Starbucks Guy
It was my first year living in New York City. I was working as a glorified coffee Sherpa so I spent a lot of time at the Starbucks near my office. Three to four times a day, ordering 10+ coffees every time. It didn’t bother me though, I was living in the greatest city in the world, if that meant I was coffee bitch for a while then that was fine with me. I got to know the Baristas pretty well, I even went to one of their concerts. I never noticed anyone else in the Starbucks, mostly because I was juggling 10 coffees and chatting with the Baristas about the cool Bushwick rave they just went to.
I walked in one day and the Barista told me that someone had a crush on me. I thought, “Oh god, is it one of the Baristas?” They were all GREAT but mostly women, gay men or this one pretty creepy straight guy. He told me that it wasn’t any of them, but a customer that’s been coming in at the same time as me. PHEW! I thought. It’s not the creepy guy. This customer had left his number with the Barista to give to me. He assured me that the guy was cute and he wouldn’t be giving me his number if he didn’t think it might work. I ran back to my office to share the story with my coworker, who immediately encouraged me to text the number! I was FREAKING OUT. Who is this guy?! I couldn’t remember ANYONE in the Starbucks that would be of interest.
I text him. I don’t even remember what I said but before I knew it I was walking into The Ainsworth to meet a complete stranger. I had NO idea what this guy looked like or how old he was. I took a quick look around the bar and couldn’t tell the first finance bro from the next. I decided to call him to see which man in the bar picked up their phone. The phone rings. Spotted. Oh. My. God. HOT. I see a man in his mid-twenties sharply dressed pick up his phone and at the same time through my phone, I hear, “I’m in the back”.
I walk over and he stands up to introduce himself. This guy is SO handsome I can barely focus. Tall, dark, beautiful smile, well dressed. I’m thinking, “ME?? He picked ME out of a Starbucks? Does he have the right girl?” Turns out he’s an architect at one of the firms near my office and always noticed the pretty girl with 10+ coffees. We had a magical night, drinks at the Ainsworth, met up with his friends afterwards, the sparks were flying.
After this first date, we drifted apart. We met up another time but things weren’t the same. He was dealing with a recent breakup and I wasn’t ready to be attached to anyone. In the years to come, we kept missing each other. He reached out to take me out but I was seeing someone at the time. Once that relationship ended, I reached out but then he was seeing someone. A relationship opportunity that was missed by fate.
5 years after this first date, I’m standing on an empty subway platform and see this tall handsome man waving at me. It’s him. His smile hasn’t changed. We catch up briefly and I learn he’s moving to another country in a week. We hug as our trains are arriving, that little spark is still there. We get on different trains, the doors close. I’ll never see him again but I’ll always remember the Starbucks man that got away.