Limerence H.S

Chapter Fifteen

Monday

"What flavor do you want?" Harry asks with his eyes glued to the ice cream on the other side of the glass. The warm sun shines against his face, bringing out his lovely features. Mila takes her light jacket off and wraps it around her waist.

She closes her eyes and tilts her head up towards the sun. "Chocolate. The answer to that will always be chocolate." Mila met Harry in the hallway after work earlier today, and she didn't even get time to protest as he took a hold of her hand, and dragged her out of the building. He refused to tell her where he was taking her, and she stopped asking, not wanting to ruin his great mood. Despite what happened on Friday there is no tension or awkwardness between them.

Her eyes open as she turns her attention back to Harry, resting her hands on her hips. "Two ice creams. One chocolate, and one strawberry," he tells the man inside the ice cream truck while holding up two-finger. He talks with his hands a lot. Not that Mila minded, because for some weird reason she even finds his hands attractive. "Do you want sprinkles or anything like that?" He looks over at her with brows raised and his mouth in a tight line. Mila shakes her head.

The ice cream man says the amount for the ice cream, and Mila takes out her wallet ready to pay for them. "I got it," Harry says searching through his pockets for some cash, but before he can find it she hands the ice cream man the money who quickly looks down to find change. He hands it to her, letting her put it away before giving her the ice creams. She thanks the man before turning around to find Harry looking at her with a slight glare. "I said I could pay."

She holds out the strawberry ice cream towards him. "And I didn't listen," she says with a proud smile. He rolls his eyes before taking his ice cream and licking the top of it. They begin to walk around the park with the ice creams in hand. "I don't understand how you can like strawberry ice cream."

He dips his spoon into the ice cream and puts the substance in his mouth. "I'm not really picky when it comes to ice cream. Except for pistachio, I hate that flavor, and I don't like the fact that it is green. it makes me think it's out of date or something." Harry tries to take off his jacket as well, but struggles. He holds out the ice cream towards Mila asking, "can you hold it for a second?" She nods and takes it while he wraps his jacket around his waist as she did earlier. She hands the ice cream back to him.

"I used to love strawberry when I was little, but I guess I just grew away from the flavor. I haven't tested it in a while though." Harry sticks the spoon back in the ice cream, but his time offers it to Mila. She takes the tip of the spoon in her mouth, and the strawberry flavor fills her mouth. She grimaces making Harry let out a light laugh. "Nope, still don't like it."

After a little while, they both finish their ice cream and throw it away. A booth filled with flower closes upon them. Mila stops at the sight, admiring the colorful flowers providing the streets with a heavenly smell. Harry picks up a white rose, and before Mila can react he takes her head and makes a run for it. "Hey!" She hears the flower man yell after them. She feels a little bad, but as she runs she can't help but laugh at the situation.

They round a corner and hide. Harry peeks around the wall to see if the man followed them, and thankfully he didn't. He looks back at her to see Mila standing there with a wide smile on her face. The sight alone makes Harry smile as well. "For you, milady," he says handing her the flower.

"Thank you, kind sir," she replies with a laugh. She brings the flower under her nose and takes in the wonderful smell. She moves the hair that has fallen in front of her face behind her ear before she looks back up at Harry who is standing still with slightly wide eyes. His heart had missed a beat, and he doesn't want to admit why.

"We should head back," he says before he begins walking, not waiting for her to follow, but she does anyway. Mila lets out a sigh not understanding where it went wrong, or what she did that caused his eyes to turn so cold once again.

-

Harry invited Mila into his apartment when they arrived back at the building. Mila accepted, but she figured he only asked because he felt bad for the way he ended whatever it was they were doing. They talked for a little while until her eyes fell on the gun he always has laying on his table, and notice the words M.E written on it. Harry notices her frozen stare. "M.E is the assassin company I work for," he explains, but she doesn't take her eyes off the gun.

Assassin business? Why would her father work at an assassin business? "Is it only an assassin business, or do they have other kinds of jobs?" She can't make sense of how her father could have been an assassin. Maybe he worked there as something else and didn't even know they hired assassins.

"I think so," Harry says but shrugs his shoulders uncertain. Mila pushes the thought of her father away, but if it's an assassin business it must mean someone hired the man to kill her parents, but why would someone do that. What did her parents do that mad his own work hire someone to kill him and his wife?

Mila shifts uncomfortably on the couch. "Why do you work for them?" She asks but doesn't really know why. She admits it makes her a little uneasy to know he works for the same company that killed her parents, but he couldn't have been older than sixteen at the time.

"They pay good money, and that's really the only reason. However, I do some work alone, and when the pay is good enough solo I'll quit." Mila nods understandingly. Harry plays with his fingers, spinning his ring around. "It's quite hard honestly. Working for a company you know kills innocent, and not only people who deserve it. If I couldn't have picked the cases out myself I don't know what I would have done." She doesn't know what to say, because despite his profession she knows he is a good person, or at least she hopes he is.

She takes a deep breath. "The person who killed my parents had M.E written on his gun." She sees Harry's eyes widen for a mere second, and her breath stops, but she decides to throw the moment away in the back of her mind.

"A lot of people work for the company, so I am sorry to break it to you, but it could be anyone." Mila doesn't like his tone. His cold tone that suddenly sounds so far away, and she doesn't like the feeling it gives her. "I think it's time for you to go. It's getting late," he says as he stands up. She knows for a fact that it is far from late, but she decides not to say anything.

She nods as she stands up as well, and let him follow her to the door. She can't help but feel a little rejected, but she has no right to feel like that. When they reach the door he opens it, and she steps out in the hall. "I honestly had a good time today," she says turning towards him. Begging for that distant voice to go away.

He only nods, before saying, "Goodbye." She sighs, and opens her mouth to answer, but isn't fast enough, because seconds later his door closes. She smiles sadly to herself before walking over to her own apartment and stepping inside with a heavy feeling in her chest.