A/N: Joel’s been looking extra fine lately, so here’s some Joel fluff that took me way too long to write. Also, this is cheesy AF.
Word Count: 2.2k+
Masterlist
The rays of the sun shone brightly through the large windows of the coffee shop as you lightly tapped the wood counter with your fingertips. Your forehead itched uncomfortably as your uniform ball cap stuck awkwardly to the stray hairs that managed to escape your ponytail.
You couldn’t help but sigh, longing to be kissed by the sun beams instead of working another shift. Someone behind you started to grind a fresh bag of beans, the smell of fresh coffee immediately invading your nostrils, startling you out of your thoughts, just as the bell rang signaling a new customer.
“Oh look, Brown Eyes is back,” your friend Elena commented, nodding toward the door as your heart began to beat hurriedly, matching your staggered breathing.
Brown Eyes was a semi-regular customer with the deepest brown eyes you got lost in every time he entered the shop and an intoxicating smile that seemed to sparkle when it caught the light just right. He usually showed up 3-4 days out of the week, then would disappear for weeks at a time before making his appearance again.
To you and your friends, he was undeniably the most beautiful human any of you had ever seen. It was hard to concentrate when he came around, making it difficult for you to pay attention to his order. Lucky for you, he always ordered the same thing, so you didn’t have to.
“Talk to him,” Elena urged, lightly nudging your shoulder just as he approached the counter.
“Hi, what can I get started for you?” You asked cheerfully. Already knowing the answer, your sweaty hands gripped the side of your apron hoping to steady your nerves.
“Can I get a signature coffee, splash of almond milk?” He asked, flashing his perfectly white teeth.
You don’t recall the rest of the transaction because you were transfixed on the twinkle in his eye that appeared when he smiled.
It was if time had slowed and the world around you silenced. You watched as he ran his hand through the flawless curls on his head, lightly shaking them out, before giving you another sly grin.
You must look like an idiot. You could feel your jaw drop slightly as he moved to the side to wait for his drink, turning his attention away from you.
As you slowly came out of your fog, you realized another customer had approached and was waiting for you to take their order.
“Y/n, can I get your help back here?” someone called.
Just as you were about to object, brown eyes met yours and your coworker offered to take your place at the register.
“What was that?” Elena scolded as she prepared the drinks in front of her.
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is, you’ve been pining over this dude for literally months and we don’t even know his name- here, finish this for me.” Elena shoved the half-finished drink into your hand as she busied herself on the side of the counter.
As you finished the drink, you stole a glance back at Brown Eyes. His hands were shoved in his pockets as he studied the small art display table next to the pick-up area.
“You done?” Elena asked, taking the cup from you and slipping a sleeve on it before handing it back to you carefully. “Go!” She grinned, lightly shoving you toward the counter.
“Signature coffee, with almond milk,” you called, before meeting those beautiful brown eyes again.
As he grasped the cup, his fingertips lightly brushed yours causing a shock of electricity to course through your entire body.
“Thanks,” he said, with a sexy smile, winking as he turned to leave the store.
Once he had left, you grasped the edge of the counter with one hand, your other coming dramatically to your chest.
“Why is he so cute?” You groaned as your friends teased you.
----
It was raining today, the sky a mysterious mix of greys. The large windows of the coffee shop, coupled with the comforting coffee aroma, made it the perfect spot to enjoy a cozy afternoon out the rain, making it unusually busy.
“Don’t look now Y/N, your favorite customer just walked in,” Elena whispered as she reached over you to grab another cup.
For the second day in a row, your heart sped up to a dangerous speed before coming to a halt right as he flashed a beautiful smile in your direction.
You hurried through the handful of customers before he approached, confidence radiating with every step. Taking a deep breath, you decided to take a chance.
“Signature coffee with a splash of almond milk?” You asked, with a smile of your own.
He grinned, running his hand through his glorious curls, “that predictable huh?”
“I mean it is good coffee,” you reassured, ringing him up with a playful smirk.
“The company isn’t bad either,” he winked with another grin.
Suddenly, you couldn’t find the words anymore as he started to move to the pick-up area, and you were doing so well.
“Oh, and it’s Joel,” he said, sliding you a folded piece of paper.
Confused, you took the paper, which you realized was actually a coffee sleeve. Your eyes quickly found a scribbled note toward the top.
“Um can someone take over?” you called behind you frantically.
In Elena’s perfect handwriting, you read the secret note that you failed to see yesterday.
hey pretty brown eyes (sorry, idk your name) we missed you, glad you’re back <3 Y/N
“Elena!” You all but whisper shouted in her direction.
After a quick glance over her shoulder, she hurriedly shifted her attention back to the milk frother. “A little busy back here, what’s up?” she called back nervously.
As gracefully as you could, you stalked your way to her station, glaring daggers into her skull.
“Care to explain why Joel handed me this coffee sleeve with a note on it?” You questioned, feigning annoyance and slight embarrassment.
“Joel?” She peered at you in confusion before quickly lighting up with excitement “Brown Eyes? He write back?”
Elena placed the drink on the counter before snatching the coffee sleeve from your hand, examining it closely.
“Look!”
Glad to be back, I miss this place every time I travel. ps - your eyes are pretty too :)
Elena squealed loudly, as she rummaged through her apron pocket for a pen. You nervously glanced back at Joel, hoping he hadn’t heard, as she scribbled a new note on the coffee sleeve.
“What are you doing?!” You asked worriedly, noting that Joel was preoccupied by the art display again.
“Helping you! Here, take this.”
Elena placed the sleeve onto a freshly made coffee before shoving it into your nervous hands.
Instead of playing into her game, no matter how noble the intention, you grabbed a new sleeve to replace hers. Unfortunately, just as you grabbed the new one, Joel’s eyes met your own as a smile slowly formed on his lips, stopping right before it reached his eyes.
You’d been caught. Before you knew it, your feet were walking toward the counter, and your mouth formed a wide smile to match his own.
“Thanks Y/N, see you soon,” with another wink, he turned to leave the shop, leaving you in a stupor.
Elena soon appeared next you, “I actually hate you,” you said breathlessly, staring at the door Brown Eyes- Joel- just exited out of.
“No you don’t” she smirked, nudging your shoulder playfully.
“Okay fine, but I dislike you right now” you caved.
“I can live with that” she beamed, grabbing a cup to fulfill the next order.
---
One of the advantages of working in this coffee shop was the large windows that framed the door, giving you a perfect view of the outside. It was unusually slow today a stark contrast to yesterday’s crowd, giving you an opportunity to watch the various people that walked by the store. And, giving you ample time to internally prep when Joel strolled up to the door.
You straightened your posture, as your lips naturally curved into a smile. If you weren’t mistaken, you noticed Joel’s shoulders along with the line of his brow relax as he approached you.
“Hi Joel, the usual?” You surprised yourself again, talking to him was seemingly getting easier for you.
“It’s like you know me,” he flashed his perfect teeth, before handing you the carefully folded coffee sleeve.
In the bustle of yesterday’s rush, you completely forgot to ask Elena what she wrote, but you played off your excitement and curiosity and finished his transaction.
Once he moved off, you asked a friend to cover the register so you could read his note.
Your heart fluttered with anticipation as your fingers brushed over where the ink of his pen had glossed over the cardboard.
Elena was off today so you would have to write your own note to him for the first time since this started.
You quickly scribbled a response, trying to be flirty and funny all at the same time, which proved to be much harder than you thought.
As you handed Joel his coffee, he waved, promising to see you tomorrow, causing your heart to leap into your throat and a light pink tinge to creep on your cheeks
You could get used to this.
---
Apparently, your note writing wasn’t too shabby as Joel returned the next day and the day after that, filling every space of the coffee sleeve with new notes.
Part of you wanted to start a new sleeve with how flimsy the current one had gotten, but the little flirty words made it hard to replace, although, you would need to think about it soon because you were seriously running out of room.
words cannot espresso how much i love this place, not to mention the brew-tiful view… okay i’ll stop with the cheesy coffee jokes.
You couldn’t help the giggles that continued to escape your lips as you made his coffee. As you reached for the sleeve, you picked up a pen next to the stack of empty cups to write your own joke.
you want cheesy? how about this. what did the Brazilian coffee say to the Indonesian coffee….. what’s Sumatra with you?? i’m here all week ;)
Proud of your note, you slipped the sleeve onto the cup before walking it over to the counter. You were so giddy, you couldn’t wait for him to read it, but as you approached, you realized Joel was on the phone, concern clouding his beautiful face.
Wordlessly, he took the coffee and waved goodbye before rushing out of the store.
----
“I definitely screwed it up,” you groaned to Elena, burying your face into your arms.
It had been over a week since the last time Joel had come into the shop and you were desperately missing him.
To be frank, his absence shouldn’t have shocked you. This wasn’t unusual, show up for a while, disappear for even longer, pop back up when you least expected it. But the little notes became something you looked forward to. Aside from Elena, no one else knew about the notes that had been passed back and forth, so as far as anyone else knew, you were just sad to not have seen the pretty boy with mesmerizing eyes.
“Didn’t he say he travelled a lot for work, maybe he’s just on another work trip.” She comforted, rubbing the side of your arm soothingly.
“Or maybe he thinks I’m weird for making a lame coffee joke,” you wailed quietly.
“I thought it was cute,” she reassured, giving you a short squeeze.
The sound of the door opening, prompted you to lift your head and put on a happy face for your customer.
And in an instant, the knot that had formed in your stomach began to unravel. His smile had become infectious.
No matter how uncertain you were about your last note, you couldn’t help but match the grin that plastered his face. Your worries that had been so ever present for so many months had effectively dissipated with every meeting you had. Nerves being overtaken with joy that radiated from your very soul.
“I thought my cheesy joke scared you away,” you said as he approached the counter.
“You could never scare me away, work keeps me on the move though, I was a little disappointed when I had to take a last-minute trip last week,” he remarked, you could feel Elena’s smirk burning in the back of your head.
Before you could respond, Elena handed him his coffee, just as he handed you the coffee sleeve.
“It’s always good to see you Y/N, talk soon.”
Instead of waiting for you to write a new note, he opted to take a blank one by the pick-up area before leaving the little shop.
You tried to pretend you weren’t a little hurt by him not waiting for another note, but your curiosity got the best of you and you looked at the worn cardboard in your hand.
In the only previously blank spot you had left, was his phone number.
Elena hovered over you, giddy with excitement when she realized what he had written.
“What are you waiting for?” She all but screamed as she jumped up and down, prompting the other baristas to stare at you in confusion.
You pulled out your phone, thinking for a second for something cute and clever to say, settling for something tried and true.
hey pretty brown eyes :)
The butterflies returned, sending nerves tingling through your fingertips. But as quickly as they appeared, they soon faded away completely, because those familiar three dots appeared, along with it, pure bliss.
dededos
vaporwave
turnnoffyourmind
2087
romaincrisis
