Page 62 of Forged in Flames (Made of Steel 2)

"Only 3 hours."

"What? Really? I'm so, so sorry."

He laughed. "No, maybe fifteen minutes or so. I shot you a few more texts and when you didn't respond, I assumed the worst."

In a few days the worst would probably mean I was dead on the street. I immediately shook away the thought. I wasn't going to think about that tonight. For just a few hours I was going to hang out and be solely focused on the boy who used to eat way more than his fair share of ice cream.

He grabbed the handle of the door to the ice cream shop. "After you." He gestured with his hand.

"Thank you." Maybe he used to be a card cheater and an ice cream thief, but now he was a gentleman. "How has soccer been going?" For some reason, the thought of an awkward silence between us terrified me. We never used to have those. Any stretches of silence between us hadn't been awkward to me at all. They were just filled with thoughts of me wishing he would kiss me. I wondered if he had been thinking the same thing.

He shrugged. "Good. We're undefeated so far. I noticed that you weren't at my last game."

"You couldn't possibly have noticed that. Thousands of people were probably at your last game."

"I noticed."

I pressed my lips together and stared up at the menu that I had already studied.

"Next," the man at the checkout counter called.

"You first," Miles said with a smile.

I walked up to the front of the line. Even though there were dozens of enticing flavors, I knew exactly what I wanted. Not just because of the memory that brought a smile to my face, but because I knew it was Miles' favorite. "One bowl of mint chocolate chip," I said. I glanced over at Miles.

He had lowered his eyebrows slightly as if he was studying me. "Make that two," he said as he pulled out his wallet.

"Oh, no, I can pay for myself."

"I finally got you out on a date. I got this."

"But I..."

"I insist." He put the money down on the counter.

A date. I had been waiting twelve years to go on a real date with Miles. I watched him pay for the ice cream and we stepped to the side to wait for it to be scooped. "So that's what this is...a date?"

"Isn't it?" He smiled as his eyes locked with mine. It still looked like he was studying me.

I blinked, hoping my colored contacts hadn't shifted out of place or something. "That depends on what you classify as a date." I laughed awkwardly.

"Well," he said as he leaned against the counter. "Tonight I was thinking ice cream and a walk in Central Park. And if everything goes well..." his eyes landed on my lips. "We can end it with the best kiss of your life."

Chapter 26

Tuesday

My throat made a weird squeaking noise and I quickly turned away from him. It felt like my heart was banging against my ribcage. The best kiss of my life? I should have rolled my eyes. Or laughed it off. But I knew he wasn't lying. I had dreamed of him kissing me when I was a little girl. And I had replayed the kiss we did share over and over again as we grew up apart. A new kiss with him would surely shatter that silly peck I held on a pedestal. He was still that same cocky boy, after all. Just older with more experience and a sexier jaw line.

God, what the hell am I thinking? I can't kiss him. But when I looked back over at him, my eyes seemed to travel down to his mouth. And that smile I loved so much. Why exactly can't I kiss him again?

The ice cream man set our bowls down on the counter and Miles picked them both up. I tried to focus on the fact that he was still an ice cream thief instead of the fact that I was craving his lips a lot more than I was craving mint chocolate chip. I followed him over to a booth and slid into the seat across from him.

I lifted up my spoon and stared down at my bowl. Usually I dreamed about going back in time. I'd be consumed by the idea of reliving our ice cream fight. I looked up at Miles. But I wasn't sure I wanted that anymore. Sitting across from him now, maybe that was where I was supposed to be. Maybe I could still have a normal life after all of this. I ignored the urge to touch my stomach. Normal might have been a stretch. But what if Miles and I were always meant to be? What if this could be real?

He smiled at me as he took a bite of ice cream. "What are you thinking right now?"

"That I'm happy when we're together."

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