Fuck, fuck, triple fuck! Could my day get any worse?

A gust of strong wind had blown my brand new Balenciaga hat into traffic and some fuck head in a yellow Tesla drove over it. I mean why would anyone buy a top-tier EV in yellow?! Yuck! Double yuck!

Did I mention that I also got dumped by my latest boyfriend?! Yeah, that sucked ass... and not in a good way.

Whenever I got my heart stomped on, I immediately needed ice cream. I'd seen a new place three blocks down from my apartment that was supposed to be good but it had already cost me a designer hat, so...

Oh, cute! And I wasn't talking about the ice cream. Was he the owner?

"I'm sorry, we're closed," he said, staring at the cash register.

"But the door's still open," I purred. This Kitty wanted to make a good impression on the pretty ice cream man.

He looked up from what he was doing and his eyebrows lifted for a second. I often had that effect on people, they didn't quite know how to react to my... non-conformity.

"I'd gladly serve you but all I have left is vanilla."

"There's nothing wrong with plain old vanilla," I said with a coy smile.

He immediately realized his mistake and laughed a warm laugh. Then he put two scoops into a fancy cup and added a sparkly plastic spoon.

"On the house."

My brain scrambled for more innuendo but drew a complete blank. Instead, I said, "How long have you been open?"

"About three months," he said.

That's when I put the glittery spoon in my mouth and... holy fucking shit! This was hands down the best ice cream I'd ever had and I was an expert.

"Please don't ever call this 'just vanilla' again," I said. "This is heaven in a cup!"

He blushed at the compliment.

"Wait, I need to tell my followers about this," I said.

I snapped a pic of the cup, then captioned, hash-tagged, and posted it. People just had to know about this place, OMFG! Hang on, let me add it to my story as well.

"What did you just do?" he asked, looking at me with a smile that could light a room.

"People deserve to know about this divinity," I said. "What's your secret?"

"Nothing special," he replied. "I just make it myself with all-natural ingredients from my family's farm upstate."

There was something utterly disarming about him that I didn't quite know what to do with.

"How did you find out about my humble establishment?" he asked.

Only now did I realize that the massive sign on the door really did show "closed".

"To be honest, I just needed ice cream after the fucked up day I had," I said.

"Work or a breakup?" he asked, stepping out from behind the counter and inviting me to sit at one of the two tables.

"Break up," I admitted with a sigh. Why was I telling him the truth?

"I'm sorry." He looked like he meant it.

"Don't be," I said before giving him a quick overview of what happened.

Ted had proved to be a two-faced whore. Apparently, I was not only his sugar daddy but also in an open relationship without knowing it.

Today, I caught Ted with a trashy twink in my bed, and he had the audacity to suggest I join them.

When I started screaming, he told me that I was suffocating him and HE broke up with me. All the while, his hookup was giving me nasty looks whilst still in my bed!

I couldn't hold it in anymore, tears started streaming down my face and I couldn't wipe them away fast enough.

"Hey," he said, patting my hand gently. "It must hurt like hell right now, but Ted is clearly toxic. I think you're better off without him."

"So you're also a therapist?" I asked, finally having composed myself.

"I dabble," he said.

Again that smile. Did that stunningly pretty face have its own Insta? I felt a compulsion to check but managed to suppress it.

"Would you like some more ice cream?" he asked, looking at my empty cup.

"Yes, please," I breathed.

I usually didn't open my Insta until I'd had my first coffee, but a message caught my eye.

[Hey, this is Dean
[You had ice cream in my place the other day

How could I forget the cute ice cream guy who had helped me through my little crisis? We had talked quite a bit more after I'd told him about Ted.

Dean had only recently moved to the City. His humble little shop was a passion project, but he hadn't fully realized how complex the logistics behind hand-made ice cream would be.

I had wanted to talk more but he'd kindly excused himself, so he could clean up and produce more stock. When I left, I totally planned on getting in touch but it seemed that he had beaten me to it.

[I just wanted you to know that...
[I've sold more ice cream in two days than in the last month combined.
[Yesterday, there was a line outside of my shop so long, it was like I was giving away gold
[Most customers wanted to try 'heaven in a cup'
[Can you tell me how this happened?

Oops, I guess I never told him. My bad.

[Hey, Dean
[Great to hear from you.
[Did I not mention that I'm an influencer?
[I have about 200k followers
[I guess some of them like ice cream too.

[But that's more advertising than I could ever hope to afford!
[Customers are asking if I can ship cross-state
[Why would you do that?

[Because I can
[Besides, your ice cream really is that good
[I'd never recommend something I don't like

[How can I possibly repay you?

[If I wanted money, I'd have sent you a bill
[Just enjoy the boost in sales
[It'll probably die down in a week or so

[Can I at least buy you dinner?
[I close the shop on Sundays
[I'll take you anywhere you like

Oh, shit! Did he mean dinner, dinner? Or just a thank you? I liked him but I wasn't at all sure if he'd be interested. Well, there was only one way to find out.

[Be careful what you promise
[I'm not a cheap date

Let's see what he'd say to that.

[After all you did for me, I should hope not!
[I can meet you around 8.

So no objection whatsoever to the word "date"? Interesting. I definitely wanted to know where this would go next.

Dinner turned out slightly awkward.

The hostess had seen me snap a picture of my dessert and she knew who I was. The owner came to our table and told us a little bit about his restaurant before declaring there would be no check.

Dean was hellbent on showing his gratitude, however, and invited me to his place for a nightcap. Was it more than just a drink with a handsome man, I wondered.

"I can honestly say that I've never met anyone like you," he said, now staring deep into my eyes.

He was sitting next to me on the small sofa, although there was also an armchair for him to sit in.

"Is that a good thing?" I asked. "I know that I'm not everyone's cup of tea."

"That's because you're just letting everyone judge you based on a self-created persona," he said. "Don't let their ignorance of who you really are make you doubt yourself."

I blinked at him in astonishment. What a profound thing to say.

"Even in a moment of great pain, you helped me without ever asking for anything in return. I think that definitely shows character."

I didn't know what to do with the image of myself through his eyes.

"I think you do what you do because you honestly believe people deserve recognition for their hard work and effort."

"I also work hard," I breathed.

"And it shows," he said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I always thought influencers were bullshit but you've forever changed my mind."

I stared into his eyes and saw only kindness there. He wasn't saying this because he wanted something, he honestly meant it.

Should I? Fuck it, you only live once.

I leaned forward and kissed his pretty lips. I waited for a second for him to kiss me back and to my surprise...

He did.