Tourist season at Lake Wallenpaupack means a break in the monotony of Alexi’s life. They’ve been secretly advertising the ice cream parlor they work at through the Foodspotting app, hoping that will bring even more customers. One such customer is Eli, a recent addition to the area with a bright and open disposition that Alexi is drawn to immediately. And since Eli is demisexual, Alexi welcomes him into their friend group of other queer twenty-somethings.<br><br>The more Alexi gets to know Eli, the more smitten they are. If only they didn’t have crippling self-esteem issues, problems at home with their dad, and enough emotional baggage to fill a freight train. They’re desperate to get out of that rut so they can have space in their heart for someone like Eli. After years of playing a passive role, making the first steps towards change might prove too much for them.

#IceCreamSundae

However, less than half a minute into the silence, a car horn honked somewhere nearby. Eli stamped his foot, not in the celebratory way he had before. “Damnit!” he exclaimed. “Every time…” He sighed. “Okay, sorry, gotta do that again. I need at least a minute of uninterrupted ambience.”


Before Eli could start the next take, Alexi asked, “Are the sounds outside really that loud on the recording?”


“Eh, kinda, and that’s one of the reasons I considered doing this in my recording booth.” Eli gestured towards the front door. “But that’s in the audio files for everything else. I can play around with the levels, cut out a lot of the chatter, I just can’t have dead silence so I have to get something, and I’d rather it not be a loop of the same twenty seconds of something.”


Chapter 14