Don't Mask, Don't Tell

Chapter 22

"Damn, Livy-baby! How are you always surrounded by such beautiful men?" Ken smiles, giving Mickey a flirty wink as he gently pours the frothed milk into the espresso.

"Excuse me? How many of us are there?!" Mickey turns to me, teasing, raising his voice just loud enough for the customers behind us to hear.

"Can we go anywhere without you making a fucking scene?!" I say to him in an annoyed whisper. They both laugh in response.

"Sorry, Liv! You make it too easy—just like Axel!" Mickey mischievously grins, grabbing our disposable Jason's Java cups from Ken.

"Ohhhh! Is this the best friend?" Ken questions amusedly. "He's a hunk!"

"Thanks, babe!" Mickey winks at Ken as Jason, the owner of the café, walks over.

"Hey—back off! He's married!" Jason playfully joins in as he places his arm around his husband's shoulders, pulling him in closer.

"Sorry, Jason! Mickey's a shit-stirrer." I pick up the blueberry scone and smile back at the two of them.

"Mhmm," he hums, with a jokingly territorial tone, hugging Ken tighter.

I laugh and snake my arm around Mickey's, yanking him towards an empty table as Jason glares.

We plop down onto the stools and I cut our scone in half while Mickey divides the napkins and passes me my latte. Removing the plastic lid, I try to cool off the coffee, watching the thick cloud of steam rise. I take a deep breath and inhale the strong nutty aroma, appreciating the bitterness of a good Italian roast.

"Quit picking fights with everyone!" I scold Mickey as I slide off the sleeve, warming my hands on the piping hot paper cup.

"I believe I'm not the only one picking fights today..." He raises a brow as he rests the lid of his coffee against his lips, blowing into it.

"That's not fair. Jack brought that on himself!"

"You're right. I'm sorry, Liv."

"No, it's okay. You have nothing to be sorry for...I appreciate you for walking in when you did."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really..."

"Fair enough. I guess I'll have to do all the talking!" Mickey grins and shoves his half of the scone down his throat, chased by a giant gulp of his latte. "What do you want to know?"

"We can start with you telling me what it was like to grow up with Axel."

"Damn. That's a loaded question. To know what it was like to grow up with him, you have to fully understand him."

"What do you mean by fully understand him?"

"Axel is the most intelligent man I've ever met—very logical and analytical. He's always been that way." Mickey slowly sips his coffee looking off into the distance, as if reminiscing on their childhood memories. "As cheesy as it sounds, when I met Axel for the first time, I knew he was destined for something more." He looks back at me and smiles as he takes another sip.

"Sounds like he couldn't have done any of it without you, though." I smile reassuringly and Mickey shrugs.

"Maybe....but, if we are being entirely honest, I owe that man my life." He pauses before mumbling under his breath. "And I mean literally."

Literally?

I raise my brows, ready to question him, when I see someone sprinting towards me.