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Nick was already running late, it was only a little after 10am and he could just feel that today just wasn't going to go his way. It was a Friday morning and he was planning to meet up for brunch with his best friend Tara and her girlfriend Darcy. As it was a bank holiday and none of them had work that day they arranged to meet for a nice long catch up as they hadn't all been together in what felt like forever - you'd think as grown-ups it'd be easier to meet up when you wanted, but life always seemed to have a knack of getting in the way of things. It wasn't all bad but by the time any of them had any free time they were usually all too knackered to actually do anything other than have video calls whilst wrapped up in pjs under a blanket drinking hot chocolate.
And today was the day that Nick's car decided to have a full on toddler tantrum and refuse to start, no matter how softly he spoke and patted the dashboard to encourage it to get going it just wouldn't budge. He was meeting his friends in the next town over so it wasn't the end of the world. He'd just have to hot-foot it to the bus stop and hope he can get there on time. He shot the group chat a message to explain that he'd be there as soon as he could and would probably be sweaty from running.
He power-walked as fast as he could without looking like he was a man that was going to shit himself, the bus was scheduled for 10.27 as he rounded the corner for the bus stop he could see it sitting there waiting - pulling his phone out of his pocket ‘ 10.25 - typical it's early for once’ he thought, he slid his phone back into the pocket of his jeans and made a dash for it. Running down the pavement he was so focused on getting to the doors that he wasn't paying attention to his surrounds and tripped on a loose paving stone and stumbled forward, he tried to break his fall but his momentum worked against him and took him forward as he clattered straight into a bystander that was standing by the Perspex 'wall' of the bus shelter ultimately pinning them up against the side. Luckily he managed to brace himself with his arms to stop himself completely squashing the stranger beneath him.
"I’m so sor..." Nick panted as he tried to recover from his 'near death and very embarrassing trip' opening his eyes and coming face to face (and body to body) with the stranger and what little air he had left in his lungs escaped him. He was lost in the bluest eyes he's ever seen and the most beautiful olive skin which was framed with black curls going wildly in all directions. He completely forgot where he was captivated by the vision in front of him, until he heard the bus doors close and pull away from the bus stop.
"I think you missed your bus" sassed the stranger. Nick could feel a warm breath on his face as he spoke. Nick then remembered he was still pinning him to the side wall and dropped his arms quickly, straightened himself up and sighed.
"Sorry, I’m just having the worst morning and I didn't mean to crash into you...oh god..did I hurt you?" He stammered feeling every bit embarrassed about the situation he got himself into.
"Didn’t enjoy your trip then?” The stranger asked with a smirk, straightening himself out.
"I..I'm sorry again for this and also, my name's Nick by the way" he said, wafting his hand over the air between them. Nick couldn’t help his blush as the stranger smiled a little smile at him as he spoke. He was also very thankful that there was no-one else in the shelter to witness him being such a disaster.
"Charlie" came the reply, there was a glint in his eye when he next spoke whilst giving Nick the once over, his eyes lingering on the very small tri-coloured heart patchworked onto the pocket of his t-shirt. It was small and if you weren’t looking you would think it was just a logo, but it didn’t look out of place either. It was a bi-flag heart and Nick wore it proudly.
"You know if you're going to do that, with these arms," he gave Nick's bicep a light squeeze "it's more fun with less clothes on," Charlie sassed again giving Nick a wink.
Nick couldn't believe the sheer boldness of what he heard and the implied meaning behind the mischievous look in Charlie’s eye, it just made him blush even harder than before.
"Oh you’re so easy to fluster," Charlie giggled showing off his dimples - Nick's brain ticked offline for a second.
"L...let me make it up to you at least, and show you I’m not a complete idiot?" nodding over his shoulder to the little coffee shop up the street, “fancy a coffee?”
"Yeah, I'd like that," Charlie replied, running his hand up Nick's arm, making him shiver.
Nick sent a text to the girls hoping for forgiveness- 'Rain check on brunch, will explain later'
They left the bus shelter and walked over the road, Nick paying extra attention to where his feet were going - with his luck today he’d probably fall down an open manhole cover if he wasn’t careful.
The coffee shop was small but fairly quiet for mid morning, dimly lit but with strings of fairy lights giving it a nice twinkly glow. Nick smiled as it reminded him of his childhood bedroom. He went to the counter to order their drinks, a flat white for himself and a caramel latte that came with a big swirl of cream floating on top for Charlie. Whilst waiting for the drinks Charlie found them a little table by the window which had the comfy sofa like seats compared to the standard bum numbing wooden ones.
Nick returned with a tray of coffees and two pastries because he just couldn’t resist and secretly he was hungry after his morning rush. He placed the coffee down; he gave a lopsided smile as Charlie looked up at him and said“Hi.” Nick instantly felt more relaxed with just one tiny word and a smile from the man in front of him.
“Hi” he replied, as he sat down next to Charlie, enjoying the way the well used cushions made them lean towards each other.
He watched as Charlie reached forward for his drink, long slender hands and fingers that seemed to enjoy the warmth of his mug.
“Thank you,” Charlie said as he nervously chewed his bottom lip. He took a sip of his coffee and Nick watched as Charlie relaxed into the cushions further. As Charlie placed his mug back on the table Nick couldn’t help but smile. Charlie had cream on his nose.
“Here, you’ve got a little-,” before he could stop himself Nick wiped his thumb over the end of Charlie’s nose, with a smile and his body on autopilot, he then sucked the cream off his thumb.
He heard a gentle gasp from Charlie and realised just what he’d done. His eyes widened in shock.
“You’re gonna need to work harder than that if you want my cream,” Charlie sassed with a huge grin.
And just like that, it was as if they had been friends for years.
They sat in the little coffee shop opposite the bus stop for Nick couldn’t tell you how long. But what he could tell you was he hadn’t enjoyed a coffee and pastry as much in a long time.
They chatted the rest of the afternoon away, laughing and talking endlessly.
So, Nick's day didn't turn out too bad in the end, even if he missed brunch with the girls, he did gain a coffee with someone that made his heart beat a little faster and he left with a new contact in his phone.