“And I’m assuming this is you being...”
“Elliot bike-riding ET back to his spaceship. Four of my friends dressed up as the other kids on bikes so we could enter into each bar in a V formation. We were a hit. Hundreds of people asked me to phone home.”
“What were some of your other costumes?” Liam asks.
“I mean, there’s a solid twenty in inventory for me to choose from. I suppose my highlights would be a traffic cone, a Christmas snow globe, and another time my friends and I went with aPrice Is Righttheme. Sara was Bob Barker, Min was a contestant and I was the Plinko board.”
“Surprising. I would have taken you for more of a yodeling mountain game kind of girl.”
“I tried, but it turns out lederhosen don’t look flattering on me.”
“Now, that can’t be true.”
“It’s a regret I’ll take to my grave.” I walk around the counter to sidle back up on my stool. I pause to watch Liam’s handiwork as he pours the milk and the syrup into the blender before I go on. “Your turn. Let’s hear some fun facts.”
“Yes, my turn,” he says. “Alright, my favorite movie growing up and to this day isRobin Hood: Prince of Thieveswith Kevin Costner.”
“Kevin Costner? He isn’t even British. He’s arguably the most un-British Robin Hood that ever was.”
“And yet, I love it still. That movie is pure genius, and I refuse to hear otherwise. I must have watched it a thousand times when I was younger. I even took up archery for a bit, but I wasn’t as good of a shot as I thought I would be.”
I nod in commiseration. “I think everyone is a better archer in their mind.”
“A hard lesson I was forced to accept. I really thought righteous thievery was going to be my life’s path when I was ten. And look at me now.”
“A capitalist monster,” I joke.
“Just a wretched bourgeois pig. When I was a child, I thought I’d be an integral member of the Sherwood gang, if not Robin Hood himself. Now I’m probably closer to one of the Sheriff’s minions who dies thirty minutes in. I’m a nameless henchman.”
“You are not a henchman,” I assert. “A henchman would never be as nice to me as you are.”
“Maybe I’m only being nice because I’m trying to seduce you. Perhaps I have many a sordid plan in store.”
“Well, you’ve already almost seduced me once, and as far as sordid plans, I have my own in mind, so prepare yourself.”
“I’m looking forward to it. Now, please hold while brilliance ensues.” Liam covers the blender with the lid and promptly presses the mix button. It roars to life, and with that, Ollie is up and barking, flinging himself against my legs. I’m quick to squat down and soothe him, and by the time I have, Liam is finished.
“Done! Prepare to fall even deeper under my spell than you already have.”
“Consider me ready,” I say as I stand up once again.
Just then, he twists around and pulls two fountain shop glasses from out of a cabinet. He fills both glasses to the top and slides one to me across the counter, slinging a dish towel over his shoulder.
“For the lady.”
“This is so much fancier than I expected,” I say, rotating the glass and admiring the delightful-looking milkshake from every angle.
“Now you can almost tell Juliette the truth if she asks you what you did tonight. You can say your escort took you out for ice cream.”
“I forgot to tell you, Juliette actually called the experiment off. She’s so consumed with the pop-up that she’s shelving her next project until further notice. My Vibefinder days are blissfully behind me.”
“A cause for celebration if I ever heard one.”
“Huzzah, indeed,” I agree.
“And now for the moment of truth. I don’t have straws at the moment, so spoons will have to do.” A moment later, he drops an aforementioned spoon into the glass, and I don’t hesitate to dip it down and draw out an ample scoop. I shovel it into my mouth in what I hope is a semi-ladylike manner and find myself groaning a second later.
“Stop,” I mumble, quickly lowering my spoon again. “This is delicious. So outrageously good.”
