Work Text:
Connor thinks her job as a barista is about as interesting as moss growing under a rock. That's to say, it's not interesting at all.
Well, that's not entirely true.
She sees plenty of amusing things during her shifts: a prom proposal that apparently went viral in the city; a nurse trying to cut in line, claiming she saved lives every day so she should get a pass; a big, burly man requesting a pumpkin spice latte at 7 a.m.; groups of teens coming in to try coffee for the first time, and they end up hating the taste, faces scrunching up with disgust.
For the record, Connor knows the nurse thing was just a fluke. Not all nurses are like that.
Anyway, she sees enough for it to be somewhat entertaining.
And fuck, don't even get her started on the people who walk through the front door. The number of hot people she encounters on the daily should be illegal.
What? She's only twenty-one! She's allowed to be affected by attractive people.
But nothing—not a single thing—could prepare her for the most beautiful man who walks through the doors this morning.
Connor is busy trying to finish a latte, squirting caramel sauce around the to-go cup. Her coworker, Macklin, is at the front of the counter, putting orders in and taking payments. Mack’s girlfriend, Will, is working the drive-thru.
The front door chimes with a new customer. Connor looks up and stops breathing altogether.
Making his way to the line at the register is, quite possibly, the most attractive man she's seen in a hot fucking minute. Connor only gets to see him for a moment, but she knows he’s gorgeous. He’s got eyelashes for days, something Connor is only slightly insecure about, and full lips. And his nose, for fuck sake.
“Good morning,” Mack greets him next. “What can I get started for you?”
Connor finishes the latte and calls out the name for the order. She glances back over, and Mack is writing the guy's name down on the side of the cup.
Dammit.
She missed her chance to find out his name.
Mack happens to look over at Connor, makes her brows do something weird, and then she says, “We’ll get that ready for you, Frank.”
God bless Macklin Celebrini, honestly.
Connor retrieves the cup from Mack and starts the order: an iced brown sugar, shaken espresso with cold foam. Perfect. She can do these in her sleep.
It only takes her a few minutes to make the drink. When she’s finished topping the drink with cold foam and a cup, she takes a marker from her pocket and carefully draws a little smiley face on the side of the cup.
“Order for Frank!” She calls, though she knows exactly who she’s looking for.
The man walks up, totally content in his gait. Now that she can see up close, Connor knows she was right: this guy is an absolute smokeshow.
“Thanks,” Franks says, taking the drink. He glances down and sees the smiley face, then turns back to Connor with a bright, beautiful grin. “Nice touch.”
In a rare stroke of competence when faced with attractive people, Connor replies, “I thought so, too.”
Frank drops his gaze to the floor and chuckles. When he looks back up at her, his eyes are bright with amusement. “Special treatment?”
Connor leans her hands on the counter between them, putting her cleavage on a bit of a display through her top. She can’t help that it’s a see-through shirt, and her bra makes her boobs look good. “Only for the special customers,” she says slyly.
She can feel Mack’s eyes on her from the other side of the counter. Oh, she’s going to get an earful later.
Frank laughs out loud, and Connor’s grin deepens. He’s got a nice laugh. She thinks that if she found out he could sing, she’d drop to her knees right here in this store.
“Dude,” Will hisses from the window, “we’ve got an order with seven drinks coming.” Mack groans, but it sounds more like amusement than irritation.
Connor turns to give her best friends a scathing glare. Mack simply continues adding cups to her side of the counter.
“Thanks for this,” Frank says, pulling Connor’s attention back.
“No problem,” she answers, stepping away from the counter and mourning the loss of this beautiful man in her coffee shop.
He seems to hesitate, which makes her hesitate. Finally, he steps up to the counter and tells her, whispering, “I’ll be back tomorrow. Do you work tomorrow?”
Connor grins, nodding her head. “I’ll be here.”
Frank nods to himself, smiling, before taking off for the door.
“Connor!”
Connor rolls her eyes and picks up another cup, watching as Frank leaves through the door, trips on his way out, and then looks around to see if anyone has seen him. Connor catches his gaze and laughs a bit to herself, earning another weird look from Mack. Frank salutes her like a nerd, and then he’s gone.
She’s going to be hearing about this five-minute interaction for the rest of eternity.