← All confessions · Secret Crush 2026-10-14

Name on the Cup

For a year the barista wrote a different fake name on her cup. Then one day it said 'Saturday?'

How it started

Every weekday at 8:10, the same flat white from the same tiny café, and the same barista with curly hair and a pencil behind his ear. On the first day he asked my name and wrote 'Bella' on the cup instead. The next day it was 'Juno'. Then 'Captain', 'Trouble', 'Your Majesty', 'Sunshine (not a morning person)'. It became a game. I started guessing what tomorrow's would be. My office mates started asking. I kept the cups in a drawer, which is not something I'm proud of, and they are absolutely still there. A whole year of fake names, and I never once said anything beyond 'thanks, see you tomorrow'.

Then it happened

Last week the cup just said 'Saturday?' with a phone number underneath. I nearly dropped it. I sat at my desk staring at it until my coffee went cold. I'm terrified. I'm wearing the green dress. I'm going. Update: Saturday happened. We walked along the canal for four hours, he wrote 'Sunday?' on a napkin, and I've stopped keeping the cups because I don't need proof anymore.

The morning after

By Monday the whole café knew. The other baristas started writing 'Saturday?' on every cup as a joke. Her colleagues demanded updates by the hour. He now writes her real name on the cup, with a heart. She still keeps the cups.