Reading Between The Lines | Basil Hawkins x Reader

04 - I Remember You

After closing your door, you turned to the street.

It was a colder morning than usual, the air rather crisp and turned your exhales into puff of white each time you breathed. Your smaller tote bag was slung over your shoulder, holding your house keys and phone. With that, you didn't need much else.

"Right then."

Smiling happily to yourself, you began to wander off down the street.

Robin's shop was only a few roads away. She had told you that you could start later than usual in order to get used to the area, but you said that it was okay. You weren't really a morning person intrinsically, but you were just so excited to start this job that you actually ended up waking earlier than you were meant to. No matter.

The streets were quieter than usual, only a few early workers going to work or coming back from night shifts. You could hear the call of birds as they nestled in the trees which lined the street, chirping away.

You had found that this chilly day was a good excuse to wear you overcoat; it was a lovely tan colour, made out of wool and fell to around your mid-calf. The scarf that you got out on occasional cold days was wrapped around your shoulders, the deep red colour making the surroundings look a little brighter. You were making sure to be careful when walking, afraid that your smooth-bottomed boots would slip on the icy paving.

When you turned the corner of your street, you noticed that there was a little coffee shop. You were going to walk right past it until you smelt the desirable smell of coffee.

Glancing into the window, it looked like quite a nice place. The walls were bare brick and the lighting fixtures were low, rustic and quite cute in a way. There was one man sitting at the till, probably a student around your age as he had a laptop propped up on the counter. The city had quite a famous university in it, you wouldn't be surprised. He looked a little rugged; messy, dark hair and a goatee, tanned skin that was lined with tattoos and a set frown on his features.

"Hello."

Walking in, the man looked up and pushed his laptop to the side. He gave you a nod as you ambled over, scanning the blackboard of different coffees and other hot drinks. Some of the options were a little unusual, fun was the way you would describe them. One that stood out to you was a gingerbread latte, nothing you had tried before but you heard that it was good.

"One gingerbread latte..."

You trailed off.

Would Robin like a drink as well?

She seemed to like the tea yesterday but didn't mention she liked coffee. Maybe you would just gamble it to be kind and considerate.

"And one regular cappuccino."

The man stood to his feet, Your eyes catching his name tag ,which said "Law", before he turned around to the coffee maker. You took a seat at one of the tables near the counter, absentmindedly looking around the space. It was pretty nice, had a good atmosphere to it.

"You new to the area?"

From over the noise of the coffee machine, you heard his curious voice. It was silky smooth and definitely nice to listen to.

"Yeah. I just moved here recently."

You heard him hum, his head tilting.

"Here for work, school or what?"

Tapping your fingers along the underside of the table, you offered him a smile as he began to pour the coffees into two cups. You had heard the question often enough to know the answer almost instantly.