It was so tempting. Phee was like a fire, drawing them in so they could get a hint of that warmth. It had felt like turning the temperature down to zero, leaving her. Rose had accepted that that would be it. That they would spent the rest of their life searching for a warmth like that. They had been so close once, before it had gone cold. God, they hated the cold. Phee was the opposite. Phee was right here within arms length and she wanted to have coffee with them? How could they say no? Even if the fire might burn them. âIt wasnât that terrible.â They pushed their hair from their eyes and shrugged a little. âAlright then. Iâm about due for a break anyway I think.â
It scared them, being here again. After the last time, they had long ago decided that romance just didnât work out for them. That one or way another, things would go bad they couldnât fix it. Like with Phee. It had been the world that went bad and they couldnât bare to stay. In Pheeâs eyes, they had become the bad guy. They didnât like being the bad guy. What if that happened again and once again Pheeâs heart was broken. Rose couldnât bare that, but they also couldnât bare saying no. So, here they were.
    âwell youâre a tad biased, too,â phee teased in reply to the half-compliment, finding it much too easy to slip back into playful banter with rose. she had to be careful; she really couldnât afford a second heartbreak by this one. but exes could be friends, couldnât they? rose wouldnât want more from her. theyâd moved on. meanwhile, she had forced herself to try. her face brightened when the blonde relented. âawesome! amazing. yeah, incredible, letâs go,â the redhead said within one breath. she moved away fast, but her arm stayed outstretched to the former royal, fingertips just a hairâs distance from roseâs in encouragement to follow. her hazel eyes glanced back, âthereâs a coffee shop by the met. itâs called - oh god, whatâs it called? darn, iâve forgotten. but itâs really good! too good, some say.âÂ
   the weather was chilly, but 50 degrees permitted the scottish woman to wear her first dress of the week. she was happy to have dressed up; the last thing she needed rose seeing was her on an off day: hair in a messy bun, shirt inside out, and sweatpants always with a spot on them. how she got the spot? sitting on a spill on the train one day, dropping food on her lap the next. as they walked, phee couldnât help peeking over at rose, matching their profile to the one sheâd once gotten accustomed to waking up in the morning to. there were the forehead lines, but a little deeper. then the line between her brows - a source of concentration, even now. and the sharp cheekbones that curved towards...roseâs lips. roseâs lips. oh god, she was staring at them. phee focused ahead, at last catching sight of the coffee shop, âvoila! what did i tell you? cute coffee shop near the met.â