I Am Keeley

Chapter 21: Tutti Frutti

***This is a flashback chapter! I know, if you're anything like me, they can be really annoying. However, this chapter is crucial to the story and expands on important relationships. This isn't a super long chapter like the others, almost 6,00 words, but there is a little bonus at the end you won't want to miss. Happy Reading!***

Keeley's POV (4 years ago)

"You sure you don't want to spend today together? We don't get that many days off of base, Sweetness," Brady's hoarse voice asked me as we walked down the boardwalk. We only get a few days off of base per month, and normally, Lexi, Alice, Brady, Dylan, and I would do something as a group. But today marked two years since my mother died in my arms, and it's also been exactly eight months since I've received my last letter from Callan. I  wasn't really in the mood to socialize.

"I'm sure, Brady. You four go have fun. I'm going to get some ice cream and just think for a while," I tell him reassuringly. Plus, if I really needed to, I could kick anybody's ass, even if I only am fourteen.

"Okay, Sweetness," he said while pulling me into his side and kissing the top of my head. "Have fun and meet us back at the car at 5."

"I will."

I watch him as he walks away towards the rest of the group. They burst out into a fit of laughter as soon as they hit the sand, and for a brief moment, I dare think about joining them. I quickly push the idea away and decide I just needed a day to myself.

It feels weird to be in shorts and a plain t-shirt as I walk down the boardwalk and towards my favorite ice cream place. I'm not used to being so casual, and the fact I had decided to go back to being my natural blonde made me feel vulnerable.

I had died my hair black for as long as I could remember. Anything I could do to make me look like I actually fit in with my family, I did. I had scrapped the blue contacts a while ago, but the black hair was my safety net. After weeks and months of having someone strip my hair of the die and cutting off a better portion of it, it was back to the almost white-blonde I had as a kid. It barely reached my collar bone, and although different, I kind of liked it.

I entered Bella's, which was by far the best place on the boardwalk. They were the only people it seemed in the whole state of Virginia to carry my favorite flavor, Tutti Frutti, which was basically a fruitcake in ice cream form.

The bell chimed overhead as I entered the parlor and took in a deep breath. The smell of waffle cones and chocolate fudge filled my nose. The place itself looked like a small cafe you would see in Paris with small, black tables and chairs, the pink accents, the ice cream case. I walked up to the counter and ordered two scoops in a bowl before paying.

I didn't pay much attention to the other customers or the bell chiming overhead as I grabbed my ice cream and smiled to myself. I took a spoonful in my mouth before turning around, making sure to savor the creamy, fruity goodness. But my satisfaction was cut short the moment I was facing the other direction.

"Shit!" I yelled as I ran right into a complete stranger. Tutti Frutti exploded from the cup, and my mouth, and all over me and the stranger. I couldn't even move as I stared at what was my lunch soaked into the guy's shirt in front of me. Neither of us spoke, and when it finally kicked in we were both standing here slowly becoming sticky messes, I looked up and met the stranger's face.

I was taken back at the near sight of the guy in front of me. Tutti Frutti was splattered onto his face, but it was more than that that caught me off guard: he had to be one of the most attractive people I'd ever met. Maybe not the cover of a magazine attractive, but in a way that you just can't look anywhere but him.