Page 27 of Cured

“Wait,” I jerked him to a stop, “we’re gonna watch them street dance?”

Colt stepped closer and stared down at me, “Is that alright? I thought you might like to just hang out and watch them; grab a hot dog and maybe some ice cream on the way home.”

I continued to stare up at him and wondered where this man could have come from.

“If you don’t want to do that, we can go do something else. Do you want to go see a movie? Or go to a restaurant?” He began to turn away, and I grabbed his face.

“No, I love this idea!” I stood up on my tiptoes, ignoring the pain in my right foot, and planted a kiss on his lips. My god, the man wanted to eat hot dogs while sitting not on a curb, but on a park wall while we watched street kids dance.

“You do?” he asked as the shock of my kissing him began to subside.

I nodded dramatically and tugged him over to a street vendor. “I’d like a chili dog with cheese but no onion, a soft pretzel, and a coke, please.”

Colt stood behind me, his hands on my shoulders as he told the vendor to make it a double.

We collected our food and wound our way around the crowds until we found a seat a little higher up on a set of stone steps from which we could better see the action. While we ate, we laughed and clapped at the people as they performed. The music was loud where we were, but that didn’t seem to bother Colt. He even threw out an ear-piercing whistle from time to time.

We must have sat there for over an hour when I realized that Colt had shifted behind me and had pulled me back against his chest. When the hell did that happen, and why hadn’t I noticed? Colt had one hand around my waist and his fingers moved every so often to rub back and forth. A few times he snagged my belly button ring, and the last time he did, he actually stopped to trace it under my blouse.

“How about we take a walk? My ass is falling asleep.” His voice was soft and husky in my ear.

I nodded, unable to speak with my stomach twisting at the feelings he had invoked with his gentle touch.

Before we left, Colt pulled his wallet out and walked over to a jar and dropped in some cash. I had watched these types of shows and always wished I could pay the performers something, but I usually only had a few dollars left to my name at the time. How nice it must be to drop some cash whenever you felt like it.

Colt laced his fingers with mine, and we strolled into the park. It was a few minutes before he squeezed my hand and spoke, “What’s on your mind?”

I tipped one shoulder up, not sure what I was really thinking about. I guess if I was honest with myself, I would have to say I was dwelling on the difference between us with the money issue.

Colt stopped and took my other hand. “Okay, dating rule number four: If I ask what’s on your mind, you need to be honest and tell me. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want to know.”

I chuckled, “How many dating rules are there?”

“As many as there need to be.” He winked down at me. “So what’s on your mind?”

“You want me to be honest?”

“Yes,” he stated slowly.

“Fine, you asked for it.” I pulled one of my hands away and turned to walk again. It was easier to talk when I didn’t have his intense eyes locked on my face.

“I was thinking about how easy it was for you to pull out your wallet and drop money into that jar.”

“Why is that something you would think about?”

“Because you didn’t even hesitate to do it.”

“Of course not, we watched them perform; I paid an admission price, well, kind of.”

“Yeah, but you could do that.”

“I don’t understand.”

I stopped abruptly and spun on him, pulling my fingers loose from his. “You have the money to do things like that. I’ve never had the money to do those things.”

“Ember, didn’t I tell you last night that money has nothing to do with this thing between us?”

“Yeah, but we are so different. I live from check to check, barely making enough to pay my bills. You’ve seen the apartment building I’m living in, and then there is the castle that you reside in. My place is the corner of the dungeon compared to yours.”

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