48 First Dates (Seeking Romance #1)

The Prince of Baristas

17

This guy can make a

cuppa coffee and more, but

he is just a friend.

A few months later, the weather was as frigid as my dating prospects. Thanks to the uncharacteristically cold winter, I had started swinging by the local coffee shop Ted had introduced me to every morning for a latte. Every afternoon, I’d pop in again to get a hot chocolate for the walk home.

“Hey, Adelaide! Hot chocolate to go?” The new barista, Austin, would say every afternoon. He lit up the room and always acted interested in the person in front of him. He had this way of making people feel like they were his fairy godmother, acting as if the customer had just delivered the exact order he wanted to make.

He may have spurred on my sudden need for twice-daily hot beverages. But I’m sticking with the weather excuse. The idea, or rather the hope that he liked me, had crossed my mind, but since he was so friendly to everyone, I dismissed it.

That all changed one afternoon in late January.

A cloud of hopelessness hung over me as I trudged back from my ecology presentation. I had flubbed every single Latin pronunciation. The TA had not so graciously pointed it out.

Every.

Single.

Time.

I was questioning my decision to go into wildlife management. I loved the outdoors. I wanted a career that would let me be outside as much as possible, but ugh, scientific names in Latin were not my forte.

Austin picked up on my downtrodden vibe right away. “Uh-oh! My afternoon hot chocolate looks like she needs something more. How about a shot of white peppermint mocha in today’s cuppa?”

I nodded, barely holding back tears.

“Tell your neighbor barista what’s bothering you,” Austin said with a nod.

“Nothing you would want to hear about.” He stared deep into my eyes, and within ten seconds, I heard the whole story spill out of my mouth. I heard myself telling him how one overbearing TA was making me rethink my life choices. I cringed a bit at my own words, realizing I was being melodramatic.

As he listened, Austin made my beverage. He placed the promised warm beverage in my hand. I inhaled in the inviting aroma before taking a sip.

I sighed at its chocolaty-mint perfection. “Oh, that makes it better!” I took another sip, letting the warm liquid wash away the chill. “Thank you, Austin. I needed to hear the whole thing out loud. And reframe my perspective with a bit of chocolate!”

“I did nothing that a normal neighborhood barista wouldn’t do for his best customer.” He winked and grinned.

I’m Austin’s best customer?

I hesitated for a moment, wondering what his words and gestures meant. I didn’t have to wrestle long with the question.

“Adelaide, can you give me a chance to improve your day even more?”

My brain was screaming. He wants to make my day better!

“Of course,” is all I said out loud.

“Give me twenty more minutes to finish my shift. Then I’ll take you to my favorite spot to go to when I need a pick-me-up. We’ll make a date out of it.”

Pick me up off the floor! Did Austin just ask me out?

No words would come out of my mouth this time. I simply nodded.

“Great!” Austin said before he turned back to complete the next order.

I turned away from the counter and looked for the most comfortable nook in the library-esque shop. I curled up on the corner sofa, looking out at the changing weather as I sipped my doctored hot chocolate.

The crystal blue winter sky darkened as I waited for him. It looked like hundreds of confectioners were piping the gray stuff dessert from Beauty and the Beast all over the ceiling of the town. It made me wish I was taller so I could reach up and get a handful of the delicious mousse.

I was deep into my fairytale reverie when Austin’s light touch on my shoulder broke the sweet dream. “Hey,” I greeted him with a smile.

“Hey, yourself. Are you ready to go?” Austin glanced out the window. “We’d better get a move on. The weather’s starting to look narly. The place I want to show you is only a few blocks away. Then we can come back here to thaw out with something warm.”

We put on our coats, hats, and gloves. He reached out his hand, and I placed mine in his as we walked out the door. The delicious warmth of his hand seeped through the gloves.

We turned left and started walking down the hill on a street I had never noticed. At the bottom of the hill was the small sign marking the entrance to a public park. Neighboring fences lined the path, making it impossible to see where it was leading.

When the walkway opened up, I gasped. There, in the middle of the town, surrounded by houses, was a stream-filled forest oasis. Though half the trees were bare, the evergreens graced the tiny park with a gauzy veil of jade. The musky scent of pine hung in the air, along with the sounds of the gurgling brook.

“You can’t be sad in a place like this,” Austin said.

“You’re right.” I agreed as I drank in the sight.

We stood there in silence for several minutes, in awe of nature. Eventually, I started shivering despite my coat and gloves. The air felt as ice cold as the plate Disney served the gray stuff on.

“You’re shivering,” Austin reached out to warm my arms. After rubbing his hands up and down my arms several times, he said, “We should head back.”

I nodded. “Us Florida girls aren’t used to the cold!”

Austin laughed, shifting his warm hands to my elbows. “I’m from Pennsylvania, and it’s cold for me. Honestly, it smells like it might snow.”

We lingered for a moment longer, standing close.

Is he going to kiss me?

Do I want him to?

I didn’t have time to find the answers. He dropped his hands, breaking the moment, as he said, “We should head back.”

“Thank you for showing this to me, Austin. It’s beautiful, and it definitely makes the day better.”

“You’re welcome, Adelaide.”

We turned and headed back to the coffee shop. When we got there, Austin made us some spiced and sweetened warm milk. We sat down and chatted until the shop closed at 4:00 that afternoon. The conversation was delightful, but I suspected that Austin and I were only going to be friends.

I’m guessing that he had the same thought because when we said goodbye, all he said was, “See you in the morning, Adelaide. Unless this weather keeps us from opening the coffee shop doors.”

We hugged at the door as we said goodbye, a friendly, nice-to-know moment. There was no will-he-or-won’t-he lean in for a kiss. I stepped outside to finish my usual walk back to the apartment.

As Austin predicted, the weather took a turn for the worse, and classes were canceled. The boys came over later that evening for a snow watch. We had better food and a fireplace in our apartment. Brenn and I were in charge of the fire. Cynthia, Mitzi, and Tom were in charge of food.

“So, what did you do this afternoon?” Brenn asked as he placed the logs.

“I went on a date,” I responded, noting how Brenn tensed up as he placed the last log in the fireplace. “Austin, from the coffee shop, showed me this amazing little park. We chatted over a warm milk afterward.”

“Sounds fun,” Brenn said with a tight jaw.

“It was nice, but he’s firmly in the friend category.” I wadded up paper and handed it to Brenn. Our hands brushed up against each other. Warmth radiated from his fingers and landed in my core. I looked down as he took the paper and placed the wads in between the logs.

“Hey, speaking of friends—whatever happened to Pete?” I asked, remembering the Prince with No Name.

“Huh?” Brenn responded with a grimace as he rubbed his chin.

“You know, Pete, your friend from the AT.” I looked up and handed him the box of matches.

“Oh, AT Pete. We had a falling out.” He took a match out and lit it. Then he touched the flame to the wadded-up paper.

“About what?” I asked with raised eyebrows as the flames engulfed the paper wads. The fire crackled and popped to life as the logs burned.

“Umm...” He stalled. I barely heard him utter under his breath, “I told him something he didn’t want to hear.”

What could they have argued about? They seemed like such good friends on the trail...

I was about to ask when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something flicker in the window. I grabbed Brenn’s arm. “Look, snow! It’s so pretty! It’s like clumps of powdered sugar falling from the sky.”

Growing up in Florida, the closest I had seen to snow was the sugar-white sand on the beach.

“It’s beautiful,” Brenn whispered.

I glanced over at Brenn, but he wasn’t looking out the window. He was staring at me. His gaze set my heart fluttering more than the flakes falling outside.

Man, he looks good.

I noticed a fleck of white amidst his black locks. “You’ve got some paper in your hair.”

“Where?” Brenn reached up and patted his head, completely missing the paper.

“Here, let me.”

I reached out and grabbed the paper. My fingers touched his hair. Soft. Silky. On their own accord, my fingers threaded through his black tresses as my fingernails scraped against his scalp.

Brenn closed his eyes as he leaned into my hand.

Oh. My. Fairies.

My other hand rose and buried itself in his hair.

I need this. Like all the time, I need this.

I took a deep breath to draw in the confidence to tell Brenn that…

That, what?

That I want a first date with him. That I want him to be the prince in my fairy tale. That it isn’t enough for us to be friends.

Brenn opened his eyes. His gaze locked any chance of words in my throat.

“Adelaide,” he whispered, and my heart skipped a beat. His hands came to either side of my waist.

Did he feel the same way?

We stared at each other, frozen, until the sound of people walking into the room fractured the moment.

“Look how beautiful it is!” Cynthia said with a gasp.

I dropped both my hands and turned to see our friends. The girls carried Mexican hot chocolate, chips, and salsa. Tom trailed behind them with the queso and bean dip. They laid the winter storm snack of champions out on the coffee table. We all gathered around the window.

Tom was smiling at Cynthia. “Sometimes I forget you grew up in the Sunshine State and have never known a real winter. It’s just a dusting, nothing to get worked up about, darling.”

“Yeah, ‘cause northern Alabama is so much further north. And you guys get so much snow.” Cynthia rolled her eyes before swatting him playfully. “I’m happy as a clam at high tide. Don’t you dare take that away!”

“Never,” Tom said with a somber look.

I leaned back against Brenn. His warm hand grazed mine. I wove my fingers into his and sighed. I smiled as the five of us huddled together, staring out the tiny window to watch the falling snow.

This is what a fairytale moment feels like...