bridge & burn [h.s.]

flashback - 10 months earlier

"Hi, can I just get one large iced latte with oat milk?"
My eyes dart up to the apparently British man behind the counter, brown hair falling into his eyes and a smile that would make every care in the world fall away.

"Oh uh, yeah, let me get that started for you right now. Can I have a name?"

"Harry."

I start to make his drink when an absolutely bold thought crosses my mind. He's not wearing a ring and he's the most gorgeous man I've ever seen. I could write my number on his coffee cup. I've only ever seen stuff like that in the movies but now is my chance, if I dare to take it.

"Fuck it," I mumble under my breathe as I scrawl my number hastily on his cup and say, "Harry? Your coffee is ready!"

He walks up to the counter, grabs the cup from my hand and I swear I felt lightning strike between us as our fingers grazed.

"Thank you, love," he says with a smile as he takes a sip and walks away.

He's probably not going to see it, I thought to myself, which is fine because honestly I don't know why I thought I had a shot with him in the first place.

As the hours pass by in the coffee shop, I recount the story of my earlier bravery to my coworker, Lauren.

"Shut the fuck up, no you did not!" she says as she cleans the espresso machine.

"Yeahhh," I say, blushing as I wipe the counter down.

"Well, damn. I never would've guessed that you'd shoot your shot like that. Now only time will tell if your mystery man will call. What did you say his name was?" she asks.

"Harry," I say while my chest tightens, just thinking about our hands touching ever so briefly earlier. "I'm not gonna get my hopes up. Are you good to close?"

"Yeah I'm good, you go on ahead and enjoy your Friday night," Lauren says with a soft smile.

I head out of the shop and back to my apartment to wash the day off. As I am stepping into the shower, I see my phone buzz on the counter so I turn the water on and walk over to check my notification.

*one new message from an unknown number*

My fingers tense as I slide the screen open and see the text.

"Hey, it's Harry. Cheeky note you left on my cup earlier xx"

Oh. My. God.