"I'm going to pick you up" Jeremiah texts.
"What food place are you @" He adds.
"East Oceanfront" I reply.
"We'll be done in 15" I add.
After Shayla and I pay we walk out and see Jeremiah pulled to the curb waiting in his car.
He looks up and sees us. He motions me over with his head and a smile.
Shayla gives me a secret thumbs up and a proud-mom look.
"Go get 'em tiger." She whispers.
I get into the passenger's seat and close the door, waving her goodbye.
"What'd you want?" I ask once we start driving.
"Belly's out with Nicole or something, by the dock." He answers.
I gesture him to continue.
"So, we're going to 'accidentally' run into them." He shrugs.
***
We park and walk out to the dock. Belly and Nicole are sitting right outside the ice cream shop with small bowls.
We walk inside and get into line.
"What do you want?" He grabs his wallet out of his pocket and looks down at me.
"I'm not hungry, I literally just ate." I say.
"Well we have to look like we came here on purpose so you have to get something." He says through a fake smile.
"I'm not hungry." I say the same way.
"Fine, I'll get one and we'll pretend to share." He rolls his eyes.
'Hiyah, what can I get for you two today?" The worker smiles from behind the counter.
"I'll do one scoop of cotton candy, on a cone, please." Jeremiah says.
The server scoops it up and plops it into a cone. Jeremiah hands him a bill before taking the cone and some napkins.
"Keep the change." He smiles.
The worker thanks us and we walk out.
"Three o'clock." He whispers.
I see Belly and Nicole look over, noticing the odd pairing of Jeremiah and I.
We get back on to the main dock and are just about directly in front of them. Jeremiah holds the cone in front of my face so I can have a lick, but before I can touch it, he pushes it into my face slightly. Leaving cotton candy ice cream on my nose and around my mouth.
What I would like to do is shove that cone, pointy side up, into his dark places, but I can't. Sadly. So instead I laugh and shove his shoulder playfully.
"You got a little something," He takes his thumb and wipes some of the ice cream off of my nose and then pops it in his mouth.
"Give me a napkin!" I laugh and try to get a napkin from his hand, but he pulls it away.
"Come and get it." He plays and starts running off away from me so I have to chase him.
We're running down the dock, me chasing after him and the napkin he has in his hand.
He runs us right back to where we started so that we're still in front of Nicole and Belly slightly.
"Gotcha!" I say wrapping my hands around his waist and looking up at him. "Now give me a napkin before I use your shirt." I threaten jokingly.
He wipes my scrunched face with a napkin.
"Since when..." I hear Belly whisper to Nicole.
I assume Jeremiah did too because his smile grows into a smirk.