Page 23 of Love You A Latte

“I’m ready.”

Frankie hands it over and pulls a chair out, scooting it right next to me.

“I think I want to say one final thing to them,” I murmur, the thought only now crossing my mind. That I don’t want them to have the last word. That I want to stand up for myself in a more direct way.

“Okay,” Frankie says.

They slide a hand to my thigh under the table and squeeze once, their hazel eyes showing nothing but confidence in me.

I open my phone, seeing my message list devoid of both Sabrina and Benji. Frankie must have already deleted the message chains from both of them individually, as well as the group chat they added me to.

I start a new one with both Benji and Sabrina, and my fingers hover over the keyboard as I decide what I want to say.

Addison: You’ve both treated me horribly. I want you to know that this is it, I’m done. I’m blocking both of you and I hope you’ll respect my request for you both to leave me alone.

I think about adding a “goodbye” or “thank you” — the polite, people pleasing side of me squirming with nerves at how direct and rude that message feels. But then Frankie nods slowly next to me. A slight, seemingly subconscious movement that I catch in my periphery. I don’t think they intended for me to see it, but I do, and I hit send.

Quickly, I click into my contacts and find Benji first, hovering over his name for only a millisecond before I scroll to the bottom and hit the “block” button.

When I get to Sabrina’s name, I hesitate. She was the center of my world for nearly two years, and the hurt I’ve endured as a result of her actions has been devastating. My heart is still bruised, confused.

Frankie tucks their chin on my shoulder, curls their arm around my waist, and their curly hair tickles my ear. A tiny smile tilts my lips at the sensation, at their nearness and unwavering support. It gives me the strength I need to block her too, and I toss my phone down with a puff of air.

Frankie kisses my cheek, then murmurs a quick “proud of you, sweets” before standing and returning to the counter and waiting line of customers.

~~~

The afternoon at Everly’s passes slowly, and I keep finding myself checking my phone for messages in between calls, apprehension lining my gut until I remember that I blocked them. My two biggest mistakes won’t be bothering me anymore.

I send Frankie a message, inviting them over when they’re done with work, then I stare out the window, contemplating the position I’m in. I think I’m falling for them, but I’m also only here in Stone Ridge for a few more days. I don’t know how we would make this work. I don’t think either of us are cut out for long distance, and Frankie has only ever left this tiny town once. It seems like ages since they picked me up from the airport, but in reality it was only five days ago. Their entire life is here and I can’t ask them to uproot everything for me.

And my life is in San Diego. My job, everything I know and am used to. The beach house I inherited when our parents passed that holds some of the most precious memories I have.

There’s a tiny wiggle in the back of my brain, a thought gaining traction every time I avoid this topic.Is it much of a life, though?I turn away from it again, not ready to face it yet, and focus on the excessively eager dog shoving a toy into my lap instead.

Frankie shows up later with a bag of baked sweet potato treats for Moose and his enthusiastic tail nearly takes out a side table. We spend the evening chatting, then making out on the couch like horny teenagers, then we get up and take Moose for a walk after dark when it’s cooled off a bit outside. Frankie reluctantly gets ready to leave, and I begrudgingly let them, since they have to wake up at an unfathomable time for work tomorrow morning.

We spend too long kissing goodbye, yet somehow it’s still not enough. Me pressing them up against the side of their beat-up truck. Their hands gripping my ass through my leggings. My hand cupping their jaw and tracing circles on the back of their neck. Shivers running up and down both of our spines.

Finally, we break apart.

“I really have to go,” Frankie says. The stars twinkle in the night sky above us.

“I know,’ I say, leaning in for more.

Frankie’s lips smile against mine, then they nip my bottom lip and lightly push me back.

“Fine,” I sigh. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

Their truck rumbles down the driveway and I watch the glow of the tail lights as they turn down the road.

The last thought I have before bed is that I never did ask what was in that latte earlier.

CHAPTER TEN

FRANKIE

I get a weird vibe when I wake up, and it lingers as I do the morning baking and open up the shop. Like there’s a cloud of apprehension following me around, or a ghost planning how to best haunt me.

---