Page 60 of Controlled Burn

“Do you go there a lot?”

He patted his completely flat stomach. “Way more often than I should. They brought us ice cream to the station one day during fire prevention week, and I’ve been hooked ever since.”

We walked to his car, and I stepped back and let him open the door for me. It was funny how quickly I’d gotten used to something that had felt so foreign the first time he did it. Once I was all seated and buckled in, he jogged around the car and got in.

“So, what’s your favorite ice cream flavor?”

“I used to get this peach ice cream at a place back home. It was this really creamy vanilla ice cream with chunks of fresh peaches. That was really good. What about you?”

“Well, my favorite of all time isn’t at this place. I got it at the state fair a few years ago. It was sweet corn ice cream.”

“Really?”

“I know it sounds odd, doesn’t it? But it was tasty. Here, I usually get vanilla. And then add tons of toppings.”

He pulled into the parking lot of Lickety Split and I grinned at the name. “I can’t believe I haven’t tried this place. I keep hearing how good the ice cream is.”

“Well, hopefully, you’ll like it.”

The place was pretty busy for a weeknight. Of course, school was out, so a fair number of customers were kids. The place legit looked like a candy store instead of an ice cream shop, and I was a little confused until Keith explained to me how things went.

“So you have two options. You can either get soft-serve frozen yogurt from the machines. You get that yourself, or you can choose from the ice cream over there.” He pointed to a counter to the left that had a guy behind it in an apron and an old-timey soda-jerk hat. “You pick your flavors, and he’ll scoop them up. Or, if you want a shake or a float, he can do that, as well. Then, once that’s decided, the fun begins.”

“The fun begins?” I said, biting back a laugh. The big guy was so excited about ice cream. It was adorable.

“Yeah, so see all the candy dispensers? You can get as much of as many kinds as you want on top of your ice cream. You just pull the lever, and it dumps a small amount out.”

“So I can mix and match candy on top of my ice cream?” I asked.

“Sure can. But that isn’t all. Over there”—he pointed to the back wall—“is the fruit bar. It has all kinds of fresh fruits you can add. It also has nuts and those juicy little flavor orbs.” He paused dramatically. “But wait… there’s more.”

I laughed with him at that. “Please, sir, do go on,” I said, attempting to meet him drama for drama. “What else can I pile on top of my ice cream?”

He held up a finger. “Or your frozen yogurt.”

“Or my frozen yogurt,” I agreed.

“On that wall right there, you will find the liquid toppings. You know, hot fudge, strawberry, caramel, milk chocolate, and one that makes a hard shell on top, if you like that kind of thing.” He made a little face that let me know he didn’t, in fact, like that kind of thing. “When you get everything you want, you just take it up to the register where they weigh it, and you get charged by the pound.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Except tonight, I’ll be the one paying. Remember what I told you.”

I glanced around to see if anyone was listening, not that I really cared. But we hadn’t discussed what people should and shouldn’t know about our relationship dynamic, so I wanted to be careful. “Rule number three. I remember.”

“Good boy. Now, where do you want to start?”

By the time I’d finished, I had more in my bowl than I would ever be able to eat, and I probably had half as much as Keith had.

He looked at my oval-shaped paper cup that had fruit on the bottom, two frozen yogurt swirls in the middle, and a generous helping of hot fudge and bits and pieces of candy and nuts on top and shook his head.

“Are you sure you don’t want to add some gummy bears or maybe some of the whipped cream?”

“I’m sure. This is more than enough.”

He shrugged. “If you’re sure.”

After he paid for our ice cream, we went outside to the brightly colored tables with matching umbrellas and took a seat.

Picking my toppings had been great, but watching my normally serious Daddy act like a kid in a candy store while he made his own sundae was what had made this fun. I hadn’t even taken a bite yet, and I already knew this wasn’t just the best sundae ever. It was also the best date I’d ever been on.

Chapter 22