I slapped his arm quickly to make him shut up, which only made him laugh more.
“Fine, fine, I’ll stop talking about it,” he conceded.
“First of all, you seem to be having way too much fun with somebody who's only supposed to be an acquaintance,” I muttered. “Second of all, you're supposed to be here for coffee, not hanging out with me. Isn't your friend going to wonder where you went?”
“Well, I was going to leave earlier, but then you bullied me into staying here and answering all your questions,” he replied.
“I was not bullying you,” I protested. “You were free to leave at any time. There's nothing stopping you.”
Griffin’s voice was soft as he said, “Except you.”
The statement shocked me into silence. I stared at him. He didn't seem to realize the gravity of what he had said until after he said it. Then his eyes widened, and he looked a bit uncomfortable.
“Sorry,” he said. “I didn't mean it that way. I meant, because you wanted to ask me those questions, is all.”
“Yeah, I get it,” I mumbled.
The awkward silence was thankfully broken by Skylar popping his head into the booth and asking, “Is it working?”
I quickly put on my best fake smile for him and nodded. “Everything's going just fine. we'll both be out in a second.”
“Okay!” Skylar said. The black curtain fell back down as he removed his head.
“Let's just do this and get out of here,” I muttered to Griffin.
Griffin nodded but didn't answer me, and I couldn't read the expression on his face.
Once the border was chosen, the program was easy to figure out. It instructed us to perform a series of poses that would be separated by the flash of the camera. Finally, at the end of it, it would print out the pictures with the border we picked.
Right now, the last thing I wanted was to put on a fake smile and pretend like I was having a good time with Griffin - even though that one cursed part of me was actually enjoying it. I ignored it and squashed it down, like stomping on a garbage bag.
Then I realized Skylar would be seeing these photos too, to make sure they turned out okay, and he would notice if I was visibly upset. Why couldn't it have been that other employee instead of Skylar? He knew me better than anybody and would know right away if something was bothering me.
Goddamnit.
I ran a hand through my hair and exhaled, trying to compose myself. This wouldn't be the first time I put on a fake smile and it definitely wouldn't be the last.
A tap on my shoulder nearly made me jump out of my skin. I hissed and demanded, “What did you do that for?”
Griffin pointed to the screen. “It's waiting for you to hit start, and I don't want to do it before you're ready.”
My emotions churned in turmoil. I didn't know why Griffin was being so nice or considerate, especially when he had no reason to be - I yelled at him earlier and wasted his time - but his body language didn’t indicate that he was in a rush, even though I would have been if I were in his position. He was genuinely waiting for me to make the first move.
I frowned at that thought. I didn't mean it likethat.
The same amazing smell from earlier still wafted in the air, like it was suffocating me in the best way possible. Panic coursed through my blood. My mind screamed at me to escape, but my body didn't want to move.
My mind felt hazy and I could barely think except to wonder,what the hell is wrong with me?
Finally I wrenched myself out of my mind fog and slammed my finger into the button. A countdown appeared on the screen.
The pictures went by faster than I anticipated. Three flashes of bright light later, the screen let out a little jingle, indicating that it was finished.
“Is that it?” I asked.
“I suppose so,” Griffin said. “I've never used one of these before, either.”
I vaguely thought that it was interesting that we shared this first-time experience together, but I would rather die than say that out loud. Now that this whole ordeal was over, I could finally get out of this place. By now I’d lost my appetite and I didn't even feel like finishing the croissant back at my table, but I hated wasting food so I would grab it in a napkin and bolt.
