By Your Side (Preview)

Chapter 8

With glowing smiles on our faces, this all seemed so surreal. In a way, I suddenly had a girlfriend, and even though she wasn't Hannah, I couldn't shake the sudden rush of happiness I felt. We exited the muscle car in unison and headed toward the old-fashioned ice cream parlour. However, as the parking lot suggested, we were suddenly greeted by a line of people already waiting to get their share of the frozen goodness. We had a fairly long wait ahead of us as we stood side by side while our fingers danced with one another in between our bodies.

Playfully hitting each other's knuckles, we were waiting to see who'd make the first move, and that's exactly what Clare did. Taking charge of the situation, she made the first move and intertwined her fingers with mine so that we were holding hands again. I didn't even have to look at her to feel her smile's warm glow, which rivalled the sun's burning rays of heat. Holding each other tightly, we moved with the line until arriving at the front counter, where a giddy older gentleman spun out ice cream cones.

Sal was the man who had created this whole operation and had been nicknamed the king of soft serve by the locals. Spinning up cones of various flavours one after another was the way it had always been, going all the way back to when we were kids. With the customers in front of us getting their orders and paying, it was finally our turn. Staying side by side, we approached the counter, and the ecstatic man behind it turned around to greet us.

"Well, hello, kids. It's been some time since I last saw the two of you, let alone together. How are you doing this fine summer day?" He asked with an exhilarated smile on his face.

"Hey Sal, we're doing good, and yea, it has been some time. We were hoping you might have some ice cream for us." I said, prompting him to laugh.

"You kids know I have more than enough flavours to satisfy your ice cream needs. What are you two in the mood for today?" He asked while leaning on the counter.

"I'll just take a basic vanilla. What about you, Clare?" I asked, turning my attention to her, which she seemed to notice. Only as I turned, I noticed Sal twiddling his curly mustache.

"Chocolate for me, please!" She chirped as we both turned back to Sal, who was still laughing to himself.

While mid-laugh, he gave us an approving nod and then acknowledged our requests. Spinning around joyously, the man started to twist the soft trail of the ice cream into the respective cones. Twirling it like only a master could, we watched in awe as I felt Clare wrap her arms around mine. She wasn't holding back when it came to selling this relationship. Truthfully, I couldn't remember the last time I had been this happy. Once Sal was about to finish spinning the last cone, I started to pull out a twenty-dollar bill, and the slightest movement I made didn't seem to go unnoticed.

Sal seemed to pick up on my subtle gesture since he looked over and observed the two of us being friendlier than usual. Clare was practically hanging off of me. For a moment, I was nervous that the people behind us would be sickened by our levels of affection, only there wasn't anyone behind us. It was just the three of us in the small shop as Sal's voice cut through the air, catching Clare and me by surprise.

"So, are you two dating?" He asked as his eyes returned to looking at the ice cream, and his question came entirely out of left field, leaving me searching for an answer.

"Yea. Something like that. Why do you ask Sal?" Clare replied, beating me to answer the man, but it also told me that Clare was still getting used to the idea like I was.

"Well, I only ask because you two really seem to work well together as a couple. I remember when you two were just little kids coming into my store with your parents. I know you two never came in together, but I knew your personalities, and I just would've never guessed that I'd see you two in here together for the first time, holding hands nonetheless." He explained, and I think we were both surprised by his comment.