Chapter 1: Chocolate

"What can I get you?"

"Oh, a cup of coffee, please. Black."

"You sure? I can do better than that…I've got all these fancy machines back here, and flavor shots, whipped cream…You don't want to try something a bit more adventurous?"

Will smirked guardedly at the man behind the counter. "Just a straight old cup of Joe for me, thanks."

Brown eyes glanced swiftly to Will's face and then away. "Alright, we'll work up to it." When the man turned back to him with his order, there were shavings of dark chocolate on the edge of the saucer. "I'm just gonna let you have a little bit of chocolate, here, okay? And if you wanted to, say, drop some of those shavings into your coffee, and then maybe give it a little stir with this spoon here, well then you could go ahead and do that…" The man smiled, overplaying nonchalance. He nodded dramatically at Will, like they were sharing some kind of illicit transaction, and Will laughed nervously.

"Okay…"

"I'm Sonny, by the way, co-owner and caffeine peddler at this fine establishment." He held out his right hand.

"Will." They shook hands, Will pulling away after the briefest touch. "Nice to meet you. It's a nice place. I like your…'fancy machines' and everything." Sonny laughed, his smile wide and his face open. He made Will feel like there was no one he'd rather be talking to. It was a nice, warm feeling, but it made Will nervous for some reason. He awkwardly raised a hand in Sonny's direction as a quick goodbye before lowering his head and moving to an empty table on the other side of the coffee shop.

Sonny tried not to stare, but with no orders to fill at the moment, it was hard to focus on anything besides the beautiful blonde man. Will was sitting quietly, his face buried in an intimidating-looking textbook, taking occasional sips of his black coffee. The chocolate shavings sat untouched on the edge of the saucer. Sonny knew he was being ridiculous, but for some reason he was dying to see Will add a little flavor to his drink.

When a new customer stepped up to the counter, Sonny was relieved by the distraction. He focused intently on filling the order—probably more so than was strictly necessary—and he didn't look up until he was adding a quick squirt of whipped cream to top off the drink. The first sight his eyes met, as it happened, was Will, sitting across the café. At that precise moment, he was raising his index finger—with a small shaving of chocolate pressed to the tip—up to his mouth. The image of his tongue tentatively reaching out to swipe the chocolate from his fingertip held Sonny transfixed. It was only when the customer in front of him cleared her throat loudly that he looked back down to see a mountain of whipped cream towering atop her mug.

"Too much?" he asked sheepishly. The customer just laughed and glanced discreetly behind her in Will's direction.

"I don't know. Maybe there's no such thing as too much sweetness, huh?" Sonny lowered his gaze to the counter before smiling back up at her.

"I guess not." As the woman walked away chuckling, Sonny risked another glance across the room. He grinned broadly when he saw Will tipping a spoonful of chocolate into his coffee mug.

Will tried to focus on his economics reading. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly as fascinating as the wide smile and the warm brown eyes behind the coffee counter. He slowly sipped his coffee, which was still a bit too hot. Was that guy—Sonny—flirting with him? Will hadn't been out for very long. He'd gone to The Spot a couple times, but he had to admit it was a bit intense for him. He had always been pretty slow to try new things, and this was definitely new. He had basically no experience with flirting or reading signals, or whatever. At least one question was already answered, though. Will had heard of Sonny Kiriakis: newly back in town, co-owner of Common Grounds, and the most well-known out gay man in Salem—not that there was a lot of competition in that category. But he was also known for being friendly, upbeat. Maybe he was just that warm and open with everyone?

Will was about to force his eyes back down to his textbook when he took one more glance toward the counter. He looked up just in time to catch Sonny watching him, his lower lip just barely tucked behind his teeth. When their eyes met, Sonny quickly looked away, his eyelids fluttering nervously. That's something, right? Will thought. He wished he didn't feel like such an amateur. He also wished people had neon signs above their heads stating their relationship status and the qualities they look for in Mr. Right.

He sighed and then took another sip of his coffee. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to try the chocolate. He cautiously pressed his index finger against a small shaving and raised it to his mouth. He didn't dislike chocolate; he just didn't think everything needed to be flavored. Coffee is its own flavor, and he never understood the need to dress it up. With the taste of his last sip still in his mouth, however, that little bit of chocolate took on a whole new life. The sweet and bitter of the chocolate mingled with the earthiness of the coffee, and introduced his mouth to an entirely different sensation. He closed his eyes, enjoying this new experience. When he opened them again, he noticed Sonny handing a drink with a ridiculous amount of whipped cream on it across the counter. Wow, somebody got carried away.

Deciding it was about time he got used to trying new things, Will scooped a generous amount of chocolate onto his spoon and stirred it into his coffee. He took a small sip and was rewarded with that delicious flavor combination he hadn't even known he was missing out on before. Licking his lips appreciatively, he raised his eyes once more to the other side of the café. Sonny was watching him again, but this time he didn't look away. His dark eyebrows raised knowingly, and his bright smile reappeared. Will let a nervous grin surface and lifted his mug in Sonny's direction. Here's to new experiences.