Her Melting Point

A Blast from the Past

"Stephen..."

She wanted to joke, and say something clever like 'Of all the gin joints.' Instead, an unusually intense head rush, first, made her wince away from him, and then even take a small step back. The underside of her jaw and her neck flushed, tingling unpleasantly.

The man smiled - and it's like the last ten years never happened. He was dressed in a pale pink button-up, just as he used to fancy then. Its excellent cut emphasised his physique: he appeared a few stones heavier than before; his arms even more muscular; his torso simply triangular. The crew cut was new; he used to have his hair braided.

"Hi," she said and stumbled back, awkwardly trying to put more distance between them.

"How are you in Fleckney?" he asked. He looked her over amicably; and she immediately thought that she'd aged so poorly compared to him. "Are you just visiting– Careful!" he cried out, his hand flying up towards her.

Jackie started turning around, to see what was behind her, and to catch herself - and her tote smacked a person standing in the queue near her. She jerked, trying to compensate - and suddenly she landed on the floor, pain exploding in her tailbone and her right ankle.

Stephen shifted towards her, his hand still outstretched. People moved around, someone asked if she was OK. She was almost disoriented from her embarrassment. Even her ears were now ringing, and she pressed her hand to her forehead.

"I'm– I'm OK, I just–" she mumbled - and suddenly a pair of dark eyes was in front of her.

"Jackie. Are you alright?" the stranger asked tersely.

A strong warm hand wrapped around her forearm, picking her up.

"C'mon, let me help you," the same person said.

Jackie obeyed, still feeling out of sorts. When she rose, another pang shot through her ankle; and she hissed.

"I think she twisted–" Stephen started.

"I'll take care of it," the man, supporting her, said sharply. "We apologise for the inconvenience," he addressed the customers around him. "Please proceed to the counter to pick up your orders. Ice cream tends to melt at room temperature."

His deadpan joke was met with a few laughs from the people around them.

"Milly, please, offer everyone a discount voucher for their next visit," he commanded an employee who was hovering nearby.

The one called Milly nodded and dashed to the counter. Jackie stared at the side of his head. He had an unruly mane of dark waves, while the sides and the back were close-trimmed, matching his short beard, which was more of a 5 o'clock shadow.

"Alexander," she realised.

He turned and met her eyes. She didn't remember him being that tall back then - and that wide in the shoulders! He'd been such a dangly teen. He must have bulked up after she'd seen him last. The impassive expression was the same, though. She should've recognised the lacklustre blue irises.

"Could I take you to the back?" he asked. "I can check your ankle, I'm a certified first-aider."

"No, no, it's alright!" she exclaimed. "I twist it all the time, it's really nothing!"

She placed her weight on the foot - and she could see that she hadn't managed to hide her wince from him.

"Da!" A small boy popped up next to Stephen. "Our ice-cream's ready! Oh, what's up?"

Jackie tensed. The boy had Stephen's eyes and kinky hair.

"Give me a moment, Lee," Stephen said curtly, without looking at the little'un. "Jackie, let me take you to the surgery. It's your old injury, innit?"