Page 125 of Carry On

CHAPTER 81

NASH

WhenLincolnsaidhewanted to get ice cream, I assumed an ice cream cone or maybe just a scoop of something. No, this man went all out with a whole goddamn banana split and then some. Me? I ate chocolate ice cream with coconut flakes, mostly for the look he gave me when I put it together.

“You know, just because that thing has a banana,” I began through a mouthful of ice cream, “doesn’t mean it’s healthy.”

“Shut up,” he shot back. “That banana makes it healthy, just like the coconut makes yours healthy. End of story.”

“Mine’s missing something—”

“Stop that!” Lincoln exclaimed in a hushed voice, smiling widely. I returned the affection to the best of my ability. It was bittersweet to sit there and tease him.

You know it’s the right thing,the voice commented.

It was quieter than usual, giving me a rare moment to enjoy my time with Lincoln. To make it a good memory and something for him to fall back on.

“Did you enjoy tonight?” I asked.

“I did, and we didn’t die in a fiery death from a hazardous candle display,” he said. I arched a brow.

“That was a fucking mouthful, baby.”

“Admittedly, I thought it’d be a good idea for a date night—”

“I liked the music,” I interjected.

“I did too, but I’m beginning to wonder about the legality of such an event, especially considering we didn’t sign any sort of liability waiver—”

“Lincoln,” I cut him off before he could continue, taking his hand and running my thumb over his knuckles. “Turn your work brain off and let yourself have fun.”

“You say that like it’s easy,” he retorted.

“You went to a concert, you listened to good music, and now you have a healthy, no-calorie banana split that you don’t have to work off tomorrow,” I told him.

“And you,” Lincoln added. “I have you too.”

No, he doesn’t,the voice said.

“Yeah, you do,” I agreed. “So, maybe you had fun.”

“I did.”

“And maybe this was a successful date?”

“The date’s not over, Lucky. I still have more plans,” he informed me. This was what I got for letting the man who needed a plan for everything be in charge of date night.

“Okay.” I shrugged. “As long as you’re having a good time.”

“Are you?”

“I’m with you. That’s all that matters.”

And it was.

Hours later, we walked through the door to his condo, and Lincoln let out a giant sigh. I felt the sentiment in my soul. I was too damn old to be doing these all-night dates. Still, the rooftop lounge that he’d picked to go to after the ice cream shop had one hell of a view. We’d spent hours with me pointing out different areas of the city and telling him about them.

That conversation drew a clear line between us. There were so many things about Seattle that Lincoln didn’t know. I pointed out the different places I’d slept, and the restaurants that tried to help homeless people. Ishowed him the park where I met Jay every other week, and then I told him about Jay.