A Dog Named Bear

thirty-six

jay

iris | jay

I find it slightly annoying how pretty she is. Just a tiny bit.

It seems like I was unable to look at anything but her. She made me feel like a fool, in the best ways, and she didn't even realize.

She still has on a bright smile, even after I completely screwed up on our date. "Favorite flavor of ice cream?" she taps out on her phone.

"Chocolate?" I say. Personally, I didn't have a favorite flavor. They were all good. However, I did know that chocolate was the one Kaia loved the most, and her choices usually ended being mine.

Iris laughs. "Me too! Although, lavender ice cream is good too."

"Isn't lavender a flower?" I ask, confused.

She shakes her head at me, chuckling. "Yes. It's also an ice cream flavor." Suddenly, her eyes light up. "There it is!"

I feel her grabbing my hand to pull me towards the small shop, and my heart immediately starts speeding up. If we hadn't been nearly running, I'm certain that Iris would've been able to hear its loud thuds.

The moment we enter the shop, an employee hurries up to greet us, a large smile on their faces. "Welcome to Sunny Side Up! What can I get you today?"

I glance over at Iris to see her typing something on her phone. "One large bowl of chocolate ice cream," I read before pausing. "One?"

"We can share," she signs, and I feel proud of myself for knowing what she was saying. Another rush of happiness rushes over me when I realize that we'll be sharing out of the same bowl. So in a way, that counted as an indirect kiss?

Yep. This decides it. I'm truly an idiot.

"Yeah, we would like one large bowl of chocolate ice cream," I say, pleased to see that the employee's expression hadn't changed, despite seeing Iris sign.

"Alright!" She leads us to the back while my hand finds its way back to Iris's. "Have you two been together long?"

I shake my head. "We've technically only been together for one day," I say.

"Oh! Well, you two look cute together," she says with a laugh. The lady tosses a smile at Iris. "You're really pretty, by the way."

Immediately, Iris blushes. "Than-" She starts signing before stopping to grab her phone. "Thank you."

"Of course." The employee proceeds to scoop an unholy amount of ice cream into a bowl until I wasn't even sure how it wasn't falling. She seems proud of herself as she surveys her work. "That'll be $4.49!"

"Are you sure there's supposed to be that much?" I ask skeptically.

She answers without missing a beat, "Yes. Definitely."

Beside me, Iris giggles and reaches out to take the overflowing bowl. "Thank you," she mouths and the cashier gives another beaming smile.

"Of course! Have a good first date!" the girl calls out as we go to take a seat at a small table next to the window. The sun was setting outside, the golden hues setting Iris's brilliant hair on fire.

"She's nice," Iris signs, her eyes darting back to the cashier. Happiness radiates off of her and wraps around me with the squeeze of a comforting hug. "Also, this is so freaking good."

I nod in agreement. "How do you sign ice cream?"

If Iris could get happier, she did. It was strange knowing that such small things made her glow, and it made me feel even stranger knowing that I was someone who could make her do that.

I concentrate as she shows me how, doing my best to copy her motions. I try to talk to her in sign, while she watches me, amused. Occasionally, she would fall into peals of laughter before correcting me.

"Yes, you are for sure a fish," she types out after one of my sentences.

Rolling my eyes, I move over to sit next to her. The sun was no longer visible in the sky. Only the faint hues of light blue tinted the sky.

Iris sighs and leans her head against my shoulder. "This is the best first date ever," she signs lazily.

I murmur in agreement. That statement was definitely true.

She looks tired, and I suddenly realize how late it was. "Do you want to go back home?"

"Not yet. I want to take you somewhere," she writes. "I couldn't let you be doing all the work."

I laugh. "Well, my idea did fail, you know," I say. "Where'd you want to go?"

"It's a secret." Iris seems so pleased with herself that I can't help but laugh.

"I deserved that, didn't I?"

"Definitely."

. . .

this is a mess.

thank you so much for reading! if you enjoyed, please vote, leave a comment and i'll see ya later!

~ Jells ♥