He squints at me incredulously, but doesn’t suggest we eat somewhere else.
A ticket hawker approaches us, selling tickets to a comedy show. I don’t usually get accosted by hawkers, but Ty might as well have a neon sign over his head proclaiming he’s a tourist. The tickets are for a show I’ve been to before, so I know it’ll be funny. Even so, I’m not going to risk buying tickets from this guy. They might not be legit, which we wouldn’t know until we got to the show. Instead, I go online and buy tickets directly from the venue, securing our entertainment for the rest of the evening.
Finally, we get to the front of the queue.
“Evening, Emmet. What can I get you?”
Ty gapes at me.
I shrug. “I told you this was my favorite hot dog cart.” I wink and then turn my attention to the elderly cart owner. “Two dogs with—” I cut myself off and glance at Ty. I have no idea what toppings he’ll like.
“One with all the trimmings and one with?—?”
”Uh—" Ty stares at the options, wide-eyed. “What’s that?”
“Sauerkraut,” I reply.
He wrinkles his nose. “Whatisit?”
“Fermented raw white cabbage. It’s great on a dog.”
He wrinkles his nose even more. “Uh, ketchup and onions, please.” He mutters something under his breath. “Just ketchup. Thanks.”
I cock an eyebrow at him.
“I wanna get kissed tonight,” he mumbles.
The owner looks between us and laughs. “No onions or sauerkraut for either of you. Unless you don’t want to get kissed tonight?” he asks me with a wink.
“Oh, I do.”
He serves our hot dogs, woefully lacking any toppings except ketchup for Ty and mustard for me, and hands them to us wrapped in paper napkins.
We wander into Central Park, eating as we walk.
“This is great.” Ty stops in his tracks and squints at the hot dog. “I love having sausage in my mouth.” His face goes bright red. “I can’t believe I just said that out loud.”
I step close to him and whisper into his ear. “It’s good information to have.”
His face goes even redder.
“Enjoy that sausage now, and maybe you can enjoy a different kind later.”
“Maybe?”
“I don’t want to make too many assumptions about how tonight’s going to end.” I nuzzle just behind his ear—I want to do so much more—and then carry on walking and eating.
Ty catches up with me a moment later, taking a huge bite of his hot dog, as if to give me a taste of how good he is at giving head. It works. A shiver runs from the top of my spine to the tips of my toes.
“The park’s beautiful in the evening,” he says in an awe-struck tone. “I came here earlier with the guys, and it was gorgeous then, but it’s almost magical now.”
He’s right. It’s sunset, so the sky is a dramatic tapestry of colors and the lights lining the paths have just turned on. It’s quieter than during the day, although there’s still plenty of people about. Several people like us, out for an evening stroll, as well as joggers and dog walkers.
“You’re so lucky to live close enough to come here all the time.”
“I’m sure you have nice parks in the UK.”
“Oh, we do. Several. I guess Central Park is just iconic.”
