Sometimes Fantasy is Better Than Reality || Slow Updates

Chapter 2: Was Like

John couldn't tear his eyes away from the beautiful man. The man was talking, he knew the man was talking, but all he could see was lips moving and he heard nothing.

"Are you alright?"

John snapped out of his stupor when the man waved his hand in front of his face, a concerned frown replacing the exhausted blank expression from earlier. John's eyes widened and he started to stutter.

"Could you r-repeat that please?"

The man blinked, before repeating his order. "May I have a medium peppermint hot chocolate please?"

John nodded and started to type on the cash register with a little more force than necessary. He could feel the man's gaze on him and felt his neck heat up with embarrassment.

"T-That'll be two fifty please." He said, face flushing red from the stutter. He'd never felt more embarrassed in his life. He wasn't normally this awkward around attractive people! Why was this man so different?

The man dug out some cash from his pockets and placed it in John's waiting hand with a crooked smile.

John tried to smile back, but he was certain the man could tell it was forced.

"Would you like a receipt?" He asked, putting the cash into the register and grabbing a cup to write the order on. The man shook his head.

"No, thank you." He said.

John gave him a shaky nod. "Your order will be right out." He said and quickly left to begin the order, not waiting for an answer.

As he made the hot chocolate, he couldn't help but glance over at the man. He truly was gorgeous. Honestly, he was basically everything John wanted in a partner. Strong jawline, sweet smile, soft but intelligent eyes. The perfect height, just short enough that John could rest his chin on his shoulder comfortably.

His eyes widened and he felt blood rush to his face. What was wrong with him? He didn't even know the man's name for Christ's sake and he was already fantasizing about being in a relationship with him.

He scowled, annoyed with himself. He finished the hot chocolate and called out the order.

"Thank you." The man said, taking the drink from him. John gave him another nod before quickly leaving the situation. No need to embarrass himself even further to such an attractive customer. He sighed and returning to cleaning up the shop.

After another hour, most people had trickled out. Only two people had wandered in, mostly to escape the cold. And so, John was stuck doing nothing much of anything. Most of the time, he was either scrolling through his phone or attempting to subtly look at the pretty man who was sitting literally only a few feet away. (He wasn't very subtle.)

With a groan, John went to the back to grab his sketchbook. He was bored out of his mind, it wouldn't hurt to do a bit of drawing. He knew he'd get bored at work eventually, so he always kept one of his sketchbooks in his bag for just said occasion.

He went back out to the front and stole one of the bar stools to sit on. He had just under an hour to sketch before he had to close up.

He glanced up at the man, noting that he'd barely moved for the past two hours. He was still hunched over his laptop, still had one hand curled around a pen that occasionally scribbled things down, and still sometimes reached for his mug, only to realize it was either empty or cold and put it back to down.

He reminded John of Alexander, though this man was far more put together. Well, as put together as a sleep-deprived college student could be.

John stared at him for as long as he dared, before beginning to sketch an outline. He knew it wasn't exactly a good thing to do, but a little sketch of the man wouldn't hurt, right? It wasn't like he was going to sell the art. Just... keep it for himself. After all, he didn't know if the man was ever going to return to the cafe. Could you really blame him for wanting to remember such a beautiful face?