~Aaron~

I handed the ice cream to Joan, and she gave me a tight, half-hearted smile as I settled next to her on the bench.

She just stared at the ice cream, letting it drip lazily down the cone. I rubbed my hands together, nudging her lightly with my shoulder.

“Hey, what’s going on? You’ve been staring at that cone for a while now. You okay?” I asked, and her beautiful green eyes flicked up to meet mine.

I perked up immediately, searching her ...