A Late Night Incident at Work

I work the night shift at a small cafe in downtown. I’ve been there for about six months now and it’s mostly a solitary job since most people hit the streets later or earlier than my shift allows. The clientele is pretty diverse, but lately, one customer has become quite the regular, an older gentleman named Tom who's in his forties. He always comes around midnight when I’m closing up, usually ordering coffee-to-go for his evening drive home. Tom seems friendly enough, and we started chatting a bit more last week as he made it clear that I was one of his favorite baristas. I appreciated the attention, but being in my early twenties and still casually dating, I wasn’t sure how to respond other than with polite smiles and nods. Then, Friday night happened. We had gotten into a deeper conversation about work-life balance, and he started sharing some personal stories too. The night was getting late and we were both relaxed from our usual routine. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Tom leaned over the counter and kissed me on my cheek as I rang him up for his coffee order. It took me completely by surprise, there’s a strict policy against employees interacting with customers in such ways during their shifts. I felt flustered but tried to keep calm; after all, he was just leaving anyway. Yet, the next day at work, my mind wouldn’t let it go. I kept thinking about whether Tom meant anything by that kiss or if he thought nothing of it. It made me uncomfortable because while it wasn't a serious offense, it definitely crossed a line in my professional life. I ended up texting him later to clarify that the cafe has strict policies on customer interactions and even though he seemed like a nice guy, I needed to keep things professional. He responded saying he was sorry if he made me uncomfortable but appreciated the chat, and thanked me for the coffee too. It feels better getting it off my chest here than keeping it bottled up.