Summer at Sprinkles

[usagi froggy]

Leo wasn't the sort of guy you'd expect to work at a place like Sprinkles. Strong jaw, piercing eyes, well toned muscles. He seemed like he should be on the cover of a magazine than behind the counter of a local ice cream parlor. He had only been working here a day, and he already hated it. Tedium combined with looking stupid was a recipe for awfulness. His eyes were glazed over, so uninterested in the monotony of taking orders and scooping ice cream. It was like a ritual at this point. 


He was thrown out of his groove, however, when he heard the little bell on the door jingle. Normally, he couldn't care less about the person entering the parlor, but it was different this time. The only saving grace about this craphole of a job was the manager's cousin: Stephanie Carter. 


She was one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen, and had the sweetest personality. He nodded his head up, greeting her. "Hey, Steph," he said from across the room.


@AvianJen

 

[AvianJen]

Stephanie walked in to work on her phone, responding to a text message from Max.  She loved him, or at least she was under the impression that she was in love, but sometimes he really didn't understand that she couldn't get out of work at the drop of a hat.  Especially not when the manager was her cousin and completely up in her personal life.  Jennifer wasn't a mean person...she was just a little tough, and had the tendency to take it out on everyone else when she had a bad day.  The only problem was, it seemed like most of her days were bad days.


She finished typing up her text and sent it before shoving her phone into the back pocket of her shorts, glancing up at the sound of her name.  She met Leo's eyes and smiled, waving as she came behind the register to clock in.  "Hey," she said pleasantly, putting her purse under the register and signing in.  "How's it going?"  She glanced up and looked the place over.  There weren't many people in the place and there wasn't anyone in the line, but it was still early in the day.  The crowds wouldn't start coming in until around noon.  With a sigh, Stephanie turned around and leaned against the counter, looking at Leo.  He really did look out of place in here- it was almost comical, a big guy like him wearing the light blue t-shirt decorated with a smiling ice cream cone.  She smirked, tugging on her braid and turning back around.  How he'd ended up here, she had no idea.


"Did Jennifer finish your training?" she asked casually.  "She said I was supposed to do it if she didn't have the time.  Though I don't think I'd be much help," she joked.  Steph was notoriously bad at explaining things, and constantly got confused at the cash register despite working here for the past two summers.

 

[usagi froggy]

He couldn't help smiling back as their gazes met. He knew it was corny, but he found himself getting lost in her deep, blue eyes, just for a minute, leaving an awkward pause between her question and his answer. "It's goin' alright, I suppose," he shoved his hands in his pockets, "for having a sh-" he stopped himself from calling his job "shitty" in front of customers. He was kind of proud of himself for that one. "For it being so hot outside. Feels like an oven, right?" he asked, taking his hands out of his pockets. 


He shook his head, "Nah, not yet. She said she'd do it later it's no big deal." His mind immediately changed, when Stephanie offered to do it. Anything that gave him time to spend with her was worth it, "But if you can do it, that's cool, too. I mean, it's whatever, right?" he said, a short, breathy laugh coming from his mouth. It was weird. he had never felt this way with a girl before, so why was he acting like this around Stephanie?

 

[AvianJen]

Stephanie tilted her head, watching him.  Why was he looking at her like that?  She bit her lip awkwardly to keep from smiling too much, awaiting his reply.  "Nice save," she commented with a laugh.  "Can't beat that minimum wage life, right?  I'm glad we're in an ice cream parlor where it's cooler."  It was something like a million degrees outside, at least according to Stephanie.  She didn't do well in the heat and much preferred to bundle up in blankets and scarves in the winter than suffer through the summer, even though it didn't get too terribly cold here.  She was dressed for the sun, in a pair of sandals and white shorts that stood out against tanned skin, her long blonde hair braided to the side to keep it off of her neck.  Jennifer had also given her permission to cut her Sprinkles shirt in the front so that it formed a V neckline and didn't suffocate her as much.  It helped, but when she stepped outside it was still unbearable.  


Stephanie shrugged.  "I don't mind, I mean, you seem to have a pretty good handle on things.  It's fairly self-explanatory.  Did you have any questions about anything?"  Working behind the counter was a two-person job; one person to scoop the ice cream and one to work the register.  Steph preferred the register because the ice cream was difficult to scoop sometimes, but there wasn't much to it.  "Are you going to the party on the beach tonight?" she asked, making conversation while there was nothing else to do.  There were beach parties almost every weekend it seemed, each with more drinking and rowdiness than the last.  It wasn't exactly her scene, but Max was twenty-one and promised he would buy her a margarita if she went with him.

 

[usagi froggy]

His smile got wider as she complimented him, nodding slowly, "Yeah, it's better than working outside, I guess. I feel sorry for all those poor guys working out at the hot dog stand or whatever." he muttered. While he didn't really like the beach in the summer, Leo still managed to tan easily, somewhat noticeable tan lines had formed around his waist and thighs since the summer had began. He didn't mind heat in general, though, and definitely preferred it to winter. The cold made him miserable. Everything was all shriveled up, and it felt like everyone was cooped up inside, leaving the world with an empty feeling.


Leo thought for a second as she questioned him. He wanted to think of something he didn't understand, but that would probably just make him look like a dumbass, "I guess not. Job's simple enough. just wasn't sure if there were any "magical secrets" or anything that Jen hadn't told me." he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. There was an awkward couple of minutes of silence as the two stood behind the counter, Leo laying on the glass hood that protected the ice cream from the grubby hands of the customers that came in. His attention turned back to Stephanie as she mentioned a party. Now that peaked his interest. He hadn't been to a party since he had gotten back, and he was dying to have some fun, "I am now. I didn't even know one was going on. How about you?"

 

[AvianJen]

Stephanie laughed, nodding.  "Oh, yeah.  That must be hell.  I always thought it would be torture to be a lifeguard or something, sitting at the edge of the water but never actually getting to get in, you know?  Unless someone is dying."  She laughed again, shaking her head.  When she wasn't working, Stephanie practically lived on the beach.  She didn't like being hot, but on the nice days there was as lovely breeze, and the water was always cool.  She loved walking along the shoreline in the early morning hours, collecting seashells and watching the sun rise above the ocean.  It was beautiful and peaceful, and hardly anyone else was out at that hour.


She nodded in agreement when he said that the job was simple.  "Yeah, there's not much to it.  But you get a free scoop at the end of your shift if you want it, so that's nice...I don't think there are any magical secrets, but sometimes she doesn't tell people that," she smirked.  "The Oreo flavor is pretty magical, if you ask me.  Especially when you put more Oreos on it."  Stephanie had a special weakness for the chocolate cookies, and whenever she decided to get ice cream that was what she picked.  "Oooh, don't lean on the glass," she told him, reaching for his arm to pull him away.  "She hates that."


He really didn't know about the party?  Stephanie smiled, nodding excitedly.  "Yeah, I'm definitely going.  It's down by the pier, starts at six but probably won't really get started until eight, eight-thirty.  There's a DJ and tiki torches and everything."  Stephanie loved the beach parties- she always looked forward to them, and she and Max nearly always made it a date night.  Last time they'd stayed really late and traveled down to a secluded area of the beach, where he'd convinced her to go skinny dipping.  It was crazy, the craziest thing Stephanie had ever done, but it was exhilarating.  "You'll have fun, I promise," she told him as a customer approached the counter.