Chapter 10: Healing with Ice Cream

KARA

After a few minutes, Jason turned into the nurse’s office, and she immediately rushed over to me. Her gray eyes widened at the sight of me, and we explained what had happened.

“Advil and ice,” she said sternly.

“Luckily, you don’t have a concussion, but you will experience headaches if you don’t take medicine. The swelling should go away in a few days,” the nurse explained and then smiled down at me with care.

The pain was starting to diminish thanks to the Advil I took. I still couldn’t believe what Adam did. I frowned to myself as I began to overthink the whole situation.

“Let’s go.” Jason grabbed my hand and helped me up. “I’m taking you home,” he added, and wrapped a firm arm around my waist as we walked out of the nurse’s office.

After getting to his car, I frowned. “I kind of don’t want to go home,” I mumbled shyly. I wasn’t in the mood to put up with all the questions Charlie and my mom would ask.

“Good.” The devious boy grinned widely, and I instantly relaxed, feeling relieved.

Part of me was expecting him to ignore me and bring me home. “I know just the place to go.” Jason pressed down on the gas pedal and pulled out onto the street with a loud roar.

“Where?” I asked curiously and turned to stare at him. His blond hair was disheveled from running around in gym class, and there was a faint pink that colored his cheeks.

Jason glanced at me briefly, and his smile turned into a smirk. “It’s a surprise.”

I rolled my eyes and made myself comfortable by leaning further into the leather cushion. The comfort of the car’s engine purring was enough to make me relax.

Twenty minutes later, I felt the car come to a stop and the engine died. Assuming Jason had parked, my eyes fluttered open. I realized we weren’t in town anymore. We were downtown in the city.

My eyes widened when I saw the blue neon sign that read Bo’s Ice Cream Shop. A smile played its way onto my lips.

“I hope you’re in the mood for sugar,” Jason commented as he stepped out of the car. I got out and followed him up to the door, which he opened for me.

An older woman with peppered hair greeted us as we walked in. “Hello!” She gave me a kind smile, which I returned. She momentarily gawked at my eye before glancing at Jason.

I could only imagine what she was thinking. “I got hit by a dodgeball in gym class today. He brought me here to cheer me up.” I gestured to Jason after I felt the need to explain.

My eyes glanced at her nametag. Maria.

Maria was a cute older lady with large brown eyes. Jason stood beside me as we waited for her to grab two menus. “What a nice gesture.” Maria smiled widely, causing her eyes to squint, showing off her wrinkles.

“C’mon.” Jason gave me a small push once the waitress was walking toward a booth. I followed her and sat down onto a blue cushion across from Jason.

“I’ll give you two a moment to decide,” Maria said and walked away.

I glanced over the menu, basically drooling as my eyes scanned the colorful pictures of sugary treats. Everything looked so sweet and delicious. I peeked over the menu to see Jason already staring at me.

“What?” I frowned and set the menu down on the table. I couldn’t help but feel insecure with the huge bruise on the side of my face.

Jason’s blue eyes twinkled with amusement. “I’m picking for you.” He snatched the menu from my hands before I could fight back.

While he continued looking at the menu, I took the time to study him. I hated how attracted I was to him.

I hated how bad I wanted to run my fingers through his thick hair as he trailed his soft lips all over my body. I hated how turned on I felt whenever I was around him.

Jason looked back up, catching me mid-stare. “You look cute when you do that.”

I furrowed my eyebrows, ignoring the cute part. “When I do what?” I silently screamed in joy that one, he called me cute, and two, I didn’t turn pink.

“When you think I don’t notice you staring at me.” There was a small smile on his lips, which I stared at longer than necessary before I huffed in annoyance.

Jason laughed, and the waitress approached us with a small pen and pad in her hand.

“Are you ready?” She gave us a warm smile. Maria had a contagious one. The smile on my face hadn’t left since we arrived here.

Jason ordered something quietly, and I looked away before he could catch me gawking at him once again.

Maria walked away, catching my attention, and Jason looked back at me. I avoided eye contact and checked my phone quickly.

A message from Charlie. The message said he couldn’t pick me up after school, and I was thankful that I was with Jason. It gave me time to think of what to say to Charlie about my face.

I put my phone away and looked back up to find Jason’s sapphire eyes burning a hole into me. I cleared my throat, and he averted his gaze.

Maria came back ten minutes later with a sundae the size of my head.

Jason chuckled at my reaction, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of my delicious dessert.

It had what seemed like a hundred scoops of vanilla ice cream on top of a giant brownie, and the ice cream was covered with hot fudge and chocolate chips.

“I think you just won my heart with chocolate,” I said out loud, and continued to undress the piece of art in front of me.

Jason cleared his throat, and I looked up at him after taking in the sugary masterpiece. He was holding out a spoon, and I eagerly took it, instantly digging into the ice cream.

I took the largest bite I could and moaned in satisfaction. “This tastes so good,” I groaned with a full mouth of ice cream before taking another spoonful.

I eagerly inhaled as much as I could and looked up at Jason, who was sitting silently while watching me.

“What?” I stared back into his blue eyes.

Jason shifted in his seat while laughing to himself. “You should stop moaning. People might get the wrong idea.”

My eyes widened as I didn’t even realize I was doing it. I was completely absorbed by the delicious treat.

My face flushed, and I laughed nervously. “What can I say? I just have a thing for chocolate.” Jason let out a small laugh as he began spooning his sundae.

We continued eating in silence, and I decided to change that by grabbing the cherry that was sliding down his ice cream.

“What are you—” Jason stopped mid-protest as I licked the cherry. Our eyes locked just as I wrapped my lips around it and sucked.

The sweet taste sat on my tongue as I twirled it around the cherry. Jason’s pupils dilated as his gaze focused on my mouth.

Maria came up to give us the check, and I bit the cherry off the stem before she could notice anything. I thanked her and reached for the receipt, but Jason snatched it away before I could get it.

“I’m paying,” Jason said firmly when I opened my mouth. I nodded as he laid down the bills, and I quickly laid down money of my own.

Jason opened his mouth to protest.

“I’m paying the tip,” I argued before he could say anything. Maria laughed at the two of us, and her warm brown eyes twinkled. She thanked me for the generous tip, and we got up, making our way toward the door.

Jason held the door open for me as we walked out. My cheeks flushed a light shade of pink as I brushed past him.

“The car’s this way.” Jason shoved his hands into his front pockets, hiding them from the brisk air.

I nodded and walked next to him down the sidewalk. Glancing at him from the corner of my eye, he looked deep in thought.

“Thank you.” My voice caught his attention, and he turned to look at me. I could see the sun reflecting in his eyes. They looked so bright.

Jason nodded back at me, and then stared straight ahead again. “What are friends for?”

My heart tightened at his words. ~Friends.~ How disappointing, but it was a start.