A Different Slice

25 - Crepes (Naomi)

"Naomi," Kieran's voice called out.

She glanced around until she spotted a truck idling near her. She must have zoned out longer than she realized.

"You're fast."

"I'll park and meet you here."

Before she could protest, he turned onto the side street where she'd parked and found a spot. She met him on the opposite side of the crosswalk. He grinned at her as the overhead lights flashed, and the crosswalk beeped.

"Hey, fancy running into you here."

Naomi laughed as he joined her. "I have trouble staying put sometimes."

"That's perfect because I don't want to share you yet."

Giddiness filled her that travelled down to her toes. "What did you have in mind?"

He shrugged and looked ahead. "Seems like a nice evening for a walk."

"It does."

"How was the game?" he asked.

"Alright, nothing memorable."

"It would have been memorable to watch you slide into home plate wearing this." A grin slid across his lips.

She laughed and caught his gaze. "This is just for your brother's game night." Or just for you. But it was too early to make that bold statement.

"Then I'll talk Jake into hosting those at least twice a week. You look amazing."

As he stared into her eyes, she suspected Shivanna was right. This differed from a friendship, but it would be complicated. How would he react to her boundaries?

He glanced at his shoes then back at her. "Is that okay to say to you?"

She smiled at his cute hesitation. If he was this attentive now, he'd likely do the same if they dated, which put Naomi at ease. "Yeah, I like genuine compliments as much as the next person."

The walkway curved toward the esplanade, and they passed the blue and white tourism booth shaped like a mini-street car. The scent of sugar, chocolate, and caramel filled the air, making Naomi's mouth water coming from the identical-looking food kiosks. "That smells incredible."

"Then we'd better stop because there's nothing like that at our place. It's all veggies, hummus, and healthy snacks."

"Are you sure? We don't need them."

Kieran smiled. "Luckily, we live in a world where we can have more than what we need."

They stopped at the chalkboard menu before the street-car-shaped kiosk with various savoury and sweet crepe options. Naomi's sweet tooth had her studying the chocolate, lemon and sugar, jam, banana and chocolate, or salted caramel choices.

"What caught your eye?" he asked.

"Banana and chocolate or salted caramel."

"We'll try them both."

They waited for the couple in front of them to finish, then Kieran ordered and paid before she could offer. He'd been doing that a lot lately.

Once the crepes were ready, he handed her the chocolate banana, and she accepted the cardboard sleeve that warmed her hand. The crepe was thin and crispy, and hot enough to burn her mouth. He chuckled as she quickly pulled it away from her tongue and blew on the dessert.

They walked over to the railing overlooking the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, which gave this area, the Forks, its name. The occasional motorboat and tour boat zipped beneath them. As night grew closer, the city lights flickered to life, and groups of people ebbed and flowed across the bridge, speaking a multitude of languages.