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The first time I saw him… well, I couldn't forget that day, could I? I had been working at that Starbucks for a week and I was still managing to do everything correctly, especially writing people’s names correctly. I knew the baristas’ reputation for spelling people’s name awfully, so I really wanted to get out of the lot.
I was also trying to be the best person in the world. I always had been joyful and smiling in general but hey, it was work and I had to be even better.
The morning he came in the shop was a very quiet one. Monday, 10am, people were usually already at work and the rush of the morning was over, so I was busy cleaning the counter and washing the dishes when I heard the door opening. Honestly, it was a good thing that I didn't have anything in my hands because I would have dropped it at the second I would have seen the guy. He had the grumpy face of the « not Monday person » kind of person and looked quite tired but he also was the most handsome person I had ever laid my eyes on. Even from the distance, I had been able to perceive the piercing, icy blue eyes. I had felt my cheeks burning (because of course, I had to blush very easily) and smiled a little too much with enthusiasm.
"Good morning! What can I do for you?" Just the usual stuff. The man didn't even read what drinks we offered, so I guessed he was a regular customer.
"I’ll take an espresso, please."
My smile grew brighter. I had been surprised by a few things. First of all, his grumpy face had made me think that the man would be the kind of not really polite one, so hearing the « please » and the gentle tone was a pleasant surprise. Then, I had been struck by his voice. A light accent was noticeable, but I couldn't quite recognize it. However, I was sure it was the sexiest voice I had ever heard.
"Of course! Anything else?"
I had had the most ridiculous need to offer that man pancakes with maple syrup. He just looked like he needed it.
"No, thank you."
"Okay. May I have your name, please?"
Please, make it easy. Not too many letters, something easy I won’t screw up.
"Eric." He had answered with a cute smile. I had sighed with relief. Four letters, easy spelling, thank god I won’t look like an idiot in front of him. Eric had paid his beverage, giving me the change with the cutest tired smile, and went for his drink at the other end of the counter. I couldn't have stopped looking at him. It had been a good thing that it was a quiet morning because I really didn't feel like stopping checking Eric out to serve another person. My colleague called for Eric to give him his drink, and the man took his coffee, looking directly at his name written on the cup, like he was expecting something. He had had another cute smile and, when I had thought he was going to go out of the place, he went back at me, and with a little wink, he had said.
"It’s Erik with a ‘k’."
Shit.
**
The second time I saw him was a week later, the next Monday to be more precise. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't expecting to see him every day since the first and that was a little pathetic, to be honest.
That day, he went during the rush time but that didn't stop me from seeing him in the middle of the customers. He had noticed me and given me another cute smile only he had the secret of. When he had arrived in front of me, he had ordered the same thing as last time. I didn't even ask for his name and said:
"So, Erik with a ‘k’, right?"
He let out a soft laugh. "You remember that?"
"I couldn't forget about such an important detail."
When he got back his drink, he had genuinely laughed. I had underlined the letter « k » three times.
**
I didn’t have to wait a long time to see him again. He had come back the next day, but in the afternoon this time. He still looked tired, but not grumpy anymore, so I had assumed that not only a not Monday person, he was just not a morning person. That detail was kind of cute.
"The usual espresso?" I had asked with a giant smile. It seemed that I couldn't help it: when that man was around, a smile would automatically appear on my face.
"Oh, not today," he had answered, "Espresso is just for mornings… now I could do with something sweeter. What would you suggest me?"
Me? I’m very sweet myself, you could have a taste if you wanted.
"Something sweet… well, my favorite is the Caramel Macchiato, but…"
"I’ll have this. With a piece of that wonderful cheesecake, please." He than had yawned, covering his mouth with a beautiful hand made of long and lean fingers. Was it normal to fantasize about someone’s fingers? Well, probably when it came to fingers like his.
"Long day at work?"
"Yeah, you can say that. My boss is the most bitter person I have ever met and he probably thinks I have four hands or something like that."
That was the first real conversation we had. It was simple and probably the most ordinary thing ever, but it had made my heart skip a couple of beats. It had also been the first time that this idea had crossed my mind. It was kind of cheesy and ridiculous, you could think, but when I thought about this now, it appeared to be the most genius idea I ever had. I had written his name on the cup, but added a little something else. I had hoped it would make him smile, like last time. I had realized I really wanted to see Erik smile all the time.
"Thank you, Erik with a k" I had said when he gave me the money.
"You know, it’s quite unfair that you know my name and I don’t have the chance to say the same thing about you." Erik had said, looking at my shirt where a badge with my name on it should have been.
"Yeah… I lost it during my second day here… I think my boss hates me already. Anyway, my name is Charles."
Erik had smiled mysteriously and nodded. "Have a nice day, Charles." He had said.
"Hey! Alex!" I had shouted to my colleague when Erik had left for the other end of the counter. "You read just the name, okay? Don’t mind about the rest, please."
"The rest? What are you…" Alex had looked at the cup and frown his eyebrows. He had looked at Erik, then at me, then at Erik again, and a smile slowly crossed his face. "Okay… I get it."
When Erik had taken his drink, he had looked at me with the cutest face ever. « Hope this will be sweeter than your bitter boss. »
**
Then, he had begun to come almost every morning. I said « almost » because I couldn't know about my days off, but at least he was here when I was. A little routine had appeared as the days passed. He would greet me with a « Good morning, Charles », a smile breaking his grumpy morning face and I would answer « Good morning, Erik » which was pretty ordinary.
But the fun was in the fact that I kept going with the little messages on his cups. I couldn't go with very long ones since the espresso cups were really small, but it was enough to make him smile anyway.
« Nice tie! » Thanks, he had mouthed to me, readjusting his tie proudly.
« 8 hours of sleep » I had reminded him one morning, when he looked particularly tired. He had frowned a little, like he wasn't expecting this, then he had looked at me with the cutest smile. It seemed like Erik came here every morning with a smile even cuter than the last day.
**
It had been a few weeks like that. My colleagues were well aware of my little habits and didn't even take the time to read my little private messages anymore. As far as I knew, they had settled a bet on when Erik and I would finally go on a proper date. If this was kind of awkward, I couldn't deny that I was wondering when that would happen, too.
That is why I decided that today was the day. The day I would finally try something else, something more. The messages went a little more private with time, but nothing too obvious. Of course, Erik was totally in the game: he smiled, laughed, and winked at me when he was leaving the place. I knew he was attracted to me, I felt it as sure as I knew I was attracted to him so I was willing to make the next move if he didn’t.
Today was the day when Erik went in the afternoon. Once a week, on Wednesdays, he came here on the afternoon to take a Caramel Macchiato and a piece of cheesecake and he ate it here, looking at me regularly, probably thinking I couldn't see him, but he was not really discreet to be honest. That was another detail about him that was so cute.
"Good afternoon, Charles", he said when he arrived.
I had my plan all set up. It was not really difficult, but I had to have the courage to write what I wanted to write on the cup.
"Good afternoon, Erik. How was your day?"
"Whatever it had been, it’s better now." He had said that looking at me directly in the eyes. Well, that was new. Usually, our discussions were not as flirty as that. I felt my cheeks burning, but it only gave me the assurance I needed to do what I wanted to do.
"I’m glad, then", I answered with a smile, writing Erik’s name on his cup and adding that little something that would, I hoped, change my life. I gave the cup to Alex so he could make the drink, and when he looked at it, he shouted.
"Oh man, it was about time! Darwin, you owe me a hundred dollars!"
What the hell? A hundred?
Darwin, who was on his break, appeared behind the counter and Alex showed him the cup.
"That doesn't prove anything, dude!"
"What? You think he’s gonna…"
"Alex, could you just make the drink, please?" I cut him, blushing furiously. Erik was staring at them with a curiosity he didn't even hide. He was trying to look at his cup to see what was written on it.
"Ha! You’ll have to wait a second, mate" Alex laughed while he was preparing the drink. I felt Erik’s gaze on me, but I was already busy with other customers. It felt like Alex took a thousand years to call for Erik’s name. He didn't even had the time to call him properly that Erik took the cup from his hands, eager to know what was written. He read the message and looked at me. His smile then could not be defined as « cute ». It was simply the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life. He waited for me to finish with the customers and came back in front of me. Alex and Darwin had stopped what they were doing to listen, but I couldn't care less. Erik was bending a little over the counter so he could speak to me face to face. His mouth was close, and I felt the urge to kiss him right away.
"Honestly, Charles, I’ve been waiting for a month. So yeah, I can wait a few hours more." he whispered seductively. And just with that, he left me breathless, and went to sit down on one of the tables of the room.
"You definitely owe me a hundred dollars" I heard Alex say.
"Definitely" Darwin answered.
**
Two months later
It was a beautiful day and the smile that was hung on my face didn't seem to disappear. That smile, I’ve had it since a little more than two months. I still couldn't quite believe in my luck. Erik had waited for me, just as I had asked him on his cup, and since the minute I had joined him after my shift, we hadn't left each other for a day.
And I thought that was a valid reason to smile all day long.
Our little routine continued, though. Erik would come every morning and I would write encouraging messages on his cups, and sometimes things more personal. My colleagues still made fun of me, but I knew deep down that they found us cute.
And what I was going to do today… well, they were probably going to die with cuteness. And I was probably going to die with anxiety. I was not really sure of how Erik was going to take it, but I just needed to do it. Oh, I could say it to him, of course, but I thought it would fit our relationship more. Our story began with a message on a cup, after all.
So, when Alex saw what I wrote, he gave me the kind of look you had when you looked at kittens.
"Oh my god, Charles… I knew it! DARWIN!!!" he yelled. Our boss probably hated all of us by now. "You owe me a hundred more."
Erik just couldn't wait for his espresso and took his cup from Alex’s hands.
"Hey! That’s cheating, mate!" Erik didn’t bother to answer and read his message. My heart was beating so hard and so fast I felt like it was going to get out of my body. I tried to read Erik’s facial expressions but he remained stoical.
Oh my god, it was too soon. He doesn't feel the same. He was just having a good time with me. Please, Erik, say something.
But he kept looking at the cup and I couldn't see his face. I realized that the entire room was silent. Alex, Darwin and my other colleagues were all looking at Erik, waiting for his reaction, as well as the regular customers that knew enough to have the same expression than Alex on their faces. They waited for Erik to talk, to smile, to leave, and I felt myself blushing harder and harder as the time passed.
It felt like hours before Erik raised his head and gazed at me, his eyes burning, full of tears he was trying to hold. And finally, finally, he said…
"I love you too." And while he broke all the rules by going behind the counter to kiss me, I almost didn't notice the applause that rose in the café.