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“Clever, paladin…” he whispered playfully.
“Speaking of clever…” she began, looking at him. “You think you are sooo smart with that fairytale-stuff, don’t you?”
He laughed softly, grinning at her.
“Would you forgive me for any annoyance, frustration, or silliness if I reminded you that I had a treat tonight?”
“There’s not much to forgive,” she replied and chuckled, “but I love a treat. Did you get a hold of something good? I heard we got a delivery and assumed you guys did, too.”
Austin held up a bag and wiggled it.
“Are gummy worms good enough to qualify as a treat?”
“Shut the front door…” she gasped – and he laughed loudly. “Shhh! Did you seriously land some gummy worms?! Austin! That is like the lottery out here. I’m shocked.”
“Fresh, soft, unmelted gummy worms to share with my girl…” he teased and ripped open the package. “Want one?”
“Hold it up to the fence and let me breathe in the sugar,” she ordered softly. “It’s been well over two years since I’ve had gummy worms or gummy bears… when I was little my parents got me a gummy snake one time and I puked red for an hour straight.”
“Ahhh the memories,” he laughed again. “I had gummy tarantulas.”
“Ewww… no,” she breathed deeply, smelling the sweet fruit scent – and hesitated, realizing he was watching her. “I’m weird, aren’t I?”
“I like your weirdness,” he replied easily. “Can you reach through and get a couple?”
“You go first.”
“Nuh-uh,” he countered. “Ladies, paladins, and princesses are first. Every knight worth his salt knows that. Now, please. We’ll run out of time – get yourself a handful to snack on.”
“Are you sure?” she asked quietly and saw him step forward closer to the fence, realizing that she could see him a little better… and really liked his smile.
“Positive,” he murmured, holding the bag for her.
Reaching through the fence, she let out a small laugh, realizing she was like a kid reaching into a candy jar behind a cage. She picked up a few worms and tried to pull her fist back through the fence, only to realize it didn’t fit. Her fist was too big for holding the worms.
“Uh oh,” she giggled nervously and heard him laughing softly as he tried to catch some worms to keep them from falling in the sand. He cupped his hands under her single fist, chuckling.
“Open slightly and make a triangle with your hand…”
“I’m gonna drop them…”
“You’ll drop them if you don’t…”
“Austin, oh my gosh… this is too funny…”
“Don’t drop the gummy-gold…” he whispered conspiratorially, making her laugh even harder as she looked up at him and met his smile.
“Thank you,” she said sincerely, not fighting this budding attraction. “I’m really glad to have finally met you. This is better than I ever imagined.”
“It’s the worms, isn’t it?” he asked softly, smiling at her.
“Things you never thought you’d ever say aloud…” she uttered softly, teasing him, and they both laughed again.
“Okay, trying this again,” she announced quietly in a hushed voice, cracking her hand as a few worms dropped and adjusting her grip to slowly squeeze it through the fence.
He took one of the precious gummy worms that he’d caught and bit it in half… sighing happily.
“Tastes like childhood memories,” he murmured as she bit into one of hers.
