The bright orange Sprinklez uniform never look more unattractive to me. That kiss with Julian was amazing--it's all that occupied my mind since the barbecue--and I was looking forward to seeing him again. But why did it have to be while wearing this hideous ass shirt?

No amount of tugging or adjusting the collar would miraculously making the shirt more flattering. Besides, he'd be wearing the same thing so it shouldn't matter. Smoothing the invisible wrinkles from the shirt one last time I busied myself with straightening the tiny jars of sprinkles in a straight line.

Our shift at Sprinklez started exactly five minutes ago and Julian wasn't there yet. He usually arrived ten minutes earlier to talk to Bobby as his shift ended. Even Tim was shocked by Julian being late. I didn't have time to worry because two customers came in.

Another fifteen minutes went by before the bell above the door rang again. I looked up to find Julian walking in, his forehead glistening with sweat. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep my smile in check.

Tim emerged from the back room at the same time, surprised to see his best employee finally showed up. "You're late," he said. It was more of an observation than a scolding.

"The car broke down," he said, wiping the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand.

"I knew that thing was going to give out on you one of these days," Tim said with a huff a laughter. He clapped Julian on the shoulder before adding, "Don't worry about it. Get yourself cleaned up and behind that counter. The dinner crowd will be in here soon."

Julian did as he was told before joining me behind the counter. I'd been waiting to see him and now that he was here I didn't know what to say. It was obvious that he was at a loss as well when all he offered was a quick "hi".

We were in this awkward we kissed, now what? place. Neither of us knowing how to take the next step. As the day went on it didn't get any better. It almost seemed to get worse. Like we reverted to two complete strangers. Apologizing every time we accidentally brushed against each other or got in each other's way.

The other night after the kiss we sat in silence. A comfortable silence where we just enjoyed each other's presence. When it was time to go we parted ways with a hug full of uncertainty. Did he start the hug or did? Did he even want to hug me? I spent the last couple of days combing over every detail of that night and still had no idea what it meant.

Sprinklez was pretty busy so I didn't have too much time to dwell on it today. But once our shift ended I couldn't just leave things in this awkward what now phase. Luckily, I had the perfect excuse to talk to him.

"You need a ride?" I asked, after he locked up the store.

His eyes clouded over as he thought about my offer. For a moment I thought he would decline. Then he nodded.

The drive was quite aside from the occasional direction from Julian and the music that played at a low volume. Unlike the night in the park this silence bothered me. There were too many unanswered questions I couldn't keep to myself anymore.

"So," I started, my eyes focused on the red light ahead. "You have fun at the barbecue?"

In my peripheral vision I saw him shift and look at me, a hint of a smile at the corners of his lips like he knew the question I really wanted to ask. My stomach twisted at the look.

"Yeah. I had fun."

"That's good." I nodded, continuing to drive. "I had fun too."

I could still feel his eyes on me. With a stolen glance I saw that he had an amused look on his face. Unable to hold back my own smile I looked at him fully before turning back to the road.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"  I asked, an embarrassed giggle escaping at the same time.

He laughed, adjusting in the seat. "You usually don't shy away from saying what's on your mind," he said. "Now, since we kissed, you're quiet."

We kissed. The words rolled off his tongue so easily. I hadn't been able bring myself to say it out loud. Not that I even had anyone around to say it to. My smile grew wider and I bit my lip between my teeth to keep it from splitting my face in two.

"So, you think you've rendered me speechless?" I teased once I sobered up. He responded to my question with a smirk.

"Take a left at the light."

I followed his direction and took the left. We were entering the neighborhood I'd heard so many dark stories about. I'd only ever been as far as the gas station, but I had an idea of how the rest of the neighborhood looked. Or at least I thought I did.

All I had to go on were movies and tv shows. I expected boarded up windows and houses covered in graffiti. It was dark, but from what I could tell my assumptions were way off.

The houses were crammed so closely along the street it was difficult to tell where one ended and the other began.  There weren't many street lights which left the street almost completely dark. That didn't stop the people playing basketball in the street.

Julian gave off a few more directions which led to a gated apartment complex. He pulled a small remote from his pocket and at the push of a button the gate rattled to life, slowly sliding open. Once the open was wide enough I drove through, parking where he told me.

He unfastened his seatbelt, but made no move to get out of the car so I cut the engine. A few minutes went by, filled with nothing but some distant sirens, a crying child, a tv that was too loud.

"Can I show you something?" He asked, abruptly breaking the silence in the car. I nodded, curiosity taking over. He got out of the car and I followed suit.

He lead me through the parking lot, pass a small playground and a row of mailboxes. I bit back the urge to question where he was taking me, not wanting to disturb this new take charge side of him.

"This way," he said, heading towards a narrow path between a brick wall and one of the apartment buildings. The path was dark save for what little light the moon gave off. A chill ran up my spine at the thought of what could be lurking in the darkness.

Sensing my hesitation Julian held out a hand for me to take. I took a hold of it without a second thought, instantly feeling safer. We headed down the path. With each step the want to ask where we were going grew. This alley put me on edge.

"Is this the part where I find out you're a psycho murderer?" I had to ask, if only to get rid of the eerie silence.

He chuckled, glancing at me over his shoulder. "We're here."

We stopped walking and after a quick survey of the area I realized "here" was still the empty space between the wall an apartment. My brow raised in confusion as I turned my attention back to Julian.

My confusion only grew when he hoisted himself up onto the brick wall, straddling it before reach out his hands for me to take. Again I didn't miss a beat to accept.

Once I was situated as comfortably as one could get sitting on a stone wall I looked out at the view. At first glance all I saw was field full of tall weeds. A second look and I noticed a sunflower unexpectedly standing among the weeds. That's when I saw that field was full of them. The weeds out numbered the flowers, but there were a lot of them, bright yellow and beautiful.

"It's pretty," I said.

He hummed an agreement. My gaze shifted to him. His face was all angles as he stared out at the field, or rather, past it. He seemed to be lost in thought, I wondered if he'd even heard what I said.

"Hey," I nudged him with my elbow to get his attention. "What's up?"

The tension in his shoulders released as he exhaled, looking me in the eye. "We kissed."

"Yeah." I nodded, a smile creeping across my face.

"I've kind of been in a daze ever since," he admitted, his expression matching mine.

I scooted closer to him, resting my head on his shoulder. When he placed he circled his arm around my waist I was able to move in even closer. I wasn't sure how long we'd sat there looking out the vast field and the busy street that was beyond it. Minutes, hours, talking about nothing and everything.

As much as I wanted to we couldn't stay there forever. On the way back to my car, our fingers intertwined, it was hard to believe what was happening. Being with Julian, being on this side of town and feeling completely content.

When we got to my car I could tell he was just as disappointed as I was that the walk didn't take longer.

"We're going to the beach tomorrow," he said, his eyes focused on the ground. "Me, Bobby, Ariel, Bobby's brother, Chris and his girlfriend," he listed off and I waited eagerly for the question. "Do you want--"

"Yes." I suddenly felt embarrassed cutting him off like that. That quickly melted away when he smiled.

"We'll come by and pick you up," he said. Then he leaned in, pressing his lips against my cheek, warming my whole body. "Goodnight," he whispered, lips fluttering against my skin. It was kind of like a to be continued type of kiss, sending a slight shiver through my bones.

The anticipation would be the death of me.