I clap my hands.
“OMG that’s so sweet!”
He nods. “And, I have our next couple of dates planned out too,” he adds. “But don’t bother asking about them because I’m not giving you any details until the time is right.” I mock-pout, grumbling under my breath about how mean he is, but then let out a dazzling smile.
“Maybe, but I bet the other dates you have planned will be just as amazing as this one,” I sigh, already giddy as I think about our future together.
“How would you know?” Gary chuckles. “We haven’t even officially started this date yet. How could you know that it’s going to be amazing?”
“Easy,” I shrug, “because I’m with you of course.” Suddenly feeling shy, I turn to look away from him. “I always have fun when I’m with you, Gary, and every second spent with you is incredible, so I just figured …” My voice drifts off as my cheeks heat up.
The older man squeezes my hand tightly. “I feel the same way, sweetheart,” he growls. “Every second spent with you is amazing, Patty.”
I turn to smile at him then, and my heart melts as we enjoy the drive together.
Soon, we pull up to the ice cream factory and it’s a big brick building with a logo of a purple elephant in front.
“Oooh, this is going to be fun,” I say, hopping out of the cab. “I can’t wait!”
Gary grins as he locks up the truck.
“Me neither.”
We head to the lobby, and sure enough, a tour group’s about to leave.
“Just in time,” I breathe, pulling my boyfriend in to join the group. “Come on!”
He grins as we walk quietly, listening to the docent recite the history of the factory. But my lover has wandering hands, and soon he’s touching me when he thinks other people aren’t watching.
“Stop it!” I giggle quietly, once again smacking Gary’s hand away from my behind. Our guide is really good but my boyfriend can’t possibly be listening because he’s spent the majority of our tour messing with me. Particularly, pinching and squeezing my bottom. It’s a good thing no one is behind us or else we’d probably be kicked out for acting like immature teenagers. But I can’t say I mind because it feels nice to know that I have a handsome man who can’t keep his hands off me.
“The tour is almost over,” Gary whispers in my ear. “After that, we can grab a table somewhere a little more private and—”
“And enjoy our ice cream together like good, wholesome, innocent folks,” I finish, giggling as he pouts. “Yes, we sure can. Now pay attention to the tour guide, Mr. Hickman. Behave yourself.”
“Yes ma’am.” He tips an invisible hat on his head and looks forward again, but I jump when I feel his fingers pinching my ass just a second later. “Sorry,” my man whispers, not sounding very sorry at all.
I merely roll my eyes and shimmy my hips, making my big bottom bounce.
When the tour finally comes to an end, we end up finding a table in a quiet spot, and order a huge banana split to share as we talk.
“You never mentioned what you were studying,” Gary says between enormous bites of mint chocolate chip mixed with whipped cream. I snicker as he swallows heavily, holding his head in his hands.
“Fuck, brain freeze,” he pants.
“That’s what you get for stuffing your mouth,” I tell him before taking a small bite of my own. “But I’m studying to be a microbiologist, with an emphasis on mycology.”
His black brows rise.
“Oh, really? What’s that? Sounds interesting.”
“It’s the study of mushrooms!” I beam, perking up a little. “Actually, it’s the study of fungi but my focus is mushrooms. Mushrooms are a type of fungi,” I clarify. “Stop me if this gets boring though because I love getting to talk about what I study, and can drone on and on.”
Gary merely grins.
“Mushrooms?” He raises his brows. “What’s so great about mushrooms?” He sounds almost as confused as he looks, and it makes me giggle.
“I love mushrooms,” I tell him quickly, turning in my seat to face him. “That’s why I asked to get the Magic Mushroom Wonder flavored ice cream earlier.”
“Yeah, I was wondering what that purple flavor is,” my boyfriend says, digging around in the banana split with his spoon. He crinkles his nose. “Mushroom flavored ice cream doesn’t sound all that appetizing, which is why I insisted on mint chip.”
I giggle.
“It tastes a lot better than it sounds, trust me,” I say. “They can make anything taste good at ice cream places, including bizarro flavors like French fries and ketchup, as well as garlic flavored trout. Yeah, I know. Who wants fish-flavored ice cream? But they’re able to do it and it’s not bad, actually.”
Gary smirks.
“Remind me not to get that one.”