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Jess pulls back a bit, her eyes suddenly wide with fear. “I’m not going to sleep with you.”
“What?”
“If that’s what you’re expecting, I’m not some easy lay who’s going to hop in the back of your parents’ SUV and let you do me.” The words tumble out of her sweet mouth and break my heart. She’s been so hurt.
I shake my head and take both of her hands in mine. “Jessica, I won’t ever ask you do something you don’t want to. Even if we spend every day of this summer together, I won’t make a move unless you say so.”
“But, I don’t get it, Ethan. You could have any girl in town. Why would you waste your time on someone who has just told you she won’t put out?”
“Because you’re the only girl I’ve met who’s worth getting to know.” I give her a little tug and start toward the ice cream shop again. “Come on. Let’s get you a treat. What’s your favorite flavor?”
“Do I have to pick just one?”
"Not when it comes to ice cream," I say with a grin.
"Then I'll go with two scoops, one chocolate, and one pistachio. What about you?"
“I’m thinking three scoops, strawberry, vanilla, and rocky road in a waffle cone, but don’t tell my mother.”
“Why not?’
“I’m not allowed to eat junk food, not with the amount of money my parents have spent on getting me ready for the AFL.”
"What? You play in the AFL?"
“Not yet, but they’re looking at me.” My heart pounds a little quicker with excitement when I think about the conversation my dad had with the scout a few weeks back.
“Wow. Good for you. That’s really incredible.”
I shrug. “I haven’t made it yet.”
"Even being considered is a huge deal, Ethan. Really." Jess smiles up at me and it isn't that normal ‘I see dollar signs' smile that most girls have when they find out about my potential football career. It's like she's genuinely happy for me. "Is that what you want to do? Play football?"
It’s my turn to stop walking. “Do you know no one has ever asked me that.”
Jess looks up at me, a tiny wrinkle forming between her eyebrows. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, seriously. Every other person I talk to assumes it’s my dream.”
“Is it?”
“Yeah,” I say with a nod. “It is.”
Jess starts to laugh and bumps me with her shoulder. We walk a few more feet and find ourselves in front of the Seventy Flavors. I look down at her and lean into her ear. "Now, don't tell my mom."
“Your secret’s safe with me.”
After we get our cones, Jess takes me to a spot about two minutes from the ice cream shop that I had no idea existed. It’s a small meadow that’s surrounded by trees and shrubs so, from the street, you’d think it’s a forest. She kicks off her sandals and we walk through the grass until she picks the perfect spot for us to sink down and finish our treats in the shade.
I sit next to her, then stretch out my legs and lean on my elbow and let myself relax. “This is like a tiny hidden paradise, right in the middle of town.”
Jess nods. “I love it here. It was supposed to be turned into a Dairy Queen but this old lady bought the land out from under them and she pays a guy to mow the grass and take care of it. Oh, you can’t tell anyone it’s here because I’d be run out of town for letting an outsider in on our secret.”
I give her a teasing grin. “What will you do if I tell?”
Her eyes grow wide and she digs around in her backpack for a second, then pulls out her cell phone. Before I can say anything, she takes a photo of me, then she drops the phone back into her bag. “I’ll show your mom that picture of you and your enormous ice cream cone.”
“Okay, you win! I won’t say a word about the secret garden.”
