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Nick had just finished his classes for the day when he got a text from Imogen asking if he felt like grabbing a coffee in a bit. He'd been wanting to catch up with her for quite some time, but it was always difficult for her to fit him in her tight schedule, so when an opportunity presented itself, he gladly agreed. He left the campus and headed to the café Imogen had suggested, excited to see one of his best friends after what felt like forever.
Nick arrived at the café earlier than he'd anticipated, and decided to wait for Imogen inside. He pushed the door open and felt his heart stutter in his chest. Directly in his line of sight was the most gorgeous boy he'd ever laid his eyes on.
He could only see his left profile as he was hunched over one of the tables, but it was enough for his breath to catch in his throat. The guy's sharp jawline and his raven black curls falling around his face, illuminated by the sun rays seeping through the window just so, made him look angelic.
The other man suddenly turned his head to the left and their eyes met. Nick felt his mouth go dry in a split second.
“Hi,” he forced out, his voice so quiet he wondered if the other man even heard him. He cleared his throat, already embarrassed with himself. The barista smiled warmly at him and began making his way to the counter.
“Hi, what can I get you?”
Nick approached the counter too. “Uhm, I, uh…” he blurted out and felt his whole body flush hot. Do you have to be so obvious?
The other man looked at him gently, small crinkles forming in the corners of his eyes. At least he's nice enough to keep himself from laughing at you.
“Maybe taking a look at the menu would help?” he asked and slid one of the menu cards across the countertop. Even his hand is beautiful. I'm screwed.
“Y-yes, yeah, thank you,” he stammered out, picking the card up while the cute barista turned around and busied himself with coffee bags.
Nick stared at the menu for a second, not really reading it. He wanted to ask the guy out straight away. He mulled the whole interaction and all possible dialogue options over in his head, quickly settling on ordering his coffee like a normal human being and not bothering the angel-like boy with his nonsense. You literally don't know the man. You don't know if he likes boys. Get a grip. He dared a look up; the guy still had his back turned to him. He clearly noticed I'm a mess and is trying to put me at ease by not looking at me, bless him.
Thankful for the other man's thoughtfulness, Nick skimmed over the hot and cold coffee sections. He decided to go with a cappuccino for himself and a flat white for Imogen. He hoped her taste hadn't changed in the months they hadn't seen each other.
He put the menu card on the counter, making sure it made a little noise that would catch the curly-haired man's attention. It worked; the boy turned his head over his shoulder, met Nick's eyes and approached the counter with a nice smile.
“So, what's it gonna be?” he asked, tilting his head ever so slightly to the side.
“Uh, it'll be one cappuccino and one flat white, please,” Nick said, congratulating himself for keeping the wobble out of his voice.
“On it!” the guy replied cheerfully, getting to work straight away. Nick made his way to the table in the corner farthest from the entrance (and closest to the counter) and began mindlessly scrolling through his socials, hoping Imogen would arrive at the café before her coffee went cold.
After about ten minutes he raised his head right as the barista left the kitchen area to make his way to him.
“There you go,” he said softly, placing both coffees on the table. Nick reached his hand for his cappuccino before he realized that the other man was sliding it his way already, causing their fingers to brush against each other. His heart stuttered in his chest. “Waiting for someone?” he heard before he could mentally chastise himself for reacting like a Year Ten.
“Yeah,” he replied shortly and immediately ducked his head, not able to keep eye contact for too long. The barista returned behind the counter.
“Nicholas!” he heard Imogen's signature squeal not even a minute later and looked up, suddenly feeling all his tense muscles relax.
“Immy!” he said almost as enthusiastically before he got up and embraced her in an affectionate bear hug, excited for their long overdue catch-up. “I hope you still like a good old flat white,” he laughed sheepishly, gesturing to the cup of coffee already sitting on the table as they sat down.
“Oh, Nicky, you didn't have to!” she said, delighting in the way he groaned lightheartedly at the nickname.
They easily fell into their typical banter, recounting what had happened in the months they hadn't seen each other in person. Nick glanced over at the boy behind the counter from time to time, hoping it would come off as natural and Imogen wouldn't notice, but as the time went on and his glances became more frequent and less subtle, it wouldn't take a genius to see what was going on.
“Okay, Nicholas, what's this about?” she asked, slowly looking in the same direction as him. Her eyes stopped at the cute barista talking to a customer—a middle-aged, good-looking man—and just as slowly turned back to Nick with one eyebrow raised and a playful smile dancing on her lips. “Which one are you pining for?” she queried, her voice just a touch louder than appropriate.
“Shhhhh, Immy! I'm not pining for anyone, shut it!” Nick whispered, his face expressing pure panic at the possibility of the remark getting overheard. Imogen grabbed the hand he raised in an attempt to make her go quiet and stroke it gently.
“Relax! I know it's the barista, the other guy hasn't even been here for most of our talk and you've been looking over there every thirty seconds since I joined you,” she whispered back with a sympathetic smile and a spark in her bright blue eyes. Nick covered as much of his face as he could with his free hand, desperately trying to hide the blush rising to his cheeks.
“I'm not pining for him,” he reiterated, his words muffled by his hand. He looked at Imogen with one eye through the gaps between his fingers, then put his hand down and ducked his head. There was no use denying it for much longer. “He's just really cute,” he admitted, smiling shyly and playing with his fingers in his lap. He risked a look at Imogen and couldn't stop himself from giggling a little when he saw her face and demeanor. She was clearly trying very hard to contain her excitement and prevent herself from screaming.
“Okay, tell me everything. Right now,” Imogen demanded, clapping her hands excitedly.
“There's not much to tell... I literally met him not even two hours ago,” Nick started tentatively. “I went in here while he was cleaning one of the tables, and I could only see his side, but it was enough to take my breath away...” he continued with a dreamy expression, remembering how beautifully the boy's hair shone in the sunlight. “I haven't talked to him much, really, I just said ‘hi’ when he noticed me staring, he asked what I wanted to order, and he definitely noticed that my mind went absolutely blank 'cause he gave me the menu and turned away, as if he wanted to give me a moment to collect myself. That was... embarrassing, but he seems like a genuinely nice guy. I'd love to get to know him, but there's no way I'd talk to him first.”
Imogen was looking at him intently during his monologue, and as he grew quiet and started playing with a napkin on the table, she turned in her chair and began to stand up. “Okay, let me handle this—”
“NO!” Nick's eyes went wide and a hot wave surged through his insides just at the mere thought of Imogen actually talking to the man and embarrassing him in his eyes.
“Okay, okay, chill. I wasn't actually going to do it, I just wanted to be funny. Sorry,” she said with a look of genuine remorse on her face. It dissipated quickly as she pointed at him with her finger and a smirk grew on her face. “You're not getting out of this, though. I'll find a way for you two to hook up.”
“Christ almighty, Imogen!” Nick sighed heavily, propping his elbows on the table and hiding his face in his hands. He was getting red from embarrassment, and he knew Imogen was taking pride in it.
“Sorry, it was stronger than me. I'm shutting up now. You know I love you very much, don't you?”
“You’re very lucky I do, because I swear to God…”
Nick and Imogen left the café about half an hour before closing. Imogen started teasing Nick again about the glances he'd been casting in the barista's direction and he decided it'd be best to leave before the guy put two and two together.
***
Nick quickly became a regular at the café. It was close to his university and he could always explain it away by saying it was nice to do college work there in the evenings; the interior was cozy and the ambient music was genuinely soothing. The cute barista was a nice bonus. He worked on his assignments and studied tucked in the corner of the café with a cup of the same cappuccino every time.
He loved to watch the curly-haired boy serve coffees, talk to the customers and banter with patrons. His presence was incredibly captivating; he moved gracefully, looked genuinely interested in conversations, and when he smiled, two adorable dimples appeared on his cheeks. The first time Nick heard him laugh, he admitted to himself that he had a huge crush. His first real crush on a guy.
One day, after going there almost daily for three weeks, Nick entered the café telling himself that that was the day. That was the day he asked the guy out. He'd been telling himself that for the past two weeks, but he had a strong feeling that this time he could actually do it.
Nick couldn't hold back the smile that grew on his face as soon as he saw the beautiful barista. The other man smiled back in an instant.
“Hi,” Nick said, approaching the counter.
“Hey, let me guess your order,” the real-life angel said, looking out the window. Nick snorted but let the man continue, not being able to tear his eyes from his face. He's so effortlessly gorgeous. “Could it be… cappuccino? By any chance?” he asked, returning his gaze to Nick, who decided to play along and act surprised.
“You’re incredible! How did you know?”
“Just a gut feeling,” he replied and made a move to turn around when some idea seemed to strike him. “Aren’t you a little bored of it yet?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.
Nick's heart started beating significantly faster. Is this the moment when I admit my crush? I was gonna ask him out either way, maybe it's the perfect time to put it out there. He scratched the back of his neck nervously as he responded, “Oh, uhm… I don't really care about its taste. I haven't been coming here for the coffee, to be honest.”
The barista looked as if his brain short-circuited for a moment and his cheeks became adorably pink. “Oh,” he let out before growing quiet again. Nick was beginning to doubt his plan.
“Do you have any recommendations, then?” he asked quietly, hoping it would spark up the conversation again.
The cute guy thought for a couple of seconds, then smiled beautifully, a flicker of joy in his eyes. God, does he have the most stunning smile I've ever seen. “How about… caramel latte? It's one of my favorites,” he said excitedly.
“Sounds great!” Nick smiled back, happy to see the other boy back to his content self. “One caramel latte, please.” He paid for his order, went to his favorite table in the corner and took out his laptop to work on an assignment.
He managed to focus on his work hard enough for the butterflies in his stomach to calm down. After a couple of minutes a hand holding a glass of coffee appeared in his peripheral vision. He smiled up at the man and thanked him, taking the glass from him. He intentionally made their fingers brush together, and he felt the exact same sparks emanating off them as the first time it had happened. Judging by the barista's face, he felt it, too.
They looked at each other for a long moment before the other boy motioned for Nick to try the drink, and so he did. He took a sip and immediately felt as if his taste buds had been blessed. “Oh my God, this is the best drink I've ever had,” he said truthfully, eyes wide with how amazing it was. The barista giggled sweetly.
“I’m glad you like it,” he replied with the biggest smile Nick had seen from him. He suddenly felt dizzy with affection, watching the guy go back behind the counter, looking as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
After finishing his caramel latte, Nick stayed around for another hour and watched his favorite barista at work. He couldn’t get enough; the guy was mesmerizing, and no matter how hard he tried to focus on his assignment, he couldn’t keep his eyes off of him for too long.
There were too many customers for him to muster up the confidence to ask the man out, and he didn’t want to take up his time when the café was this busy, but he didn’t want to just leave as always either. Nick produced a stack of post-it notes from his bag and scribbled a short note, putting in a real effort to make his handwriting as nice as he could. He stuck it to the table right next to the empty glass and left, making sure the barista couldn’t see him.
***
He spent the next two days physically fidgeting and mentally spiraling. Was it too much? Was it not enough? Should I have left my phone number on the note? Would he even be interested? I don't even know if he likes guys, that was stupid.
With his friends’–Tara, Darcy and Imogen’s–help, he prepared his “asking-your-crush-out” speech. It wasn’t wordy nor flowery by any means; one short sentence, straight to the point. He knew he couldn’t keep talking for too long while being as nervous as he was sure he was going to be. He figured that if the man declined, he would just never go there again. No big deal.
When Nick entered the café the next day, he immediately felt dizzy from all the nervousness. The cute barista smiled as soon as he saw him, but his face dropped a bit when he came closer to the counter. He can see I’m shitting my pants, can’t he?
The guy smiled softly after a moment and asked cheekily, “Hi, would you rather have your boring cappuccino or try my recommendation of the day?”
Nick relaxed a little bit at his tone, but could still feel how tense his shoulders were. “Uhm, actually I’m not here for coffee today,” he said, not tearing his gaze from the boy’s eyes. His irises are the most beautiful shade of blue I’ve ever seen. How have I never noticed that before?
“O…kay…?” the other man replied, beginning to look nervous.
“I wanted to know if you’d want to go out with me. On a date, that is,” Nick spat out as fast as he could, very nervous himself.
The barista looked utterly shocked for a long couple of seconds. Then he smiled so wide Nick thought it had to hurt. “Yeah, sure,” he said, and Nick smiled back at him, relieved.
“So, Saturday evening?”
“Oh, uhm… I’m here until ten,” the boy said, his face dropping slightly again.
“Oh. Right.” How did you manage to forget about that little detail, you literally sat here until closing last Saturday, Nick scolded himself in his head, getting very embarrassed.
He tried to think of something to say when the other man offered, “We could… stay here after closing?” He looked surprised by the offer he just made, but it calmed Nick in an instant.
“Could we?” Nick asked incredulously, smiling ear to ear. “That would be perfect, actually.”
“Yeah! I mean, I should probably ask the manager first, but even if I didn’t, I don’t think he’d be angry or anything. He's my best friend's older brother and— yeah,” the guy explained quickly, seemingly biting his tongue at the end. They stared at each other without uttering another word for a long moment, both red in the face, until a customer went into the café and saved them from the prologing awkward silence.
“So, I’ll see you on Saturday?” Nick asked, making his way backwards to the door. He didn’t want to tear his gaze from the stunning man just yet.
“See you on Saturday,” he confirmed quietly. They quickly said goodbye and Nick waved at him dorkily before turning around and leaving the café.
Two days couldn’t pass fast enough.
***
“What should I wear? Should I wear something casual or something more elegant? Not, like, suit-and-derbies kind of elegant, but maybe some button up and jeans instead of a t-shirt and shorts? Should I bring some flowers or would it be too cliché? What if he doesn't like flowers? Should I pay for his coffee? I should ‘cause I was the one who asked him out and he's the one who's going to make them, right? What if he—”
“Nick!” Tara and Darcy shouted in unison. He stopped pacing and looked at the phone propped up against the wall on his desk.
“Sorry,” he said, then came over and sat at the desk. He hid his face in his hands and groaned loudly, frustrated. “I don't know why I’m so stressed about it. It's getting ridiculous.”
“I mean, you're not wrong…” Darcy started, earning a jab in the ribs from Tara. Nick let his hands fall from his face. “I was about to say,” Darcy continued, looking at her girlfriend reproachfully, “that it is a little bit ridiculous, but it's also totally understandable. You're absolutely smitten for that guy and you want him to like you. Of course it's gonna fuck with your head a little.”
“Just breathe and don't overdo it, okay?” Tara said, smiling softly. “You have to be your true self for this to make sense. If you act like someone you aren't, and he likes that version of you, it won't work in a long run. You're awesome just the way you are, you don't need to tune your personality up.”
“Thank you, guys,” Nick muttered, rubbing his forehead with his forearm and scrunching his nose.
“When are you meeting up with him?” Darcy asked.
“In… four hours? I think? We didn't really agree on a specific time, he just said he worked until ten and that we could sit at the café after closing, so I assumed that's when we were gonna start. In private, you know.”
“And what are you wearing?” she followed up with a teasing grin. Nick considered it calmly this time.
“I think I'll go with a button up shirt, jeans and Vans,” he said slowly, nodding his head as if to convince himself it was a good idea.
“Are you going to be okay from now?” Tara asked, looking at him with affection. He nodded more intentionally and smiled at the girls.
“Yeah. Thank you,” he said, his voice tinted with genuine gratitude.
“Always. We love you,” Tara replied, getting closer to attack the camera with kisses.
“Love you, dumbass!” Darcy shouted from behind her girlfriend.
Nick managed a quick “Love you too!” before they hung up and a weird silence suddenly fell over his room. He checked the time and sighed deeply. Three and a half hours to go.