GOLDEN HOUR, hailee steinfeld

004. ecstasy

april 2020

A NIGHT to herself was exactly what Hailee needed. It had been a long day, shooting for an upcoming project. All Hailee wanted to do was go to her favorite coffee shop off East 74th street, and decompress. The actress had a raging headache that only caffeine would cure. 

So when she entered the shop, it was as if the stress of the day was lifted off her shoulders. Hailee removed her sunglasses from her face, placing them on top of her head. The girl walked up to the counter, quickly placing her order. She got the same thing as she did the time before, and the time before that. A vanilla chai latte with honey and a chocolate croissant on the side. Hailee was convinced the baristas up here knew her and her order by heart. 

The barista handed her a coffee stirrer which Hailee grabbed, but accidentally dropped her change in the process of grabbing. Hailee went to bend down to pick it up, but a familiar tattooed hand was already picking up the coins. In that moment, Hailee smelt the timber, along with cinnamon. 

"You dropped something." The voice. Hailee smiled as she looked up, her eyes meeting those of Carson Darik's. Hailee held out her hand, allowing Carson to drop the coins into her hand. 

"What are you doing here?" Hailee's tone was a little more assertive than she initially intended, and Carson caught onto it. 

"This is a public coffee shop Hailee." 

Her name sounded so natural coming from the lips of Carson, and Hailee loved it. She wanted to hear Carson say it over and over. 

The teasing smile upon to dark haired girl's face was simply irresistible to Hailee. The Steinfeld girl had butterflies, a feeling she hadn't felt in forever. It was cliche to say, but it was true. Hailee was never the type to be easily impressed nor swooned. 

"I didn't mean to say it like that."

"I'm sure you didn't." Carson got incredibly close to Hailee, allowing the older singer to examine Carson's face. Uncontrollably, Hailee's honey colored eyes shot down the plump, pink lips of Carson Darik. It was involuntary, but every nerve in Hailee's body was going haywire as Carson's minty breath fanned across her face. 

Hailee watched as Carson licked her lips a little, her head on a slight tilt. Suddenly, Carson backed away, biting her lip as she shook her iced drink in front of Hailee's face. 

Her cheeks lit up a bright pink, and her face heated up at least 10 degrees. Hailee understood now that the rockstar got off on teasing. Carson knew people wanted her, and Hailee just fell victim to her tactics. 

"I was saying," Hailee's voice noticeably shook as she wiped her palms against her jeans, "you don't seem like a cute, small coffee shop type of girl."