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Dammit, Coconut was perfect.
When we were almost through with the meal, Coconut's phone rang. She ignored it at first, but when it rang a second time, she held up one finger, and I nodded as she checked the call.
"Oh no," she moaned, her eyes going from carefree to fear instantly.
"Everything okay?"
"It's um, just…" the wince and grimace she gave me had me stirring, wanting to fix whatever I could for her. "He's calling again, shit. Let me answer this."
"Of course," I whispered, secretly hating whoever made her uncomfortable.
"Hello?" There was a moment of silence before she sighed. "I'm having dinner with a friend." The other person was talking again, but Coconut's face wasn't giving anything away. "How about I just call you tomorrow?"… "Okay then I will call you tonight, I promise."
When she finally hung up, she looked guilty and tucked her phone into her bag. "I'm so sorry. That was my ex."
"I take it he's having a hard time letting go?"
She shrugged and didn't look up at me, "It's still fresh, so like I said, it's complicated."
"Idiot," I mumbled, thinking that word deserved to be repeated.
"You are quite the charmer, Maddux." Her sarcasm was playful, trying to get our conversation back on track. "Maybe I should put that in the file at work. Warning: Tripp Maddux will charm your panties off."
"Oh damn, are your panties off?"
She laughed, throwing her napkin onto the table. "You know what I mean."
"I know that I definitely want to know if your panties are off."
It was not only true but effectively turned the conversation away from her ex and back onto the fact that I would have killed to know more details about her panties.
When we finally got up to leave the table, I held her hand in mine as I led her to the door and onto the sidewalk. Holding her hand felt scarily easy and fit my grasp perfectly. As she walked a little ahead of me, I stopped and spun her back to face me.
"Dessert?"
"I like dessert," she sighed.
"Ice cream?"
"It may melt in this warm weather."
"Wanna take the risk?"
Were we talking about ice cream? It didn't feel like it. Melting ice cream and taking risks felt like a metaphor for something way more profound than I wanted to feel. That was why I ran to an ice cream shop after she nodded that she would take the chance. As far as I was concerned, we were talking about ice cream.
Thankfully, the ice cream didn't melt, but the tension between us did. We talked, laughed more, and even shared bites of our chosen flavors. Everything seemed easy and relaxed until it was nearly midnight, and she told me she needed to get home.
Coconut allowed me to walk her to her car, and as we stood facing one another in the parking lot next to the beach, I realized I didn't want to say goodbye. Correction, I didn't want to say anything because standing face to face, our hands intertwined between us, and the wind blowing her hair around, was saying more than words.
Interrupting the peaceful moment, my phone started sounding off in my pocket. Pulling it out, I turned the alarm off and then settled it back where it was. Coconut had a questioning look on her face, so I shrugged nonchalantly.
"That was my alarm."
"Did you have it set so you could bail on me?" She winked.
"I had it set so that I knew when midnight came."
"Curfew? Or are you Cinderella?"
