Chapter 26 Shaun
Shaun
It’s a slow morning at the café. By the time nine a.m. crawls around, I’ve served a grand total of ten customers, mostly takeaways and none of them particularly chatty.
That’s probably a good thing. My mind is still reeling from the past couple of night’s antics and even the most basic of tasks feel like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube blindfolded.
Freddie's been staying at mine since Monday. Suffice to say, we haven't been getting much sleep.
I’m still processing it all. I can’t shake the image of him—naked on all fours with his mouth around me—out of my head. Not that that’s a bad thing. I think I’d get it permanently tattooed on the inside of my eyelids, if I could.
That boy is living rent free in my head. What else is new?
Freddie’s on his phone in the same corner he's occupied for the past two days.
He's tethered to the wall socket by a charging cable as he scrolls and swipes the screen, pink tongue poking out in concentration.
He's supposed to be looking for temporary night-shift jobs as part of his plan to pay his brother back faster, but I know a man lost in a doomscroll when I see one.
“You want a coffee?” I call over to him. He doesn’t seem to hear me. I throw my voice harder: “Earth to Freddie?”
“Huh?” He glances up, looking slightly frazzled. The fact he's wearing one of my old t-shirts which is about two sizes too big doesn't help.
“Coffee?”
“Oh,” his eyes snap back to his phone screen. “Sorry. No thanks, handsome.”
I blush at the compliment, but find myself wondering if young people these days really are addicted to their phones. Guess that’s a price I’ll have to pay if I’m going to date a guy more than ten years my junior.
I sound so old.
So old and very much not straight.
Gosh, how did I go my whole life thinking I was? I suppose, in a way, I’m glad. If I’d known earlier, my first experiences might not have been with Freddie, and now it’s happening, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Or anyone.
The bell above the café door rings and I tear my eyes away from Freddie to greet the customer that’s just walked in.
“Hi, Shauny!”
My entire spine shoots out of my arse.
“Lara!”
Too late, I remember her text. Her smile morphs into a frown at my obvious confusion.
“Did you forget I was coming?”
“No!” I fib. “Sorry. It’s been a busy morning.”
I gesture limply to the deserted café. It’s a terrible lie and Lara’s face tells me she doesn’t buy it for a second.
She folds her arms. “I can come back another time, if you like?”
Yes please, my subconscious screams. Or better yet, not at all.
“No, don’t be silly!” My mouth moves on its own. “Would you, um, like a drink?”
“Oh sure, the usual please, babe.” Lara’s gaze flicks over to the corner where Freddie sits staring at us. “Hi, Frankie!”
Freddie, understandably a little baffled, waves half-heartedly back at her.
“Hi, Laura.”
Stifling a laugh, I tell Lara to take a seat before getting to work making her a caramel macchiato.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see her choose a table uncomfortably close to Freddie’s and strike up a conversation with him.
I can’t hear a word over the sound of the steam wand, but I assume the worst. Panic rattles through me, but I’m not sure why.
It’s not like I’m with Lara anymore. She’s got Viggo.
Plus, Freddie and I haven’t even talked about what we are yet.
There’s just something a little disconcerting about the girl who broke your heart and the guy who put it back together again having idle banter in your own place of work.
I make Lara’s coffee as fast as I can and rush over to interrupt.
“Caramel macchiato, extra drizzle!” I hand Lara her sickeningly sweet drink. “Shall we?”
I steer Lara away from Freddie to a table near the counter so I can hop up to serve anyone who might come in, but also to keep them as far apart as possible. Before I can sit, she puts down her coffee and pulls me into a hug.
“Aw, I’ve missed you, Shauny,” she squeezes my upper arm. “Ooh! Have you been working out?”
“Not for weeks,” I admit, unless mine and Freddie's shenanigans count.
Making sure to give Lara the seat facing away from Freddie, we sit. Instantly, I regret not making myself a coffee too—I don’t know what to do with my hands. Sandwiching them between my legs, I wait for Lara to speak. She doesn’t. She just looks at me, a glimmer in her eye.
“So, um, how’ve you been?” I ask when I can’t take the silence anymore.
“Oh, you know. Fab. Things are really taking off, you know? I’ve had like six sponsorship offers in the last month. I literally can’t keep up.”
“Right. That’s great!”
“Mhmm!”
She hasn’t blinked in a long time.
“And things are good with…” I wait for her to pick up my sentence, but she doesn’t. “Viggo?”
“Oh, him,” Lara finally blinks, averting her gaze to the ceiling. “Well, it’s fine but we split up actually. You didn’t see it on socials?”
Wow. Since the other week? But they seemed so similar. Perfect for each other.
I realise I haven’t said anything and quickly search my brain for the sort of thing people say in these situations. “Oh no! I’m so sorry, Lara. Are you doing okay?”
She smiles, though there’s a certain tightness to the corners of her mouth.
“You’re so sweet, Shauny. I’m fine. We just were going in different directions. Me with my influencing and him with his trek to the Himalayas to live in total silence in a monastery for six months. So yeah. Viggo’s out of the picture.”
Yikes.
Lara takes a sip of her coffee while I find myself wondering why she couldn't have gone to the monastery too.
She sets the mug down and smacks her lips.
“Mm, yummy. You’re so good at these little coffees, Shauny! So, are you seeing anyone at the moment?”
The abruptness of the question makes my brain jolt. I’m keenly aware Freddie is within earshot. “Oh, um, sort of, actually, I guess. Something new.”
Lara’s face freezes in time for a split-second, like a glitching robot.
“Wow! Good for you, Shauny.” She’s talking far too loud for how quiet it is in here. “How did you meet?”
“Uh… Here, actually.”
“How lovely! You must get lots of pretty girls in here. Lots of artsy, hippie types, I bet.” The derision fizzes through her teeth like sherbet. “But I’m not surprised you’ve pulled someone. You’re so handsome. I still get DMs, you know? People asking about you. My followers miss you, Shauny.”
“Oh. Really?” A little red flag goes up in the back of my mind. “It’s just, I thought, with the comment?”
Lara cocks her head. “What comment?”
Shit. Now it’ll look like I’m still obsessing over our break-up, which I’m not.
Not anymore.
“Oh it’s nothing. A while back you left a comment on a picture of us on my profile, asking me to delete it? No biggie."
Her face knots with confusion.
“Did I?” She pulls out her phone, the sparkly pink case glittering like a disco ball. “Which photo? Let me check.”
She scrolls and swipes until she has my profile up. As casually as I can, I point out the photo and she opens up the comments. It’s still there. Two words: “please delete.”
“It’s no problem,” I say, trying to move the conversation on. “I get it. After a break-up and all, you want to shed all the old baggage. I honestly just liked the photo, that’s why I left it—”
“Shauny, I didn’t write this.” Lara’s knuckles whiten as her fist clenches around her phone. “Oh my god. Oh my god! That complete arsehole!”
I frown at her. “Who are you talking about—?”
“Viggo, of course!” Lara slams her phone face-down on the table. In the corner of my eye, I see Freddie stiffen. “That total prick must have taken my phone!”
Something about this doesn’t add up.
“But why would Viggo leave that comment?” I ask.
Lara looks at me, a little pityingly. “Oh Shauny, because he was jealous, of course!”
“Jealous? Of us?”
“Of you, silly.”
Why would Viggo, knobhead that he is, be jealous of me? As much as it pains me to admit it, the guy looked like Jason Momoa.
“But he’s, like, really hot.”
Wow, that rolled off the tongue far too easily for a man who, to fifty percent of the people in this room, is straight. Lara doesn’t seem to notice.
“Ugh, I know. But he was really insecure. Often the hottest guys are, don’t you think?”
Freddie catches my eye. Clearly he’s overheard everything.
“Not in my experience,” I say with a small smile. “So Viggo wanted me to take the photo down because he was jealous of me?”
“Probably. I think he saw how popular you were on all my old posts. I know I only had a couple thousand followers back then, but they honestly loved you, Shauny. They thought we were a good fit.” The glimmer in her eye is back. “And honestly? I think Viggo felt threatened by that.”
Threatened? By me? My ego—a small, starved beastie I keep in a box at the back of my mind—slurps up the compliment like a pain au chocolat. It’s getting a lot of little boosts lately. Soon it’ll need a bigger box.
“Well, it sounds like you’re better off without him.” I can’t quite bring myself to say she deserves better, even if an independent jury would probably rule as much.
“Thanks. You’re such a doll. And you’re right about that picture. We do look great together.” Lara rests her forearms on the table, her hands slightly past the invisible line drawn halfway between us.
For some reason, I’m getting flashbacks to our first date. What’s her angle here?
One of our regular customers strides past the window and, to my relief, steps inside.
“Be right back,” I say, pushing my chair away.
“Can’t Frankie serve them?”
“He’s not on shift,” I explain.
Lara blinks, clearly confused. “Then why is he here?”
I pretend not to hear her and scamper behind the counter to make the customer’s order—a small takeaway cappuccino, same every day.
When I return, I steal another look at Freddie.
He’s making no effort to hide he’s eavesdropping now.
I can’t say I blame him. After I told him about our break-up, I’m sure he’s just as perplexed as I am.