"Oh. My. God. This is amazing," Alex moaned, taking another bite of the chicken salad sandwich in her hand.
Lori beamed.
"I knew you'd like it. Gus' has the best damn sandwiches in all of Wyoming, I swear. It doesn't matter what you get. It's going to be delicious," she said, biting into her meatball sub.
They were currently walking along the boardwalk. Lori had brought her downtown and shown her the local bakery, newspaper factory, the history museum, and now the sandwich shop. It had been the only place they actually went into, as Alex had stated she was starving, so Lori promised to give her a tour of those places another time.
"There's a popular antiques shop around the corner from my place as well."
"I love antiques!"
"I thought so. It closes at 7 during the week, and it's open on Saturdays. I'll take you one day."
"I'd like that."
"Good," she said, smiling. "There's a really famous motorcycle museum in Little Current too actually. It's such a random thing to have but hey," she shrugged before adding, "It's pretty cool."
"Cam would love that. She's really into that kind of thing."
Lori nodded, quietly wondering if she should ask the question that had been on her mind all night. She'd been having a great time so far, and it seemed as though Val was as well, but she couldn't stop thinking about the woman's "roommate". When they had struck an almost immediate conversation at the library, Lori knew instantly that she was attracted to the pretty blonde. It didn't take long for Lori to casually out herself, unable to believe her incredible luck when the blonde admitted that she too was gay.
She had spent every visit talking to her, learning her likes and dislikes, listening to her stories of what had gone on that day at the library, and laughing with her at the silly mistakes she had made while learning to do her job. Lori was smitten. The blonde was kind, funny, intelligent and so genuinely sweet. When Val had eventually let it slip that she was single, Lori was beyond excited. She was very, very interested.
She finally worked up the courage to ask her out, and she had been ecstatic when Val accepted.
"So, Cam…is she your roommate or your "roommate"," she asked teasingly, making quotation marks with her fingers. She really did want to know though.
Alex smiled, although she felt a little sad.
"No," she said, shaking her head. "She's just my roommate. We had something once, but that's long over now."
The blonde forced a smile. She was not going to acknowledge her real feelings, especially when no good would come of it. Lori was turning into a friend, someone she genuinely enjoyed being around. She wasn't about to ruin the atmosphere with what was going on with Olivia.
"Okay," Lori answered, a friendly smile on her face. "Come on. There's a world famous ice cream place coming up, just past the Indian food stand. You have to get some."
"World famous, huh?" Alex teased, happy that the subject had been steered to a safer topic.
"Oh yes. Definitely."
"I'm going to get fat if we keep eating this way."
"That's okay. You're too skinny anyway," she said with a wink.
Alex chuckled and shook her head. Lori reached out and grabbed her wrist, eagerly bringing her to the ice cream stand. She was excited. Rudy's ice cream was to die for.
"You look like a little kid."
"I can't help it. I love this place. I think because it reminds me of when I was a child. It was my favourite ice cream place growing up and I used to get so excited when my mom would take me. They give huge balls of ice cream on the most delicious waffle cones. So. So. Good."
Lori paused, feigning suspicion as she looked the blonde over.
"You do like ice cream, right? I have to warn you, our friendship is resting on the answer to that question."
Alex laughed.
"I love ice cream," she said, smiling. She was getting full, but she was eager to try this "world famous" ice cream. Especially since Lori was so excited to get some.
"Oh good. That's a relief. I was afraid I was going to have to end things prematurely. I can't be seen with someone who hates happiness in a cone."
Alex laughed, bumping her shoulder as the woman teased her.
"What's your favourite kind?" Lori asked, pleased she was able to make the woman laugh so easily.
"Rocky road."
"Good choice. Mine's moose tracks."
"That's my go-to when there's no rocky road," the blonde said.
"Well, that seals it. I will go and get the BFF bracelets tomorrow."
Alex laughed. They approached the counter, and the elderly man behind it smiled widely at them.
"Hi, Lori. Who's your new friend?"
"Hey, Rudy. This is Val. She's new in town, so I brought her to the best ice cream place in Wyoming."
The older man winked at her.
"Damn right. Moose tracks again?"
The woman nodded eagerly.
"And what would you like, dear?"
"Rocky road, please."
"Good choice."
As the man went about getting their ice cream, Lori leaned against the counter.
"I thought you had retired, Rudy. Where's your grandson? I can't believe Fern is letting you work."
He grinned at her as he handed over the rocky road ice cream to Alex.
"She's visiting her sister this weekend, so I gave him the weekend off. We won't tell her I'm working tonight."
His mischievous grin made Alex smile.
"I like getting out and seeing the kids get ice cream. Reminds me of the good old days."
Lori smiled at him.
"Well, we miss seeing you around here that's for sure," she thanked him when he handed her her ice cream. "Good to see you again, Rudy."
She paid him and waved, Alex saying her goodbyes as well.
"He seems like a nice man."
"He is. He's a sweetheart," the woman answered. "Come on. There's a bench just over here."
The women sat and ate their ice creams, watching the people go by.
"I can't believe how beautiful it is tonight," Alex observed. "I thought it'd be chilly out."
"No. I mean, if it's windy then it gets cool because of the water, but for the most part, the evenings are warm here."
Alex nodded, eagerly taking another bite of her ice cream.
"God, is everything in this town delicious?"
Lori chuckled.
"We have a lot of privately owned businesses, you know, family run places. These people care about the quality of their products, about the food they're serving, which means they put a lot of effort into what they're serving. It's all really good."
"I'll say," Alex said, taking another big bite of her ice cream. She instantly regretted it when she felt the familiar pain of a brain freeze. "Oh, ow! Ow!"
Lori laughed, but reached out to cup the side of Alex's head. She hoped the warmth of her hand would help soothe the cold.
"Put your tongue to the roof of your mouth. It'll lessen your brain freeze."
Alex did as she was told and felt the cold begin to dissipate. She squeezed her eyes until the pain went away completely. She then opened her eyes and raised her eyebrows, impressed.
"Wow. Where did you learn that?"
"Years of wolfing down ice cream as a teenager. You have to learn tricks to deal with the pain."
"Well, your pain is my gain. Thanks for the tip. Speaking of which, didn't you promise to fill me in on your years of experience at the library? Maybe you can explain to me why the code for the study room only works when you punch it in angrily."
Lori laughed.
"Noticed that too, did you? The "two" sticks, so you have to jam it in order for the code to work. The other numbers you can push normally, but the "2" you have to really press on."
"What about the squeaky shelf in the children's DVDs section?"
"The shelf gets a bit loose sometimes when Jodie rearranges things. Just push on the upper hand corner and it'll settle back into place. It's not going to fall or anything, it just rubs and makes that squeaky noise. You just have to set it back into place."
"What about the cupboard for the items on hold?"
"Close the left side first, then the right. You'll see if you do it that way, it'll close properly."
"Huh."
"Impressed?"
"I am," Alex laughed. "How do you know all this?"
"I've been volunteering there forever. You just learn these things."
"Well thank you for sharing. I'll make sure to ask you when I think of more problem areas."
"You're lucky. I don't share my secrets with just anyone," she said, winking. "So are you up for more walking or are you getting tired?"
Alex was getting tired, but she wasn't ready to end their evening yet. She was enjoying herself.
"I'm not tired," she responded. "I could walk some more."
"Great," Lori said, beaming. She was hoping that the blonde would say that. She took their napkins, now that they had both finished their cones, and threw them into the garbage next to her. She then got up and Alex followed suit. However, the blonde winced, frowning when she felt pain near her toes. She took another step and stopped. Oh, no.
"What?" Lori said, noticing the woman's look.
"I'm an idiot."
"You're not an idiot," she said smiling, walking back over to the blonde.
"Yes, I am. These are brand new boots, and I thought I'd be okay to walk in them for a while. They seemed comfortable, but now that we've stopped…"
"Now your feet are killing you?"
Alex nodded, offering her a pitiful look. Lori couldn't help chuckling at her.
"I will never understand why women do that to themselves. My sister does that all the time," she said, shaking her head. "Take them off."
"I can't just take them off. We're outside."
"Take them off," she repeated, reaching down and taking off her running shoes. "We're going to trade shoes."
"We are not."
"Yes. What size are you?"
"9.5."
"Here," she said, putting her shoes in the woman's hands. Lori was eternally grateful at this moment that she was not someone who had smelly feet. "Wear these. They're 10s. They'll probably fit perfectly now that your feet are swollen."
Alex opened her mouth to argue again.
"Listen. I was raised with two sisters and a mother. I know how to win an argument against a woman. Just put them on and help me feel like a gentleman, alright?"
Alex sighed in defeat. It wasn't like she could turn around and say that she was a lawyer and could win any argument anyway. She leaned over, using Lori's arm for leverage, and yanked at her boot. It took several pulls before it finally came off.
"Oh, God that feels good."
Lori shook her head again.
"Women and their fashion choices," she said, feigning exasperation.
"They're cute," Alex said defensively, slipping on the woman's shoe. "Ugh, but these are so much more comfortable."
Alex groaned in satisfaction as switched sides and removed the other boot, groaning once again when she put on the woman's running shoes. She shyly handed over her boots.
"Thanks," she said sincerely. "I don't want your feet to be sore, though."
"They won't be," Lori responded, tucking the boots under her left arm. She began leading the way back up the boardwalk as she struck up a new conversation. "So, I wanted to show you this garden we have not far from where we parked, but we'll have to walk the boardwalk again and then keep going for another ten or so minutes. Are you up for that?"
Lori stopped when she realised she wasn't being followed.
"Are you coming?"
"You can't walk barefoot outside," Alex stated.
"I'm not barefoot. I'm wearing socks," she said, making her point by holding up her sock covered foot. "But if you're too sore to walk, we can just drive by the garden and I'll show it to you another time. It's really beautiful. Come on, I'll show you."
Alex walked up and held Lori's arm, stopping her from continuing forward.
"Lori, stop. I can't take your shoes if you're going to walk barefoot."
When the blonde reached down to remove a running shoe, Lori grabbed her hand.
"Apparently ignoring you isn't going to work because you're just going to keep protesting," Lori said, her voice light. "Listen. It's not going to kill me to spend a little while walking in my socks. It's a beautiful night, there's no broken glass or rusty nails lying around. I'll be fine. It isn't the first time I've had to swap shoes with a girl who insists on choosing fashion over comfort and I'm sure it won't be the last," she said kindly. "Besides, I hate shoes. I would much rather walk around barefoot, but unfortunately it isn't socially acceptable. Now, I have an excuse to and I even look like a gentleman."
Alex sighed.
"I promise to step over any needles or crack pipes I see laying around, okay?"
Alex tried to fight her smile. Lori was charming if nothing else.
"I feel bad," she admitted.
"Don't. I'm happy to do it. Now are you going to stop complaining and accept my chivalrous move?"
"Yes," she said, finally.
"Good," Lori responded, resuming their walk down the boardwalk. "Women are such a pain in the butt," she muttered jokingly.
Alex gave her a rightly deserved shove, but she smiled when Lori laughed and reached out to gently hold her elbow as they walked.