Hermoine Granger was not a morning person, or at least not a "wake up to serve coffee to grouchy customers at 3:30am" type of morning person. She had been conscious in the real world for just over an hour and the espresso shot she had taken immediately upon arriving to the café had still not kicked in. The soft jazz playing through the nearly empty lobby speakers was almost too soothing, she wanted to curl up and go back to sleep. Besides herself and another coworker there was only one other soul awake at 4:35am. She had never seen this customer before, a dark-haired man in a tailored suit at the register ordering. "Morning customers can be so fickle," she thought, observing the man's back as he began inspecting the community board on the far side of the lobby, "either they're quiet and peaceful or quiet and angry….and I never know which until they open their mouths." The drink ticket popped out of black box to the right of her hip, VENTI FLAT WHITE. Stifling a yawn, she poured the whole milk into the steel pitcher and flicked the steam wand into it. Hermoine punched the ristretto button followed by the double espresso button and proceeded to stretch. Knowing she had about 15 seconds for her espresso to pull, Hermoine dropped her chin to her chest and slowly rolled her head in a circle. She knew that staying up until midnight to finish her book would hurt the next morning, but she was much more exhausted than planned. But really, who can sleep when there are books to be read? As her head rolled to her right shoulder she felt, and heard, a succession of loud cracks, Hermoine let out a short gasp and moaned involuntarily at the sensation, her face relaxing for a second.

"Long night?" a deep voice interrupted her thoughts.

Yelping, Hermoine jerked her head forward, eyes flying open to stare into the dark eyes of the only customer in the lobby.

"Oh god," she felt her face flush, "I mean – gosh. I'm so sorry, sir, I—" words failed her, and she fell silent, the heat from her face could probably be felt from space.

The man in front of her espresso bar was regarding her closely, keeping quiet. Hermoine dropped her eyes to the white cup in front of her and, in her flustered state, forgot to shift it over before hitting double ristretto again. A stray curl fell in front of her eyes, she blew it out of the way with a puff of air, and stared intently at the espresso stream, willing herself to disappear. "Oh god, oh god, I am so embarrassed, this complete stranger heard me moan like that oh my god I cannot make eye contact with this man what could he possibly be thinking about me right now this is awkward…maybe getting four ristretto shots instead of three will make all of this less awkward? No, that makes zero sense." After what felt like an eternity, Hermoine could pour the steamed milk over the espresso shots and hand off the drink.

Forcing herself to make eye contact, she mustered up a smile and with a cheer she did not feel said, "Here's your drink! Have a great day, sir!"

The man's fingers brushed hers as he took the offered cup. Hermoine felt her face go an even darker shade of red, "Although how that is possible is beyond me", at the short contact. The heat of his fingers just barely grazed her knuckles. She dropped her hand to her side, flexing her fingers below the counter. The man's dark eyes had not left her face the entire time; she was sure of it.

He tilted his head slightly to the left and said, "exercise before bed can help with having a more restful sleep," before turning and leaving. Hermoine stared after him in shock, her mouth agape. His deep, even voice played on loop in her head.

"Hermione?" the gentle touch of her coworker brought Hermoine back to reality.

"Ginny! Oh god, Ginny, I just had the most awkward interaction with that customer."

"Oh, story time! Tell me everything immediately." Ginny set down the damp rag she was holding and leaned against the espresso bar counter, facing Hermoine.

Hermoine started to recount the whole story in detail, emphasizing how embarrassed she felt, "I didn't mean to moan like that! It just came out of me before I knew what was happening! God, Ginny, this man heard me make nearly pornographic noises at my job! I'm so embarrassed, what was he even thinking after I did that?!"

"Probably about how good it would feel to hear those noises in his bed," Ginny poked at her friend and laughed, "I kid! I kid!"

"I'm not even finished with my story. Listen, after I handed off his beverage, our hands touched by the way, he said, and I'm not even joking! This man looked me dead in the eyes and said, 'exercise before bed can help with having a more restful sleep'!"

Ginny's look of shock morphed into a mischievous impish smile, "Damn, Granger, I was just kidding when I said he was thinking about fucking you, but I think I was actually 100% correct."

Hermoine shoved Ginny playfully, "Oh shut up, you're so crass. There is no way that is what he was thinking. I really hope he doesn't become a regular here….I don't think I could ever face a stranger who has heard me moan like that."

Picking up the rag and going back to wiping down the rest of the counter, Ginny threw Hermoine a wink and said, "Are you kidding? Hermoine, did you get a good look at him? He's got that older mysterious, beautiful sophisticated look and air. You could get yourself a sugar daddy! I hope he does become a regular and comes to see you every day from here on out."

Laughing, Hermoine flicked a stray espresso bean at her friend and stuck her tongue out, "You would love that wouldn't you? Some best friend you are, you love to see me uncomfortable. And no, I didn't get a good look at him I was too busy trying to become invisible."

"Yeah, I would love to see it," Ginny laughed tossing her red ponytail behind her, "Hermoine, that man was in a well-made tailored suit at 4:35am, his shoes were Italian leather and his watch cost more than my entire life. He has money. A lot of it. What if this man is lonely and without friends and now he'll be coming here to see the moaning barista every day," Ginny dropped her voice a few octaves and reached out to Hermione dramatically, "Hermione, my darling, I have returned to collect you. Your performance yesterday made me see God and I am here to sweep you off your feet to my luxurious mansion and make you my queen, please, take my hand."

Hermoine tried to glare at her friend but couldn't help the giggles that spilled out from her. Deciding to play along, they were alone, actually alone this time, so what harm could it be? Hermoine dropped into a low curtsy, using her green apron as a mock skirt, and in a breathy voice replied, "Oh sir, please take me away from this land of coffee and tea. I am but a poor college student, trying to get by without selling my soul," she took Ginny's hand and they both collapsed into a fit of giggles.

"Honestly though, Gin, I will not be able to make eye contact with him if he comes in again. He's nearly old enough to be my father and he heard me moan like that!" Hermoine became serious again, deciding to pull herself another espresso shot.

Ginny laughed again, "Hermoine, honestly, he's a grown man. He's heard a woman moan before. You are making this a bigger deal than it needs to be. If he comes back and brings it up just play dumb and pretend you've forgotten the entire thing."

Hermoine shrugged in response, "I guess so…maybe…you're better than me at handling awkward things with customers."

Ginny gave Hermione's shoulder a quick squeeze before ducking to the back room. Hermoine rubbed her temples and sighed, perhaps she was making this a bigger deal than it needed to be.

"Besides, he was probably just passing through town on some business, I'll most likely never see him again."

If only she had known in that moment just how wrong she truly was.