Two Sugars

Chapter One

Same nose, similar ears. The ears usually give it away. But then, one redhead and one blonde? Maybe they're- shit, a kiss. Didn't guess in time. Damn, I am not doing well today, won't be breaking my record streak anytime soo-

'You alright?'

You snapped back to reality, eyes flicking away from the front window to focus on the broad man who'd appeared on the opposite side of the counter.

'Hmm, what?' It took a good few seconds for you to remember where you were. 'Yeah, sorry, what can I get you?'

He tried to suppress the deep chuckle vibrating through his chest. 'Black coffee, two sugars.'

'Something funny?'

'No, just uh-' he glanced away for a second, embarrassed, obviously not registering your playful tone, 'that's the third time I asked. You must'a been miles away.'

While he was hesitating, you'd taken a quick second to scan your eyes over him. He was wearing a pair of old, worn-out jeans and a dark jacket, an outfit you wouldn't have looked twice at if it weren't for the single, black leather glove that covered his left hand. Your eyebrows scrunched slightly in confusion when you spotted it, then quickly relaxed again when you decided to write it off as some kind of odd fashion statement. He couldn't have been too late into his thirties, but his right hand was calloused and weathered, so much so that it looked as though should've belonged to someone twice his age. His rough stubble obviously hadn't been touched with a razor for a good few days and you weren't entirely confident he'd showered this week yet, somehow, he was kinda pulling it off.

You shuffled towards the coffee machine to start his order. 'Sorry, I was just thinking.'

'Anything interesting?'

'Not really, I was just playing a stupid game. Helps pass the time when it's slow.'

He shrugged slightly, a faint smile appearing as he replied. 'I like games.'

You were quiet for a second, trying to size this stranger up. His eyebrows slowly crept up his forehead in anticipation.

'It's gonna sound weird, but sometimes I like trying to guess what kinda relationship people have before they give it away.' You knew you were coming across crazy even as the words were leaving your lips. 'Like, those two holding hands outside? At first I thought maybe they were brother and sister. Same ears.'

He quickly glanced at them over his shoulder. 'You do that all day? Surely most people aren't hard to figure out.'

'You'd think so,' you leaned in and tried your best to maintain a sincere expression, 'but every so often you come across a couple with a huge age gap and it rocks your damn world.'

A rumbling laugh escaped from his throat which set you off giggling as you secured the lid of his takeout cup and placed in front of him.

'Two fifty.'

He grabbed the drink with his gloved hand and rustled around in his pocket with the other, eventually pulling out a crumpled five dollar note and sliding it across the counter.

'Keep the change,' he quickly clocked your stunned expression, 'for the entertainment.'

'Wow, thanks. Have fun playing.'

'I definitely will.'

You kept your eyes glued to him as he strode through the door and past the front window, only realising after he was out of sight that a wide, giddy grin had settled itself on your face.

Stupid, there was no way a guy like that was single.

***

It'd been over a week and you'd almost forgotten your interaction with the handsome stranger. Heavy footsteps trudged over the threshold and became louder as they headed in your direction, but you didn't look up from the coffee stain you were furiously trying to scrub off the counter. Absolutely nothing had gone your way today, and your frustrations had been made even worse by a string of asshole customers, so this was a war you refused to lose. A weathered set of fingers came to rest a few inches away from the brown-tinged battleground.