Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the song "Taylor, The Latte Boy" and this was written for fun, not to infringe on other people's copyrights
Must. Have. Caffeine.
Don't let my over abundance of energy fool you. I never was a morning person. I require a double latte each and every morning to jump-start my hyperactivity.
My morning routine went something like this: at 8:00, I stumbled out to my car and made the seven-minute drive to the Starbucks down the street from the main buildings on campus, spent four minutes giving myself a pep talk in the car and, finally, walked through the doors toward my latte… and the gorgeous barista who works the morning shift.
I looked down at my watch as I walked in, 8:11 am, just like every other day since the first of the semester. The bells on the door jingled as it swung closed behind me and the man behind the counter looked up and simply said, "How are you," just like every other day since the beginning of the semester.
That one simple phrase from the tall, blonde god (who makes the best double latte I've ever had the privilege of tasting) would start my heart beating so fast that I was sure it would fly out of my chest one of these days.
Even after my pep talk, it was all I could do to nod at him in acknowledgement and place an order for my usual drink. When I received the steaming cup, I nodded again in thanks and headed out the door for my classes.
This had been my morning ritual since transferring to the University of Washington for the beginning of my junior year. Every morning I would tell myself that "today is the day" or "just put yourself out there, you can find another Starbucks if things go badly" but I could never work up the nerve to talk to the beautiful man who made my lattes.
I stuck with the norm for the next week and a half.
I woke up with a strange feeling one morning. I felt like today was going to be different. For one thing, it was sunny out, which cheered me up immediately. I gave myself the usual pep talk in the car and marched into the Starbucks at 8:11 with more confidence than I'd had over the past 2 months.
The door jingled as it closed and the barista looked up.
"How are you?" He asked, as usual.
I didn't nod. I walked up to the counter, looked into his blue eyes and answered, "Fine, and my name's Alice."
"Hey" was his soft reply. He didn't ask for my order today. He just moved to the machine and started making my double latte.
He handed it to me and, as I gave him my money, I said, "My name is Alice and thank you for the extra foam." Great, repeating myself and thanking him for foam, I'm a real winner. This guy clearly thinks I'm mentally unstable now. I turned to leave and was almost to the door when I heard him call out from behind me.
"I'm Jasper."
I looked up at his face and saw the most glorious smile. My heart started pounding again and my breathing picked up. I got out of there, knowing it was only a matter of time before I started hyperventilating.
Over the next few days, Jasper and I shared a bit of small talk while he prepared my double lattes. We talked about school and hobbies, just general things. He was a history major but loved music and played guitar. I told him I was an art major but failed to mention that he was the inspiration behind my latest piece. I was falling for this guy, falling fast and hard and there was nothing that could have pleased me more.
I walked in at 8:11 on Friday morning and Jasper's face lit up when he saw me. I smiled back. Usually, he was already making my order by the time I got to the counter but today he was fidgeting at the register.
"Good morning, Alice," he greeted me.
"Morning, Jasper. How's it going?" I asked, wondering what had him on edge.
"Good, good. Things are good. Um, Alice, I was wondering…" He trailed off.
"Yes, Jasper?"
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, seemingly to calm himself.
"I'm playing in a band tonight. It's nothing huge, just downtown in a bar. Well, in the basement of a bar. One of the guy's uncle's cousin owns it or something."
I listened as he rambled on for about another minute or so. He was clearly flustered and it was just so adorable.
"Crap, I'm just babbling on. Sorry."
"No, it's fine." He looked skeptical. "Really, Jasper, it is. Now, what were you wondering?" I thought I knew what he wanted to ask but I didn't want to assume anything.
"Oh, right. Well, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to come hear us play. If you don't have plans already. I know it's late notice. Never mind, you probably have plans…"
I cut him off before he could talk himself out of inviting me.
"I'd love to hear you play and I don't already have plans."
A look of relief crossed his face as he stepped over to make my usual order. I slyly watched him as he made my latte. He didn't realize I was watching as his graceful fingers flipped the lever to prepare my drink but instead of stopping at a double, he continued. He made me a triple latte and he didn't think I knew.
Sometime between the invite and the triple latte I realized that Jasper was falling for me just as hard as I was falling for him.
"What time are you playing? And thanks for the extra skim." I told him as he handed me my latte. My triple latte.
He smiled as he told me more about the band he was playing in and the gig he had that night.
I chanced a look down at my watch and realized that I needed to hurry if I was going to be to class on time. If it weren't for the fact that we were having our mid term today, I would have skipped it in a heartbeat.
"I've gotta get going. I've got an art history exam to take." I told him regretfully as I pulled out my wallet to pay for my drink.
"Don't worry about it," he said, putting his hand on mine to stop me from getting my money, "the drink's on me."
I couldn't help but beam at him. "So, I'll see you tonight, then?" I asked.
His answering smile lit up his entire face. "Definitely."
I sped the rest of the way to class, thankful that there were no cops out this morning. I breezed through my mid term, certain that I aced it, and spent the rest of the class period taking stock of my life.
Something had changed that sunny morning about two weeks ago. I was definitely still Alice, but I was a slightly altered Alice. For one thing, I had a date, which was rare for me. Sure, I had dated guys in high school and a few in college but they were different than Jasper.
As soon as I would realize that one guy or another was getting too close, I'd push him away. I had never felt for any of them the way I feel for Jasper; I had never let them stick around long enough for that.
I decided that it was because my body knew that Jasper was out there somewhere. He was the only person to reach my heart in my entire life and he did so before I even spoke to him. He had spoiled me for any other man before I had even met him.
I realized that, since we had begun talking, I didn't even need my daily latte to wake up, I needed my daily dose of Jasper. I would perk up as soon as I walked through the doors into the coffee shop. If he didn't share my feelings, I wasn't sure what I'd do.
But the triple latte sitting mostly finished on my desk assured me that he did feel the same way about me so there was nothing to worry about.
A/N:
Taylor, The Latte Boy
There's a boy who works at Starbucks who is very inspirational
He is very inspirational because of many things
I come in at 8:11, and he smiles and says, "How are you?"
When he smiles and says, "How are you?" I could swear my heart grows wings.
So today at 8:11, I decided I should meet him
I decided I should meet him in a proper formal way
So today at 8:11, when he smiled and said, "How are you?"
I said "Fine, and my name's Kristin"
And he softly answered "Hey"
And I said, "My name is Kristin and thank you for the extra foam."
And he said his name was Taylor,
Which provides the inspiration for this poem
Taylor, The latte boy
Bring me java
Bring me joy
Oh, Taylor, The latte boy
I love him, I love him, I love him
So I'd like to get my nerve up to recite my poem musical
He would like the fact it's musical because he plays guitar
So today at 8:11, Taylor told me he was playing
In a band down in the village in the basement of a bar
And he smoothly flipped the lever to prepare my double latte
But for me he made it triple but he didn't think I knew
But I saw him flip the lever, and for me he made it triple
And I knew that triple latte meant that Taylor loved me too
I said, "What time are you playing and thank you for the extra skim."
He said, "Keep the three fifty-five" because this triple latte was on him.
Taylor, the latte boy
Bring me java
Bring me joy
Oh, Taylor, the latte boy
I love him, I love him, I love him
I used to be the kind of girl who'd run when love rushed toward her
But finally a voice whispered
"Love can be yours if you step up to the counter and order"
Taylor, the latte boy
Bring me java
Bring me joy
Oh, Taylor, the latte boy
I love him, I love him, I love him
So many years my heart has waited
Who'd have thought that love could be so caffeinated
Taylor, the latte boy
I love him, I love him, I love him
I love him, I love him, I love him.
A few people have done this song but I think the most popular recording is of Kristin Chenoweth from her album As I Am. It's really cute. I have a few longer (and more original) stories in the works as well as another song-fic floating around in my head. We'll see if any of them end up taking root.