Thirty-seven degrees.

Thirty-seven degrees and rising.

How was this even possible? July had just started a little over a week ago, and it already felt like the desert outside. I flopped around on my bed like a fish left stranded, kicking the thin blanket as far away as I could as I turned my face to the cool stream my little fan provided. My body was covered in sweat that clung to every pore, and I was only wearing shorts. Plus, it was not even noon. If summer would keep this tirade up, I had no chance of surviving and making it to my senior year in the fall. Which – on second thought – wouldn't even be all that bad.

"Eren, honey? Can you come out and help with the luggage?"

I rolled my eyes extra-long when I heard my mom's soft, but intent knocking on my door, even though she couldn't see it. I debated whether I'd get away with just ignoring her, but I knew that wouldn't do me any good in the long run.

With a groan loud enough for her to hear, I lifted myself up in a sitting position on my bed. I needed a nice, long stretch before I could even think about getting anywhere with this heat-riddled body of mine. Getting up after stretching my limbs with a satisfying pop, I padded over to the door and opened it, only to find the most cheerful grin on my mother's face shining back at me. I was most definitely not in the mood to see anyone this happy before eleven a.m. Maybe not ever. She was wearing a colorful summer dress, along with a large straw hat and golden sandals. From the view of it, she was all ready for her summer trip with dad a few thousand miles away to the Caribbean with a sparkly beach and an even more sparkly, turquoise sea.

Yup, it sounded like the perfect summer vacation, indeed. Only that I wouldn't get to enjoy any of it, because I wasn't going to be a part of all the luxury. No, I'd be stuck here in my simmering hometown of Trost for the summer, in a house with broken air conditioning. Well, at least I had the latest addition to our family to keep me company – a six-month old Labrador puppy whose sole life goal seemed to be the destruction of our furniture and every last nerve in my possession.

I had really hit the jackpot there, hadn't I?

"Eren, why the long face?" My mom asked worriedly, "It's such a beautiful day out and your summer vacation has just started! You should be head over heels with happiness."

"Yeah, right. Woho," I groaned with as much fake-happiness as I could muster. "Maybe I'd be happier if you'd decided to take me with you instead of leaving me here to die by myself."

"Aw, come on." She laughed and reached out to ruffle my hair. "You're still sulking about that? I thought we talked it out. If the time comes when you're married for fifteen years, you need some time alone once in a while to, you know... Keep things going, I guess?"

Okay, hearing about my parents' gimmicks to "keep it going" was definitely the last thing I wanted to talk, hear or think about. Ever.

I clapped my hands over my ears and plastered an expression of pure torture on my face, yelling, "Oh my god, it hurts! Make it stop!"

My mom burst into laughter and grabbed my hands to pull them from my face. I opened one lid to look into her eyes, which were still crinkled with mirth around the edges.

"Is it over?" I asked cautiously.

"Sorry," she grinned. "I keep forgetting you're not one of my thirty-something housewife friends."

"Ugh, thanks, mom."

She pulled me into a tight hug and placed an affectionate kiss on my temple.

I wanted to sulk. I wanted to be mad at them for leaving me here, all alone with only a rowdy dog to take care of. But when I saw them like this, so genuinely happy and excited over their four-week long trip, I just couldn't find it in me. They deserved to get out of here once in a while, and even if I was left here, I didn't need to play the petulant kid. They were awesome parents, so I resolved to just be a little sulky at them for deserting me. Just a teeny tiny bit.

It took around two hours of dragging luggage around the house until my parents were safely tucked away in a cab headed for the airport. After my mom had showered me with kisses and made me promise to email a dozen times, they were finally off. I stood on the street and waved until the cab disappeared around the corner. Then, I fell into a good round of sighing. I was really alone now, wasn't I? I couldn't help but grow a little bit anxious about what this summer was going to have in store for me. But to be honest, if I had to guess the most exciting thing that would happen, it would probably be whether the heat or the boredom would kill me off first.

I ducked out of the blazing sun and back into the house again. It was eerily quiet in here, more so because the air condition was off (broken). Zeke, our dog, had flopped down on his pillow in the living room, a gentle snore leaving his lips. I'd have to take him for a walk later, but only after the temperature had tapered down a bit.

"It's just us now, huh," I said to his sleeping form.

I got a water bottle out of the fridge – ice-cold, thank god – and began to amble around, taking sips. My best friends, Armin and Mikasa, had gone off to vacation two days ago and wouldn't be back until next week. I really did feel alone.

It was about ten minutes later that I heard the loud tingle of a bell from outside, and then, it took me a second to figure out that this was probably the ice cream man who'd drive around in the summer months. Walking back out into the searing sun would be a pain unparalleled, but a nice cone filled to the brim with delicious ice cream was too tempting to refuse.

I followed the light tingle of the bell down the street. When I turned the corner, I saw it. It was normal ice cream truck, painted navy and white. There was a large company logo printed on the side. As I drew closer, I could make out a bearded captain with a parrot on his shoulder and an ice cream cone in his hand. The lettering said "Captain's Ice Cream". I'd never heard of that brand, but the truck looked nice enough and I was dying for a delicious refreshment right now. So I slipped to the back of the line that was forming in front of the truck. I tapped my toes while I waited. The sun was mercilessly pressing down here, and there were no shadows to hide in anywhere close by. By the time the window on the ice cream truck opened, my shirt was already clinging to my back. I rose on my tiptoes and squinted my eyes to see how many people were in front of me.

And then, I saw the ice cream guy.

The first thing I noticed about him was his round hat. It was navy-colored, with a white strip around the base. I let my gaze travel further to make sense of why anyone would choose to wear a hat like that, when I realized. He was wearing a sailor uniform, complete with a wide, striped collar and the ends tucked together in the front in a neat bow. All navy and white stripes. On anyone else, it would have looked painfully ridiculous. But somehow, it didn't on him, and I was still trying to figure out why. I followed the moving crowd, and finally I was able to see the vendor better. He was kind of short-ish, pale skin, narrowed eyes. He had straight black hair, which seemed to be shorter in the back and dipping into a longer fringe in the front. I was just about to discern his eye color when my gaze caught on his expression.

He was scowling. Like, seriously full-blown glaring. At the customers.

Woah, either he was having an exceptionally crappy day or he had absolutely no idea how to play the sweet, always-cheerful ice cream guy from around the corner.

Maybe he was just pissed because he was forced to wear that sailor uniform for the job. The thought made me chuckle.

Anyways, he did look my age, maybe a little bit older. I was still racking my brain over if I'd seen him around before. Maybe at school? But I doubted I had. I mean, I'd not be able to forget a face like his, even if I tried. I was itching to talk to him. Finally, it was my turn.

"What can I get you?" He asked, his gray gaze trained on me with an indifference that bordered on rude.

God, I liked his voice. It was smooth and even, very precise. Much to my dismay, he was still scowling though. He wasn't making an exception for me, even though I'd hoped he maybe would.

I gave him my sunniest smile before replying, "Hm, surprise me."

He lifted a thin eyebrow at me, but seemed otherwise unfazed by my attempt at breaking the ice. Then he sighed as if I'd just asked him to take on my chores for the week.

I watched him closely as he pushed the ice cream spoon into the most unexciting flavor ever, vanilla. He didn't even use one of the cones with the chocolate rim or make the effort to put a topping of multi-colored streusel on my order.

He must have noticed the disappointment on my face, but my misery only served to draw the smallest smirk from him as he offered me the cone.

"Surprise," he drawled.

My gaze dropped to his hand, more specifically, his fingers, which were wrapped around the crunchy-looking ice cream cone. They were long and slim, milky pale with perfectly clean nails. For a moment or five, I imagined what his fingers would look like if I waited another few seconds and the ice cream began to melt and drip down over those fingers. They'd be sweet and sticky and... Somehow, I was one hundred percent sure that licking the ice cream off his fingers would taste so much better than eating it out of a lame-ass cone.

And why in the world was I even thinking about the ice cream guy's fingers covered in sticky vanilla?

"Hello? Are you going to take this fucking cone or not? If you don't know how to eat, I can show you. How about I shove it down your throat?"

Long lashes blinked down at me in a display of innocence. A fake one, mind you, but it was more than enough to prolong the weird stupor I was presently caught up in.

When I finally snapped out of it and moved to take my order, I almost stumbled and crashed face-first into his truck, and oh my, wouldn't that just complete my perfect first impression?

"Uh, thanks, but no thanks. I know how to eat," I replied stupidly while I scrambled to find the money to pay.

Earth to brain, it's time to reboot.

I opened my mouth to smooth over my slip up, but then I heard a girl behind me clear her throat loudly.

"Are you almost done? You're not the only one standing in line here, you know."

I felt more than a little awkward when I realized she had a point. How long had I been standing in the front, anyway?

"Sorry," I said as I turned to shoot the girl an apologetic smile. "I didn't mean to snag your time."

Her eyes widened when she properly laid eyes on me, her mouth dropping open. Then she straightened and fumbled with her cherry-red crop top.

"Oh no, not at all," she smiled suggestively. "You can snag my time any day, if you want."

Now it was my eyes' turn to widen. Wow, wasn't she a blunt one. High school had shown me I wasn't the most unpopular guy when it came to girls, but her open flirting was something I didn't get to hear every day.

I wanted to answer, but whatever suave reply I'd meant to come up with was cut off when I heard the ice cream guy snort behind me. Turning back, I saw he was bent over on the counter and paying close attention to me getting picked up.

"Excuse me?" I said, my eyes fixed on his.

"Are you fucking serious right now?"

I followed his gaze to the girl, who was talking to the friend next to her.

"What, you jealous? Want me to give you a little Flirting 101?" I quipped.

I watched with a ridiculous amount of satisfaction as his pale cheeks colored the faintest tint of pink.

"Shut up," he snapped, but I already knew my remark had hit close to home. "No need, Dr. Hitch. Your courses sound too damn cheesy anyway, they must be tragically under-booked."

"You'd be surprised. Cheese is very in at the moment, especially the spicy kind."

I smiled up at him, really smiled, and his blush intensified in color. His impassive, slightly annoyed mask slipped out of place there for a bit, but he was trying so hard to hide it.

Adorable.

I could do this all day.

I liked to be a major tease sometimes, but apparently, so did he. Maybe I'd just found a worthy opponent for the verbal duels I was so fond of.

"Would you be so kind to piss off now? You're hindering my business," he spat.

I took a generous lick of my ice cream while I stared up at him from beneath my lashes. He was the most interesting thing this summer had presented so far. I had no idea why I was so strangely fixated on this boy, but somehow, I was. I wanted to ruffle his feathers, see him blush. It was almost embarrassing how much I wanted it.

He swallowed when I closed my eyes after an audible slurp to savor the melting sweetness on my tongue. How did I not know that Captain's Ice Cream tasted to delicious?

I opened my eyes just in time to find his fixed on my mouth. Why that drove a hot bolt of undeniable electricity right through me, I didn't know.

"Well, thanks for the ice cream, Sailor Salty. See you around," I smirked and turned on my heel.

"Oh yeah, let's make it the day after never," he called after me.

I laughed the whole way home.

When I unlocked my door, I stopped short. I didn't even know the ice cream guy's name. But I wanted to find out. Maybe I'd get another ice cream tomorrow. Okay, let's scratch the maybe.

My summer had just taken an undeniable turn for the better, and I had a growing suspicion a pissed sailor was responsible for that. Not that I'd complain. Admittedly, he was the cutest little sailor I'd ever seen, and I couldn't wait to ogle him in that uniform again.

I spent the rest of the afternoon lazing around. At least until Zeke woke and decided to grace me and the whole neighborhood with an endless tirade of yelping.

"Zeke! Shut the eff up," I yelled while I rushed to the living room to see what had gotten him all upset. I found him by the front door, his paws impatiently scratching up and down. He wanted to have his walk. With a long sigh, I went back to get his leash and after putting it on, I locked up behind me and let myself get dragged down the street by Zeke's fervor. We were only a bit down the street when he suddenly fell into a mad dash and sped away.

"Zeke!" I cried helplessly. "Stop!"

It was no use. Why did he have to be such a ridiculously big, strong puppy? I was fully occupied with not face-planting into the concrete to look what had caught his attention until it was too late. I only got a glimpse of the bearded captain plastered to the ice cream truck before Zeke collided with someone standing in front of it.

"What the fuck!" Someone squealed, two bags they were holding flying from their hands to crash on the ground.

Zeke had pinned the poor guy down and licked his face with obvious relish. Finally, I managed to catch his collar and gave it a sharp tug to pull him back.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Are you ok— OH."

Of all the people in this town, Zeke had to run over the ice cream guy I was dying to make a good impression on, even if I had no clue why.

"You," he groaned accusatorily while he rubbed his bottom.

I was momentarily transfixed by him, as he half-laid there on the ground, his overly cute sailor uniform adorably ruffled. His collared shirt had ridden up during the fall, and was now exposing a pale strip of his stomach.

Oh god, do not stare. Whatever you do, do not fucking stare.

He dragged his shirt down with vigor, so I obviously failed my mission. I cleared my throat embarrassedly and reached out my hand to help him up on his feet.

He glared at me, but took it.

I jolted when my hot skin met his cool one, and the shiver spread frantically up my arm and down my spine. What would those small palms feel like on my chest, on my stomach...?

Ugh, shut up.

I pulled him up to a stand, and he immediately wrenched his hand out of my grasp. Trying not to show the weird disappointment on my face, I said, "I'm so sorry. Are you okay? I swear, this dog does not listen one bit. I hope he didn't hurt you?"

He dusted his clothes off – those gorgeous sailor pants which came down to his slender ankles – before he rubbed viciously over his face.

"Fuck, that's so gross," he complained. "Your dog fucking ate my face."

I chuckled a bit at that, even more so because his intense rubbing to get Zeke's drool off his face left his cheeks adorably flushed.

And I should not be thinking of any of this right now, for crying out loud.

My stupid dog had just smashed someone into the ground, I needed to get my shit together and stop ogling his victim.

"I'm so, so sorry. Here," I said and offered him a wet wipe I'd taken to clean my hands after Zeke had done his business.

He looked up at me with narrowed eyes, before he snagged the wipe and began running it over his face. He seemed most concerned about the drool on his face, even though he'd fallen pretty badly.

"Hey, are you okay? You fell," I said.

"Yeah, my fucking ass hurts," he spat. "Thanks to you."

I hid my smirk at how that sounded. I didn't exactly want to be responsible if his ass hurt – not like that, at least.

Wait, what?

God, what was I even thinking? I kept my mouth shut. For once, I felt like I should keep myself from being a smartass.

Zeke barked cheerfully and walked over to the guy, nosing against his leg. The raven jolted and backed up, staring down at the dog with obvious suspicion in his eyes.

"I think... It wants something."

"Yeah," I laughed. "He wants you to pet him."

"Oh," he said.

Carefully, he bent down and reached his hand out. His slender fingers brushed along Zeke's head, and the puppy woofed again and nuzzled the guy's hand affectionately.

"Hey, you're unexpectedly cute," the guy said, and for the first time, I caught the ghost of a real smile touch his lips.

I found him to be much cuter than the dog, but it was not like anyone seemed to be interested in my opinion. Not when they obviously hit it off with each other so perfectly. The guy was all sparkly eyes for Zeke. I was wounded, to be honest, but I got a few precious minutes to check him out properly.

He really was something else. He was no more than 5'3'', but his body was still shapely and fit. His clothes were snug in all the right places. How could a damn work uniform look so... Hot?

He'd taken off his sailor hat, and I let my eyes travel over his smooth black hair. He wore an undercut, which looked especially nice on him. The longer strands in the front framed his face and fell into his eyes as he bent down to play with Zeke. My fingers itched to brush them behind his ear.

What was it about him?

I'd entertained the possibility of being gay before. There had been more than a few guys I'd found attractive, which had led me to conduct my own extensive research on everything guy-on-guy related. It was just that no one had ever managed to capture my interest enough to make me act on it. Not before Levi, that was.

"Hey, asshat. Are you deaf?"

I snapped out of my reverie and jerked back to attention.

"Huh? I'm sorry, I was distracted. What is it?"

I gave him a genuine smile. He averted his eyes.

"What's his name?"

He nodded in Zeke's general direction.

"His name is Zeke," I said.

"Zeke, huh," the raven repeated and smiled again when Zeke's ears perked up at his name.

"And what's yours?" I asked.

His eyes snapped back to me, the carefree expression slipping off to make room for his annoyed one.

"Why the hell should I tell you?"

"Fine. Then I'll come up with my own name to call you, okay? How about ice cream guy?"

He groaned and I laughed.

"Well, I'm Eren. I go to—"

"I know who you are," he said quietly.

That took me by surprise. And made me almost burst with curiosity at the same time. He had an unmistakable air of mystery about him, which only worked in favor of his charm.

"You do? Are you attending Trost High, by any chance?"

He smirked almost absentmindedly, as if he remembered something.

"Yeah. I attend Trost High, Eren Jeager."

Wait, he even knew my last name? How?

"Hey, it's kind of unfair that you know my last name when I don't even know your first."

He looked up at me, his hand dropping to play with the ribbon on his chest. My eyes followed every tug he administered on the smooth fabric. I swallowed.

"Levi," he sighed.

Levi. Why in the world did that name not ring a single bell inside my head? I didn't remember seeing him in school. Maybe we had a class together, but even if that was it, I was pretty sure I wouldn't have forgotten about him.

"Well, nice to meet you," I smiled. "How do you know me again?"

"The better question is how wouldn't I. Really, everyone at Trost High knows who you are."

I grinned sheepishly and hoped I hadn't done anything stupid at school that had come to his attention. I watched as he bent down and picked up the bags he'd dropped earlier and stored them away in the back of the truck.

"Are you packing up for the day?"

"Yes, thank god. It's too damn hot," he said from somewhere inside the car.

Zeke ran around to peek into the back, obviously wondering where Levi had disappeared to.

"It is, isn't it? So, is this your summer job?" I asked curiously.

"Well, it's not like I'd drop out of school to make my dream of being an ice cream vendor come true," he said.

"I think you managed to snag a nice job though," I grinned. "I bet you get to eat free ice cream all day."

"That's the only plus side to it," he replied before hopping out of the car and closing the door. Zeke jumped up his legs and woofed, trying to get petted again. Levi indulged him with a sweet little smile on his full lips.

"Uhm...," I started, scratching the back of my neck self-consciously. "Will you be here tomorrow, too?"

"Yeah, and the day after, and the day after... I have more or less the same route the whole summer long," he sighed.

Then he crossed his arms and looked up at me. For the first time, I could see his eyes clearly. They were gray. And the most beautiful shade of gray on top of that. Silvery, seeming almost liquid when the soft evening sunlight illuminated them just right. Very much like it did right now.

"What's your deal anyway? Are you stalking me or do you happen to live close by?"

I smirked. Stalking, huh? Not quite yet, but if he continued to be like this, I might as well.

"I live just around the corner."

He nodded slowly and then shrugged.

"I'm gonna leave now. To be honest, I have better things to do than standing here in the heat and talk to you," he said.

"Ouch," I cried in mock-agony, clutching a hand to my wounded heart.

Damn, the guy had bite. I liked it. I liked it a lot.

"Fine, take care. See you tomorrow," I smiled mischievously, daring him to tell me no.

But he didn't. And that very fact made my heart soar in ways that were probably too embarrassing to think about.

"Yeah, yeah," he ground out, even though I caught a peek of the small smile he was trying to hide. "See you."

Zeke yelped after the ice cream truck, which had the audacity to cart off his new love interest. I watched as the car turned the corner and drove out of sight. Then, I got down on one knee and stroked a whining Zeke behind his floppy ears.

"I know, Ze," I said. "I like him, too."