Chapter Text
Opening up the coffee shop for the day, Stevie felt weirdly energised and excited for what the day held. There was absolutely no real reason for it, just a strange feeling. Her colleagues could feel it as well, an electric excitement in the air which seemed to put everyone in a good mood. They were a small locally run business - all cakes and pastries made in store, any bottled drinks supplied by local businesses and all around ethical coffee shop in the best way they could do it. They only had about 20 staff members employed and the small group were like family. Everyone knew their job and did it well. Today's opening team had Stevie's best friend Lisa with her, the girls laughing and making a round of warm drinks for everyone before the customers started coming in.
Like most cafes, they had their regulars and people coming to try for the first time. Stevie was just finishing up the order for one of these regulars when she turned to greet her next customer. She froze momentarily as she saw him. A little dishevelled looking, a bit of stubble on his face, big brown eyes with tired bags lining them and unruly curls that kept falling over his face as he peered into the pastry cabinet and pushed his glasses up his face. He looked like he either embodied shabby chic or he hadn't slept properly in a while. Either way he was gorgeous and Stevie had to keep her composure. A frown creased the man's brow as he looked over the options, Stevie clearing her throat as she leaned against the top of the cabinet to talk to him.
"If you're stuck for ideas, I recommend the caramel shortbread. Not because I made it but because it's actually pretty good." She flashed her best smile as he looked up, eyes wide and making him look almost cartoon-like. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he nodded and gave a tight smile.
"Then I'll take your word for it, thank you." The man clearly had something on his mind but Stevie didn't know him to pry. So she just gave him another smile and got the slice out for him - taking the rest of his order. It was quite a big one but she didn't mind, he had a nice voice despite the tired tone to it. She could feel Lisa's eyes burning into her as she rang his order through the till and stamped a loyalty card. He fumbled in his bag for his wallet before gathering everything and heading out. Stevie couldn't help but watch him for a moment before fixing her best dazzling professional smile for the next customer.
The rest of the day went by pretty normally, that weird excitement in the air meant morale was high all day and everyone seemed to really enjoy their shift.
"Well. Someone seemed to have a better day than the rest of us." Lisa teased as they pulled their coats on to head out once the late shift came in to take over. Stevie glanced over at her, tilting her head slightly.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She laughed and turned to head out, waving to the other staff members as they left. Lisa rolled her eyes and followed Stevie quickly.
"I'm talking about the cutie with the big puppy dog eyes." She fluttered her eyelashes at Stevie and laughed. Stevie just laughed and shook her head.
"Yeah, he was very handsome. But I've never seen him before and possibly never will again. We get handsome customers all the time!! Remember Mr. 8am Large Cappuccino?" Lisa made a fanning motion at the mention of her favourite customer.
"How could I forget him! Anyway you may see the puppy again. He dropped this." Lisa grinned and waved a little black notebook at Stevie. "He's gotta come back for it, it looks important." Stevie laughed and shook her head.
"You're terrible."
"No, what would be terrible is writing your number in the back and hoping he comes back as soon as possible." Lisa winked and slipped the book into Stevie's bag before giving her a tight hug. "I love you. Take a chance sometimes, hmm? I can't have my best girl alone forever!" They said their goodbyes and got into their separate cars to head home.
Once she was home, the notebook was forgotten about for now as she got to her usual routine of cooking and channel surfing to unwind. After she'd taken a soak in the bath, she went into her bag to fish out her apron to wash it for her shift the following day - the little notebook hitting the floor with a dull thud. She paused upon hearing the sound before turning to pick it up. It was a little dog-eared from constantly being used. She put it on the counter for now so she could finish her chores. But once she finished, the book was in her hands. Was it creepy to hold onto it? Or was it fate trying to finally give her a chance to meet someone? She settled into her seat and opened the book curiously. His handwriting was definitely interesting, big looping capital letters and an inconsistent sizing of the following letters. Almost like he had too many thoughts in his head at any time and it showed in his writing style. It was somewhat endearing. She couldn't make sense of the scribblings - especially when most of it looked to be incredibly complex mathematical equations. He was definitely incredibly smart as well as attractive. Stevie tapped her fingers gently against the cover before flipping to the back - almost instantly breathing a sigh of relief to see Lisa hadn't actually written Stevie's number in it. She put it aside for now and figured she would just keep it in her apron for if he came back. She really hoped he would come back soon though.
—
Much to her disappointment, months passed and the man never came back. But she kept the notebook close just in case, a little embarrassed after a point that she was holding onto a stranger's property in the hopes she could speak to him. She was just finishing a customers order and heading to wash the blender at the back when Lisa came rushing over.
"The puppy is back! And he has a hot friend!" She whispered excitedly to Stevie, it took all of her muscle control to not whip around and stare. She just pretended to shoo off Lisa when she finally turned around. She wasn't lying. There he stood outside, gripping the handle of his leather satchel as his friend was grinning at him as he spoke. Their body language said there was a little teasing going on between them; the owner of the notebook shaking his head and making those messy curls bounce slightly as he tried to leave. But his friend was having none of it and wrapped an arm around the man's shoulders to tug him towards the door. Stevie quickly looked away so she wasn't caught staring and found a spot to clean on the back counter, trying to act like she hadn't seen them as she refilled one of the syrup bottles. While she was busy pretending to be busy, she hadn't noticed Lisa slip off and grab the notebook from Stevies locker. She shoved it into her friend's apron with a wink before she went off to observe from a distance.
"C'mon Pretty Boy! I promised Penelope some more of that shortbread and you know she'll pout if I break my promise." Stevie reached for a towel to dry her hands as she heard the two men get closer to the counter. She didn't catch the smaller males response as she tossed her towel aside and turned to face them both with a warm smile. He looked less exhausted today, and he'd had a shave but he still had that adorable lost puppy look. Especially tucked uncomfortably against his more muscular companion.
"Hey guys! What can I do for you?" She leaned against the counter as she spoke, the friend was clearly the confident one as he gave a toothy grin and finally let go of the other male.
"Well my friend here came by a few months back and got some goodies from here that our friend has been craving since then." Stevie chuckled and nodded.
"I remember him coming by! I assumed such a big order was an apology for running late to work with how fast he ran out of here." She hummed, bagging up a couple of items for the pair as the man picked them out. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the two men having a wordless conversation with nudges and head movements. "Oh do you have the loyalty card I gave you?" She asked, holding out her hand with another smile. He blinked before nodding and rummaging in his bag for a moment before handing over the little card. She stamped it again a few times before handing it back, he tucked it back into his bag. His friend perking one eyebrow before handing over some cash for the order. They gathered everything and turned to head out.
"Oh! Hang on!" She came out from behind the counter, rummaging in her apron pocket for the notebook. She offered it over with a smile. "You dropped this last time. It seemed important so we kept it safe." The man paused before reaching to take it with a soft thanks.
"See I told you kid. These things always turn up!" His friend laughed and nudged him gently. "Reid here has an eidetic memory but somehow still loses things all the time." Stevie laughed a little as she pushed her hands into her pockets.
"An eidetic memory is impressive but he's still human. See you guys again soon!" She smiled and turned to head back to work.
"Reid? What kind of a name is that?" Lisa muttered around her lunch, Stevie shrugging as she picked at her own.
"Could be an old fashioned name? Or his surname? Remember how a bunch of the guys in college would just call each other by their surnames?" Lisa nodded at the suggestion and grabbed her phone.
"Lisa…what are you doing?" Stevie frowned a little as she watched, Lisa just grinning in response.
"Well! He's gotta be on Facebook right? Everyone is! Even my grandparents have Facebook." She couldn't argue with that logic really, although admittedly her first thought wasn't to do a Facebook search. So she let Lisa do her thing as she ate some of her lunch. Moments later she heard a huff of frustration. "Weird. There's not a single guy with the surname Reid who looks like the puppy. I even tried different spellings and nothing." Lisa puffed her cheeks a little in frustration and put her phone down. Stevie just laughed and shrugged a shoulder.
"Maybe he's old fashioned. He might come back."
"Oh yeah and you can make awkward customer service small talk every time until one day he comes in with a date and you sulk for a week. Or…he might call." Lisa mumbled the last bit into her cup as she took a drink. Stevie stared at her for a moment, her eyes narrowing.
"I checked the notebook. You didn't put my number in it…" Lisa just put her hands under her chin and fluttered her eyelashes.
"I might have quickly put it in there when I saw him at the door today." Stevie dropped her fork in surprise, she never got angry at Lisa but today she found herself getting irritated. "Oh come on. I know that look, don't be pissed off. You would never hand over your number and he doesn't seem the type to ask for it so… call it a loving intervention." Stevie huffed a little, pursing her lips. Lisa was right, but it didn't make her feel any less unsure about it.