Ghost

Chapter 3

Louis locked eyes with a man across the bar. And hell, he was handsome. Maybe the most handsome man he had ever seen in his life, besides David Beckham of course. Actually, this guy had some similarities to Beckham, and Louis was not complaining.

But the man was beautiful. Breathtaking, even. Deep brown eyes and a little bit of scruff on his face, but not too much. His hair was effortlessly styled into a quiff on top, but buzzed on the sides. Tattoos were visible on his arms and hands.

Truthfully, he was hoping this David Beckham look-alike would come over and talk to him. Maybe more. Maybe take him home. Perhaps that was just the alcohol talking.

Beckham 2.0 flashed a grin and made his way through the crowd, heading straight for Louis. Oh my God. This was it. He was going to snog the hottest guy in the bar. He was going to snog the closest possible thing to David Beckham. If he said he hadn't been longing for that since he was a teenager, he'd be lying.

"Hey." The taller man spoke as he stopped beside Louis, leaning his arm on the bar counter, his gaze never faltering.

It felt like Louis's brain had turned to mush.

"Hi." He managed to speak, casually taking a sip from his glass. "Never seen you here before."

The bar was a hit among locals, and Louis was a regular, so it was rare to see someone new there.

"That's because I've been gone for a while." The male replied simply, brown eyes looking Louis over. Even his voice was hot.

"Do you live in town, then? Took a holiday? I'm Louis, by the way."

"You could say that."

Ah, playing the mysterious card. Louis pursed his lips together and decided not to pry. If he wanted any chance with this lad he would have to save the annoying side of himself for later.

The two wound up in a corner of the bar, seemingly instantly attracted to one another. There was little conversation, just the sound of music blaring all around them while they stayed staring at each other.

As if by some miracle, the male slowly began to lean forward, eyeing Louis's lips. Was he going to kiss him? Louis usually liked to play hard to get but right now he was absolutely ready to melt into it.

And then his alarm went off.

His eyes opened and he groaned, a hand coming out from under the covers, aimlessly searching for the "off" button. Once the alarm stopped, the male flopped back down with a defeated sigh. He didn't want to go to work, he wanted to make out with Beckham 2.0 in his dreams. Who was the guy anyway? Louis was positive that he had never seen him before in his life. The guy didn't even have a name in his dream. But it felt so real. Apparently he had an incredible imagination that could create super fit guys for him to look at in his sleep.

Sighing, Louis got out of bed and proceeded to get ready for work. Within an hour, he was behind the counter at a local coffee shop, an apron thrown over his clothes as he poured endless cups of coffee to customers. Usually, he was the "go-to" barista; customers raved about him, about how friendly he was and how he never failed to make them smile or laugh. It was his favorite part of the job. But today his mind was elsewhere. Today he couldn't stop thinking about the man from his dream.

"You alright there, dear? Looking a bit tired today." A customer who had just approached the counter told him with a slight frown. She came in daily and ordered the same thing; a medium caramel latte with a shot of espresso. Louis remembered.

"S'all good, love, thank you. Just one of those days." The male replied, already starting on the drink before she had the chance to order.

He finished the drink off with a swirl of whipped cream and snapped the lid on before sliding it over to her. The woman smiled and placed a few extra dollars into the tip jar before leaving. If Louis hadn't been so caught up in thinking about a man who didn't even exist, he would've said thank you.

As silly as it sounded, he was pretty bummed that the man in his dreams was just that; a dream. A figment of his imagination. He would never actually see him or know what it was like to kiss him. Probably wouldn't even encounter him again in his dreams. Why was he so hung up on a fake person? Stupid, he thought. Maybe there was something wrong with him. Maybe he should see a doctor. It wasn't normal to feel so anxious all the time, or lust after a made up guy in your dreams. How long before Zayn decided to move out and leave him because he had gone mental? What if–

"Louis? What're you doing?"

He snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of his co-worker's voice, glancing down at the counter where he had, apparently, absentmindedly poured coffee creamer.

"Uh.. Guess I spaced out." He murmured. Great, he was an absolute lunatic. Certifiable. He could see the headlines now: "Local man goes insane after seeing David Beckham lookalike in his dreams."

The boy, Niall, just laughed and went back to making someone's drink. He and Louis had worked here together for two years now, so Niall was used to him having his moments.

"We all have those days. Take a nap when you get home." He said in his Irish accent and smiled, walking away to serve a customer.

If only it was that simple. Louis let out a heavy sigh and began to clean up the counter. He was determined to get through this shift. A stupid, nonexistent (yet handsome) man was not going to ruin his day.