"Let's go in here."
Jordan shrugged acquiescence, maintaining the imperative nonchalance and apathy required to be accepted into a new school, and a new social group. He followed Frederico, Sophie, and Raz into the gelato store.
"Hey, babe." Frederico's bad boy slouch and knowing wink earned them flirtatious giggles and four free scoops of gelato from the pair of counter girls.
Sophie picked pistachio, Raz chose raspberry, naturally, and Jordan couldn't resist the mysterious flavor of rose. With a raised eyebrow, Frederico followed suit.
Frederico winked at Jordan, and they hung back from the others.
"Why rose?" Frederico asked after they ducked into an alley to lick their confections. There were dried pink rose petals swirled into the gelato, intensifying the sweet, flowery flavor. It tasted like June, the newness of summer and sunshine, and reminded Jordan of his grandmother's garden.
"Never saw rose before. I've had vanilla, chocolate, and all the other ones they had. I like to try new things."
"That's good."
"Why'd you pick rose?" Jordan countered.
"Because you did." Frederico leaned in and touched his lips to Jordan's. Heady with rose fragrance, his lips were both cool and warm cool.
Jordan stared at him as they parted. Frederico winked again. "Let's catch up to the others." So, they balanced their gelatos, picked up their feet, and ran.
No comments:
Post a Comment