Underneath by V. J. Albert (best e reader for academics TXT) 📖

Some guy he's never seen before is standing behind the counter and preparing the coffee machine.

When Luca approaches the boy turns around and Luca feels like falling down a big hole with no ground in sight. The boy is very good looking. No, actually more than that. Just dead arse gorgeous and stunning. Totally Luca’s type. Muscular, tall, brown hair and daring green eyes.

“The coffee machine is not ready yet but maybe you'd like to order something else?” The green-eyed guy asks and now Luca feels more like laughing because what?  Luca’s no customer. He’s worked here at Davie’s Coffee Beans for two years already but the guy that is confusing him for a customer has never been here before. Not behind the counter or in front of it. He’d remember that face.

“Oh, no, I'm not a customer. I'm Luca. I'm a co-worker actually.”

“I'm so sorry. I'm Jonah, the one with the morning shifts.” Luca thinks about how he could take all morning shift possible just to see that gorgeous face again.

“Nice to meet you. I'm the one with the evening shifts, except for today of course.” Luca sounds ridiculous. It's not like he just works in the evening. He's also got midday shifts but still he's never seen Jonah before. Definitely he'd remember that.

“Nice come back”, Jonah says smiling, then he’s continuing to prepare the coffee machine.

 

The shift with Jonah was chilled, even though the morning shift seemed to be one of the most exhausting working hours Luca has ever had. There was not a single minute to relax till around 10 am. From then on the mass of people decreased tremendously. Finally Luca was able to breathe again. He never had a more stressful shift but at the same time he's never had a better colleague to work with. Everything has had an order and was organised, not how it was with other co-workers that were complete slobs. Getting work done is so much easier when there is a structure to follow. With Jonah everything seemed easy to handle.

When there are just a few people left in the café, Luca and Jonah make themselves Caramel Macchiatos and sit down on a table near the counter. Of all his colleagues he liked Jonah the most now. Okay, he was just second place since Alexis started to work here a few weeks ago too. Nevertheless, he has never had a shift with his best friend, not yet. Luca smiles at his co-worker.

“So, I assume you study.” Luca says out of nowhere.

“Yes, I do.” Jonah doesn't sound like too much like a Brit. Luca already noticed that when they met this morning and also while talking with the customers or exchanging orders with Luca. He wasn't sure what accent Jonah has or if his accent would be helpful to reckon where he’s from. The small boy has never been good with accents. He couldn't even pin down the British accents to their areas. So how should he be able to do it with foreigners speaking English with their accent?

“You're not English, are you?” Luca just kind of lets his question drop out of his mind. He doesn't really care if he sounds noisy right now. He's too interested in Jonah at the moment to wonder if he came around as intrusive.

“No, I'm German but it was my dream to study English language and literature in England.”

“Your English is very good for someone who's not native.”

“Well, I guess if you love a language for so many years already, it just comes easier to you to learn it. I love English.” Jonah smiles and Luca finds the boy even cuter than he did this morning. To Luca it took more than a dream to fulfil it in the end. It took courage and ambition, and moving to another country, not knowing anyone, to study what you love in a language that you love but isn't your mother tongue, is still hard to reach for Luca. He wouldn't be that brave but then again, Luca didn't speak any other language fluently. There were a few French words and sentences he knew and a bit of Italian but that's about it. Foreign languages have never been his thing. Call it lazy or blinkered, he doesn't really care. He's always survived with English wherever he was, so to Luca there was no need to learn a new language.

“You're very brave to me.”

“Thank you but I don't really feel brave.” Luca ignores what Jonah is saying next because it just sinks in what he studies and he remembers that Alexis studies English language and literature too. There're lots of universities in London, so what was the chance of the two of them being at the same one? Still, there was a chance and it definitely wouldn't be the first time for Luca to meet someone by coincidence.

"…honestly, I totally believe–" Mid-sentence Luca interrupts the other boy and it bubbles out of his mouth what is on his mind for the last few seconds.

"Do you know someone called Alexis Jane Burridge?" Jonah is confused, doesn't understand at first. He wants to ask if Luca can repeat the question but Luca already notices that he left him completely dazed and disorientated. "I'm sorry but you said you study English language and literature and Alexis is my best friend. She studies the same thing, also in London, so I thought maybe, just maybe you've met."

"Yes", is all Jonah can get into words. He's still a little unable to cope with all of this. A few seconds later he has got himself settled and then he smiles. "She's in my course, actually. Alexis is really nice. As far as I know she works here too, doesn't she?"

"Oh yes, she does. Usually I have most my shifts with her but now that Alisha is sick, it seems I got the shifts with you." Luca hopes he doesn't sound rude, doesn't sound like he hates working with Jonah and would rather have his shifts with Alexis again because that's not the case. If Luca was actually honest, he'd totally love to have more shifts with the good looking boy. Deep down he really hoped, Jonah wasn't straight or taken, or even worse would want a committed relationship because he would definitely never be ready for that no matter who came along. He swore it to himself and Alexis. Relationships just weren't worth all the pain and hurt that came with it. You've always got less than you gave and Luca wasn't willed to do that anymore. Fuck relationships without feelings. One Night Stands, that's what he does, that's what he’s good in.

"It's not too bad, is it?" Jonah asks and Luca chuckles about it.

"No, absolutely not. I can imagine worse people to work with than you. If I'm being honest, I really enjoyed working with you today.” Luca smiles at his co-worker.

Jonah smiles back and wants to say something but his phone vibrates and cuts him off. He looks at his phone and cringes. Apparently it's no one he wants to get texts from but Luca doesn't think he's not in a position to ask Jonah who it is. The other boy sighs.

“I'm sorry, Luca. I need to call him back.” Him. Luca tries not to read too much into this. It could be Jonah’s brother or father or just a mate. It doesn't have to mean he's gay. “My ex is annoying me for ages now. I think I need to tell him to stop texting and calling.” Ex. Him and ex. There's no way now that he could’ve misunderstood that. Now he's happy because he didn't even have to ask Jonah if he's gay but he's got the answer. Kind of. He doesn't know if he's gay or bi or whatever he labels himself but he knows he's into blokes. 100% sure about it because he’s had a boyfriend before. Hopefully this was his latest ex and he was single now. Well, Luca didn't even mean to think about this. Jonah seems like a genuine nice guy. Someone that is good with relationships but probably bad with sex relationships. That doesn't seem to be his thing but Luca can't be sure. He's been with boys that just needed that after a failed relationship – an uncommitted sex relationship just for fun. Luca’s always been fast to agree, mostly because they always ended to be uncomplicated. Complicated wasn't anything he liked, no one did.

“Luca!” Someone shouts after running into the shop with loud echoing steps. Luca turns around and sees Zachariah who leans against the bar, breathing heavily. “I need a strong mocha, now.”

“Strong mocha? What's up, mate?” Luca knows that something happened, something bad because Zachariah never orders strong mochas in any other situation. He drinks coffee, yes but never mocha and never as strong as possible. It kind of became their thing to communicate. Luca walks up to the counter to make his best friend’s order.

“Had a fight with Perry. She just doesn't get that I don't have so much time for her right now. I've got that important essay for my arts class. It's my main course. I can't fail because some stupid essay about the arts of the 16th century.”

“Renaissance, eh, mate?”

“No, Mannerism. Wished I got Renaissance but some girl in my class got it before I could even blink. Seriously our professor prefers girls before boys in everything. It's not fair at all.” Zachariah sighs. Luca knows that some professors are unfair but he's never heard about one giving all the hard essays to the males. Then again he was very sure that Zachariah will master this paper, no matter what.

"Can't be that bad." Luca tries to make Zachariah feel better but he's sure what he just said didn't really help at all. Instead of saying more, he makes Zachariah's mocha and adds extra coffee to make it even stronger, just like Zachariah needs. He then places the mug in front of his best friend who smiles slightly.

"You're the best, Luca." Zachariah takes a sip and seems to be more relaxed than he was just a few seconds before.

"What are best friends and roommates for?"

"To be honest, I wouldn't know what to do without you working here. No one would make me a better blow-off-steam mocha in the whole wide world. Seriously, not even Al." Zachariah pauses for a second and Luca stares at his best friend with a quite confused face. There's something to come and he wasn't sure if it was something good when his other best friend was involved. "By the way, can you give me Alexis' number? After three years of knowing you two, I still haven't got her number and I need it now."

"What for?" Luca doesn't like people asking him for Alexis' phone number and there have been lots of guys doing that. She was good-looking and nice to almost everyone, though she was shy from time to time. He doesn't give her number away to anyone though. It's a principle he doesn't bend, not for anyone. Luca didn't know Zachariah didn’t have Alexis' number yet. He finds it weird but Al must have had a reason to never give it to him or they just never had a reason to exchange their numbers. Anyway, Luca doesn't feel himself in a position to act without Alexis' consent.

"I need the English literature of Mannerism and I can't find shit about it. All I know is that Mannerism was mostly common in Italy but I need to make a reference to the English literature of the 16th century. This has nothing to do with arts anymore, so this is totally not my kind of speciality."

"I can't give you her number without her permission but I can text her that you need something from her. She can come over tonight and then she can give you information and if anything else is needed you still can ask for exchanging numbers but I don't want to help you getting myself into