goober3000

[goober3000]

[goober3000]

Chapter 1 of Burnt Coffee (Chapter 2 is already up on my Wattpad🩵)

Chapter 1

She is gorgeous. She probably knows it. I’d assume a person so attractive, so put together, must know that heads turn when they enter a room.

“Ice Mocha Latte, please… light ice, too.” Her voice, soft and tired yet alert, cuts through the morning hum. She comes down from the apartment complex above, always the same order. Sometimes she lingers with a book, sometimes she leaves to disappear into the city. Each day, I make her drink, and each day, she repeats her order. I wonder if she thinks I might forget, but how could I? A face like hers is unforgettable.

When I clock out of my shift I day dream about her. What she might do when she leaves. If she goes home to someone else. What it might be like to be the one she comes home too.

After a year of this routine, I haven’t ventured beyond the basics of her coffee order. Even the milk choice—whole or the rare 2%—is a ritual in itself. She knows nothing about me and I only know very little about her.

Her mornings always start in the cafe, always alone and once in a while accompanied by a book.

Yet, as a barista, I do know her name: Gloria. The first time she came in, I noted it down and tried to piece together her life from the scraps available online. Her digital presence is minimal, and her privacy almost a fortress. I toyed with the idea of a burner account, but anxiety and ethics held me back.

Instead I use it as a chance to use her as a muse. Use my day dreams to fuel my creativity. I write about us meeting, what our love story would be or just what her life is like when she leaves the cafe.

In my imagination, I find a way to be part of her world, even if only in the quiet moments between my coffee orders.

It’s safer to have her in my life like this. A version of her in my mind. To allow me to believe she can love me. I can continue imagining her how I want her, dreamlike and perfect.

The only happiness I have is the ten minutes in the morning when she makes her order. If I need to savor her a little longer, I go to the back of the cafe, humming to myself softly for a minute or two before coming back out with a new carton of milk we don’t really need.

The simple act of her presence is a beacon in my monotonous routine, and I cling to it with a fervor that surprises even me. I wonder if she notices my lingering gaze or if my small rituals are just another part of the background noise of her morning. Even being in her backdrop would be an honor. An extra in her show that she may tell her friends is cute or say is her favorite barista thanks to getting her order just right.

I want her. I need her. But the wait until tomorrow morning feels interminable.

My thoughts flood with her through my morning into the afternoon. I am so lost in my dreams of her, I barely hear the soft bell above the front door.

“Hi,” her voice cuts through my reverie, a clear, melodic sound that seems to materialize her out of my daydreams.

“Hello,” I reply, offering a genuine smile as I reach for a cup. The familiarity of her order is like a comforting routine, and I’ve learned it by heart.

This time she doesn’t repeat her order. Maybe ordering coffee twice a day is the trick for her to remember me, to remember that I am apart of her world.

Her eyes simply follow as I grab a cup and marker, writing down her usual order in silence.

I work at the cafe morning to night. One break at noon. And I only see her in the mornings. What makes today so different for fate to allow me to see her twice in one day?

“Did you need an extra pick me up today?” I ask, my eyes slowly moving up from the cup, over her body, to meet her gaze.

She smiles. A kind of smile where it’s polite but nothing more.

“Long day at work,” she says with a sigh, her smile fading slowly.

I don’t want to push her to make small talk. I doubt that’s what would win her over. But I can’t resist what comes out of my mouth.

“Gloria right? Ice Mocha Latte?” I keep a smile on my face. She watched me write down her order already. It’s clear she knows I have her order memorized as soon as she walked in.

She nods, her smile creeping back up on her perfect plump lips. “Yea, exactly that. Am I that predictable?”

I chuckle softly. “Not predictable, just someone who knows what they like. It’s part of what makes you memorable.”

She raises an eyebrow, a hint of curiosity in her eyes. “Is that so? And what do you think that says about me?”

“That you’ve got good taste and a bit of mystery,” I reply, trying to gauge her reaction. “But if you want, I could always surprise you with something new next time.”

Her eyes soften, and for a moment, I see a glimmer of warmth. “I might just take you up on that.”

That look in her eyes. Her voice. When I clock out and make the journey to my empty apartment, I’ll replay this moment in my mind. I’ll write about her. I’ll dream about her. I’ll try to insert myself in her life beyond being the one to make her coffee every morning.

[goober3000]

Book Summary 💻

Gideon serves Gloria her coffee every morning with a practiced ease, but beyond the routine exchange, he knows little about her. In his mind, she is a muse-an enigmatic figure whose presence ignites his creative spark. As he crafts stories in the quiet of his apartment, Gloria becomes the centerpiece of his narrative, a vision of longing and idealization.

His infatuation morphs into an obsession, and his days are consumed with thoughts of her. Each morning's brief interaction becomes a cherished ritual, while the rest of his life blurs into a backdrop for his fantasy. Gideon's quest to capture Gloria's essence on paper grows increasingly consuming.

The line between his fictionalized version of Gloria and the real woman who walks into his café each day begins to blur. His longing deepens, and his reality becomes intertwined with his fiction. As he pours more of himself into his stories, Gideon grapples with the question of whether he will ever truly connect with Gloria or if he will become lost in the labyrinth of his own creation.

[goober3000]

Hi! I write for fun! My writing is all fiction pieces that center a variety of things such as romance or darker themes or thriller. I do not write fan fiction! (Not yet anyway🤭). This is a space for me to write and express my work. Please please please feel free to give feedback! Thanks! Happy reading☕️