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Josh loved his regular customers.
There was that sweet old lady, Patsy, who always ordered a tall hot chocolate with extra extra whipped cream, that shaky kid Maurice who always darted in after class and ordered a grande skinny mocha while muttering about how he was going to fail his next exam, though he never left without giving Josh a smile. This set of roughly thirty-year old twin sisters who came in every Sunday afternoon who decided to switch up their orders every time, and then...
Venti iced caramel macchiato guy.
Tyler.
Josh hated this guy.
He was a regular, too, a regular asshole if you asked Josh. The kid, looking roughly the same age as Josh, just seemed so...pretentious. Like, how dare he be walking into this coffee shop to be around people who were lower than him? The mere thought made Josh scowl.
It's not that this guy had ever said anything particularly rude or yelled at Josh or anything, no, but every god damn time he entered the store, no matter how long of a line there was, this dude was always on his fucking phone the entire time he ordered. He'd give a half-assed glance, his lips hardly mouthing his order, then he'd return to his conversation. No response to Josh asking how his day was, nothing when prompted if he would be paying with cash or credit (he just shoved his card into Josh's hand), and not even the blink of an eye when he was asked if he wanted his receipt, just headed towards the pick-up area.
What a dick.
Josh was almost done with his shift that fine Tuesday evening, hoping Tyler had found out there was a Starbucks on the next block and would no longer burden him with his presence, when the man himself walked through the doors, damn cell-phone glued to his ear.
Josh huffed out a breath, quickly gained his composure as Tyler walked up to the counter, and did his best to smile.
"Welcome to Blue's Cafe, how can I serve you today?"
Tyler rummaged in his pocket for his credit card, not even mumbling a "hang on a moment" to whoever he was on the phone with, just slammed his card on the counter while muttering, "Venti iced caramel macchiato."
Josh tapped it into the register, fingertips hitting the computer harshly, and he could've sworn Tyler's card was going to snap as he swiped it. He slapped it back down in front of him just as bitterly, and didn't even bother asking if he needed a receipt. He tossed the paper away and began to work on Tyler's drink, muttering under his breath about what a prick this guy was, acting all high and mighty as if Josh was below him just because he was making his coffee...
What this guy failed to realize, Josh beamed, was that Josh was in complete control of his drink.
Not that he would spit in it or anything, Josh wasn't a complete asshole, but taking the cap off the Sharpie did spark an idea.
He smirked, scribbled 'Taylor' down on the side of the cup, and called it out for him while he shoved the cap back on the pen.
Sure, it was dumb, but Josh felt triumphant anyways.
Tyler didn't so much as thank him as he grabbed the drink off the counter, still blabbing away while he exited the store.
Had this dude even noticed he spelled his name wrong?
"Asshole," he said out loud this time, letting out a huff.
He'd get him one day.
Over the next few shifts, Josh tried his hardest to try and pick at Tyler the best he could. Variations of Tyler included; Toler, Taller, Tylor, Tygor, and other lame attempts, all to no avail.
He was actually pretty disappointed Tyler didn't notice. Or, if he did notice, he just didn't seem to care.
Josh would study the way his face looked when he grabbed the cup of coffee, see if his brows would furrow or his lips would pout, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It seemed kind of creepy that Josh was watching him like this, but seeing if he gauged a reaction out of him made him realize how...defined Tyler's features were.
Not that it was a bad thing. Or a good thing. Josh hated this guy.
Unfortunately, Josh had the next two days off, so he couldn't pester Tyler. However, that meant he could think of more creative ways to screw his name up. His previous attempts were weak, to say the least. Maybe he could start making fun of him instead of just misspelling his name. Or maybe the dude just didn't care. Come to think of it, why was Josh so determined to get this kid to make a fuss? It felt like it went beyond just him being an asshole of a customer, Josh just couldn't put his finger on it.
Arriving at his shift the next day, he couldn't wait for Tyler to come in. Him with his stupid phone and his stupid brown eyes and his stupid pretty lips that curled around their styrofoam cups so nicely that--
What the hell? Why was he thinking th--
He walked in just in time to snap Josh out of his thoughts, and the same bitterness flooded to his chest upon seeing his phone glued to his ear.
Once again, Josh obeyed this dude's command, not even listening to his order because he knew it'd be the same thing. He felt a little disappointed to get a guy like this as a regular, but, his coffee fate lied in this small shop, evidently.
He scribbled 'Ty-Guy' on his cup, one last little safe measure before handing it out.
Nothing.
He shrugged, and decided to give up.
With finals coming up later that week, Josh had taken more days off than he usually did to help him study. He couldn't hardly process any of the information from his textbooks on a good day, let alone when the grinding of coffee beans beckoned his name.
So, when he returned to work about ten days later, he was shocked to see Tyler walk in without his phone pressed to his ear.
"Venti iced caramel macchiato?" Josh asked as he came up to the counter, already typing the order in. "Thanks for finally not being on your phone, too. Hard to hear you when your mouth is pressed into a receiver," he said, and knew if some management heard him he'd get berated, but he was feeling particularly ballsy.
"Excuse me?"
So, Tyler had a real voice, not just one that barked an order at him.
"It's just rude for customers to be on their phone when placing orders," Josh shrugged. "You've been in here so many times in the month, and you're always on your phone," he said, continuing to chat with him as he made his drink. "Just, thanks, is all."
"Maybe I'd get off my phone if you spelled my name right. You know it's Tyler."
That caught his attention.
"You never said anything about me doing that. Besides, I did that way after you were on your phone! I did it to try and see if you'd actually hang up and complain or something, hold an actual conversation when I ask you how you're doing, even if it's just faking being polite for the two minutes we have to interact."
Whoa, what the hell was that? Why had he just spat all that out? It was just one dude. Why was he freaking out?
"Well, sorry." Tyler mumbled, and if Josh had to guess, he looked pretty genuine about it. His brows moved from their usually bent up position, lips moving to purse almost in embarrassment. At least, that's what it seemed like to him.
"It's cool." Josh decided on saying, handing the drink out to him.
"Let me make it up to you?" Tyler offered, and Josh was very taken aback.
"Excuse me?"
"Look, forgive me if I'm wrong, but you like dudes, don't you? I've seen you around campus, I heard from a few people you work here and I kept stopping by to try and see you. I don't even really like coffee," Tyler laughed, looking down at the drink. "I get these for my roommate. Is that super creepy that I come here for you just to try and get a date?"
Josh swallowed the lump in his throat, unsure if he'd heard him right. "Dude...you want to go on a date with me? You don't even talk to me when you come in here! Do you know I mentally have you labelled as an asshole because you never get off that phone of yours to even bother saying 'hi'? And-And now you just waltz in here wanting a date?"
Tyler was definitely embarrassed now, cheeks flushing. "Look, I really am sorry. I didn't know how to approach you, I just...I don't know, and then you started with the names and I thought it was flirty banter and shit, I guess I was a total dick, huh? I'm really, really sorry, Josh."
Hearing his name spill from his lips made Josh soften, and he realized that, holy fuck he knew why he was feeling weird.
"I get off at seven. Here's my number."