Falling Slowly

Pt.2|Ch.4

•••••Austyn's Perspective

"Josh, please slow down!" I begged, calling after him as he bolted down the mall's walkway.

"I can't!" He shouted back. "Your mom said she'd buy me a cookie if I won three games of solitaire in a row and I am not throwing away my shot!"

Sighing, I followed after him, ignoring the strange looks that passersby gave us.

Somehow, he managed to sprint from the front entrance to where the rest of our group was waiting at 'Blue Chip'.

"There he is," my mom laughed. "Alright, choose your cookie."

Josh began jumping up and down excitedly as he surveyed the menu. "Do you have chocolate?" He asked the cashier, who looked like a girl in her late teens.

She nodded. "Yeah, we have chocolate."

He stopped jumping and leaned closer to her, narrowing his eyes. "How much chocolate?"

She mirrored his actions. "Lots of chocolate."

"What's the chocolate-iest thing you have?"

She glanced back at the menu. "That would be the triple chocolate cookie."

"I don't think he needs that much sugar." Sky spoke up cautiously.

Josh shot him a glare. "I don't answer to you." He said pridefully. "In case you forgot, I became a man today after winning three games of solitaire in a row."

Sky rolled his eyes. "I'm just worried about you regretting it later. You know, when it's one a.m. and you can't sleep?"

"Who do you think I am? Your son?"

"I mean, you kind of are..." Ben mumbled, earning him a slap from an irritated redhead.

"Skyler, don't hit." Aiden reprimanded him in a calm tone.

Josh turned his attention back to the cashier. "Can I get the triple chocolate one please?"

"Sure." She nodded, typing his order into the computer. "Wait," she stopped, glancing up at him. "Do you want frosting on that?"

His eyes got wide. "Do you have chocolate frosting?"

"Mhm."

Josh looked back at Sky. "Can I have it?"

"Oh, now you ask me?"

"How about this," Aiden proposed, "you get the cookie, but you only eat half of it today. Is that a fair deal?"

He nodded rapidly. "Yes, mom!"

Sky frowned at her. "How come he listens to you?"

She pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Because I'm cool and you aren't."

He looked down at his shoes. "Ouch."

"Alright," the cashier handed Josh his cookie with a napkin. "There you go."

"Yay!" He smiled, beginning to munch on it joyfully while my mom paid for it.

Aiden made eye contact with me, and I knew we were thinking the same thing: 'He's so cute.'

Someone began softly tugging on my hair, drawing my attention away from Joshua and his cookie.

"Hi," Ben said when I acknowledged his presence.

"Hi," I replied with a light laugh. "Was I neglecting you?"

He gave me a fake pout and set his chin atop my shoulder. "Mhm,"