Road trip

12- Ice Cream and good times

I slept cuddled in his arms and other than the initial shock of his arms holding me to him, there was no funny business. Clearly he was able to forget the kiss better than I could.

I guess it wasn't as memorable for him as for me. I mean I had replayed it over and over. I had imagined what it would feel like to let him touch me more than that, to let someone touch me in a way that I had never been touched, but that's all it was, my imagination.

As much as I had enjoyed what had transpired, despite my protests that we couldn't further it, he hadn't put up much of a fight to argue. I didn't have a reason to persuade him either. Obviously he still loved Molly and that's why we were even on this trip.

That's when it hit me, she deserved better. Molly, even though she was no longer here, she deserved better than having a best friend who was pining after her boyfriend. I am a terrible person and yet my mind couldn't not think about the fact that I wanted this even if I couldn't have it.

I guess life is unfair like that.

"Anna, you almost ready?" Austin's voice rang out from the other side of the bathroom door as I finished getting ready.

"Yeah, hold on just a sec." I called back, fixing my dress and fluffing my hair before walking back into the beautiful bedroom. "Remind me to thank your dad, he did a good job with the room."

"Yeah, let's see how the next few stops are before we get carried away. He booked us up to California, after that he said to use the credit card. Apparently him and your dad are splitting the Bill at the end of the trip." He shrugged as he walked Into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

"So what's the plan today?" I asked.

"Well, today is just a river walk and then some down time before we have to hit the road again. We can either stay one more night or drive through tonight?" He mumbled with a mouth full of toothpaste.

"How about we just decide later?" He nodded in agreement and I found myself laughing at his chipmunk cheeks as he tried not to spit in front of me.

Once he was done we locked up the room and headed down towards the famous river walk in Savannah. It was one of Molly's favorite places when we were younger and as we walked I found myself detouring us to a familiar building with its name in big neon lights hanging over the entrance.

"Leopolds ice cream? You got a sudden sweet tooth?" Austin asked as I pulled him towards the doors.

"You'll love it, please? We used to come here all the time." I explained as the door chimed and we entered.

I was thrilled there was no line as we stepped towards the counter and display where all the different flavors could be seen.

"What will it be?" A dark haired guy asked, flashing his teeth.

"A scoop of chocolate for me." I told him excitedly as I took in his strong jawline and deep brown eyes.

"I'll try the banana." Austin said as he glanced at the chalk board menu.

"$10 is the total." The cashier smiled at me again as his gaze stayed focused on my face.

"Here." Austin replied a little gruff as he handed the guy fifteen dollars and laced our hands together before kissing the side of my head.

If I didn't know better I would say he was trying to show dominance but that wasn't Austin's style, neither could we ever be more than best friends.

He pulled me outside to the street as we walked together towards the Savannah river. Once we got there we sat on one of the small benches to finish our ice creams and watch the boats.

"Anna?" His voice broke me out of my daze.

"Yeah?" I turned looking at him.

"You have something on your face." He smiled and I assumed I had just got ice cream around my mouth.

"It's fine." I smiled.

"No, I mean, it's right ..... there" he chuckled hitting my nose with the top of his ice cream.

I didn't wait for him to pull away before I took my cone and smeared chocolate ice cream all over his cheek. His arms immediately pulled me closer until I was sitting on his lap, both out ice creams discarded on the ground as his fingers tickled me.

"Austin stop!" I laughed as he continued.

I guess we caught a few peoples attention as he tickled me, whether it was from the tickling or from the fact that I was straddled on top of him on a public bench, there was no way to know. What I did know was that not everyone was ignoring it.

"Mommy, will my boyfriend love me like that when I'm older?" A small kid around nine asked an older lady.

"One day baby" she replied as they continued past us.

Austin's hands stilled at the passerby's words and I took the opportunity to climb off his lap. I didn't want to ruin the day with any awkwardness so I held my hand out.

"Come on, let's walk beside the river and then maybe we can nap and head to the next place. I can drive if you want to sleep." I offered.

"Deal, but you're not driving." He smiled taking my hand. "I think we should find somewhere to wipe this ice cream off our faces too."

"Oh, I got it." I reached into my purse and took out a small pack of wet wipes. I handed him one and then used another to wipe my nose. "Let's go."

We walked down the river, dipping in and out of the stores and picking up little souvenirs. Austin kept cracking jokes until eventually we ended up back in the park by the fountain. We got some more pictures and then went back to the hotel.

"Take a nap Austin, I'll pack us up and we can leave in a few hours."

Thankfully he didn't argue, and a few hours later we were in his truck, headed to the next stop in the journey, Destin , Florida.