Chapter 74

He laughed. “Never say never. Desperation makes us do crazy things.”

“Jesus.” I closed my eyes and sighed over the subtle, fantastic flavors. Wait, was I sporting wood? I shifted in my seat. Yup, I was.

“You sure you’ll have room for ice cream?” Elias asked as he helped himself to another portion.

“Absolutely! It’s my favorite dessert and the perfect end to this meal.”

Elias smiled.

We finished pretty much everything on the table before I belched my satisfaction. Loudly. “Excuse me,” I said.

“No worries. I take it as a compliment. Help me clean up? We can eat ice cream on the deck on the second floor.”

“Sure.”

It took us fifteen minutes, but eventually, Elias led the way upstairs. It was almost sunset by now, andI could see fireflies below us.

“Man, you hit the jackpot with this place,” I commented as we sat next to each other in comfortable chairs. I had a bowl of mint chocolate ice cream, and he had peanut butter scoops in his.