Coffee Boy (Dallas Liu FF)

1

I was scrambling to make it to work on time when I swung by Starbucks for a quick caffeine fix. Even though I had a 15-minute walk ahead of me and only 10 minutes left, I figured grabbing a coffee was worth the risk. After all, being a few minutes late wouldn't make much of a difference at that point.

Thankfully, the line at Starbucks wasn't too long, and I was out the door sooner than expected. But just as I was rushing out, disaster struck—I collided with something hard, sending my hot coffee spilling all over me, staining my white shirt a lovely shade of brown.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't see you!" a voice said. Confused, I looked up and saw a pair of worried-looking brown eyes. The guy in front of me was quite a bit taller than me and had dark brown hair that hung a bit in his face. He looked incredibly handsome. He looked around and grabbed some napkins that were on a nearby table and handed them to me. "I'll buy you a new coffee," he said as he watched me try to somehow get the stain off, but no chance. I shouldn't have even tried because I was just smudging everything and making it worse.

"It's all good. I wasn't watching where I was going," I mumbled, "My boss will kill me if I run home to change now..." "You can take my hoodie!" he offered immediately. With a simple movement, he pulled his hoodie over his head. I couldn't help but stare at him as his T-shirt stuck to the hoodie in the process and rode up a little. That was a lot of muscle. "No, it's all good. You don't have to do this," I mumbled, feeling the heat rush to my face. He pressed the hoodie into my hand. "It's the least I can do," he replied, giving me a smile that revealed a row of straight, white teeth.

With a shy smile, I accepted his offer, noting the nice scent lingering on the fabric. Now I would probably spend the whole day at work thinking about some dude who had spilt coffee on me and was completely out of my league. Wait a minute, work... I'm going to be late! "Shit," I cursed, "Ehm... thanks for the hoodie, but I really have to go now! I'll definitely see you again, then I'll give it back to you!" I ran out of the door with quick steps and continued along the path. "Wait!" he called out. I turned round and saw him standing in front of the door. "Will you at least tell me your name?" he asked. I walked slowly backwards and smiled. "Cara," I called, then turned and ran as fast as I could. I was annoyed all day that I hadn't asked him his name.

***

I walked out of the little bookshop where I worked in the evening. It was late and I was hungry. As I didn't feel like cooking, I decided to go to my favourite pizza place and get something to eat there. It had got chilly outside, so I snuggled into my warm hoodie a little more and caught myself breathing in the smell that clung to it again.

When I walked into the little pizza joint, I was greeted by the comforting aroma of cheesy goodness. I walked up to the counter and looked at the display above it. Of course, I hadn't thought about what I wanted beforehand. Someone stepped up next to me, but I didn't pay any attention to him, he probably just wanted to look at the menu.

"Long time no see," said the person next to me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I recognised the voice. I slowly turned my head and looked into the same brown eyes as this morning. I felt myself sinking into them slowly but surely as I gave myself a jolt and looked back at the menu. "Are you stalking me?" I asked, amused. He chuckled. "I promise I'm not a creep," he said. I could hear the smile in his voice. "I hope so for your sake. I've got pepper spray with me," I joked.

It was quiet for a moment. "Do you have any plans?" he finally asked. I shook my head and finally got in the queue to order. "No, I wanted to take a pizza with me and go home," I replied. "Well... I still owe you a coffee... maybe I could take you out for a pizza instead?" he suggested. "You don't owe me a coffee. You lent me your hoodie," I replied. I could feel my cheeks turning red. "I insist," he finally said. I hesitated at first, but his persistence won me over. "Okay, but I'm paying for the drinks," I insisted with a sheepish grin. "I'm Dallas by the way. I didn't tell you my name earlier", he said. I couldn't help but feel grateful for the unexpected turn of events that brought us together once again.