Page 20 of For Butter or Worse
This was already the worst date she’d ever been on, and it had barely started. Yeah, she was definitely going to need to channel Lara Croft to get through the evening. “What do you usually get here?” Leo asked, when she finally caught up to him.
There was a small and steady line outside of Magpie’s Softserve, Nina’s favorite neighborhood spot. For their first date, a trip for ice cream seemed like a quick and easy way for them to be spotted. And if she was going to be stuck out withhim, at least she’d have something sweet to make everything better.
“The corn is a classic, but they also have horchata, which is really excellent.” Maybe she could talk about ice-cream flavors for the entirety of the date—at least that was something to take her mind off whom she was standing next to.
“Those are not ice-cream flavors. One is a vegetable and the other is a drink.” He stared down at her, a slight frown crossing his mouth.
Ah, so he was trying to annoy her and prove a point about the place she’d chosen for them. But she wasn’t about to stand back and just let him shovel out his standard level of bullshit. Especially not when he was openly mocking ice cream—that just wouldn’t be allowed.
“Actually, it depends on when the corn is harvested.” She crossed her arms, really digging in. “It’s a vegetable when it’s fresh, like corn on the cob, but when it’s fully mature it’s actually considered a grain.”
“Wow,” he finally said. “You are a total fucking nerd.”
She blinked back at him. He studied her with an intense look and her chest tightened at the attention for some reason.
“What can I get for you?” The man behind the counter clasped his hands.
“Well, I’ve never tried your ice cream before.” Leo leaned his palms into the counter. He wore a mischievous grin she really didn’t care for.
“Our menu is on the back wall, and we can give you samples of anything that intrigues you. We make it all fresh, including the hot-fudge toppings.”
Nina raised an eyebrow at Leo. He could say whatever he wanted about the names of the flavors, but this was a small business that made everything from scratch. His dad had started a small business once upon a time, so surely he could appreciate that.
“Would it be possible to sample one of each? I’m told it’s a very creative menu, and I’d love to get a new vendor into my restaurants.” He scrutinized the menu again, placing a finger to his lips as if deep in thought.
What kind of monster...?She’d wanted this to be quick. Was he intentionally prolonging their stay? Maybe he really did want to bring in a new vendor, but they could send samples to Vinny’s, which he damn well knew.
“Oh, I’m sure the owner would be thrilled to have you test the flavors.” The staffer leaned in closer to them. “We’re all big fans of the show. It’s good to see you two back together.”
“We’re happy to be together, too.” Leo placed a hand on Nina’s shoulder and gave her a peck on the top of her head.
Her mouth opened, and she said, “Ah,” in a way that made it sound like air was being squeezed out of a deflating balloon. She wished she had a pair of tongs to pry off his hand. But they were in public, so she forced her mouth into a friendly smile. She was going to get even with him for this one.
“Nina, you’re okay if we stay a bit longer, right?”
“Leo, we don’t want to take up too much of anyone’s time, especially with this long line.” Nina nodded behind them, where there was a line, albeit a short one. Her jaw clenched at the slight misfire.
“Oh, it’s really no problem. Go find a bench outside, and I’ll set you all up with samples!”
She blinked back. “Great.” She tried to be enthused but was sure she sounded as disturbed as she felt at the idea of having to watch Leo eat lots of dairy.
If she was going to survive the rest of this minidate, she’d need more carbs. “Could you also bring us waffle cones to try?” she asked the staffer.
“Cup is fine for me, please,” he added.
Ugh, unreal. Now he was also one of those people who ate their ice cream in cups to try and avoid more calories, or whatever?
This was going to be the longest nondate of her life.
9
LEO
Leo took a lick of his sample. Roasted strawberry sounded like pretentious foodie nonsense, but it did somehow taste like a creamy milkshake. He didn’t exactly know what part of the soft serve was “roasted,” or why anyone would want to do that to a strawberry, but it was all kinds of tasty. He wasn’t planning to admit that to Nina, though.
“Well?” She raised an expectant eyebrow. She dipped a piece of waffle cone into her sample, but her lip stayed curved up in a know-it-all grin.
He knew she’d nearly lost her cool when he suggested they try all the ice cream, but now that they were actually eating, she seemed to accept that they were stuck together. Which was a shame, as he’d hoped to annoy her for a bit longer.
