Rachel watching them as they headed for the door, "Have a good weekend, guys!" she called happily as they went out into the warm spring evening.
    ****
    Scott was settled on the floor with four different books opened on the coffee table next to his laptop, making notes on his paper as he drew seemingly unrelated information together to form a coherent point. It took him a moment to hear the soft knock on their front door. Getting to his feet, he opened it and paused for a minute. Standing there with a backpack slung over one shoulder was a man he'd never seen before. Hot didn't really cover it. The guy was easily as tall as Jimmy and nearly as broad, but his hair was golden blond and cut short, eyes a piercing blue.
    "Um…" Scott couldn't think for a moment, "Hi?"
    The guy's grin was brilliant, a slight flush painting his high cheekbones, "Hey, uh, Jimmy around?"
    "Oh, he just ran to the store, should be back in a minute if you wanna wait." Scott offered, his feet automatically shifting back to let the stranger in.
    "Cool, thanks," Stepping in close enough to brush against Scott, "I'm Rob, by the way." The man offered a hand for Scott to shake and he took it, fingers strong and warm as they wrapped around Scott's.
    "Good to meet ya, I… I'm Scott." He felt like an idiot, coming off like he never encountered new people. "Have a seat."
    Rob just smiled again, his eyes raking over Scott for a beat before striding casually to the couch and settling down on it.
    "Can I get ya anything?"
    "Nah, I'm good. I mean, really just here to drop off some books Jimmy let me borrow, but I have a question about our notes, so…"
    "Gotcha," Scott stood for a moment, not wanting to ignore the guy and go back to his paper, at the same time not sure what to do with himself. Leaning over a little, Rob glanced at Scott's document and grimaced. "Masters or Doctorate?" he asked.
    "Doctorate, but I just started the program, I keep changing my mind on which fields…" Scott trailed off, settling on the other end of the couch, running nervous fingers through his hair.
    Rob just nodded, leaning a little closer to Scott as he shifted to get comfortable. "How long have you and Jimmy been roommates?" he asked.
    "Since freshman year." At the look of surprise on Rob's face, Scott asked, "How long have you known Jimmy?"
    "About a year now, got a couple classes together, shoot some hoops together every now and then."
    Scott