“Large Caramel Latte, nonfat, with whipped cream!” The barrista called
out her drink and, as a result, knocked the pair out of their dazed
stupor, cutting Carmen’s sentence short. She tried to see if they could
pick up the moment where they left off so she could finish what she was
saying, but the interruption was enough for the emotional weight of
Carmen’s words to weigh down on Shane and she started to put the walls
up. Walls of fear, insecurity, and self-preservation. Shane looked
anywhere but at Carmen, instead she looked frantically around her for
an excuse to escape. Hearing the door chime as someone entered,
deciding that she needed some fresh air, she quickly bee-lined for the
door and headed outside the Planet.

“Sha-” Carmen stared blankly past the door, taken aback by Shane’s
abrupt exit, she looked down at the latte in front of her but no longer
felt the craving she’d felt earlier to enjoy it. She was instantly
reminded of Alice’s crazy cravings and, in turn, was then reminded of
the blonde’s absolute love for Dana. Dropping her head in her hands and
sighing exasperatedly, Carmen whined out loud, “God, Alice, how the
***** do you do it?!”

****

Out in the courtyard, the Planet was nearly at full capacity on Sunday
Brunch, that Dana and Alice had to stand by one of the wooden posts
littered around the yard, with Dana leaning against the post as Alice
stood in front of her.

“So, Dane, what’s on your mind?” Alice asked, since it was the tennis
player’s idea for them to come out here anyway. “Everything okay?” she
continued, lacing her voice with evident concern.

“Yah, everything’s fine.” Dana answered automatically, her eyes
focusing on anything else around them other than Alice. Suddenly
finding her sandals very interesting and looking at them intently, she
continued, “Actually, you know what… that’s a lie. Not everything is
fine.” Dana shifted her weight on her feet and raised her head to look
decidedly at Alice. “And I don’t think they can be until …until I
talk to Lara.”

At the mention of the chef’s name, Al’s demeanor stiffened, pushing a
lock of hair
behind her ear. Seeing this action as more than evident sign of her
girlfriend’s uneasiness with the situation, Dana quickly motioned for
Alice to look at her so she could explain. “Oh, god, Al… *****! I can
never say anything right! Please, please don’t freak out about this.
I– I want this to work. I want us to work. But I know I can’t, and I
wouldn’t want to do that when I haven’t had closure with Lara. It just
can’t happen that way.”