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Dean sweeps at the remaining crumbs scattered on the café floor. He’d let Charlie skip out early for a late night movie with Dorothy, leaving him alone for clean-up duty. He doesn’t mind though; there’s nothing waiting for him back at his apartment except some reheated take-out and a rerun of Dr. Sexy.
Just as he’s on the verge of spiraling down into a round of self-pity, the muffled sounds of Aqua’s ‘Barbie Girl’ cuts through the silence of the café. Dean frowns as he follows the familiar tune to one of the few cushioned armchairs in the corner. He digs between the seat cushions until he finally manages to unearth a small, black flip-phone.
Without thinking, Dean flips it open and answers it. “Hello?”
“Hello,” a graveled voice comes from the other end. “You seem to have my phone.”
“Uh…yeah.” Dean scratches the top of his head. “You left it at Common Grounds, the café on Main Street? I was just cleaning up for the night when I heard it ringing.” He cringes as he remembers that he’s basically picked up a call on a stranger’s phone which is actually pretty rude. “Sorry for picking up your call by the way.”
“Don’t worry about it. If you hadn’t picked up, I would’ve never found out where my phone was, then I would’ve had to go out and buy one of those new smart ones.” The man on the other side says this last part with undisguised disgust.
“Not a big fan of technology?” Dean chuckles.
“I find the new phones confusing, but my older siblings insist they’re essential to living. They made a comparison to oxygen and water.” The man lets out a sigh. “They said the same thing about the smart TV they forced me to buy a year ago and I have yet to figure out how to use it properly.” The other man’s exasperation is clear even through the phone’s tinny speakers.
“Listening to you, I’m guessing they must’ve also helped you set your new ring tone then.”
“New ring tone?” The man asks.
“Unless you’re telling me that you actually chose the song ‘Barbie Girl’ yourself,” Dean clarifies. “Which in that case, I would have to hold your phone hostage until you agreed to change it.”
There’s another beat of silence before a loud groan comes through. “I am going to kill them, I swear to God.”
This time Dean lets out a full-blown belly laugh. “Tell you what,” he says. “I’ll help you set your ring tone back to one of the default ones before I put it into the lost and found box, alright? You can come by tomorrow and pick it up.”
"Thank you." The man sounds incredibly relieved. "I’ll drop in tomorrow then."
“I’m working from afternoon till closing time so if you come in during that time, you can ask for ‘Dean’ at the counter.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow, Dean.”
“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”
Dean lets out a small laugh and shakes his head after he hangs up the phone. Phone guy had been oddly endearing with his aversion to technology and pesky older siblings. True to his word, Dean changes the man’s ring tone to one of the generic ones before he drops the phone into the lost and found box.
Dean catches himself replaying the conversation in his head as he finishes up for the night. Is it even possible to have a crush on someone based on their voice alone? He then scolds himself for jumping the gun. For all he knows, the guy could be 50 or married or something. Who’s to say he’s even into guys at all?
The internal debate continues even after Dean arrives back home and as he gets ready for bed. Still, Dean can’t quite quash the small spark of excitement that settles in his chest as he finally drifts off to sleep.
Dean goes through most of his shift distracted. He burns the milk and messes up enough orders that Charlie takes over the bar area and he’s demoted down to dish duty. Even then, he manages to break a mug.
“What’s the what, Winchester?” Charlie asks him during her break, parking herself next to him as she bites into her sandwich. “You’ve been spacey all evening.”
Dean scrubs at a stubborn speck of melted cheese stuck to a plate to stall for time. “Er…you’ll think it’s stupid,” he finally answers. “But I kind of met a guy last night.”
Charlie’s eyes light up in excitement. “Seriously? That’s great!” She leans in closer, eager for more details. “What’s he like?”
“Well, that’s the thing. We haven’t actually met, just talked on the phone.” Dean recounts the previous night’s occurrence to Charlie as he finishes clearing the rest of the dishes of food debris.
Charlie chews on her lip thoughtfully once Dean’s finished.
“I know, I know,” Dean heads her off before she can say anything. “It’s dumb. The guy could be a serial killer, like in all the horror movies, or a complete creep.” Dean sighs. He loads the dishes and mugs into the dish sanitizer and slams the lid close. He only turns to face Charlie after he finishes punching the button to start its cleaning cycle.
Charlie shakes her head at him. “It’s not that big a deal. From what you’ve told me, the guy sounds perfectly normal. Besides,” she shrugs, “if the guy turns out be a douchebag or whatever, you can always just give him his phone and send him on his way.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re right.” Dean would scrub his hand over his face right about now if he hadn’t just had them stuck in dirty dishes. “I’ll just see how he is and if anything’s wrong, I’ll just cut him loose.” Feeling a little better, Dean’s able to make it through the rest of his shift without any further accidents.
The apprehension starts building up again as closing time draws near. He’s already sent Charlie off despite her offer to stay, and the last customer that stopped in left 10 minutes ago; he’s all alone in the café with only his doubts to accompany him. He tries to keep himself busy by rearranging the milk in the bar area by expiry date.
Maybe phone guy was just super busy today and couldn’t make it over. Maybe he decided to ditch the phone and just get a new one despite what he’d said yesterday night. It’s not like the guy’s obligated to come get his phone. There are plenty of reasonable explanations about why phone guy hasn’t shown up yet, but Dean can’t help the flutter of disappointment that grows as time passes.
Dean’s finished cleaning one of the espresso machines when the café door opens again. He hurries over to the cashier and catches sight of one of the most gorgeous men he’s had the pleasure of setting his eyes on.
Dark, mussed hair highlight clear, blue eyes that are set atop a perfectly angled nose, all completed by soft, pink lips that are currently quirked up in a sheepish smile.
“Dean?” There’s no mistaking the deep voice that comes from the other man.
Dean mentally slaps himself in the face as he realizes that he’s doesn’t know the other man’s name. “Um…phone guy?”
The man’s smile changes from sheepish to amused, the corner of his eyes crinkling in a delightful way. “Castiel actually, but Cas will do.”
“Cas,” Dean tests the name out. “You had me worried there for a second. I was starting to think you wouldn’t show.”
“Work kept me late,” Castiel explains. “Besides, I figured that you wouldn’t have many customers at this hour so I wouldn’t be bothering you as much.”
“Good thinking.” Dean grins at the man. “Lemme go grab your phone.”
Dean heads to the back and takes the few seconds he’s out of sight to calm his racing heart. There’s no doubt about it, he definitely has a crush on Castiel. He retrieves the phone from the lost and found box and returns outside.
“Got it.” Dean holds out the phone. “Let’s see if I can teach you how to handle this thing.” He moves out from behind the counter to stand next to the other man.
“I’m really sorry to trouble you like this.” Castiel ducks his head in embarrassment.
“It’s no problem.” Dean says, waving his hand in dismissal. “Ok, changing your ring tone is pretty easy…” His brain stutters to halt when Castiel leans in close enough that their shoulders touch, his body warm against Dean’s side.
“Dean?” Castiel prompts, snapping Dean out of his momentary stupor.
“Uh…yeah, so first you…” Dean manages to muster enough brain power together to explain how to change Castiel’s ring tone, all the while very aware of how Castiel’s face is mere inches away from his own. In fact, Dean can feel soft puffs of air brushing against his cheek as the other man breathes in and out. He’s amazed how steady his voice remains as he continues his explanation.
“You got all that?” Dean asks once he’s finished instructing Castiel on how to lock his phone.
“Yes, I think so.”
The two men turn to face each other and Dean finds himself mesmerized by the blue of Castiel’s eyes. Their faces are so close that if Dean were to lean forward a few inches, their lips would touch. Instead, he gives an awkward cough and pulls away, immediately missing the comfortable warmth of the other man.
“Is there anything else you need help with?”
“Actually,” Castiel says, sounding hesitant. “I don’t know how to add someone to my contact list. Could you help me with that?”
“Sure.” Dean clicks onto Castiel’s contact list, tilting the phone to make sure Castiel can see. “You just click the ‘add new contact’ option and then input the person’s name and number.”
“Can you show me step by step? You can use your name and number as an example.”
Dean studies Castiel out of the corner of his eye. There’s a definite flush to Castiel’s cheeks and his right hand plucks at the belt of his trench coat in a nervous gesture.
Dean has to resist the urge to grin as he realizes what Castiel is trying to get him to do and all the last of his earlier trepidation drains away. He decides to play along and enters his name and phone number onto Castiel phone.
Castiel murmurs his thanks as he takes back his phone, his face still tinged pink.
Christ, the guy’s adorable.
Screw it.
Dean seizes his chance. “Cas, since you’re here anyways, at a café, would you like to grab a cup of coffee with me?”
Castiel’s eyes widen with surprise before another beautiful smile graces his face, this one all gummy with nose wrinkles on top. “I’d love to.”