What's In A Name? || A Rierra fanfiction

One

He first notices her on a Thursday, when the sky reflects his mood, his throat is sore from singing, and his fingers are bleeding from pressing too hard on the guitar strings. He’s glad the Starbucks is practically empty, because he closes the door harder than is probably socially acceptable when he enters. The only people in the shop are so immersed in their books or laptops or music that they don’t even look up.

He makes his way to the counter, glad there’s no line – his patience is thin as it is. “Um, can I have a skinny venti vanilla latte?” he asks tiredly.

“Sure, can I get you anything else?” replies a light voice, and he looks up.

The barista looks way too perky for such a gloomy day, and normally that would irritate him, but her cheerfulness seems to suit her perfectly. Pale green eyes sparkle at him from under the brim of her black Starbucks cap, and her pink lips are curved into a friendly smile. Dark auburn hair is swept into a messy knot at the back of her head, but a few wispy strands hover around her cheeks.

Her nametag reads Sierra.

He has been silent for too long. “Uh, no,” he answers, rubbing the back of his neck and hoping it wasn’t too obvious that he was staring at her. “That’s all.”

“Okay, and your name?” Sierra asks.

He considers telling her his real name, but then he’ll have to spell it out for her, and he really doesn’t need that awkwardness today. So he tells her his name is Tony, like always.

She gives him a genuine smile as she tells him his total, and he pays with a ghost of a smile in return. He sits near enough to the counter that he can watch her while he waits for his coffee, and he comes to the conclusion that it shouldn’t be allowed for a girl to look so stunning in a Starbucks uniform.

“Tony?” Sierra finally calls, and he’s on his feet, heading over to the counter. She hands him his coffee, and their fingers almost brush, but that would be really cliché. He can’t decide whether he’s glad or disappointed that they didn’t. “Have a good day.”

“Thanks,” he says as he takes his coffee, and then he just stands there stupidly for a second. He hears himself blurt out, “By the way, uh, my name isn’t actually Tony.”

Sierra raises her eyebrows at him.

“It’s Ramin,” he says, feeling himself blush a little.

She stares at him for a second, then laughs. “Oh.”

“What?” he says, but he can feel himself grinning a little.

“Nothing, I just… I can see why you went with Tony,” she giggles. She’s adorable, he thinks.

He chuckles. “Yeah, Ramin has caused some problems in the past. There’s always the whole, ‘how do you spell that’, and then sometimes they’ll pronounce it wrong,” he jokes, somewhat self-deprecating.

“How do they think it’s pronounced?” She’s actually conversing with him. She isn’t bored or confused or… and he probably should reply now.

“Ramen, usually,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck again as he grins. “Or Raheem. That one I really don’t understand.”

Sierra is laughing again, and he’s totally in awe of her flawless beauty. “Okay, Ramen,” she teases, “as much as I’ve enjoyed this, I need to get back to work.”

 His heart sinks a little. “Of course,” he agrees and steps back. “Um, will you be here tomorrow?”

Was that too quick? Judging from her smile, he doesn’t think so. “Yep, I’ll be here all day,” she says cheerfully, not in the manner that people usually make that statement.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Sierra,” he tells her, and she looks a little surprised. “You’ve got a nametag,” he informs her with a grin, then tips an imaginary hat to her and leaves with his coffee in hand.

He is definitely coming back tomorrow.