Darius closed his eyes after sampling another flavor. “You cannot rush this kind of process. You have to select the right combination of flavors to create the perfect taste in the bowl.”

“Or you can just get scoops of all the flavors you want separately and we can leave,” Gabriel drawled. Darius had tasted more than half the listed flavors so far and didn’t appear to be any closer to making a decision. Had Gabriel known this would happen, he would’ve skipped it altogether. More people had crowded into the space, and his friend was oblivious to the fact that he was holding up the line. Thankfully, he and Brent hadn’t ordered yet. Otherwise, their ice cream would have already melted. It took Darius another couple of minutes to make his selection, and Gabriel and Brent quickly chose theirs. “Remind me to never go to an ice cream shop with you again.”

Darius merely smiled.

At the house later, they sat outside on Gabriel’s back deck talking.

“This quiet takes some getting used to. I don’t know how you can deal with this.” Brent stood and stared up in the sky. “Although, without all the buildings, you can see just about every star.” He reclaimed his seat. “Are we doing San Francisco tomorrow?”

Gabriel leaned back in his chair. “I was thinking about checking out one of the lakes here, then heading up that way. We can leave around ten.”

“Sounds like a plan, but right now I need to find a bed,” Darius said around a yawn. “I know it’s only nine, but my body is still on East Coast time.”

“I hear you. I think I’m going to turn in, too.” Brent stood. “See you in the morning.”

“Night.” The temperatures had dipped and the cool night air swept over him, but Gabriel opted to stay out for a while longer. His gaze strayed to the fence separating his and Serenity’s homes. He didn’t see a light, and he wondered if she was still up. It had been hard to stay away, and he was tired of fighting it. Pulling out his phone, he scrolled to her name and hit the call button. He had no idea what he would say, but he wanted to hear her voice.

“Hello.”

“Hey, neighbor. Did I wake you?”

Serenity’s soft laughter flowed through the line. “This early? What are you doing calling me instead of entertaining your friends?”

“They’re still on Atlanta time, so they went to bed. What are you doing?”

“Having a me-time night. I took a long bubble bath with candles and gave myself a facial. I try to do it at least once a month.”

Gabriel didn’t hear anything after bubble bath. A vision of her lounging naked in the tub surrounded by bubbles spiked his arousal. He imagined trailing his hands over every inch of her body and—

“Gabriel!”

“What?”