“Sounds like we might need to get you to the ice cream parlor as soon as possible.” There’s a teasing lilt to his voice. I reluctantly pull away, but I don’t take my eyes off of him.
“Unfortunately, you might be right. Though I’m wondering whether you may have made this ‘ice cream parlor on the path’ up, so I would agree to get on a bike again.”
A deep chuckle rumbles from Harrison’s chest. “All right, I’ll prove it. But before we get back on the bikes, we need to talk about how to stop.”
We spend the next several minutes with Harrison basically giving me a lecture, followed by an oral exam to test my comprehension and memory. When I convince him I’mprepared, we mount the bikes and ride side by side for another twenty minutes, asking each other random questions like: what’s our favorite color, our best childhood memory, and what were our first pets.
It’s Harrison’s turn to ask a question, and it’ll be the last since the ice cream place is now visible.
“What’s your worst fear?” he asks.
My heart skips a beat.
Not being able to afford to keep my mom where she’s at. Failing her again…
Nope, not going there. Today is about fun, light. I can’t bring myself to tell him all the heavy stuff in my life.
“Bets, you okay?”
I force a smile. “Yeah, sorry, I’m just distracted because our destination is in sight now.” An idea comes to me; a sure way to end the conversation. “Race you there!”
I’m already pedaling as fast as I can and gaining distance on him before I hear his reply coming from behind me. “No!” I don’t slow, and the next thing I hear is a growly, “Damn it!”
Just a few minutes later, I’ve executed a perfect stop. We’ve locked the bikes up on a rack and sat at a table on the open-air deck with our ice cream treats.
“I’m only saying, coffee-flavored ice cream? Ew—that doesn’t even seem like it should be a thing.”
“Says the thirty-year-old woman who ordered ‘Superman’ ice cream.” Harrison lets out a throaty chuckle.
“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it. Do you want a taste?” I hold my cone out for him.
“Uh, yeah. No, thanks. I’ve got a meeting with a client this evening, and I prefer my lips and tongue not to be stained blue.” A playful grin stretches across his face. “Do you want to taste mine?”
I squish my face as tightly as I’m able in exaggerated disgust. “Uh, that would be a hard no.”
“All right then, we’ll just have to agree to disagree about what flavors of ice cream taste good.”
A snuckle escapes me before I can prevent it. Oh well, I guess if we’ll be spending time together, Harrison will hear that somewhat often.
Smirking and with one questioning raised eye, Harrison asks, “What prompted that snort-laugh thing you and Layla won’t tell me the name of?”
“When you said, ‘We’ll have to agree to disagree.’” His expression tells me he’s still uncertain what I mean. “When you said it, the thought popped into my head that I have a feeling we’ll be using the phrase ‘agree to disagree’ quite often.”
Harrison leans forward until he can reach my free hand, and he holds it in his. Then, he places a tender kiss on it, not letting go when he lowers our joined hands to the tabletop.
“Probably,” he says. “Especially if I’m only attempting to take care of you and you continue to be so tenacious.”
My shoulders and jaw tense, and the voice inside me wants to scream, “I can take care of myself.” But I restrain myself and force a smile I don’t feel.
I don’t fool Harrison, and he narrows his eyes. “What did I say wrong? Was it calling you tenacious? I didn’t mean to?—”
“No, you did nothing wrong. Sorry—I just had a moment.”
He eyes me warily, worry etched on his face. I’m desperate to return to a few minutes ago when we were them. The version of us that we were that first night, and for most of the day today. But that’s not possible, so I need a distraction.
“My worst fear is…”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
