Kurt joined the back of the ridiculously long queue for the counter, and attempted to shake off a little of his bad mood. He glanced around the room, trying to determine which of the heaving throng of clientele might be planning on leaving the coffee house some time soon. He drew a blank, and as he glanced out of the window again, he could hardly blame anyone for not wanting to venture outside. The rain was getting heavier by the minute. He saw a young guy sitting on one of the more comfortable 2-seater couches not far from the counter, totally engrossed in his magazine, and completely ignoring the tuts of annoyance from the people around him at the fact that he had taken up the whole sofa with his shopping bags and rucksack. He wondered if anyone had actually asked him if they could possibly take the spare seat, or whether they were just being pissy at him for the hell of it. Kurt felt a slight pang of sympathy for the guy if the latter was indeed the case ... he was way too cute to be subjected to coffee-house-hatred.

The snooty businesswoman who had joined the queue behind Kurt let out a loud, impatient cough, and Kurt realised that she was urging him to move forward - he'd become blissfully unaware of how quickly people were being served all of a sudden, and saw that he was actually the next in line. He shot the woman a look of sheer indignation and scooted to the counter, ordering his usual skinny latte and an apple danish for later. Or maybe now, judging by the way his stomach was growling so ferociously through his shirt.

The room was still packed, but Kurt noticed that his little bit of man-candy with all the bags had still neglected to move them, so he figured he'd try his luck and ask for the seat.

'Excuse me - is this seat taken?'

The eyes that met Kurt's gaze as he posed his question were just about the most beautiful pools of loveliness that he had ever seen. They were golden brown and framed by pretty, long lashes that most women would kill for, with big expressive eyebrows which were currently raised high at being somewhat startled out of his reading trance. Kurt felt his insides do a little flip-flop and hoped he wasn't drooling.

'Oh god, sorry man. Of course – please, sit.'

The dark-haired guy fumbled with his bags and dragged them onto the floor, grinning at Kurt and rolling his eyes in exasperation at having quite so many of them to move. He gestured to the now empty seat and took a sip of his coffee, before immersing himself back into the article he was reading.

Kurt mouthed a silent 'thank you' before sitting, and couldn't help but notice the heavenly scent coming from his neighbour's direction. He smelled like sandalwood and well-worn leather, which Kurt decided must've been from the brown leather jacket he looked so warm and snug in. A plaid scarf was wrapped repeatedly around his neck, and Kurt's mind wandered, wondering if the stranger would mind awfully if he helped him to remove it at some point.

Down boy!

'It's crazy in here today, right?' Kurt's neighbour suddenly chimed, keeping his eyes firmly on his magazine, but obviously aware that he was being looked at.

'I know - it's like the whole of New York decided that today was the day to do all of their Christmas shopping!'

'Haha - guilty as charged.' the stranger laughed, and Kurt suddenly panicked that his comment may have sounded like more of an accusation than a passing observation.

'Oh no, I didn't mean ...'

The stranger held up his hands as if to silence Kurt, and gestured to the pile of bags strewn at their feet, another huge grin planted on his face. Wow, that smile was infectious. So much so that all Kurt could do was grin in response - he simply had no idea how to continue the conversation, and soon enough the stranger had turned his attention back to his magazine.

Damn it. Kurt really was stumped. He guessed this guy was a regular too, but perhaps they just hadn't crossed paths before. He was sure that he'd remember noticing someone as pretty as this in his boring old coffee house. He glanced down to the stranger's magazine - 'National Geographic'. Hmmmm ... maybe he's a zoology geek or a marine biologist or something, Kurt mused. He was about to open his mouth to ask a nosy question or two when he felt his phone buzz into life in his pocket.

'Hey, Rach!' He trilled when he saw that his best friend and house-mate, Rachel Berry, was calling for their afternoon catch-up.

'Hey you. I was expecting to get angry-Kurt thanks to the lovely weather we're having.'

'Ah, I was sorta pissed for a while. But I'm OK now.'

Kurt couldn't resist a quick glance over to his neighbour as he said this, and saw to his horror that Mr Gorgeous was beginning to gather his things.

'Oh no, don't leave.' Kurt whispered under his breath.

'What? Kurt, we only just started talking.'

'Not ... you!' Kurt turned his head to the side and hissed through clenched teeth.

'Then who?'

Kurt sighed as he watched the stranger slowly weave his way to the door through the still bustling coffee shop.

'Oh, just the love of my life. The one with the pretty eyes, amazing smile, cute furrowed brow when he's reading something interesting ... dark curls ... ass that won't quit.'

'Haha ... how'd you know about the ass?'

'Cos he just walked out of my life.' Kurt sighed.

'Awww - honey, I'm sorry. Anyway, let me tell you about my day!'