We end up at a new ice cream shop that just opened on the edge of campus called Sweet Cheeks.
“Have you been here before?” I ask as Nick opens the door for me.
“I’ve been to their downtown location and their shop in Cherry Creek a bunch of times,” Nick says. “They just opened this place this summer.”
We walk through the small lobby, which has hot pink walls and a pink-and-white checkered tile floor. I breathe in the sweet smell of homemade waffle cones and scan the display of all their flavors.
“They all sound so yummy,” I say.
“This is the best ice cream in the city,” Nick says.
A pretty woman in her thirties with long auburn hair walks over to us behind the counter. She smiles at us. “What can I get you two?”
“We’d like the waffle cone tower, please,” Nick says. He nods at the image on the display, which is a huge bowl of five ice cream scoops with waffle cone pieces layered through it. It’s topped with a pile of whipped cream and three cherries.
I start to laugh. “No way, that’s too much.
“It’s exactly the right thing to order when you’re celebrating,” Nick says before turning to the worker. “My girlfriend just hit a hundred thousand subscribers on her YouTube channel.”
The woman beams at me. “Oh my gosh, congratulations!”
“Thank you.”
“What kind of YouTube channel is it?” she asks.
“An educational channel. I talk about all sorts of topics in history, math, science, and literature.”
Nick steps closer to me and slinks his arm around my waist, pulling me against him. “It’s really cool. You should watch it. Her channel’s called Poppy The Tutor.”
That warm feeling swirls through my chest at how proud he is of me.
I smile up at him before looking back at the ice cream shop worker. “Sorry, my boyfriend is a little excited.”
She chuckles. “I think it’s sweet how proud he is of you. He’s a keeper for sure.”
Nick flashes a sexy, lopsided smile and winks at me.
“I’ll definitely check out your channel,” she says.” Also, I love your name. Poppy is my baby niece’s name.”
I smile. “Really? That’s so cool. I’ve never met anyone else with my name before.”
Nick kisses my cheek. “Beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” He turns back to her. “Your ice cream shop is awesome, by the way. Best ice cream I’ve ever had. When I heard you were opening a location near campus, I was stoked.”
“I’m so glad to hear that,” she says. “What’s your name?”
“Nick.”
“Good to meet you both. I’m Tori, the co-owner of Sweet Cheeks. I’m in charge of the Hollis U shop.”
“You’ll be seeing us a lot then,” Nick says.
She grabs a metal ice cream scoop. “What flavors would you like for your waffle cone tower?”
We choose five flavors: chocolate chip, coffee, hazelnut, caramel, and cookie dough. She tops it with giant pieces of waffle cone, whipped cream, and cherries, and sets it on the counter. Nick pays, and we sit down at a small table for two.
“There’s no way I’m going to be able to eat even half of this,” I say.
“That’s why I’m here. Ice cream’s my favorite food. I’d eat this every day if I could.”
