The minute I set foot inside the ice cream parlor, Mr. Ricci came out from behind the counter with a huge wide smile dancing on his lips, and extended his arms out to pull me into a hug.

"My Zoey!" His accent couldn't be more Italian. My lips curled upwards and I hugged him back. "How are you, my little super stella?"

Super stella was an endearing nickname he always called me, referring to my outstanding performances at the swimming competitions.

"I'm good...Craving my raspberry special." I smirked. "What about you, Mr. Ricci?"

"I'm good, as always." He said with a sparkle in his eyes and a fierceness in his movements. "I heard you beat everyone's timing in the last competition."

"Guilty as charged." I threw my hands up in defeat, admitting the true claims.

"That's my super stella!" His wide grin was battling his mustache. "Go join your friend over there and I'll be right back with your special."

He went behind the counter to prepare my dessert, and, from where I was standing, I searched the room, trying to spot Kyle, who I was meeting with at Frozen Amore this afternoon.

There he was. Corner booth, on the right side of the parlor. Just behind the group of young teenagers who were celebrating a birthday.

I walked towards the table and sat down across from my best friend.

"You couldn't find a larger table for us?" I sarcastically asked, referring to the multiple-seat booth he was sitting at.

"The guys are meeting us here." I nodded in realization. "Well, Chloé and Harper as well, but I think that's just implied, you know?" He said before taking the straw to his mouth and taking a sip of his chocolate milkshake.

"Oh, okay then."

"I asked you to meet me here earlier because I have to talk to you about something."

I studied his face for a minute, in silence, and was able to tell right away that something was up. "Shoot."

"I like Carter. A lot." He started, sounding every bit as direct and honest as his personality.

I tried to conceal my knowing smile. "I hate to break it to you, but that's not surprising to me. Or anyone, for that matter."

"Yeah, well... It wasn't that surprising to me either. Or Carter." His blue eyes smiled, as they looked into mine. "He likes me too."

"Again, can't say I'm surprised."

So far, so good. I couldn't really see where he was going with this and why the need to sound so serious about something that seemed to be amazing news.

Mr. Ricci interrupted us for a second to serve me my raspberry special. The three of us exchanged smiles and once the Italian man turned in his heels and left, I picked up the spoon.

"I get your point, alright?" He sounded a tiny bit mad. "Can you just... hear me out?"

Sensing the tone and thinking that this was probably more than just admitting that he liked Carter, I quit with the sarcastic comments and, with a serious expression on my face, I nodded and waited for him to continue.

"I came out to him as bissexual."

Oh, so Carter didn't know.

"And?" I asked, knowing all too well from the look on my best friend's face that Carter's reaction wasn't what Kyle had expected.

"And..." Kyle's wheels started turning in his head as he was probably reliving the moment in his head, and while he thought of the right way to tell me. "He freaked out a little."

"What?" I said, probably a little too loud. "Isn't he gay?"

"Yes."

"Well, then... he shouldn't freak out about you telling him you're bissexual." I deadpanned. "What'd he say to you?"

"He said that he's uncomfortable with dating bissexuals." When I shot him a questioning look, he furthered Carter's side of the story. "Because, he doesn't feel safe dating a person who can easily fall in love with someone from another gendre."

"That's so old fashioned!" I really tried, but I simply could not keep that comment in.

"I think he's just got some insecurities, you know?" I nodded, silently. But inside, my heart was shattering into a million pieces for the guy sitting across from me. Kyle was the sweetest, kindest person I know. His sexual orientation should not be the reason he's looking at me with sad eyes right now, as if the rug had been pulled from under his feet.

"Putting myself in his shoes, I guess I can see where he's coming from. When we met and started hanging out, he assumed I was gay 'cause I never hid the fact that I was into him."

"Yeah but he also should not have assumed your sexuality!" I threw back, my blood starting to boil, slowly.

"I know." A pause. "But he did." Kyle finished the milkshake in front of him, the sound of him sucking on small bubbles that rest at the bottom of the cup filled the dead silence.

"What makes me mad is that he's got a wrong idea about bissexuals. Being bissexual does not mean falling in love with two people at once, one from each genre." A beat. "When I idenitify as bissexual, I identify as someone who's attracted to both girls and boys, but I only love the person I'm dating, the person that I am actually interested in."

I nodded in agreement, totally following his train of thought. "What are you gonna do about it?"

"I explained that to him. Told him that he'd have nothing to worry about because I like him and no one else."

"And?" I asked, lowkey afraid of what was coming.

"Carter said he still wants us to have a chance because he really likes me, but..." He shrugged. "He said he's always going to feel insecure."

"Kyle, I am so sorry."

"Thank you." My best friend showed me a smile so fake that not even his talent could hide it.

I was halfway done with the raspberry special that Mr. Ricci had prepared for me when I heard a loud sound coming from the entrance of the ice cream store. I looked in its direction and noticed our friends, walking in talking to each other out loud and bolting out some laughs.

Kyle and I scotteched to the corner to let them in and Carter sat next to my best friend while Harper sat next to me. The seating only allowed three people each side so, Chloé sat on Ben's lap, next to my cousin, and Noah took a seat next to our latino friend.

They ordered what they wanted - mostly milkshakes and frozen yogurt -, and after eating, they were ready to leave. Today's plan was to go to a skate park closeby where Carter was teaching us all how to skateboard as borderline professionals, what he considered himself to be.

"Hey guys," Noah started, placing his hand on top of mine, stopping me in my tracks. "I kind of needed to talk to Zoey here. You can just go ahead, we'll catch up with you."

Confused, I sat back down on the fluffy seat.

We hadn't seen each other since the New Year's party at Chloé's place. As a group, our dynamic was the same. However, Noah's demeanor had changed. And if I had to guess, I'd say it had something to do with the kiss.

The kiss that I couldn't stop thinking about everytime I closed my eyes when I went to bed at night.

"I want to take you out on a date." Noah blurted out.

"What?"

"I want to take you out on a date." He repeated, echoing his own words while I stood still, frozen in my seat.

"I-I...Why?"

"I like hanging out with you." He shrugged, but I knew that couldn't be the only reason.

"You hang out with me all the time." I reasoned out loud. "With the guys."

"Exactly. With the guys. But I like it when we hang out alone, just the two of us."

My mouth opened and closed itself several times. I wanted something to come out, some words, but my brain was unable to process anything after he dropped the D word.

"Do I have to draw you a map, Zoey?"

"Fine. I'll drop by Slices of Heaven tonight."

I had never been asked out on a date. Never. Mostly because I am standoffish and refrain from befriending anyone. Damn, I never had friends other than Kyle or Harper for my entire life until I met Noah and his friends.

So to say I was definitely screwing this up, was the understatement of the century.

Noah gave me a look. A look that basically screamed "What the hell are you talking about?". His thick, black eyebrows furrowed and his mouth opened, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

"Um, no." He said, bluntly.

"I'm sorry, I've never been asked out on a date so, I don't even know what I was supposed to answer."

"You've never been asked out on a date?"

"What part of I am antisocial haven't you got yet?"

He sighed, taking his fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose before talking again. "No, a date is not you dropping by where I work. A date is when neither of us is working or studying or practicing and we're just... with each other. We talk, we get to know each other better."

He inched himself towards me, across the table, and bent down his head so that he was whispering into my ear as close as possible. "I try to woo you, you pretend to hate it when deep down you'll love it."

"Easy there, lover boy." I rested the palm of my hand against his chest and pushed him back, earning a chuckle from him. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking of a picnic at the beach. I'll bring my pizzas 'cause I know you love them. Some drinks," He stopped to add, "Non alcoholic, of course. And some dessert."

"Keep going." I said softly, liking where this was going but hating myself for slightly admitting it.

"I thought we could go at the end of the day to still catch the sun setting."

When I didn't say anything, he shrugged. "I know how much you like it."

* * *

author's note: my heart is breaking for kyle but also so happy for my girl zoey 💗

anyway... thoughts on what's happening?! don't be shy and let me know!

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xoxo, mars