Heart Breaking and Entering

5. say, "cheese!"

"Thanks for meeting me."  Declan smirked, pulling open the door as we entered Beaumont Brew.  The shop welcomed us with the bitter scent of freshly brewed coffee and sugary sweetness, the leaves from one of its many hanging plants tickling the side of my face upon entry.

"I didn't exactly have a choice, did I?" I slid past him, heading to the counter.  The entire menu was written in various colors of chalk on a blackboard, my usual order smeared in lilac around its edges.  "Hi, I'll have one--"

"--Two vanilla lattes."  Declan cut me off, his card already in hand.  "One with almond milk and an extra pump of vanilla, and the other regular." 

He still remembered.

I whipped around to face him, "What do you think you're doing?"

"That's your order, right?" he chuckled, sliding his card over the counter.  "Or do you get two pumps of vanilla?"

"You are not paying for me--" I snatched his card from the counter, only to have him yank it from my fingers and hand it over to the barista, whose eyes flickered curiously between us.  "Declan, you're so--"

"Save it,"  he said, smiling up at the barista.  "It's just coffee."

But it wasn't just coffee.  It was bad enough I was meeting him behind Macie's back; it only made it worse he was paying for my drink.  Judging by the bewildered look on the young employee's face, I decided against arguing with him and huffed off to find a table.

Beaumont was beautifully decorated inside with luscious green plants and white rose bushes outside lining the windows.  Each cream-painted table was adorned with a couple of baby succulents, accompanied by alternating blue and purple chairs that creaked ever so slightly when sat on. 

I picked a table towards the back of the shop, setting my bag down as Declan paced over, combing a hand through his caramel waves.

"So," he mused, lowering himself into his chair, green eyes sparkling with amusement.  "Aren't you going to congratulate me?"

I crossed my arms, leaning back in my seat.  "For what?  Winning the popularity vote?"  I scoffed.  "Yeah, sure, congrats."

"Come on."  He furrowed his brow, a slight smile on his lips.  "You know how badly I wanted it.  You can't be a little happy for me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Declan.  I didn't realize you invited me here to boost your already sky-high ego.  My apologies, I must have misunderstood--"

"Gemma," he chuckled, "I'm kidding."

"I'm serious," I whined.  "If we're not going to actually talk about the plan, then I'm not interested in talking to you at all."

"Alright," he groaned, leaning his elbows on the table.  "We're here to do business, I get it.  I was just trying to break the ice."

"Consider it broken." 

He bit the inside of his cheek, looking away from my eyes.  The rustling ambiance of the shop filled our silence, clinking of glasses and quiet chatter circling around us.  I blew out a sigh, glancing up at the counter, where a barista called my name, sliding our lattes under the Prête sign.

I shuffled out of my chair, rising to my feet as the bell on the door chimed.  In walked a chattering Macie Murphy, her phone raised to her ear, Ray Bans covering her eyes.

"Shit."  I plopped back down, fumbling for a menu to cover my face.  Declan turned, but I hissed at him, "Don't look.  It's Macie--she's here."

He paused for a moment, sucking in his lower lip.  In a low tone, he whispered, "We need to leave."