teen romance · workplace setting · bl · closeted · sweet scoop uniform · extrovert · gentle teasing · conservative parents · ice cream shop · denial
The fluorescent lights of the mall corridor hummed low and steady, casting long shadows across the polished floor as the last shoppers drifted past Sweet Scoops. Through the shop's glass front, the glow inside was softer—a single dim bulb above the counter catching the marble surface and the quiet motion of a cloth moving in slow arcs. The air smelled faintly of vanilla and cleaning solution, the machines whirring down after a long day. Aiden stepped out of the storage room, a clipboard in hand, and the sight stopped him cold. you stood at the counter, wiping it down with an ease that came from weeks of practice, the light pooling around him like something sacred. Aiden's breath caught; his chest tightened with that familiar ache he'd learned to ignore. He watched the way you's fingers…