lattes and love at first sight
JAMIE TARTT x FEM!BAKER!READER
word count: 1.7k
© luvr-bunnyy pls don't use my headers or writing without permission
warnings: none! just some fluffy jaime
[a/n: i may continue this baker!reader in other fics!! but this is also the result of that random, spin the wheel thing i did...i may have written jaime out of character but i just love the thought of a usually confident man reduced to a flustered, nervous mess for the person he likes...anyways, enjoy!]
A heavy sigh ripped through your chest as you continued to knead at the dough in front of you. Your forearms were burning, a bead of sweat had rolled down your back, but you continued on, focused on your task as the sweet crooning of Marcus Mumford filled the bakery. You separated your dough into smaller parts, placing them on the tray beside you and once they filled it up, you carried the massive thing over to your proofer, sliding it into place and refilling the water tray.
As you shut the door, a familiar tinkling caught your attention. It was followed by a familiar voice and one that was quite new to you.
“Keeley, I don’t think the shop’s even open yet…why don’t we just-”
“For the hundredth time Jaim’s, it’s open.” She scoffed before calling out, “(Y/n)! Babes, where’re you hiding!”
A laugh bubbled from your chest as you finished setting your timer. “I’m back here Keeles! Be up in a sec!” Your eyes scoured the countertops before you found your tea towel and you snatched it up, wiping your hands as you stepped out into the front of the store.
“There you are! Hi, babes! How are you?” She leaned over the counter and pulled you into a hug. Her sweet perfume invaded your senses in the best ways, the familiarity filling your chest with warmth. “I’m great, a little sweaty but great!” Understanding the implication of your statement, she scoffed and held you tighter before letting you go. “Oh stop it babe, you smell like cookies.”
“Well, thank God for that.” You laughed before finally glancing over to the man that was staring intently at the scene in front of him. He seemed vaguely familiar but you couldn’t quite figure it out. “Oh uhm, h-hi. I’m (Y/n).”
“Erm Jamie, nice to meet ya. Keeley never shuts up about this place so I thought I’d come with her. See what all the fuss is about.”
“Great! I hope it lives up to the hype. Keeley, your usual?”
“Yes! And can I get a dozen of your pastries please, love? Surprise me.”
“Of course, and what about you Jaime?” He panicked once your eyes were on him again, realizing that since you stepped out of the kitchen, his gaze had never bothered to look anywhere else but you, much less to look at your menu board.
Keeley’s eyes twinkled in amusement as she watched Jamie’s cheeks pinken, stuttering the slightest bit as he answered. “How about an iced coffee and a pastry you like? I uhm, I can’t decide.”
“Okay, sure! I’ll get that ready for you guys.”
Seemingly oblivious to what was happening, you slinked over behind the espresso machine, working on Keeley’s usual. When the fall season came around, her white chocolate and pumpkin spiced latte was a stark contrast to Roy’s americano. As you finished off her latte, one of your many timers beeped.
“Oh shit…” You mumbled, totally having forgotten about what was in your oven. Jamie watched in slight amusement as you rushed over, muttering something or other to yourself as you lugged open the huge oven door, hands hidden by oven mitts as you pulled the tray out. The delicious smell of whatever it was filled the bakery and Jamie’s stomach grumbled.
Carefully, you grabbed two of them with parchment squares and handed one to each of them. “Here you go, fresh out.” They eagerly took the warm bread and bit into it.
Keeley’s was followed by a gasp. “These are new, aren’t they?”
“Yup!” You slipped back behind the counter to make Jaime’s drink. “I came up with the recipe this weekend. This is my first batch. How are they?”
“They’re fucking amazing, I could kiss you right now!” She took another bite before looking over at her friend.
“Yeah, what she said…” He was so enthralled in the taste he hadn’t realized what he was echoing until it registered in his head. “Ah well no, I just meant- I don’t want to kiss you! I mean, it’s not that I don’t but- wait, no! I just-”
“It’s okay, I understood what you meant.” Your soft laugh didn’t help Jaime’s nerves but he was glad he hadn’t said something wrong. “Here you go Keeles.” You slid a two cup drink tray over to her, her’s and Roy’s drink sitting neatly in it. “And here you go, Jaime. I hope you like it.”
You watched hopefully as he took a sip of the drink. He nodded in approval, the right amount of sweet and bitter swirled across his tongue. “That’s real good, what is it?”
“It’s a brown sugar and english toffee latte. It’s not on the menu but it’s what I make for myself.” He nodded in approval, watching as you grabbed a to-go box from underneath the counter and started to fill it with pastries.
Keeley was overjoyed, secretly snapping a picture of Jamie watching you work with a lovesick expression on his face. She giddily sent it to Roy captioned, ‘I never believed in love at first sight until now.’
After that, you started to see more and more of Jamie. He had been stopping by before practice or even on weekends that he had free and whenever Keeley or anyone really, mentioned a hankering for a coffee or a sweet treat, he had volunteered to make a run out to grab some.
You definitely weren’t complaining.
The charming footballer had always brought a smile to your face, his anecdotes about his teammates or of his coaches had brightened up your days. There had been a few times where he’d come right at closing time and helped you clean up.
He still hadn’t gotten up the nerve to ask you on a proper date. Every time he thought he had hyped himself enough, he’d abandon ship and talk about something else.
But of course, he had enough of beating around the bush.
He came in with a determined look on his face and it had you very intrigued but you finished ringing up your customer and making their drinks. You bid them a ‘goodbye’ and a ‘come back soon’ before you started on Jaimes’s usual, sending him a smile.
“Hi Jams, everything okay?”
He watched as you basically made the drink by memory, sparing a few tiny glances down at your hands but keeping your full attention on him. It made his heart skip a beat.
“Yeah…I erm, well I wanted to ask you something. Have for a while now, actually.” He was fiddling with his fingers, eyes trained on the shiny charcoal colored counter below his drink.
He was so distracted that he hadn’t noticed you walk around the counter and step beside him. The warm smell of brown sugar and peaches overwhelmed his senses. “Come on…” You gently gripped the crook of his elbow and led him over to a table. As you moved to sit across from him, he shivered at the feeling of your hand running down his forearm and to his own hand, fingers intertwining. “Okay, what did you want to tell me?”
He took a second to relish in the feeling of your fingers between his, fitting like a puzzle piece he had been missing for far too long.
Your chest tightened, his eyes finally meeting yours. They were filled with a reverence that nobody had ever spared you. “You can stop me and tell me to fuck off or…or that I’m a prick but-” Your face twisted into a confused frown as he continued. “I can’t stop thinking about ya’, your face, your smile, your laugh…it’s so bad that I can’t concentrate during training.” He scoffed a laugh. “Roy gave me a proper lashing for it but…I don’t even care. So, erm I guess what I wanted to say is that, I really, really want to take you out on a date. A proper one.”
Your eyes widened, almost comically, when you realized how serious he was. Temptation to deny was ever present in your mind. How could he like you that much? So much so that your constant presence in his mind was a distraction from the thing he spent his entire livelihood achieving…but there was nothing in his eyes other than affection and hope, how could you say no?
So, you fessed up.
“You know…I burnt an entire batch of my pumpkin cookies because I- Keeley sent me the unreleased photos from your GQ photoshoot…I was too busy drooling over your photos that-that I turned off my timer and forgot to take them out of the oven.” A nervous giggle bubbled in your chest. “They looked like charcoal.”
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Wait, so that means…?”
“I, very much, want to go on a date with you.” His eyes lit up. “Like, real bad Jaime.”
“Oh fuck me…” He muttered at your desperation, “You’re serious.”
“As a heart attack.” You squeezed his hand, an unbelievable amount of giddiness coursing through your whole body.
“Kiss me.” His eyes widened, sending himself into a spluttering ramble. “No! I mean, yes k-kiss me…I mean, only if you want to. I want you to- could I…can I kiss you? Please?”
You bit your lip in an attempt to conceal the shit eating grin that’s tugging at your lips. “Only because you asked so nicely.” He removed his hand from yours, cradling your jaw as if you were the most precious thing on the planet, and to him, you very much were.
He leaned across the table, the feeling of your hand holding his wrist was intoxicating. When his lips met yours, he was in heaven. Your lips moved in a languid pace against his, wanting to savor the moment as much as possible. The hitch in your breath when his tongue messily met yours had boosted his confidence, sliding his hand back behind your neck to deepen the kiss. Heat had begun to pool in your belly so you placed your hand onto his chest and gently pulled away from him.
Keeley and Rebecca watched from behind the glass door, jaws dropped at the Hallmark moment they had just witnessed, unbeknownst to either you or Jaime.
You laughed breathily as Jaime chased after your lips, your hand creating resistance against his chest. “Easy Tartt…let’s save that for our date.” You couldn’t resist his wide, pleading eyes so you leaned in and chastely pressed your lips against his.
The violent sound of the bell made the both of you jump, pulling away from each other. Keeley had shoved the door open, squealing. “Fucking FINALLY! I thought we’d have to knock some sense into the both of you!”
