It was five minutes after I finished my third hot chocolate when I realised the time.
I blinked in alarm and shock. Lloyd and I had been mindlessly chatting for over two hours. It was almost time for the cafe to close.
Time flies.
Lloyd, who was just putting his fourth drink (this time a type of green tea) down on the table, glanced at me in concern. He too, then checked the time. He widened his green eyes at the revelation, before dropping his gaze to his feet, where my skateboard still laid.
It completely slipped my mind.
"We should probably get going, huh?" he suggested sheepishly with a shrug. My heart sunk at the prospect of Lloyd leaving, but it was inevitable. "Here, I forgot to give this back to you. Sorry."
I sent him a strange look as he apologised while he reached down and retrieved the board. He straightened with a guilty look on his face, handing me the skateboard over the table.
I eagerly grabbed it, before immediately realising that it wasn't my old, well-loved skateboard that I had handed the blonde boy. I frowned in indifference, before flipping the black, sandpaper-like side over to look at the design on the back.
My usual 'quilt' background with 'stitched on patches' shaped like hearts, stars and planets was replaced with a green ombré background, the green ninja symbol in gold smacked right in the middle of it. It was smooth, glossy, and exquisite. The gold symbol softly glinted in the cafe's dim lighting.
My jaw dropped as I ran a hand over the design, almost sighing with contentment at the smooth finish. There were a few stone chips here and there, but absolutely nothing like my old skateboard. It wasn't as preloved as mine, but then again if it was, it wouldn't look this stunning.
I breathed a short laugh in disbelief, unable to comprehend what I was seeing. This was mine? He was giving me this? Was I hallucinating?
"I-" I tried to begin, but involuntarily caught myself off. "You can't give me this. It's too... nice."
Lloyd's face fell as his gaze dropped to his hands. I gulped, regret instantly making my heart trip over itself.
"I- I mean," I stuttered hurriedly, trying to redeem myself. "It's not that I don't like it- I love it! I really do! But my skateboard wasn't nearly as nice as this, and I was the one at fault," I glanced at his scabbing scar above his eyebrow, just across to his temple and guiltily winced. "You don't owe me anything."
Lloyd blinked his eyes, taken aback by my statement. His expression lightened, and I had to fight back a sigh of relief from escaping. That blonde boy had a way of making me feel like I had to keep him happy twenty-four/seven. He gave off this child-like vibe despite his age, making me find him both adorable and hot.
Lloyd merely shrugged his gesture off, not really caring much for the skateboard itself.
"It's fine, honest - honest to god, it's fine," he quickly inputted when I opened my mouth to argue. "It's a couple of years old, so it's not completely brand new."
I glanced from the glossy sheen of the green ombré sticker to Lloyd, eyes wide in doubt.
"I swear, it's not brand new," he chuckled. "I got it when I was young, but I very rarely had time to play on it. Then I... grew up. Now it's just sitting in my cupboard, collecting dust. At least you'll put it to good use."
I bit my lip in consideration, studying the skateboard while running my fingers down its glossy finish.
"A- Are you sure?" I tried again, wanting to make sure. "It's really, really nice. You could probably sell it for a few hundred."
