‘Dana, hi.’ She looked at the brunette stood before her, clothed in her work out gear; she had a sheen of sweat over her chest and her cheeks were flushed.  Alice swallowed a lump in her chest as she realized that Dana was alone. ‘No Lara today?’ She asked, trying to keep the hope out of her voice.

‘What? Oh, no, umm… no. Just me.  So, what you drinking? Normal?’ Dana laughed, swinging one hand to the back of her neck, rubbing it self-consciously.

‘Well, I was thinking of something different this morning, kinda trying to expand my horizons you know? Everyone else seems to be breaking the fucking norms, so figured I’d be the last one to jump on that bandwagon!’ Alice cringed, hating the lack of sincerity in her voice. What devastated her more was that the smile she had originally plastered on had turned into a beaming true smile when she realized that she could potentially have coffee alone with Dana. She knew this spelt out trouble.

‘Ok, you need help.’ Dana mocked. ‘Well I gotta pee so can you order mine? Thanks.’ She jogged off towards the toilets.

‘Wait, I don’t even know what you… wanted.  Oh fuck it.’ She shook her head and ordered their drinks, choosing two things she knew she liked so that Dana could choose.  As she was waiting for both the coffee to arrive and Dana to get back, she returned to her previous table and whipped out her phone. Her thumbs danced across the touchscreen as she sent a text to both Bette and Shane.

‘Dana’s at The Planet. Am gonna make complete fucking idiot out of myself if someone does not turn up soon. This is an official SOS peeps. I have drilled you for this moment. I repeat. SOS.’

Hitting the sent button, she replaced her phone in her pocket just as Dana returned.

‘So, what you been up to, haven’t seen you around for ages.’ Dana sat down at the table with a sigh and reached for the cup in front of her. She beamed at Alice, pleased for the chance to get some one to one time with the blonde. She took a sip of her coffee and licked her lips. Alice thought it was possibly the cutest thing she’d ever seen.

‘mmm, that’s good. Just what I needed. Sarah’s working me really hard at the moment.’ Dana exhaled and slumped back in her chair.

‘Yea, I guessed from all the sweat.’ Alice chuckled.

‘What?! Oh my god, do I stink that bad?’ Dana opened her eyes wide and sat up straight.

‘Nah, I was just kidding. No Dana, don’t… ewww stop it!’ Dana had instantly put her nose towards her armpit which made the blonde watching her crack up with laughter.

‘What, Al, that’s mean!’ Dana wined.

‘Yea, but it was totally worth it and I would LOVE to see you do….’ She mimicked Dana’s actions ‘…this again – is that how you get all the women?’ She laughed and leaned in so that she could whisper the last part. Dana swatted Alice’s arm as she laughed at the stupidity of the situation.

‘Al, I’ve missed this.’

‘Missed what?’ Alice picked up her drink and took a sip, avoiding eye contact.

‘This. You know, us. Hanging out. Being stupid.’ Dana looked at Alice as the blonde slowly met her eye contact. They stared at each other for a moment until Alice coughed and looked away.

‘So, what’s the gossip? Where is everyone anyway?’ Dana took a deep breath in and shuffled slightly in her chair as she clutched her cup.

‘Oh my god, where have you been? There’s so much drama. There is just so much I have to fucking tell you, you don’t even know!’ Alice shuffled so that she was on the edge of her seat. Her hands flat on the table as she began to recite the events of the last week.