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“I swear if you have a hard candy in your pocket, I’m going to lose it.”
I stared at her as I reached a hand in the front pocket of my jeans. I held my hand in front of her and slowly opened it, revealing a Werther’s Original Penny had asked me to hold on to earlier in the day.
Her laughter settled over me, settling between my ribs, and I moved to stand behind her. My arms wrapped around Lark’s shoulders, and I pulled her close to me as we waited. Her cinnamon-and-citrus scent swirled with the sticky-sweet aroma of the ice cream shop.
Happy memories of getting ice cream with Mom and Dad and walking down the pier flooded my mind. I nuzzled into her neck and felt her hum at my affection.
This will be another good memory to add to that.
The young server handed us our ice cream, and I paid. “Hey, let’s take these to go.”
I led Lark out of the ice cream parlor and toward the beach. Families and kids hanging out near the pier walked past us as we enjoyed the warm summer night. The road ended, and we stepped on the pier. At the end, the old lighthouse stood tall, its beam of light stretching out over the dark waters of Lake Michigan.
The closer we got to the rocky outcropping at the base of the lighthouse, the fewer people there were to interrupt us. I found a quiet corner and gestured for Lark to sit. Enjoying our ice cream, we sat in comfortable silence, looking out at the waves that disappeared into the horizon.
She leaned into me and held her cone out. “Want a bite?”
I eyed it skeptically, like I wasn’t sure if her choice in ice cream was up to my standards. Lark playfully rolled her eyes at me. I leaned forward and lowered my mouth to her cone.
Then she squished cherry chocolate chunk into my face.
What a shit.
I sighed even as my chest began to shake with laughter.
Her melodic giggle was infectious as she tried to pull herself together. I simply stared at her, doing a shit job at keeping a straight face while melting ice cream dripped from my chin. “Mmm. It’s really good. Can I have a little more?”
A fresh round of laughter burst out of her as I leaned down and aggressively bit off the top half of her ice cream.
“Hey, that’s too much!”
Deep, hearty laughter felt strange in my chest as I wiped at my chin. “That’s what you get.”
She licked one side of her cone to try to straighten it out, but it was hopeless, and I mopped up the mess on my chin with napkins.
“Can I try yours?” She wiggled her eyebrows at me, and I huffed at how fucking cute she was.
I held my cone up, and she leaned in for a bite. I jerked my hand, and when she pulled back, my unrestrained laughter rang out.
“I’m kidding. I won’t.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “Even if you do deserve it.”
In that moment, the full force of Lark’s breathtaking smile was just for me. I wanted to bottle it up, save it, and tuck it away so no one else could have it.
I held my hand steady as she lowered her head. My eyes tracked how her mouth moved. How her lips closed over the creamy ice cream. The hum of her throat as she closed her eyes and savored the bite.
My heart clunked.
A dot of ice cream clung to her lower lip, and I couldn’t resist.
“You missed some.” My voice had dropped, turning thick and gravelly. I leaned forward, and instead of wiping away the drop with my thumb, I swiped my tongue across her full lower lip.
Her soft exhale brushed across my mouth. I moved in again, closing the fraction of space between us as I took her mouth. It was cool, sweet, and delicious. I moaned into her, thinking of all the depraved things I wanted to do with Lark.
I wanted her—needed her—unlike anyone I’d ever met.
And I needed hernow.
I was sure I looked crazed when we broke apart, but I pinned her with my glare. “We’re leaving.”
