After kissing Francis for a solid, stunning minute, Cynthia pulled back, glared at the man, and snarled, "You absolute, complete, utter idiot! You are dumber than a box of rocks, you know that?!"

Francis, who Beverly suspected had suffered some minor brain damage from Cynthia's assault, nodded dumbly. "I . . . what?"

Cynthia snagged the collar of his shirt and pulled him down until their faces were inches apart. "I said: You are an idiot, Francis Knott! How in the hell could you give me such a thing?!"

Francis, for once, seemed just as confused as Beverly (and the several other staff who stood in the hall, bewildered). "I was just trying to give you . . ." he swallowed thickly, "closure."

"Oh, I know perfectly well what you were 'trying' to give me, thanks very much, Francis." Cynthia released his shirt and popped a hip out, setting her hand on it and looking like some kind of badass heroine whose Prince Charming had gotten stuck in a tree, leaving her to become entirely unimpressed and save the poor sap.

Beverly, although she wasn't fond of Cynthia's ability to hold grudges, admired the woman in that moment—it was clear that Cynthia knew what she wanted, and had every intention of getting it.

(It was a huge turnaround from Cynthia's earlier opinions on Francis, but Beverly decided not to delve into that particular thought until later.)

"But closure is not what I wanted," Cynthia continued, snapping Beverly from her thoughts. "Do you honestly believe I would still be upset about this if I had moved on from you?"

Francis looked torn between hopefulness and suspicion. "No?" he asked, the hopefulness winning out.

Cynthia's expression of irritation dropped for just a movement, revealing a tender smile that made her look years younger. "No," she agreed, her voice suddenly soft and vulnerable. "I wouldn't. I understand you were trying to give me closure, but that's not what I want . . . not anymore, anyway."

Francis shuffled even closer, until their chests were almost brushing. "And? What do you want?" Beverly could barely hear his voice, but she didn't miss the intimacy in it, a gentleness and vulnerability that Beverly had never hear from Francis before.

Cynthia's smile grew, until it was wide and nearly blinding. "We still have a lot to talk about," she warned him, "but you should know that I've only ever wanted you, even if it took me a while to realize that."

Beverly was almost positive she could see the moment Francis's brain short-circuited, leaving him with his mouth agape and his brows furrowed in complete disbelief.

"You're serious?" he asked, the words a whoosh of breathless air. "You're not kidding?"

Smile shifting again, this time into something soft and tinted with the slightest bit of remorse, Cynthia raised one hand and stroked the side of Francis's face; his head tilted into her touch, his eyelids shut tight, as though he was inside a dream and never wanted to wake up. "I'm serious," she murmured, her lips barely moving as she watched his every movement closely. "I'm not kidding."

Francis opened his eyes, stepping away and running a hand through his hair as he blew out a breathless, relieved laugh. "I'm not sure you realize how thrilled I am right now. This moment, right now, is the only thing I've ever hoped for, but I never thought it would happen."

"I've told you before, haven't I?" Cynthia was teasing now, and Beverly was able to get a glimpse at the woman Francis had first met in a grocery store so many years ago. Her green eyes were sparkling with humor, her smile spoke of adventure, and every movement was fluid and enchanting. "You think too much, Fran."

And suddenly there were tears shining in Francis's eyes, and Beverly pulled herself from her daze, letting her eyes drift over the few employees that were still watching from their office doorways and other spots around the hall.

"Shoo!" Beverly hissed, waving her hands at them dismissively, "Off you go!" The workers seemed a bit affronted that some random girl was telling them what to do, but they listened nonetheless, stealing as many final glances at Francis and Cynthia as they could even while they crept out of sight.

Turning back to the couple, Beverly sighed happily at the sight of them embracing tightly, Cynthia's hands wound tightly around Francis's back while he had one on the small of her back and another wound in her hair.

Shifting away barely, Francis smile down at Cynthia and asked, "Can we continue this in my office? I think our discussion should be a bit more . . . private." He raised his eyes to Beverly, and she felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment at getting caught; Francis didn't seem mad, though, and winked at her gamely, even mouthing a, 'Thank you' as he tugged Cynthia to his office.

Once the door had shut behind the couple, Beverly let a wide grin overtake her features. She had been hoping Francis and Cynthia would get their happy ending, and now . . . well, nothing was guaranteed, but it certainly seemed far more possible than it had in the past.

Now, all that was left to do was wait to see how their talk went.

In the meantime, Beverly could—

"Oh, come on," she groaned, her thoughts stuttering to a halt when she realized that Cynthia was her ride; she was stranded at Silvertone, and wouldn't be able to get back to her pre-schoolwork until later, since walking the distance back to Cynthia's house was out of the question at the moment.

Of course, she had promised Griffin she'd go by the coffeeshop, and he surely wouldn't mind if she was a bit early.

To the coffeehouse, then!

***

Griffin didn't mind seeing Beverly in the slightest. Once she had stepped through the doors and he had absorbed her presence, he grinned brightly, abandoning the thankfully empty counter so he could wander over and press a quick kiss to her lips.

"You're alive," he deadpanned, and Beverly rolled her eyes fondly, shoving him lightly as they made their way back to the register.

"Your concern is touching," she joked, since they both knew he worried about her more than was healthy. "Where's my mocha, Coffee-man?"

Bending down behind the counter, Griffin popped up a moment later with a lopsided grin. "On its way, Beverly. You're lucky the morning rush hasn't come through yet, otherwise I'd make you wait for it."

She snorted, settling down at her normal table and propping her chin up in one hand as she watched Griffin work. It still amazed her sometimes, how graceful and deftly he moved even though his very size dwarfed the space around him. She was distracted from her silent fawning by the feel of her phone buzzing; slipping it out, she took a quick look at the caller ID before hitting Answer and slapping it to her ear.

"Hey," she greeted, grinning when Alicia's voice came through the other end of the line, her tone teasing.

"Hello, Bev! How's my favorite reckless troublemaker?"

"Yeah, yeah," Beverly leaned back in her seat, letting her gaze drift to the windows as she watched the few passersby idly. There were already more people outside than there had been on her walk to the coffeehouse, and she knew the shop would become bustling soon enough. "I haven't caused any trouble for at least a day, thanks very much. Are you on campus?"

Alicia had moved back into her campus dorm a week after Beverly's accident, but Beverly hadn't been able to see as much of her friend as she would've liked; she could only hope that once school started and she was officially back to normal they would see more of each other.

"Sure am. I was thinking about getting my textbooks from the bookstore, but figured I should ask you if you wanted to come with? God knows having a buddy while they check out our purchases and charge us two-thousand dollars always helps soften the blow."

Beverly laughed. "You're right about that. And yeah, I'd like to come; it's about time I got my books anyway, since school starts next week. I'm at the coffeehouse right now—do you want me to meet you at the bookstore and—"

Alicia's nervous chuckle cut her off. "And risk something happening to you while you come to meet me, so your boyfriend can then hunt me down and give me the stare of death? I don't think so, Bev. I'll be at the shop in ten, alright? I'm already on my way."

Rolling her eyes (Really, how the Hell was everyone so scared of Griffin? Sure, she'd seen his anger, but he was truly a softie under all that height and muscle), Beverly agreed before hanging up, turning her gaze to Griffin, who had just stepped over and set her coffee down in a to-go cup.

"I take it you heard my call?" she asked, smiling gently as he sat down across from her, his body leaned towards the edge of the chair, giving him the ability to hop up quickly if a customer walked in.

Stretching one arm across the table and intertwining their fingers with a now-familiar emotion shining in his gaze, Griffin let his hazel eyes drift over what he could see of her figure, an action she had caught him doing often since the incident and knew to mean he was checking her for signs of distress or injury.

"You'll be with Alicia?" his voice was barely a whisper, coated with the worry she knew would be present for a long time.

"Yeah," her own response was just as soft, recognizing that this was a moment just between them, when the rest of the world was pushed aside so their connection could take center stage. "And I'll call if there's a problem."

"You'll go back to the house and take your medicine when it's time?" That would give her four to six hours of wandering around with Alicia on campus, and she had a feeling their task wouldn't take that long, so she nodded in agreement.

"Yes." Griffin blew out a sigh, his shoulders relaxing with the single word from her, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

"I want to take you out later for dinner. Is that alright?" his tone was still quiet, but the words were a bit nervous, and Beverly let her grin grow. Who would've thought that the same man who scared others with a single look could be so timid at times? She was honored, really, that he had shown her every piece of him, every emotion and every different side.

"I will never stop you from taking me out on a super romantic dinner, Griffin; if I ever refuse, you should immediately take me to the hospital." She didn't miss the flinch that her words brought to his face, but he recovered quickly, replying before she could apologize for her slip-up.

"I'll keep that in mind." The bell above the door rang and Griffin squeezed her hand once before letting go, returning to the counter and greeting the first of what was sure to be a long stream of customers on their way to work.

Shooting him one final, adoring glance, Beverly turned her attention to her phone, messing around with one of the mindless games while she waited for Alicia to show up.

Thankfully, the other girl kept to her word and popped into the coffee shop around ten minutes later. "Hey, Bev!" she crowed, pushing her way past the line of customers behind the counter. "Are you ready to go spend a ridiculous amount of money on books that will end up on a shelf covered in dust and be entirely useless even though we've only opened them once?"

Beverly laughed, even though Alicia spoke nothing but the sad truth about college textbooks. "Yes, Alicia; nothing would give me more joy. You ready?" Beverly pushed herself up from the table, snatching up both her mocha and the one Griffin had made Alicia. Even though he had terrified the other girl, Griffin—in reality—held no ill will towards Alicia; in fact, he liked the girl, if only because she and Beverly were so close. (Deb, of course, was an entirely different story.)

"This is for you," Beverly held out the drink, grinning when Alicia slapped a hand over her heart dramatically before taking it eagerly; shifting to Griffin, she caught his gaze over the espresso machine and blew him an exaggerated kiss.

He chuckled heartily, shaking his head at her antics and mouthing the words, Be safe, before turning back to his customers. Her heart feeling immensely light, Beverly turned back to Alicia. "Let's go spend a ridiculous amount of money, shall we?"