Never Trust Cute Blonds

Kenny's alarm always cockblocked his dreams. Just when he was about to get cozy with a real cutie, its incessant beeping would rush in and jolt him awake. He'd find himself alone in bed, semi-aroused and fully frustrated. This morning was no different.

Begrudgingly, he got up out of bed and wiped the sleep from his eyes. He sighed and shook his head as he headed into the bathroom to shower. The only time he was able to schedule any action was when he was asleep, and life still wouldn't even let him have that. He had only been able to enjoy the company of another a handful of times since he started med school. He was touch starved for sure, but he pushed forward by telling himself it would all be worth it once people called him Doctor McCormick. Dressed and ready for the day, he gave himself one final look in the mirror before leaving his apartment.

School, work, study, sleep-that was Kenny's routine. He needed to work to pay for his apartment. He needed to study to not get kicked out of school. He needed to sleep so that he had the energy to do all of the above. He managed to fit in time here and there to keep tabs on his friends and family, but there just wasn't much time for anything else.

He did, however, always make time to stop by his favorite coffee shop on the way to school. He walked in and pulled his shades up onto his head so he could see better in the interior fluorescent lighting. The sweet older woman who usually makes him his coffee every morning wasn't behind the counter today. Instead, he found a nervous looking blond man carefully wiping down the counter. Kenny approached the counter; the man didn't seem to notice him at all. All of his focus was aimed solely at the counter.

"It's just a counter, you know," Kenny said with a smile. "You don't have to get it to shine."

"Holy hell!" the blond barista screamed as he jumped back in surprise. "When did you come in?!"

Kenny put his hands up. "Just a minute ago, my dude. You were just so focused on cleaning that damn thing that you must've not heard me."

"Okay...okay, that makes sense. I've, ah, kinda had a lot on my mind lately and I've been, ah, getting lost in my thoughts." The barista took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled.

Now that the man was standing at his full height and facing him, Kenny could get a better view. His golden hair was shaggy, unkempt, and currently falling out of a sad attempt at a man bun. It really should have been contained in a hairnet, but Kenny wasn't about to make a complaint. He liked to keep his hair a little unruly, too, so he understood.

"So...can I place my order?" Kenny asked after he and the barista stared awkwardly at each other for a minute.

"Oh. Yeah! Yeah sure, go right ahead. That's why you're here, right?" The barista laughed nervously.

Perhaps it was because Kenny was so hard up, or perhaps it was because the barista looked kinda like the person from his dream last night, but he was charmed by this socially challenged cutie.

"Indeed it is, uh," Kenny leaned in, squinting at the barista's name tag, "Tweek?" That was an odd-sounding name, but for all Kenny knew, it was just a unique nickname. "Quad shot Americano, please."

"Quad shot...wuhhh?"

Kenny tried to hide his grimace. How was this guy working here alone? "An Americano with four shots of espresso, please," he rephrased.

"Oh. Right. I definitely know what that is. Okay, I'm on it!"

Kenny checked his watch while Tweek began to work. His morning coffee stop was taking longer than it usually did, but he still had time before he'd be late to class. He decided it was worth it to get to stare at a cute guy for a couple of extra minutes. Tweek's face was soft and rather pale, but he had a pleasant pink hue in his cheeks. His eyes, however, were dark and slightly sunken. It seriously looked like he hadn't had a good night's sleep in days. Kenny also liked the view from behind just as much as the view from the front. Tweek's apron strings were tightly tied around his slim waist, and the bow laid so nicely on top of his pert little butt. He tried to take a mental photograph so that maybe Tweek would show up in his dreams that night.