Free Old Flames by Davi Rodriguez Page B

with amusement as the group carefully scurried back into the crowd and disappeared once more.
    Only in New York.

II
     
    A PPROACHING the Columbus Circle entrance to Central Park, I couldn’t help but notice how much more peaceful the park seemed when it was covered with a white blanket of December snow. Sure there were still lots of people and you could still hear the honking of the traffic back on the main streets, but something about the park put me at ease. Despite it being cold, I resisted the urge to buy a cup of coffee on my way into the park. It was one less thing I could spill on myself if Brad managed to sneak up on me again.
    As soon as the duck pond was in sight, I began scanning the area, looking for Brad’s trademark pea coat, scarf, and beanie. I’d never forget any of them because they had all been gifts I had given him when we were together—he tended to go through scarves the fastest, always somehow getting them stained with all sorts of crap. Not spotting anybody who looked remotely like Brad by the pond, I began to search the rest of the area around me, slowly smirking as I spotted him on his cell phone, completely oblivious to the outside world.
    Pulling on the cords to tighten my backpack straps, I leaned over, picked up a handful of snow, and immediately began to pack it into a snowball. Walking around Brad, I grinned as I waited for him to finish his conversation and put his phone away.
    And then I struck.
    “Think fast!” I called out as I threw the snowball at Brad’s back, catching his attention and causing him to turn just as the snowball hit him.
    “Hey!” He called out as he brushed himself off and glared at me momentarily until recognition caused his expression to lighten. “AJ?”
    “Who else?”
    “What was that for?”
    “Payback.”
    “Oh, I’ll show you payback!” Brad retorted as he bent over and began to pack a snowball of his own.
    “I’d like to see you try!” I called out as I grabbed a handful of snow and began to run around Brad, my boots clomping against the frozen groundcover. Brad called something out, but I only seemed to be paying attention to the snowball he was preparing to throw at me. Quickly I began to do a series of serpentine movements in an attempt to throw him off, slowing just enough to coax him into throwing. When he did, I swung in the opposite direction, trying to avoid being hit.
    “You missed!” I called out as the snowball sailed past me by mere inches.
    “Oh come on, that’s not fair!” Brad protested just as I pelted a snowball at his body.
    “I’m a cop, since when do I fight fair?” I called back with a hearty laugh as he tried to dodge the snowball, only to get hit in the shoulder. The two of us exchanged warm smiles and, very quickly, I began to notice just how right this felt. To be perfectly honest, it felt like we had never broken up. I felt full once more and quickly found myself wishing that this one moment we were sharing would never end, if only to avoid having to face the possibility that he may not want to get back together. Because if there was anything I knew about Brad Meyers, it was that he could be a very indecisive person.
    And so it went for the better part of a half hour, the two of us running around our little corner of Central Park—yes, we claimed it as ours, since most of the tourists tried to avoid us because they didn’t want to get snowballed. Laughs were had, snowballs were thrown, and smiles were, well, smiled. In fact, the whole thing didn’t end until Brad slipped on a patch of ice and landed flat on his ass, causing me to burst out laughing as I walked over to help him up.
    “You okay?” I asked as I tried to contain myself, Brad’s glare only making me laugh harder.
    “Just fine,” Brad replied sarcastically, taking my hand and pulling himself up. Once he was upright, he began to brush the snow off of his ass with a gloved hand. “A little cold, though.”
    I chuckled before motioning with my