Always There

Chapter Fifty-Four

Songs for this chapter:
• Moonlight- Ariana Grande

Chapter Fifty-Four:

Bryce's POV

"Where are we going now, Bryce?" Blossom asks me eagerly as we step out of the restaurant and onto the busy New York streets.

When she looks up at me, her eyes are twinkling. I can't help but to smile at the expression on her face, giving her hand a gentle squeeze as I pull her down the sidewalk.

"I was thinking that maybe we could go for ice cream before we head home. How does that sound to you, honey?" I ask as we walk.

She lets out an adorable little noise out of surprise, giving my hand another firm squeeze. "Of course that sounds good to me."

I kiss the top of her head before we walk a few blocks down the street, hand-in-hand. Blossom keeps huddled close to my side, and whether it be because she wants to remain as close to me as possible at all times or simply because she's cold in her thin jacket and dress, I cherish the feeling of her body agains mine nonetheless.

When we arrive a the small ice cream shop, it's nearly empty, which isn't surprising considering that it's the middle of winter right now. That being said, Blossom and I both like ice cream, and since we have such fond memories of getting ice cream together back home, I thought this would be a nice end to our night.

It's a small place, and I found out about it from Ella.

I hold the door open for Blossom, who grins at me before pecking my cheek and heading into the store. I follow her immediately, never letting her hand leave mine for even a moment, which allows her to drag me over to view all of the different flavours of ice cream.

Unsurprisingly, she orders two scoops of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in a waffle cone. Her whole face lights up when the man working scoops the ice cream out of the tub and into a cone, then handing it over to her.

I order a scoop of mint chocolate chip before paying for our ice cream. I let Blossom choose a seat for us, and after some time roaming the place, she chooses to slide in into the booth that looks out at the large, glass wall at the front of the store.

The ice cream shop is supposed to have a vintage sort of vibe, I can assume, based on the black-and-white checkered tile floor, the mint green leather of the booth benches, the hanging yellow light fixtures, and the pink walls.

Once Ella told me about this place, I searched for it online. After scrolling through a few photos, I was convinced that it was somewhere that Blossom would thoroughly enjoy.

I slide into the booth next to Blossom rather than across from her, watching in satisfaction as she scoots closer to me, close enough that I can wrap my free arm around her shoulders while she snuggles into my side and licks a stripe up her ice cream.

"I can't believe that it's February and you've taken me out for ice cream. I love it," she whispers in between licks.

I grin at her when I notice that she's smeared a little bit of ice cream on the side of her chin. I quickly wipe it away with my thumb before holding the finger up to my lips, flicking the ice cream away with my tongue.

Blossom laughs and pecks me on the cheek, licking her ice cream again before saying, "I know that you really really didn't want me to buy you a birthday present, and so I didn't buy you anything big, but I have a few things that I really want to give you today. I think we have to do that as soon as we get home. Before we do . . . anything else."

Her eyes darken as she trails off.

Her eyes then idly go to the tie around my neck.

I smirk at this. "I have something for you too, you know. It is Valentine's Day, after all."