Release by Louise J

stop by the
island. “You upset with me?”
    “Should I be, Dane?” Her
gaze is pulling on mine as though there’s some kind of magnetic connection
between us, hers being the major force right now. She’s working to keep her
tone low and calm, but I can see by her hard expression that she’s not happy
with me.
    “Honestly, no.”
    She raises a brow in an
‘oh-really?’ manner.
    I lean back against the sink
and fold my arms across my chest. Saffron’s a few feet in front of me with her
hands propped on her hips. She’s only five-two, but with the ability to take up
a stance like that and enforce her authority on my six-one, she’s going to
scare the shit out of Nathaniel when he’s older. She’s scaring the shit out of
me right now.
    “What do you know?”
    “I know you’ve been meeting
Brooklyn in the mornings. Some breakfast arrangement thing .” She said thing like it’s a dirty word.
    Walking over to the cupboard
to the left of me, she takes out three mugs.
    So Brooklyn didn’t tell her
friends about Tuesday, or coming to the shop, or that I went to her class – I
still can’t believe I fucking did that. I didn’t ask her on the phone because
it might’ve sounded self-centered. That’s one good thing; I just have to deal
with Saff’s overall disapproval about me approaching her.
    “Did Kayla tell you that?”
    “No, Ella thought I knew.
Turns out I’m the last to know.”
    Shit, I can see that bothers
her. That’s something I do have a problem with. “I’m sorry you had to hear it
from Ella. I just wanted to see what happened first. I wasn’t even sure
Brooklyn would show on Monday.”
    “What are you doing, Dane?”
She’s working harder to keep her voice steady. She starts filling the mugs with
steaming coffee from the coffeemaker.
    I can’t answer a question I
don’t even know the answer to myself.
    “Brooklyn’s not my friend,
but she’s Kayla’s. Kayla’s close to Ella, which means she’s relevant to me –
and she already had that stuff with Gerard. That was bad enough.”
    “It’s not the same thing,
Saff. We’re just getting to know each other. Kayla warned her off me, she’s
being careful.”
    “Ella’s told me all about
Brooklyn. She sounds like she’s got her head screwed on, but I know you ,
Dane.” She hands me my coffee and takes Adam his.
    Anybody would think I’m some
kind of sex villain.
    When Saff returns, we sit at
the breakfast bar. “What’s with the breakfast date thing ?” she asks,
frowning.
    Is it really so strange that
two people meet up for breakfast? Or coffee, as it turned out? Yeah, it’s far
from what I usually do, but I don’t think it’s altogether weird.
    “I knew she’d probably say
no to anything else, and I wanted the chance to at least see her once and talk
to her. And just so you know, I didn’t approach her the night of the show. It
was tempting, I came this close,” I say, gesturing with an inch between my
thumb and forefinger, “to going after her when she left the bar that night
before her friends, but I held back. You played a large part in that. I kept to
your terms, like I always do. Then I saw her the next evening out there on the
beach. If she was someone you were personally close to I’d still have stayed
away.”
    The thing is I’d have seen
Brooklyn again eventually. I’d have approached her eventually. The only
difference is that, if she personally knew my sister, this conversation with
Saff would’ve taken place before I spoke to Brooklyn.
    Sooner or later, we would’ve
talked. Period.
    “Ella asked me what you’re
doing. She’s fond of Brooklyn, and Kayla’s real tight with her.”
    “No one needs to be
concerned. I’m not out to hurt anybody, and Brooklyn’s more than capable of
taking care of herself.”
    “You never intend to hurt
anybody, Dane, but it still happens sometimes. What exactly is going on with
you two?” She rests both elbows on the breakfast bar, with her mug cupped
between her