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He was there again. Dan tried his best to subtly glance up from the espresso machine he was working at and see which aisle he was strolling down but the quiet clearing of his customers throat let him know that he was not being subtle about checking out a customer at all. His cheeks burned with chargain and he worked on finishing up the latte as quick as he could. Jerry, his 8 am usual, gave him a knowing smirk and paid for his coffee, leaving him a dollar in the tip jar like usual and left leaving Dan to try and see if he was still there.
For the past 2 weeks the same black haired man had been coming into Dan’s coffee shop/bookstore at least once a day. Sometimes he just browsed the books, some days he bought a coffee and lunch, other days he stayed for a few hours; drinking several cups of tea and reading large sections of the book he just purchased from the limited selection Dan carried.
Although Dan had become fascinated with him, they only had a handful of interactions. Despite being a small store, they were very popular and Dan was often busy. He had only been the one to take his order twice, one time being in the middle of the morning rush and he was unable to make conversation other then the polite customer service chit chat he had with everyone.
Today was quiet though and he was hoping that after he browsed the books he would come order a drink and Dan would get the chance to actually talk to him. He gave up trying to see him in the stacks and began cleaning the espresso machine so it was ready for the next order.
He got lost in his prep routine and nearly jumped out of his skin when a deep voice said:
“Excuse me,” Dan clutched his chest and turned around. It was the mystery customer, looking incredibly sheepish for scaring Dan.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, his pale cheeks becoming a lovely shade of pink. Dan approached the counter and gave him a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry about it. I scare super easy. What can I get for you?” He placed a second hand copy of The Shining on the counter to buy and ordered a caramel macchiato. Dan handed him the drink and smiled;
“Those are my favorite, you have good taste in coffee.”
“Could I possibly persuade you to join me?” He asked, his cheeks brightening again. Dan was a little surprised but pleasantly so. He called back to Kerry and Dakota who were working in the back that he was going on break and quickly made himself a drink, joining the boy on one of the cozy couches in the corner of the store.
They both sipped their drinks in silence at first and then both started to introduce themselves at the same time. Dan let out a peal of laughter and the boy joined in. He extended his hand forward once their laughs had died down a little;
“I’m Phil,” he said. Dan liked his voice. It was a rich baritone and had a lovely Northern lilt to it. He could probably listen to him talk about the weather and be perfectly happy.
“I’m Dan,” he said, shaking his hand. It was soft, and just a little smaller than Dan’s giant one. He didn’t really want to let go, but holding a strangers hand wasn’t exactly socially acceptable. He removed his hand, and was a little satisfied that Phil didn’t seem to want to pull away either. Dan glanced down at the book in his lap.
“So are you a big Stephen King fan?” This was technically cheating because Dan already knew the answer to that. He had watched Phil buy several Stephen King novels since he started coming in but figured it was a good ice breaker.
“I am,” he said holding the book up as if to show Dan the author for emphasis. “He’s probably my favorite. But any horror or sci-fi novel is good by me. I love reading.” Dan knew this too.
“How about you?” Phil asked. Dan thought for a second.
“Well, I like a bit of everything. There isn’t really anything I wouldn’t read. I don’t think I have a favorite author per se. I really enjoy philosophy books but I love fantasy stuff like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings too. You could hand me any book and I would probably read it.” Phil nodded in agreeance and they talked about books a little more before naturally segueing into the next topic. They chatted about random things, Phil even bringing up the weather which made Dan chuckle a little, and Dan got so caught up in talking to Phil that it wasn’t until Kerry approached the couch and asked Dan to come help prep for the afternoon rush that he even realized how long he had been sitting there.
“Oh god,” Phil exclaimed, “I didn’t get you in trouble did I?” He looked so earnest that Dan wanted to wrap him up and keep him forever.
“I’m the owner, I can’t technically get in trouble. It just wasn’t very cool of me to abandon my crew for,” he glanced down at his phone and gave guilty little start, “an hour.”
“I didn’t realize we’d be talking for so long!” Dan grinned, a blush staining his cheeks this time. He nodded and started gathering their cups, ready to head back to the counter when he felt Phil’s fingers lightly on his wrist.
“Hey, do you think that maybe I could have your number?” He said it so shyly and sweetly Dan felt his knees get a bit weak.
“Yea, definitely,” Dan said. Phil pulled out his phone and Dan added his number and then quickly said goodbye, actually needing to get back to work.
*************************************
Luckily Phil didn’t do the “wait three days before texting” like some guys did, and Dan had a text waiting for him at the end of his shift.
‘Hey this is Phil, from the coffee shop. I had a really nice time visiting with you today, thank you for keeping me company :)’
Dan had to contain the squeal of happiness he wanted to let out. He texted back that it was his pleasure and that he had a nice time too and Phil’s reply was almost instantaneous. They ended up texting Dan’s whole bus ride home and well into the night. Their conversation flowed easily, topics coming up naturally with no awkward pauses.
When Dan went to work the next morning he couldn’t help but be a little distracted. He wanted to check his phone but he had a no phone policy and he had to stick to the rules if he expected his team to. He was just about to go to the back and take his break when he saw Phil stroll through the door. He couldn’t help break out in a wide grin, one that Phil matched instantly.
Dan made them drinks and they took up residency on the couch again, though they sat a little closer than they had before. They chatted again, smiles never leaving either of their faces. Dakota had to come retrieve him, even after he had promised he wouldn’t stay longer than his scheduled break, faux judgment all over their face as they drug Dan away from the couch.
Dan sent the two of them home early, promising to close the shop down himself that night to makeup for his long breaks. They good naturedly teased him about finally having the guts to talk to his crush and he blushed profusely and practically shoved them out the door.
Dan ran through his closing routine, turning the music up a little louder since they rarely got customers in the last half an hour. He heard the bell jingle and headed to the counter to see who it was and was surprised to see Phil again. He was holding a bag of food and a drink carrier and held held them up questioningly.
“I knew you’d be closing soon so I thought I would bring you dinner?” He looked nervous and it made Dan swoon a little. He nodded, directing him to the couches and letting him know he would be done in just a few. He glanced at the clock and flipped the open sign over and turned off the neon sign. He finished up his last few chores and headed to join Phil.
The Greek food he had gotten smelled amazing. They had texted the night before about all their favorite foods and Phil had gotten several of Dan’s favorite items, even getting plenty of condiments to go along with his meal. His heart felt so warm and he had a hard time expressing how much the gesture meant to him. Phil seemed to understand though and they tucked into their food and lapsed into a comfortable silence.
When they were finished Phil helped Dan clean up and before he could say goodbye Dan led him to the shelves of books. They wandered around and talked about their favorites, spending a lengthy amount of time in the horror section while Phil gushed about his favorite authors. Dan just listened attentively, happy to hear him talk about something so passionately. They wandered over to the non fiction section and Dan talked about all of the books he had read, and how he had a habit of going on Wikipedia deep dives at 4am sometimes. Phil smiled fondly and Dan felt himself blush a little under Phil’s gaze.
They moved to another section that was a little quieter, that got a little less traffic and Dan turned around to give him a tidbit on the books when he found that Phil was a little closer in his space than maybe what was considered normal. He didn’t approach any closer, as if waiting to see if it was okay, so Dan took a step closer to him effectively closing the space between them.
Phil reached out tentatively and cupped Dan’s cheek and Dan leaned into the contact, a small sigh leaving him. Up this close he could see a small smattering of freckles across the bridge of Phil’s nose and his eyes had flickers of green and yellow in them and they weren’t just the blue Dan had believed them to be. Phil looked into Dan’s eyes, making his intentions clear, giving Dan plenty of time to lean away if he wanted, and pressed his lips to Dan’s.
Dan didn’t believe in the idea that a kiss was fireworks and explosions, but maybe that was because he hadn’t ever been properly kissed, he thought. With every press of their lips Dan felt tingles up his spine and sparks all the down to his toes. He pulled Phil closer to him by his hips, their kiss temporarily being broken by their giggles.
Dan took the opportunity to brush his fingers across Phil’s cheek and place a small kiss on his lips. They both were smiling like idiots and Dan leaned back in for another kiss, letting the soft music playing over the speakers and the rain that had started falling outside be the soundtrack to what he hoped would be his last first kiss.