Jack sighed, hands in his face. Life is tough, he thought. He had fallen in love with David Jacobs, his classmate and co worker at the local ice cream shop. They were only acquaintances, not that close, but Jack had still managed to fall for him. If he had to pin it down to two things, it would be David's smile and his energy. He smiled at the worst customers and teachers and was always so involved. Whether he was writing a paper or scooping ice cream, he put his whole heart in everything.

As Jack put on his uniform and drove to the ice cream shoooop, he dreamed up several excuses to interact with David during their shift. They always made small talk, but their superficial conversation left Jack wanting more.

He parked his beat up Honda Accord into his favorite staff only parking spot and entered the shop. It was a late Monday afternoon, which meant a dozen customers if they were lucky. Nevertheless, David served two middle schoolers enthusiastically.

"Hey Jack," he said when the middle schoolers had left.

"Hey. Are you ready for that math test tomorrow?"

David cringed. "God, I hope so. I'm not that good at arithmetic sequences."

"I thought you were good at everything." Did he really just say that? David would get weirded out now.

The boy in question blushed. "No one is." The conversation continued as the boys washed the scooping spoons. "Have you been thinking about college a lot?"

Jack shrugged. "Probably a CUNY or SUNY school. I like St. John's College, but it's in Santa Fe, it's pricey, and I'll probably get rejected."

"Don't say that. You're a smart guy, Jack."

"You think so?"

"Anyone who can understand arithmetic sequences is pretty smart in my book." Jack grinned.

The last hour of their shift passed in comfortable silence with the 1993 boombox playing Top 40 songs. When their shift ended, the boys closed up shop and walked out to the parking lot together.

"Hey, good luck on the test tomorrow," Jack told David. "We can't have you failing Algebra 2."

"How about we make a bet?"

"What kind of bet?"

"If I get a B or better tomorrow, we go out on a date."

Jack was so stunned he could hardly nod. "You've got yourself a deal, Jacobs." As Jack started his car, he'd never hoped so much for someone else to ace a test.