And once you’ve tasted something real, something that pulls at the edges of everything you thought you knew about yourself, you don’t just walk away from it.
Even if you try.
The café was comfortably crowded, the hushed tones of conversation blending with the clinking of silverware and the occasional hiss of the espresso machine. The scent of fresh coffee and warm pastries filled the air, but Sloane barely registered it as she sat at a small table near the window, stirring her black coffee without taking a sip.
Across from her, Dani watched, arms crossed, her chin resting lazily in one hand as she assessed Sloane with the kind of knowing smirk that made Sloane want to reach across the table and flick her forehead.
"You’ve got that look," Dani finally said, taking a slow, deliberate sip of her own coffee.
Sloane blinked, snapping out of her thoughts. "What look?"
Dani set her cup down with exaggerated patience. "The ‘I slept with someone who makes my brain short-circuit and now I’m spiraling’ look."
Sloane scoffed. "I don’t spiral."
Dani arched a perfectly sculpted brow. "You’re stirring coffee like it holds the answers to the universe, babe. That’s a spiral if I’ve ever seen one."
Sloane glanced down at her coffee, realizing she’d been idly swirling the spoon through a cup she hadn’t even touched. Witha sigh, she dropped the spoon onto the saucer with a clatter and finally took a sip, the bitter liquid grounding her.
"It’s not a spiral," she muttered, setting the cup down. "It’s…irritation."
Dani hummed, leaning back in her chair. “Doctor Frosty ran away after she came, didn’t she?"
Sloane shot her a flat look.
Dani grinned. "Predictable. But it still stings, huh?"
"Not stings," Sloane said, though the words tasted like a lie. "It just annoys me. She left before I woke up. Slipped out like it was some reckless decision she needed to erase before daylight hit."
Dani drummed her fingers against the tabletop. "To be fair, it was reckless. And you love reckless."
Sloane let out a low laugh, shaking her head. "Yeah, but this? This wasn’t reckless, Dani. Not really."
Dani’s smirk faded slightly, her sharp gaze turning more thoughtful. "You actually like her."
Sloane looked away, scanning the café for nothing in particular. "It’s not about liking her."
Dani snorted. "Oh, babe, it’s absolutely about liking her."
Sloane sighed, leaning back in her chair. "Fine. Maybe I do. But that’s not the problem."
"Then what is?"
Sloane’s fingers traced the rim of her coffee cup. "She felt it too. That’s what’s frustrating. She’s not pretending it didn’t happen; she’s pretending it didn’t mean anything."
Dani studied her for a long moment before shrugging. "She’s the Ice Queen for a reason, Sloane. You don’t melt that overnight."
"I don’t want to melt her," Sloane said, her voice quieter now, more serious. "I just want her to stop running from something we both know is real."
Dani sighed, reaching for a sugar packet and ripping it open with an unnecessary amount of force. "You really don’t do easy, do you?"
Sloane smirked. "Where’s the fun in that?"
Dani shook her head, dumping the sugar into her coffee. "Just be careful. Catherine’s the kind of person who’s spent a long time convincing herself she doesn’t need anyone. That’s not easy to undo."
Sloane considered that, rolling the thought around in her mind.
"I don’t need to undo anything," she said finally. "I just need her to stop fighting so damn hard."
