She chewed on her straw as she waited, squinting against the bright midday sun. Not a cloud in the sky today, and several passes through her enormous handbag had come up negative for any kind of eye protection. She found five different pots of lip gloss, however; fat lot of good those would do against the sunlight burning away her retinas.
He was on the phone when he arrived, his jacket off and thrown over one shoulder, and paused his conversation to plant a kiss on her forehead.
They started down the sidewalk in stride together. Mina sighed and sipped at her iced latte as she waited for him to finish up. His jacket slid off, and she caught it before it hit the pavement and tucked it under her arm. Without missing a beat, he reached for her drink and took a quick sip before returning it. From the face he pulled, there was too much sugar in it for his taste.
It was getting warm, so she decided to reach up and loosen his tie. Their fingers got tangled as they struggled with the knot.
A flash of piercing sunlight glared off the windshield of a passing car, temporarily blinding her, and she stumbled into a café chair before he caught her and held her steady.
"Hey," she whispered around his conversation. He nodded at her. "Let me use your sunglasses."
He angled the phone receiver away from his mouth. "What?"
"Your sunglasses!" She reached up and plucked them from his face. "Let me borrow these!" She slid them on, and the world became tolerable once again. "Ahh. Hold this," Mina ordered, thrusting the almost-empty cup at him.
He gave her a slightly annoyed stare, but she looked too adorable with the oversized aviators perched on the bridge of her nose for him to complain. She flashed a smile at him and pulled a scarf out of her gigantic bag, which for some reason contained everything but the kitchen sink and her own pair of sunglasses. She tied her blonde hair back, using the scarf as a headband. "Aw yeah. I look rock star now."
Too cute. He rested his elbow on her head as they continued down the sidewalk: Mina sipping on iced coffee, and Kevin trying to end an endless conversation so they could find somewhere to eat. Unfortunately, she was steering him in the direction of that Thai place that always gave him heartburn.
Hours later, he was popping antacids and chasing Darien down the sidewalk, squinting against the sun. Mina had taken off with his sunglasses.
In his usual prickish manner, Darien took the seat in the shade. Kevin grunted. "Switch with me."
Darien glanced over the top of the menu. "Why?"
He shielded his eyes with a hand and fumbled with a napkin. "The sun's in my eyes."
Darien scoffed and popped the menu back up. "Well then wear sunglasses, you idiot!"