We talked for a long time after the meal was over. The waitress brought us an unsolicited dessert menu when we finished, and I surprised myself by saying, “Wow… I can’t believe how much I want gelato right now. That never happens.” Maybe the sweat and heat had leached my nutrients… or maybe I still had Adrian on the brain.

“I’ve never heard you order dessert,” said Brayden, sliding his menu away. “It’s not too much sugar?”

It was another of those weird statements of his that could be interpreted a number of different ways. Was he judging me? Did he think I shouldn’t have any sugar? I didn’t know, but it was enough for me to close the menu and set it on top of his.

With no other scheduled forms of entertainment for the night, we decided to just go for a walk after dinner. The temperature was down to moderate levels, and it was still light enough out that I wasn’t as concerned about the Warriors of Light jumping out from corners. That didn’t mean I ignored Wolfe’s teachings, however. I still kept an eye on my surroundings, watching for anything suspicious.

We reached a small park that only took up one city block and found a bench in the corner. We sat down on it, watching children play on the opposite side of the lawn while we continued a discussion on bird watching in the Mojave. Brayden put his arm around me as we talked, and eventually, we exhausted the topic and simply sat in comfortable silence.

“Sydney…”

I turned my gaze from the children, surprised at Brayden’s uncertain tone, which was very different from the one he’d just been using to defend the superiority of the mountain bluebird over the western bluebird. There was softness in his eyes now as he looked at me. The evening light made his hazel eyes take on a little more gold than usual but completely hid the green. Too bad.

Before I could say anything, he leaned forward and kissed me. It was more intense than the last one, though still a long ways from the epic, all-consuming kisses I’d seen in movies. He did rest his hand on my shoulder this time, gently bringing me a little closer. The kiss also lasted longer than previous ones, and I again tried to let myself go and lose myself in the feel of someone else’s lips.

He was the one who ended it, a bit more abruptly than I would’ve expected. “I—I’m sorry,” he said, looking away. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why not?” I asked. It wasn’t so much that I’d been yearning for the kiss as it was that this seemed exactly like the kind of place you’d want to kiss: a romantic park at sunset.

“We’re in public. It’s kind of vulgar, I suppose.” Vulgar? I wasn’t even sure if we were really all that much in public, seeing as no one was next to us and we were in the shade of some trees. Brayden sighed with dismay. “I guess I just lost control. It won’t happen again.”