The ice cream was cold.
This wasn't much of a surprise, considering that it was, in fact, ice cream, but the shop was overly air conditioned, Lucy was already shivering, and she could not choke this down.
She stared at the offending dessert. The best friend she had had her eye on for a long time was finally sitting with her alone-on a date no less- but she was just looking at an impossible to eat dish of ice cream. There was little chance that anything would happen when she was like this.
He made a remark about her light summer clothing, mentioning that she must be freezing, but all she did was shrug.
He leaned forward and handed her his sweatshirt, which she put on gratefully.
It smelled like him, of course. She inhaled the scent in the way most people smelled their boyfriend's clothes, breathing as though she had finally found home.
He noticed, of course. Nothing escaped him. A wink followed, nothing more. Not a single questioning eyebrow or mocking word.
She nodded her thanks to Gray, and he nodded a welcome, than glanced at her nearly untouched bowl.
She blushed, making the excuse of, not being hungry, or in the mood.
He asked if she was worried about weight gain, and she quickly shook her head. Her figure was fine.
Then Gray hit upon the problem, wondering if it was simply to cold for her.
Never one to lie about such trivial things, she said yes, a tad bashfully.
He blamed the air conditioning and early autumn chill, but there was little he could do about it. The sweatshirt had already been handed to her, and there was no such thing as ice cream that tasted good while warm.
Gray told her that he had wanted this to be perfect, not wanted to make his date cold and give her food she couldn't eat. He took her hand and they walked out of the store, only stopping to throw out the uneaten desserts.
He then, predictably so, bought her a hot chocolate and himself a coffee. They sat down and enjoyed these while sitting on a park bench, which overlooked a lake. She still had his sweatshirt, and he was impervious to the cold.
Leaning in close to him, she told him that it had been perfect, and she was grateful.
Gray told her that was great, and pulled her in close to him.
They talked for a long time about nothing in particular, daring the sun to set before they were finished.
When darkness finally fell, he told her they should head home.
She agreed, and they walked to her apartment. He turned to leave, but she tapped him on the shoulder and asked him to stay the night. Not as her date, but the way that he had countless times before, as her best friend.
Gray told her that he was still her best friend, would always be her best friend, but that everything was different now, and he didn't want anyone thinking poorly of her. He kissed her softly before he left.
Lucy brought her fingers to her lips, not feeling rejected at all. He understood what people were like and was doing his best to help her, as he always had.
She went to bed, his sweatshirt still enveloping her body and warming her tired soul.