#but then also (to immediately undercut my own tag ramble) there are exceptions! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dyde21 · 4 years

Note

Why not have both of them as baristas working at rivaling coffee bars? Like a Pyramus and Thisbe (or Romeo and Juliet, if you prefer that) kind of scenario.

Thank you for this idea! Thank you for enganging with my ramblings about my children! It helped me actually get the story done! :D

XxXxXxXxX

Walking into the shop, Tyler honestly felt a little guilty. He knew it was silly, since he was just an entry level barista at his own cafe, but this place was technically their rival. Most locals preferred one or the other because they approached their coffee differently. But he was practically falling asleep, he had three chapters to get through, and was across town from his place. Plus it was raining heavily, and he just wasn’t in the mood.

He moved to the back of the small line, looking up at the hand written board. For as much as the locals like to bicker about which shop was better, they really were pretty similar. A familiar smell of coffee beans permeated the air as he hummed to himself, the christmas carols echoing in the shop reminding him of work. Most of what they played was the modern covers of songs, while his shop had more traditional version.

Hoisting up his bag a little higher on his back, he really hoped no one would recognize him. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t get in trouble, but his manager really did take the rivalry pretty seriously. Eventually it was his turn and he was still staring up at the menu. “Can I get a… hot…”

His eyes wandered down to the barista. A girl was staring back at him with a bright smile. She seemed his age, a little shorter than him with a black undercut and deep blue eyes. “Hot…” He paused for a moment as he tried to remember why he was here. “Hot chocolate!” He finally finished.

She raised an eyebrow, pursing her lips as if she was trying to hold back a laugh, which he appreciated, and nodded. She grabbed a cup as she started to write on it. “Name?”

“Ty- Tyler.” He said after a moment, wondering if he should have used an alias. Surely he was just being ridiculous at this point. He wasn’t some spy.

The girl nodded. “Whipped Cream? Cinnamon?”

“Yes to both. Please.”

“Chocolate?”

Tyler stared at her blankly. “Uh… yes?”

She rolled her eyes, biting back another smile. “I mean a chocolate drizzle on top.”

Tyler’s ears burned pink as she explained herself. “Oh! Uh yeah… sorry.”

He glanced away, wincing. Did he really have to sound like an idiot in front of a cute girl every time?

The girl let out a laugh that drew his eyes back to her. It was a very pretty sound.

“Sorry for all the questions. Customers can just be a little… picky.”

He waved his hand dismissively. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m also a barista. I know exactly what you mean.”

“Oh?” She asked, tilting her head, before ringing up the order.

“Yeah.” He said, smiling at her for a moment, before realizing she was waiting to be paid.

“Right!” He muttered, pulling out his wallet and trying to keep his verbal nonverbal. “We usually pay don’t we.”

This earned another laugh from the girl, and Tyler had to smile despite himself. That sound brought him way more cheer than any christmas carol could.

“Yeah, we’re kind of sticklers about that.”

Tyler handed over a ten, and she quickly gave him back his change. He put all of the change into the tip jar.

“Thank you!” She said cheerfully and he just smiled and waved as he went to take a seat in the corner. He pulled out his textbook, flipping to the chapter he needed to read. He tried to keep an ear open for his name being called.

A few minutes later though, he was surprised that his name hadn’t been called yet. It hadn’t been that busy. He was about to get up to look to see if he had missed it when a cup was suddenly handed to him.

He took it, with wide eyes as he looked up to see the girl from before. “Thanks… uh…” His eyes flickered over to her nametag, except it was missing.

“Ashe.” She answered, as if reading his mind. She tucked some of her bangs back as she smiled a bit nervously. “I uh… lost my name tag. Again. I’m waiting on a new one.” She answered a question he hadn’t asked, but her explanation was oddly endearing.

“Did I miss my name?” He asked after taking a sip and humming in approval.

Ashe shook her head, reaching across herself to grab her wrist with her other hand. “No! Uh… I appreciated the tip, and you looked busy so I didn’t want you to have to get up.” She explained, her eyes meeting his for the briefest moment before she looked away. Tyler couldn’t quite tell under the warm lights, but he thought he saw a blush on her cheeks. Then again, he was probably misjudging things like usual.

“You’re really kind, thank you. I know how important tips can be so I don’t mind helping out. Christmas cheer and all that.”

Ashe nodded. “‘Tis the season and all that.”

Smiling up at her, Tyler could talk to her for ages he was pretty sure. Her eyes flickered back over to the counter where people were lining up, and a frown crept on her face.

He took another sip. “Don’t let me keep you. Thank you though, you made getting through these chapters a little easier.”

She flashed him a smile of thanks, giving him a slight wave before she hurried back to the counter, cheerfully greeting the person and thanking them for waiting.

Tyler finished the rest of the reading with a smile on his face. This place really was welcoming. He was starting to know why this place was so popular. Glancing down at his cup, he saw the name written on the said.

“Ty-Tyler”

He let out a short laugh, grinning stupidly at the name. He glanced back over at the barista, and saw she was giving him a smug look at his laugh, apparently having been waiting for him to notice it.

Eventually though it was starting to get late and he figured she should head home. Packing up his stuff, he finished his drink as he started to make his way out. On his way, he caught the eye of Ashe again and smile. He offered her a smile and mouthed thanks, as she gave him a small wave. For a moment, he felt a little sad. He wasn’t sure when the next time he would end up in this shop would be, and Ashe definitely seemed like someone cool. WIth a sigh, he walked out the door and continued on his way, hoping their paths would cross again at some point.

XxXxXxXxX

Humming to herself, Ashe bopped her head as she walked down the street. She had about an hour to kill until she was meeting up with her sisters so she figured she should find somewhere to chill. She had the day off, but she had woken up too early like usual so now she was just out and about, roaming the city.

As she walked, she noticed the small sign for the cafe that she had never been in before. Her manager had warned her that they took their rivalry very seriously and that there was no reason to go to that shop.

Rolling her eyes, Ashe was going to keep walking past and do her best to ignore the pleasing smell of coffee. She really didn’t need more caffeine considering how much she drank of it at her job.

As she was passing through, a nagging thought crept in her mind. Tyler had said he was a barista too, hadn’t he? That boy had been popping through her head the past week. His smile was stuck in her head still. He had been shy, but had left a large tip without ceremony. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she didn’t need to get distracted by every cute patron that came through her cafe. Still… he mentioned being a barista and she hadn’t seen him at any of the coffee shops she visited.

Taking a few steps past the store, she paused running a hand through her hair. It was just curiosity, there was no harm in checking right? Turning around she walked back into the cafe she passed.

Immediately a familiar aroma of coffee beans assaulted her senses as she walked in. The shop was pretty busy, a small line waiting as the sound of a chorus of voices rang out at people chatting with each other.

Glancing around the shop, she smiled at holly hung around the shop, traditional christmas songs playing through the air. Her eyes flicked across the staff. She froze in place as she saw the guy from before, Tyler, at the counter. He was ringing up a customer and hadn’t noticed her. Before she could decide to stay or leave, another customer had entered and she instinctively moved into line to stop blocking the door. Guess that settled that. She pulled out her earbuds as she tried to stay calm.

Her eyes flicked over the sign as she hummed to herself, wondering what to get. The guy must have worked quickly because soon it was her turn. She stepped up to the counter, ignoring how fast her heart was beating. She normally didn’t get too nervous in situations like this, but the shocked look in his eyes before the massive smile crossed his face had thrown her off balance. Was he trying to be cute,or did it just come natural to him.

“Welcome, how can I help you?” He asked, almost as if he wasn’t sure she recognized him.

“Caramel Frappuccino please. Grande.” She said as she saw him start to hit buttons on the register.

“I figured if you were spying on us, I should do the same.” She said with a teasing voice, hoping her read of the situation was right.

His eyes widened before a sly smirk crossed his face. “Shh… Don’t get me in trouble.” He warned.

Ashe laughed but nodded. “Trust me, I understand.”

She paid, before checking her wallet. When he gave her back her card, she put a few dollars into the tip jar as well with a wink.

“Thank you!” He called out as she grinned at him. Nothing wrong with paying it forward.

She really wanted to stay and flirt… talk with him more but there was a small line forming behind her so she reluctantly moved off to the side to sit at a table near the window. She put her headphones back in and gazed out the window, painfully aware of the smile that was still on her face. What were the odds that he worked at the rival coffee shop?

She paused for a moment, realizing he had never asked for her name. Did he remember it? Or did he just forget to ask. She glanced back over her shoulder, but he was working on the drink while someone else had stepped up to work the register.

She turned back around, hoping things would work out. A moment later a cup was slid onto her table. “For you, ma’am.” He said with a nervous grin.

She pulled out her earbuds immediately, flashing him a grateful smile. “What customer service.” She teased.

He smiled at her, before shifting nervously.

She raised an eyebrow curiously.

“It’s uh… my break time. He said, holding up a cup of his own. The shop is pretty busy… would you mind if I sit with you?”

Ashe’s eyes trailed over his form for a moment. Over some old jeans he wore an apron stained with bits of coffee. Beneath it he had a long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. She saw bits of coffee beans clinging to his arms as he ran a hand through his hair nervously.

She noticed an empty table across the cafe but chose not to mention it. “Yeah, that’d be cool.” She said, gesturing to the seat across the small table.

The relief that seemed to wash over him was practically visible as he relaxed, clearly relieved. It clearly had taken him a lot of courage to ask her, it must have been something he didn’t do often, which only made her a little more flustered.

“This place is doing well.” She idly remarked, wincing slightly at how lame of a subject she chose to talk about.

He shrugged. “It does get kind of busy, but judging from last week you guys aren’t exactly struggling either.”

She nodded, turning the cup around in her hands. “People flock in when it’s cold.” Her eyes trailed over the signs again, noticing the last panel was a chalkboard with a hand drawn penguin with a cup of coffee on it.

“Okay, that’s cute.” She remarked.

Tyler apparently followed her gaze because he seemed to understand. “Ah. Thanks. That one took awhile for me to get right.”

Her head snapped back to look at him. “You drew that?”

Sheepishly he took a sip of his drink, the whipped cream leaving a dollop on his nose before he seemed to realize and wiped it off quickly.

“Uh… yeah. My boss found out I draw and had the idea. He doesn’t really take no for an answer so I had to learn. It’s gotten better the more I do it at least.”

Ashe was still all smiles. “Well it’s adorable. You did a great job!” She said, leaning forward to rest her chin on her palm and smile at him. Everything about him was entertaining to her.

“Thanks.” He repeated, glancing away before looking back at her with a small smile.

“I wanna see your art sometime. If you’re up for it of course. If you made that penguin, I’m sure the rest is great.”

He nodded. “Sure, that wouldn’t be a problem.” He said. “Don’t have too high hopes though.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you’re selling yourself short.”

Glancing down at her phone, she sighed. “My shift is starting soon, I should get going.”

He nodded. “It was uh… cool seeing you again.”

She nodded eagerly. “I agree. We’ll see each other again, you still need to show you me your art.” She said with a wink, hoping to God she was half as smooth as she was trying to be.

He seemed to understand thankfully and grinned at her. “Yeah… yeah. That’d be cool.”

She stood up to leave as he waved at her as she left. As she was about to throw away her cup, she noticed the sharpie marker on the side. Had he remembered her name?

Turning it slightly, she couldn’t help but laugh out loud and glance back at him who was grinning smugly.

“As-Ashe.” Was on the side.

Unable to toss the cup, she held onto it. She just gave him a small wave and left, her cheeks starting to feel a little sore from smiling so much.

When Tyler came into her cafe next week with his sketchbook, he kept good on his promise. She had been right, his drawings had been as good as she suspected. In return, she made sure to show him her phone number in return for a chance to meet up somewhere with less coffee beans. When she finally made it home that night, she dropped her spare change into the cup marked “As-Ashe” as she flopped down on her couch happily, calling up her friend, knowing she needed advice on what to wear for her first date.

10 notes · View notes