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I don’t know why that surprised me, but it did. I thought it was because he enjoyed his space and solitude, not that he wanted a family one day.
“I do, too.” Instead of making a big deal out of it, I smiled, pulling him forward toward the ice cream shop.
The shop was narrow, just enough space for the long counter on the right and a line of customers in front of it. We stood in the line that snaked outside of the building.
“Are you sure you want ice cream this badly?” I asked, gesturing at the long line.
“I want you to have it.”
I smiled, my face practically beaming. “Good answer.”
He tugged me into his side and leaned down to whisper in my ear as his warmth surrounded me. “I’d do anything to make you happy.”
My mouth dropped open in surprise, then he tugged me forward as the line edged closer to the door. I closed the gap, unsure what to say, my heart tripping and scrambling to get back in a steady rhythm.
“Don’t look so surprised. Any guy should want to do that for you.”
My eyes stung with unshed tears. Colton was so much more than I expected. He was protective and kind but open to new experiences and ideas, sweet and romantic.
I squeezed his hand. “You’re pretty great yourself.”
This evening was the perfect summer night to spend with my boyfriend. I hoped we had many more evenings like this in our future.
I wasn’t in any race to get to marriage and a family. I firmly believed you made your own, and you surrounded yourself with good people who became your makeshift family. My adoptive parents, my girlfriends, and now him.
He’d made my world bigger, and I couldn’t be happier.
Finally making our way to the front of the line, I chose three scoops: mint, vanilla, and strawberry. “I can never decide,” I said in response to Colton’s raised brows.
He ordered two scoops of coconut. Grabbing napkins and heading back into the warm night, we followed the sound of music, pausing to enjoy the band.
When a drop of ice cream fell on my chin, Colton brushed it away with his thumb, licking the green ice cream.
“You taste good.”
I laughed. “You mean the ice cream tastes good.”
He smiled, slow and seductive, his eyes blazing with heat. “I said what I meant.”
Heat pooling in my stomach, I asked, “You want to get out of here?”
He stepped closer, leaning down to whisper over my ear. “Finish your ice cream first. I can’t wait to taste it on your tongue.”
My cheeks flushed. I shouldn’t have been surprised when he talked like this in the privacy of our bedrooms, but I didn’t expect Colton, the police officer, the community liaison to the police department, to be this way in public.
“You better eat that before it melts.” With him watching, I gave him a show of licking my cone.
All teasing eased from his body, replaced with tension and anticipation of more to come.
By the time I dropped my napkin in the garbage, Colton’s hand was on the small of my back, steering me in the direction of my apartment. “In a hurry?”
“You know I am.” Then he lowered his voice so that I could barely make out the words. “You know what you were doing back there.”
I couldn’t help it; I threw back my head, laughing.
“You find it amusing?” he asked gruffly, even though his lips twitched in amusement.
Smiling happily, I said, “I do, actually.”
