Always There

Pumpkin Spice Latte

They walked over to where he’d parked just a few yards from the school. He would’ve parked closer, except all the other parking slots were taken up. They reached the car and hopped in, and as soon as she opened the door she felt a rush of warm air greet her from the air car he’d left running. She quickly jumped in and shut the door, letting the warmth take a hold of and flow throughout her body. She sat back and relaxed in the plush chair as her boyfriend shut his car door. “Caribou or Starbucks?” He offered politely, looking over at her with a smile still on his face. “Whatever you’re in the mood for, I don’t really mind. Either place would be amazing right now” She responded in a happy, neutral way. “Well. They’re both about equal distance from here” He said slightly chuckling to himself. She opened her mouth to respond but he stopped her before she could start. “But I know you like caribou just a little bit more, so unless you suddenly make a preference, let’s head there” He said as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the highway. She pulled her scarf up over her nose to hide the fact she was blushing. “He……actually knew where I wanted to go. That’s adorable” She thought to herself. “So, what made you want to get picked up early? Girls night go as well as you thought?” He asked, keeping his eyes on the road, but concern obvious in his voice. She responded as if she had been let down. “Ya……the volleyball game wasn’t that great and abbey was making everyone pissy and was swearing like a sailor, and everyone started to fight and ya…..I just didn’t really want to be there anymore.” “Was the team losing? Because that would make sense then if abbey was getting irritated. You know sporty girls can get like that sometimes…..” His voice trailed off as he flashed his signal, slowed, and made a right turn into caribou and parked. “Well, why don’t you keep telling me about it over that latte I promised you huh?” He said as he got out of the car. She nodded and followed. *Thunk, thunk* Came the sound of the car doors shutting simultaneously. He walked over to the entrance and pulled open the door, expecting his lady friend to hurry inside. Seeing as the temperature had dropped about 5 degrees and snow was coming down harder since they left the high school about 10 minutes ago. And he knew she got cold easily. But as he walked over to hold the door open he looked over to see her still standing next to the car. She was staring directly at him with wide eyes, as if she’d just seen something remarkable. One glimpse over at her and his gaze met her still, light and crispy blue eyes, and was instantly lost in them. He completely forgot what he was doing and all he could do was helplessly gaze deep in her eyes. The reflection of the lights from the coffee shop shone in her eyes and made her pupils sparkle with a shimmering and beautiful light. Suddenly he felt some one rush into his chest, and he had to take a step back to prevent himself from falling over. A pair of cold arms wrapped around him and a gentle yet humorous voice said “Your weird.” He looked down and saw that it was his girlfriend that was hugging him. And she was smiling, and her cheeks had become quite rosy. Whether it was because she was blushing or because it was cold he couldn’t tell. He just smiled down at her. “Let’s get you that coffee” He said ushering her inside. As they walked in, there were a few people sitting at a couple booths here and there, but not enough people to make things too noisy or to be obnoxious. She subtly slipped her hand into his and intertwined their fingers together.  They walked up to the counter and a cashier greeted them. “Evening you two, what could I get for you lovebirds tonight?” He let go of her hand, took out his wallet and pulled out a 20$ bill. “Ya we’ll have 2 pumpkin spice lattes?”  He requested as he handed the bills to the cashier. “Sounds good those will be coming right up” The cashier said as she put the money away, did a few things with the cash register then walked into the back. Meanwhile, the couple waited patiently at the counter. “You know, I would’ve been totally fine to pay for this” She said. “Hun, this is my treat to you. Girls night didn’t work out, and those guys were starting to give you trouble. You just relax, I got it, and think of this as just a little token of mine to say “I love you” He replied, reassuring her that he was happy to treat her. She smiled and hugged him. “I love you” She said, although her voice was muffled because she was talking into his jacket. He hugged her in return and kissed the top of her head. “Here’s your lattes you two, enjoy!” The cashier had returned carrying 2 lattes, and placed them on the counter. “Hunny what’s your name?” The cashier said looking at the girl. Her eyes widened with the unexpected question and she responded shyly and with a small stutter “J-Jennifer” “Jenny you better give your man here some good lovin’ tonight, because he knows how to treat a girl right.” She shifted her attention to the boy “She’s lucky to have you” She said pointing to him, slightly flirting, slightly joking as she moved to the 2nd cashier to take the order of a man who had just walked in. Jennifer grabbed the lattes on the counter, put one under her arm, held one in her right hand, and with her left grabbed her boyfriend’s hand and dragged him away from the counter. She marched off a table in the very back, set the drinks down, and pulled out a chair, gesturing for him to sit down. “Babes you jealous?” He asked looking curiously over at her. She simply responded with a stern “Sit.” Jenifer, although being a girl of shorter stature, and having a smaller build, could whip out a surprisingly stern and firm voice when she wanted to. Not feeling even, the slightest bit threatened or intimidated by her, he walked over to her and with a single finger lifter her chin to meet his gaze. “Why’re you jealous? You know full well you’re my one and only” He said softly, gently leaning down and pressing his soft lips to hers. He held the kiss for a few moments, then pulled away and gestured towards the chair she ha pulled out for him just a moment ago. “After you boo” He said politely. She, helplessly blushing and smiling, sat down and covered her face with her hands. “Ugh your too damn adorable sometimes.” He chuckled. “What?” She asked looking up, intrigued.  “Oh nothing, it’s just that you never swear in public” He said as he pulled a chair out for himself and sat down. “Correction” He said quickly stopping her from correcting him first. “Rarely. Rarely swear in public” She nodded in approval. “Anyway, about girl’s night tonight…….” He asked, trying to spark some conversation, and to also satisfy his own curiosity to find out what exactly had happened. “What do you mean?” She asked. “Well, what made you wannna get picked up early?” He asked again