killer queen | joe mazzello

38. fudge ice cream

if all of you want a tyler so badly,, hit me up and i will be your tyler 🤪

—

"i literally hate you, do you know that?" i pitched the package of scrunchies at joe's head.

he ducked from the item, but it still struck him in the cheek. "you're the one who agreed to go on yet another date with me."

my fingers drummed against the glass of champagne in my clutch, my foot rocking in annoyance beneath the table. "i told you not to buy me those, yet here we are."

"it was literally ten bucks. just appreciate it and move on." he guffawed at my exasperated assertion.

"no. take them back or use them yourself. i'm not accepting them."

"i don't have enough hair to use scrunchies!" joe laughed harder, flinging his arms up in an exaggerated response. "plus, you accepted all the gifts i got you for christmas and you're birthday. how is this any different?"

"cause this isn't some important holiday. this is just a random buy." i set down my glass of champagne and leaned towards him with my elbows propped up on the table cloth.

"well, you're going to hate being my girlfriend, if that's the case." he murmured this to himself, but my perked up ears still managed to catch it.

"what?" my mouth fell open in amazement, the size of my pupils most likely growing.

"hm?" the angle of his chin changed and he scratched the back of his neck. a pinkish color tinted the apples of his cheekbones.

he was acting clueless, but he knew that i had heard him. "di-did you say girlfriend?"

joe, growing more embarrassed by the second, shrugged his shoulders haphazardly. "don't think so, no."

"oh-" my hands fell into my lap, fingers itching at the edge of my white dress. "okay."

i was, to put it simply, disappointed that he would not own up to what he had said. i knew he liked me- it was clearly obvious he did. perhaps he felt it was too soon to say it.

with a rough clearing of his throat, joe spoke up, "do you want to get dessert?"

"um, not- not really? unless you want to. i have a new tub of fudge ice cream back at my place if you wanna hang out for a bit and have a bowl?"

an emblem of our friendship was the five dollar tub of fudge ice cream from whole foods. it became such a tradition one night when the two of us were watching a movie and decided to take a trip to the grocery store for something. ever since then, it was our thing. the thought brought a cheesy smile to my face as i peered down at my shoes.

out of the corner of my eye, i saw joes shoulders roll back and his fidgety hands cease their ticks. "well, then, what're we still doing here?"

i giggled, straightening out the skirt of my dress as i stood from the table. joe set down the proper amount of cash onto the table and reached out for my hand. i slid my fingers into his, following him out of the restaurant.

—

"you're very lucky that you decided to leave your pajamas here." i tossed the plaid bottoms across my bedroom and joe nearly dropped them as they hit his chest.

his eyes turned over as he walked out of the room and headed for my bathroom. "what can i say, i'm irish!"

i scoffed, shimmying out of my dress. "your mother is irish, but that does not mean you are, too."

"i like to think i am."

a grin settled onto my silent lips as i tugged a sweatshirt over my head, a pair of shorts settling on my waist.

"do you have any special ethnicities, too?" joe wandered back into my room, careless to the fact that i could have been naked. he slumped against my headboard, his long legs stretching out in front of him.

"i'm white." i shrugged, crossing my legs as i sat at his feet.

joe's eyebrow quirked and he smirked at me, "explains why you're so bad at dancing."

i grabbed a throw pillow off of my bed and hit him across the face with it. "so are you!"

"hey-!" joe grabbed the pillow behind his back and tossed it at me in return.

out of breath and red in the face, i held my hands up in surrender. "okay- truce! let's just go get our ice cream!"

joe eyed me suspiciously, but, nonetheless, he stood up. i flinched as he stretched out his arm, causing him to laugh. "i'm just grabbing your hand- geez!"

"mhm," i cautiously set my hand in his, squealing when he quickly tugged me off the bed.

he laughed and let go, turning out of the room for the kitchen. i calmed the quickening rate of my heart and followed after him.

i stood on the tips of my toes to grab two bowls out of my cabinet while joe opened the freeze and retrieved the tub of ice cream. i pulled myself up on top of the counter and awaited him.

"spoons, spoons, spoons," he muttered to himself, attempting to remember which drawer they were in i clapped playfully as he opened the correct one. "see? i'm learning."

"proud of you."

once the ice cream was scooped and in our respected bowls, we migrated to my living room. we sat so close to one another that my knees were practically in his lap. the television was simply background noise as we carelessly talked about random things that came to mind for the next hour.

"wanna watch a movie? or do you need to get home?" my head, which had found its place on his shoulder, twisted slightly so i could look at him.

joe sat up slightly, causing my head to drop onto the back of the couch. i followed him to the edge of the couch, my feet dropping to the cold hardwood floor. "actually, can i talk to you about something?"

i wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly feeling extremely self conscious. "is something wrong?"

"no, no, nothings wrong." joe slid his hand into mine and squeezed, reassuring my worried stature. "i just wanted to address what i said earlier."

"oh."

joe ran a sweaty palm across his face and rested it on the back of his neck. "i'm sorry i brushed it off like that. i don't know why i'm so worried to ask you to be my official girlfriend or whatever. we've been friends for so long and i know for definite that you like me. i mean, why would you agree to go on dates with me if you didn't?"

"joe?" i urged him, pulling his other hand from his neck and into mine.

he huffed in response, his eyes falling shut as his head hung back. "i'm just afraid to be with someone again, considering the last person i was with was cheating on me for so long."

"i would never, ever do that. you know that, don't you?"

"i do." his eyes opened back up, making contact with my own. "so i need to just own up to my feelings."

i rolled my eyes with a short chuckle, "say it before i have a seizure."

joe grinned at me and turned his body towards me. "will you be my girlfriend?"