Free Hidden Gem Short Story Collection (9781301405985) by India Lee

to his question made his heart jump.
    “ Okay,” he laughed,
knowing it was a strange way to reply to her professed fandom. “I’m
just gonna be honest and say I’m not used to my fans being so…
chill.” She furrowed her brows in mild confusion before laughing
with him. Sophie put her spoon down on her empty plate, putting a
hand to her stomach.
    “ Oof, I’m shameless,”
Sophie said. “I finished before you even started. Why aren’t you
eating? Do you want something else, maybe?”
    “ No, this is fine,” Tyler
picked up his spoon with a perfect bite of tart and ice cream
sitting on it. “I was just too busy playing unnecessary detective
to get to it.” Sophie laughed, heartily. The motion made the rays
of sunshine dance across her hair, her eyes, her shamelessly toothy
smile. Tyler put the spoon in his mouth, his eyes still on
her.
    As soon as it hit his tongue, he felt the
warm, buttery pastry dough meld with the caramelized apples. Small
crystals of sugar burst over his taste buds before disappearing
into the creaminess of the vanilla ice cream. It had looked so
simple to put together, that he hadn’t expected the remarkable
sensation he was now feeling over what was essentially four or five
ingredients.
    “ What do you think?”
Sophie asked, shyly. Tyler tried not to crumple in his chair,
overwhelmed by the delectable pastry that had been specially made
for him by an equally delectable girl.
    “ It’s really good,” Tyler managed to say,
even though what he really wanted to say was that in that second,
he was happier than he had been in as long as he could
remember.
    Suddenly, his phone rang,
shaking him from his moment. He sighed, trying not to sound too
disappointed as he reached for the phone. Mike.
    “ Hey man,” Tyler
answered.
    “ Where are you?” Mike
sounded confused. Tyler could hear the sound of some sort of video
game in the background.
    “ I, uh,” Tyler looked up
at Sophie. “I was running errands.”
    “ Errands?” Mike laughed.
“What errands? When have you run your own errands ever? Seriously.
Where are you? Why would you just bounce without saying anything? I
am trained to
immediately assume you’ve been kidnapped or some shit if you pull
that kind of thing, you know? And you took the car! We’re supposed
to be heading to the city in an hour.”
    “ I’ll be back soon,” Tyler
replied. “Or now. I’ll come back now.” He hopped off the stool,
hanging up and replacing the phone in his back pocket before
pulling out a couple tens. He folded them in half, awkwardly
slipping it under his barely touched plate. Sophie squinted at him,
stepping off the stool and standing beside him.
    “ You’re
leaving?”
    “ Yeah, sorry,” Tyler said.
“But thank you for the food. It was incredible. And sorry. For your
collarbone, the cancelled concert, pissing off your grandpa last
night – all that – so sorry.”
    He ran out the door before she could say
anything in reply.
    ~
    It was almost a six-hour
drive from their cabin in Vermont to Tyler’s pied-à-terre in Manhattan. Mike had
called up some of their old friends in the city to get an impromptu
party going and ready upon their arrival. Tyler hated the idea, but
he kept his mouth shut once again, appreciating Mike’s effort to
create a convivial environment for them wherever they
went.
    “ I had a lot of fun up in
Vermont,” Tyler said, breaking the silence in the back of the car.
“I really appreciate you putting that together for me.” Mike
cracked a sleepy but happy smile. Perhaps Tyler didn’t express his
appreciation often enough.
    “ I kind of thought you
were having a shit time,” Mike replied. “I forget how Rufus and
Moss can be. Probably wasn’t the type of relaxation you were
looking for.”
    “ No, no,” Tyler shook his
head. “I really did have fun. Ultimately.” He laughed.
    “ Yeah?” Mike raised an
eyebrow. “But no thanks to me, I’m assuming.”
    “ What? Why would you