A Love Stronger Than Espresso

Chapter 4

        The next morning, Louis was out of bed before the sun was up. By anyone’s standards, it was early. By Louis’ standards, it was bloody ridiculous.

        Usually being out of bed before lunch qualified as too early for Louis, but some things were worth the sacrifice, and an unbearably cute barista was definitely worthy of less sleep. Especially when Louis had two days of sloppy appearances to make up for.

        Keeping this in mind, Louis took a long shower and styled his hair into a quiff - the kind that seems effortless and casual when in reality it takes a good two hours to perfect. He dressed in a slimming shirt and struggled into some fairly tight jeans (certainly not as tight as Cute-Barista Guys’ tended to be, but close).

        Looking himself over in the mirror, Louis nodded his approval. He looked good, he smelled good, and there weren’t even circles under his eyes from lack of beauty sleep. Today was the day he would seduce Cute-Barista Guy, and he would not let anything ruin that.

        Louis sauntered out of the flat and to the coffee shop with his head held high, except for the occasions when he had to duck under tree branches to protect his masterful quiff. He had even opted to skip breakfast this morning to avoid getting food stuck in his teeth or ruining the current state of his fresh, minty breath. Not taking the time to eat also gave him time to walk to the coffee shop in a composed manner instead of rushing to get there. He just hoped that his stomach wouldn’t make any noises while he was talking to Cute-Barista Guy.

        Arriving a short while later, Louis pushed open the door and walked into the heavenly smell of fresh ground coffee. Having gotten up so early, nothing other than talking to Cute-Barista Guy sounded better than a good cup of caffeine.

        “Hello!” A cheerful voice called out as Louis entered, but it was simply polite, not slow and warm and familiar like the welcome Louis had been expecting.

        Louis jerked in surprise at the new voice, his gaze locking on the barista, who was definitely not Cute-Barista Guy. He was still good looking, stocky and well built with a kind smile and big brown eyes, but he wasn’t Cute-Barista Guy.

And he certainly wasn’t worth getting up at 4 am for.

A matter of fact, he had a sort of puppy dog look about him that Louis couldn’t quite place, but it was a bit of a turn off. He seemed somewhat like Niall’s type, but after the wing-man insults he’d been receiving lately Louis wasn’t quite sure that he should try to set them up.

        “What would you like?” The new barista asked and Louis stepped up to the counter, glancing down at his nametag. Liam.

        “Caramel mocha.” Louis replied flatly. He remembered after a moment how his mum had taught him that even disappointment didn’t count as a suitable reason for bad manners, and added on a delayed “Please.”

        Liam nodded and fumbled with a cup and sharpie, looking up to ask Louis “And what’s your name?”

        “Matt.” Louis deadpanned, because he was mad and it had seemed more clever in his head.

        Liam neatly printed the four letters on his cup, taking the time to check a couple of boxes next to his name to indicate to Louis what he was drinking (Type of drink:  ☑ mocha; Special Ingredients:  ☑ caramel) while Louis refrained from rolling his eyes and bit back every sassy comment that came to mind.

        Liam smiled proudly at the cup as if he had just done a spectacular thing, resembling a kid who had just written cursive for the first time. (Cursive was hard, with loops and swirls all over the place, and Louis was pretty sure he still looked like that after accomplishing writing anything legibly in that way). He supposed to anyone else, Liam’s look of pride might have seemed endearing, but Louis was not in the mood to be endeared; he was in the mood for green eyes and chocolate curls and dimpled smiles. Either that or a large dose of caffeine.

        Liam went on to make the caramel mocha with agonizing perfection, measuring everything carefully and stirring and mixing far too often. Louis was left waiting, glaring at his reflection in the oven window that mocked him with its looks and wishing he had paused for breakfast instead of skipping it for Cute-Barista Guy.

        Actually, he wished he hadn’t sacrificed anything for Cute-Barista Guy. Now he was sleep deprived and starving, and it wasn’t even worth his troubles. He had put actual effort into his appearance today, and the person it was intended for wasn’t even there to appreciate it.

        Liam finished making the mocha and smiled despite Louis’ scowl as he paid. “Thanks,” Louis muttered, grabbing the drink and giving him a halfhearted attempt at a smile that looked more like a grimace.

        “Have a nice day!” Liam called out as Louis pushed open the door to leave.

        Louis nodded in acknowledgement, wondering to himself whether it was even worth the effort to keep coming to the coffee shop every day. “Thanks.” He told Liam with a sigh, giving him a half wave and adding under his breath, “Have a nice life.”

        Cute-Barista Guy had better be there tomorrow.

A/N: I never know what to say in these haha buuut I hope you liked it! Don't forget to favorite and comment if you're reading, it really does make my day. Thank youuu! :D