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A long uncomfortable silence stretched out between them. Alissa loved writing novels and usually she couldn’t stop talking about it. Then again, her mood often dipped when she hit a creative block. Maybe it was that. He understood. Being stuck on a creative problem was always so difficult. You couldn’t force it.
Sometimes Alissa talked about the problem she was having and bounced ideas off of him, but today she stayed quiet. A simmer of frustration started to build in his gut, but he set it aside.
“I really love your features on the luau,” he said. Work was usually a safe topic no matter what, but today, Alissa’s eyes narrowed in uncharacteristic anger.
“Some couples have time to enjoy actually going to events like that. Together.” Alissa’s hand formed a fist on the table, like she was holding on in fear of losing control. “But it feels like you’ve been so busy that you don’t have time for the luau or me.”
Dane sat back in his seat, blinking several times. He had never seen Alissa this upset before, and it seemed like it had come out of nowhere.
“Alissa, what brought this on?” Dane kept his voice soft, resisting the urge to take her hand across the table. Touching her was probably the last thing she wanted from him.
Alissa sighed, her eyes watery. “You’ve just been so… you’ve been staying late at the office and then there are these lunches with Josie that don’t make any sense. And I keep trying to get you into the luau and drop hints about you asking me, but you haven’t yet. It’s like I’m just a walking, talking set of articles to you and not your girlfriend.”
Alissa’s voice cracked on her final words and she pushed her glasses up on her nose. Dane opened his mouth, then closed it when he realized he didn’t know what to say. He didn’t feel like he was spending less time with Alissa. He just felt like he was trying to get ready for the luau by learning to hula. But he didn’t want to ruin the surprise.
“Alissa, it’s…” Dane still found himself at a complete loss for words. “I don’t…”
“You’re right. You didn’t.” Alissa stood up and grabbed her purse, storming out.
Dane felt as if someone had dumped ice water down the back of his shirt. He raked his hand down his face and groaned. How had he not seen how ignored Alissa felt? He still had no idea what to say to make it right, as much as he wanted to.
* * *
Hannah tightened her ponytail as she walked to Tidal Wave Coffee. She almost never went there on a Sunday in the middle of the day, but she was going with a purpose—trying to get a better feel of how Michael felt for her. And getting some coffee and croissants for her and her friend Jessie from high school while she was at it.
She knew he was frequently there on the weekend to manage things and prepare for the upcoming week. Hopefully he wasn’t changing his routine.
The shop wasn’t too busy. There were a few people grabbing pastries and coffees for light Sunday brunches, but no one was in line. Luckily, Michael was there with one of his baristas behind the espresso machine. His eyes were bright with excitement, which gave him a boyish charm that Hannah rarely saw on his face.
She hesitated for a moment, but stepped inside.
“Hey, just the person I wanted to see!” Michael said.
Hannah looked over her shoulder to see if he was talking to someone behind her, but he was talking to her. Her face heated up immediately and she smiled a little.
“Really?” Hannah asked.
“Yeah. Just a second.” Michael did something with the machine and came toward the bar. “You mentioned you like oat milk, right? We’ve been messing around with some drinks for the luau and I was wondering if I could get your opinion.”
“Oh, sure.” Hannah wasn’t sure whether this was a good sign or not, but he’d specifically called her out for this. “What is it?”
Michael slid a small cup across the bar.
“It’s a toasted coconut latte. I know it seems like we should use all coconut milk, but it’s slightly too rich.” Michael rested his forearms on the high bar. “The oat milk is creamy but not too creamy.”
Hannah sniffed it—it smelled like drinking a coffee on the beach—and took a sip. It was delicious and tasted exactly as it smelled. She nodded and gave a thumbs up.
“It’s super good!” Hannah said. “I’d definitely drink this. It’s rich but not so rich that I’d feel like taking a nap or sitting down after. I bet it would be good over ice too.”
“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.” Michael smiled. “Hold on just a second—let’s make one over ice and see if it’s just as good.”
Michael went back behind the espresso machine to work with his barista. She looked down at the floor, trying to suppress the huge grin spreading across her face. Even though he was working with his barista, this felt like something that was special between the two of them. How many other people had he asked to taste this latte? Not many, if she had to guess. And he valued her opinion.
“Okay, toasted coconut latte over ice,” Michael said, sliding another small cup to Hannah.
She sipped it, her face hot as Michael watched her every move. It was delicious too.
“Just as good. Maybe even better.” Hannah gave him another thumbs up, momentarily feeling dorky until Michael returned it.
