London, England
"Hello again." She said, smiling at him.
"Hi, miss me?" Harry teased.
"Oh definitely, what else would I do with my day then stand here talking your coffee order? Tell me, will it be your normal? Or something completely original?"
"Straight to it I see, well if it bothers you so much I will just leave and return when you aren't so busy." Harry said, turning to walk away from the laughing barista.
She stuck her hand out to stop him. "Wait! Don't go!"
He turned and looked at her, laughing. The other baristas were also chuckling at their usual banter.
"My normal, please. If that's alright." Harry said.
"Finally." She said. The brunette turned and started to make a new coffee she'd wanted to make for awhile.
Harry moved and walked over to the desk with napkins and straws and grabbed a few napkins. He looked back over at her making his drink and smiled again. One of the baristas noticed and made a quick wave motion with her hand.
Harry, confused, walked over to her and leaned down to her.
"You should really ask her out you know, she talks about you a lot." She whispered to him, making sure the topic of the conversation wasn't listening.
Harry shrugged, whispering back, "I don't even know her name, plus this is her job. I don't want to make her feel uncomfortable at her job."
"Believe me, go for it. Besides you've been in here almost every single day for months, I see the way her eyes light up when we hear your loud bike pull in. Or how her mood changes when you don't show up at your normal time." She finished quickly, as the one they were speaking about had finished making his coffee and was heading their way.
Harry stood quickly and matched her grin as she came over.
"Here you go." She said cheerfully, handing it over.
"Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without this." He said, taking a long drink from it.
"I believe you would have lived." She joked. They shared a laugh.
Harry was turning to leave when a straw hit him in the chest. Looking around, he saw the barista from earlier looking at him pointedly and nodding her head to her.
Harry took a deep breath. "So, you know my name, could I know yours?" He asked quickly, staring into her chocolatey warm brown eyes.
She smirked. "Could you?"
He sighed, "May I?" Rolling his eyes at her to her amusement.
"You may, but I will tell you later. Say at, 7? At The Square?" She said quickly, her face flushed red. Harry looked at with wide eyes and stared at her for a moment.
The moment of silence weighed heavy on her and she stammered out an apology and something about it being a mistake when he grabbed her hand. She looked up at him and stared into his eyes as his face broke into a large grin and he nodded quickly.
"If we can get a spot, I would love to go there with you." Harry answered her. She let out a sigh of relief and and laughed.
"Ok." She said, looking at him.
"I'll see you there." He said, walking slowly backwards. She gave a little wave at him.
Harry turned, nodded his head at the other baristas, gave a thumbs up to the one smiling like mad behind the counter, and left out the front doors.
At 6:30 Harry arrived, nervous as all hell. He couldn't believe it, she had asked him out! He had thought about her for months.
Ever since the day he walked into the new caffe down the road from his flat, his life was different. His thoughts before bed were of her, and his last thought after bed was always her. Her eyes, so deep and warm, he had to almost pull himself away back to reality whenever they shared a look. Her silky dark brown hair was so amazing to him, whether it was hidden in a bun, or she decided to let her natural curls hang out for the day, it was all so warm.
The way her mouth formed into a smile whenever she saw him, or a smirk when she thought of a clever line, or her laugh to his new idiotic idea, he loved it all.
His thoughts on his crush were cut short by the arrival of said crush. She walked down the stone road towards him, giving him a small wave and her amazing smile.
Harry met her halfway, staring into her eyes.
"You look amazing, are you here for someone else?" Harry teased.
"I am actually. I'm looking for a man, about my height, shoulder length black hair and piercing green eyes? Have you seen him?" She asked, looking around.
"I haven't, but I'd say he's the luckiest bloke out here." He said, smiling at her.
They shared a smile as they stood outside of the restaurant.
"It's still a little early for our reservation. Would you want to take a little walk while we wait?" Harry asked, looking down at his watch.
"That'd be lovely." She answered. Harry moved to her side and offered her arm. She smiled and took it, before making their way down the road.
"University? How is it?" Harry asked as they walked along the path in the local park. They had made their way down the road and turned into a nice small park. The tree leaves all around had long since fallen and the cool brisk air gave a the effect of a white cloud at every breath.
"It's amazing, I'm learning so much new and exciting things, and everyone is so lovely, and I just really feel like it's the thing for me at the moment." She said excitedly, looking at the path ahead.
"What about you? What do you do?" She asked him.
Harry looked at her then looked back at the path. He hadn't gone to University, his grades were too poor and his friends didn't end up going. It was a mistake, but he had to live with it. He ended up working with his dad at a law firm, but he didn't handle anything important. Just the appointments. Would she think he's a failure as well? She's so smart, this might make her regret coming out here with him.
His thoughts left a silence between the two when she said, "Im sorry if it's sensitive, I didn't mean to pry." She apologized.
"No no I'm sorry, it's just…I didn't make it. To Uni I mean. I didn't treat my grades right and couldn't get in. I regret it but, I gotta keep moving on. Maybe one day I'll try and go for it, but for now, I got to keep focusing on my life and making it a better one. So I can be in that position later." He finished. Looking at her with a worried look, he was relieved to see her smiling brightly.
"Oh silly, of course you can get back to it. If it wasn't right then, it just wasn't right. That doesn't mean it's closed forever. Tell you what, I will help you study. So one day you will make it, and you will dedicate your degree to me." She joked.
"Alright, well thank you Ms. Whatever-Your-Name-Is." Harry joked.
They laughed as they walked and talked more and more. Eventually the saw a park bench and moved to sit on it. They sat in a comfortable silence before she interrupted it.
"Hermione."
"Hmm?" Harry asked, looking at her.
"My name. It's Hermione." She said, looking him in the eyes.
"Hermione. It..it matches you perfectly. It's beautiful." Harry told her earnestly.
"Thank you, it only seemed fair since, well since I know your name and all." Hermione said.
"It was only fair." Harry nodded.
"So Hermione after University, what do you plan on doing?" He asked.
"Well, hopefully I graduate with all the honors, and then after that hopefully find a well-paying job." She answered, looking out into the park.
"But honestly, I've had this dream, ever since I was little, about owning my own bookstore/caffe. Where you browse and read any book while also drinking a tea or coffee. You could stay for hours and get lost in it. I want a small little space, for those who want the company of others around but also don't want to speak to a million different people. You know?" She said, smiling at her fantasy.
Harry watched as she talked excitedly on her dream. In that moment he wished he could make it a reality, just for her.
"I understand Hermione, it seems beautiful. Seems like a place I'd love to visit one day."
"Just so you could order the same thing everyday?" She asked him jokingly.
He chuckled. It was their little game, he'd order his 'normal' and she'd make a completely new drink. It was never the same drink twice.
"What would you name it?" He asked.
"I don't know." She said thoughtfully. "I guess I need some ideas."
"Well I'll stay on the hunt then, tell you about all the ideas I come up with." He told her and both laughed.
Harry looked at his watch and his eyes almost bulged out of its sockets. Nine! They had been walking for over two hours!
"Hermione! We've completely missed our reservation! I'm sorry, it's a bit late, do you need me to walk you home soon?" He asked her, worried she'd be upset.
"Oh wow, I guess we lost track huh. I should be getting home now if that's alright. Early day tomorrow and all." She said standing up and gathering her things. Harry stood as well and gathered his.
Hermione looked at him for a moment before sticking her arm out.
"I would love for you to walk me home." She said, her cheeks a rosy red and her eyes glimmering in the moonlight.
Harry was mesmerized by her beauty and took a moment to catch his breath before nodding and taking her arm. They turned and walked down the path a ways before Harry noticed she was shivering.
Harry immediately stopped and took his coat off and offered it to her. She shook her head but Harry insisted.
"I'd much rather see you warm again soon then see you freeze out here." He joked.
Hermione sighed before nodding her head and smiling. Harry then wrapped it around her and they kept moving on.
Eventually they arrived at her home, about a miles walk. They stood outside for what felt like ages just staring into each others eyes. Neither moving. A sudden car driving down the road broke their gaze and they both shook their heads.
"I had an amazing night Hermione. Thank you for this." Harry told her.
"As did I Harry, thank you." She replied, looking slightly up at him.
"Well, I'll see you later then." Harry said, not wanting to move ever again.
"Yeah, later. Goodnight Harry." Hermione finished, giving him a tight hug. Harry rested his chin on her shoulder before withdrawing.
"Goodnight Hermione."
They both turned and made to leave. Hermione to her front door and Harry back to his bike in front of the restaurant.
Walking along the path he glanced back and saw her looking at him from her open front door before waving and shutting it. He waved and kept moving.
Although his smile was not broken for days afterwards.