Josh pays again.
“You can’t keep doing that,” I say. “I’m supposed to be paying for this.” Honestly, he can’t have much money to spare, living in his dad’s basement, drawing comics.
“Don’t worry about it.”
He holds open the door for me, and I shiver as we step back out onto the sidewalk. It’s freezing. I turn back toward the shop—there were two barstools inside after all. But Josh shakes his head.
“Ah ah, the whole point is to walk and eat.”
He takes a bite off the side of his ice cream scoop. I lick mine. There are bright green bits of lime zest mixed into the ice cream. It’s tart and sweet on my tongue. It’s delicious, but my lips start to feel like they’re going numb.
“Never again will I suggest eating ice cream when it’s below freezing. This is probably my worst idea ever.” I give an involuntary shiver and the icecream cone shakes in my hand.
“It’s g-g-good,” says Josh.
And I laugh, because he’s literally shaking so hard he can’t talk. He takes another big bite of the chocolate ice cream. Apparently, he’s a biter/nibbler, not a licker.
“Keep moving, it’ll keep you warm,” he says.
We start walking north, toward Central Park. The wind has picked up and the night is really, really chilly.
Josh looks over at me. “Your lips are turning blue.”
“It’s the price you pay.” I take another lick.
He takes a huge bite of his cone and then drops the last bit in the trash. I look at my ice cream and back at the trash can. I should throw it away, it’s too cold, but…
“Here. I’ll fix it,” Josh says. He unzips his down-filled coat and holds it open.
“What?”
“Get in here.”
He’s got that laughing spark in his eyes. I step up close to him, so close I can feel the heat coming off his chest, then he wraps his down-filled jacket around me.
“Now you can eat your ice cream.”
I lean into his warmth and take a long lick of my cone. “Mmm. That’s good.”
“That’s what they all say,” Josh says.
I laugh and keep licking my ice cream. It’s actually really, really nice standing in the warm, insulated stillness of Josh’s arms. He looks down at me with an amused expression on his face as I gulp down my ice cream cone.
“It’s sort of horrifying how you devour all those gummy bears,” he jokes.
I lick my lips and grin at him. Looking up at his wry expression, I realize that this is the perfect ending to the day. There was so much pressure, so much potential stress, but having Josh with me, and then ending with pizza and ice cream…it’s like he knew I needed this, needed to keep everything light. I pop the last of the cone in my mouth and crunch down on the sweetness. Then I wipe my mouth and look expectantly at Josh. He smiles at me.
“Good?”
I nod. “You know what, you’re a really good guy.”
He hums an acknowledgment.
“Thank you again. For agreeing to be my donor.” And because it feels safe, and sort of like we’re friends sharing secrets in the quiet hush of the night I say, “I’m so glad you came.”
“It’s no big deal.” He frowns and opens up his jacket for me to step out of.
“Right.” I step back and shiver at the wind and the chill.
I look around and check the cross streets. We’re not far from my apartment, maybe a ten-minute walk. “Do you want to come up to my place and have some coffee before you catch the train?”
Josh gives me a funny look. “For what?”
I shake my head, confused at his question, then I remember what he said at the New Year’s Party. I don’t think we should have sex, Gemma.
I flush and start walking. “I just figured you might want some coffee before a long train trip back north. No big deal.”
“Okay, sure.”
I look over at him in surprise. “Really?”
“Really.”
Josh’s phone starts to chirp. He frowns and pulls it out of his pocket. The display says Dylan. My brother. Josh sends it to voicemail and pops it back in his pocket.
“You can answer it,” I say.
Josh shrugs, but then the phone starts to ring again. He pulls it out. Dylan’s calling again. He looks at me and I gesture for him to answer.
“What’s up?”
I hear Dylan on the other end but can’t make out what he’s saying.
“No, I’m in the city.”