Pulling back.

For a moment, it seemed like something...more was about to happen. But a clatter at a nearby table broke the spell, and Beth pulled back. She folded her hands in her lap. What am I doing here? I should get home.
"Thanks for the coffee."Beth cleared her throat. "And the conversation. It's getting late."
"Yeah, for sure." Denny nodded. "Here." He grabbed her cellphone from the table before she could say anything. "Heh... you never change, still the same passcode. Here's my number. Call me some time. It's nice to have a friend; most of my "friends" from before won't talk to me, and others are people I can't talk to.... according to my PO, anyway."
Beth compressed her lips into a flat line and took her phone back from him. "Sure."
Beth watched him climb into a Chevy four door that had seen better days. Only after he had driven away did she feel the tension subside in her stomach. She quickly changed his contact name in her phone to something innocuous, and gave it a special ringtone. She couldn't decide if it was lucky or unlucky that she had changed her phone background recently: it had been a picture of Brian and her at Pacific Beach Pier.