no strings attached :: a.i.

04 : ice cream

"You coming, Paris?" Tony's voice broke my train of thought and I looked up to see that everyone was leaving the small room.

I nodded and stood up, following him down the hallway. We checked out and I followed him outside. The fresh air hit me and I could smell the salt from the sea.

"Hey, I got to go but call me. Or text I guess," He waved and I waved back. Tony got into a black 2013 Ford Mustang. It suited his personality.

I stood and watched the boy drive away and I mentally pinched myself. I couldn't be his friend. Every relationship I have ever had in my life was ruined, what would make this one any different. Staring at my feet, I started walking to work. The small book store on University Boulevard West had been my home for several years. Unlike people, buildings won't just disappear on you when you need them most.

"Wait! Paris!" A voice called out from behind me and I turned around. Kyle came running towards me and I rolled my eyes, turning back to walking. "Well that was rude," He grumbled when he finally caught up to me.

I looked up at him and he smiled down at me. Not smiling, I looked forward again. Kyle sighed and stepped in front of me, blocking my path. Me, not having enough time to stop, ran right into him. I slammed into his hard body and both of us crashed to the pavement.

I squeezed my eyes shut and waited to hit the ground. Kyle chuckled, "You can open your eyes I got you,"

I slowly opened my eyes to see that he was right. I would rather have hit the concrete side walk. I was laying on top of him, something Kyle didn't seem to mind. Pushing off of his chest, I got to my feet.

He stood up to and brushed off his jeans. I stood there and looked at my feet, embarrassed at having knocked him over.

"Hey, it's okay," He said, I looked up at him and he smiled. "I came to apologize actually. I didn't mean to be so forceful and stuff. Mrs. Moore said it was inappropriate and she was right. While I am single I didn't need to say it and I'm sorry for that."

At first I was confused but then I remembered what he had said at the beginning of therapy. I laughed at the thought and Kyle's eyes widened in surprise. I realized what I had done and covered my mouth, looking at him with pure fear. A smile grew on his face, starting at the corners of his mouth. The smile grew until I could see his teeth and a chuckled escaped his lips. His eyes squinted when he smiled and soon he was clutching his stomach from laughing so hard.

I giggled at the sight of him. Soon I was doubled over in laughter too. There was nothing funny, but neither of us could stop laughing. The two of us gained some strange looks but I felt happy for the first time in a long time.

"Look, I just wanted to say I was sorry. I hope you can accept my apology and I was wondering if you would maybe want to go get ice cream," Kyle gave me a small smile.

I should have been at work ten minutes ago. Kyle still had the hopeful smile on his face and I didn't want to take that away from him so I shrugged my shoulders and nodded.

"Great," He grabbed my arm and started walking back the way we came, pulling me along behind him. "I found this great place that you probably already know about but oh well."

Kyle let go of my arm and I moved so that I was standing next to him rather than behind him. We walked in silence and I couldn't help but start to wonder why such a happy person would be sent to therapy.

I pulled out my phone to ask Kyle a question, "Why do you need to see Mrs. Moore?"

Kyle looked at me sideways and then looked down at his feet, "Well, I don't know if I really want to share," I understood how he felt so I didn't push it any further.

We walked to the corner of the street in silence. As we waited for the light to change, Kyle turned to look at me, "How about this, if I tell you something about me, you tell me something about you. Whatever you would want to share, it wouldn't have to be why you are in therapy."

I thought about it for a second. Was there anything in my life that would be worth telling that wasn't one on the reasons I had to go to therapy? Still I nodded, I wanted to know more about this stranger.

"Okay, I'll start," The lights changed and we started to walk again, "I used to live in Kentucky,"

That was where Luke used to live before he moved here too. I pulled out my phone and thought about something to type. "I lived in California until I was ten."

"Why'd you move?" I looked up at him and rolled my eyes, "Oh, yeah. My turn. Recently I lost someone close to me, my little cousin. I moved down here because this is where he used to live."

"I lost someone close to me recently too. We weren't related though," I typed this in, not wanting to mention that this person used to live in Kyle's new house.

"I'm sorry to hear that, hey we are here," I looked up to see we were standing outside Bell's ice cream parlor. This is where Luke and I had gone on our first date. This was where he had worked and this was where we would always spend our time.

I stopped walking and Kyle stared at me, confused. I shook my head and stepped forward, leading the way into the shop. When I opened the door my nose was bombarded with familiar smells. My eyes took in the old fashioned booths and the green counter. I heaved a deep sigh and I felt almost as if I had finally come home. There was only one thing missing. Luke.

A familiar face appeared behind the cashier, "Paris?"