Cora sat at the farthest booth from the door in the ice cream parlor, while Mark stood at the counter ordering something, but he wouldn’t tell Cora what. She sat with her phone pressed to her cheek and her hand over , trying to keep her conversation from drifting towards him. “I don’t know, but I think he’s trying to keep me out of the apartment for a reason.”

“What reason could he possibly be keeping you out of the apartment for?” Maria asked on the other line. MinHee hadn’t answered, which Cora figured was due to the fact that she was most likely single handedly preparing her birthday party.

Cora sighed. “Maria, that’s what I called you for.”

“Really?”

“Probably not.” She could hear Maria laugh, though it was muffled. “Are you going to my not-so-surprise birthday party?”

Maria sighed. “Yes, if my roommate comes back with the car some time soon.”

“You share a car with your roommate?”

“I loaned it to her for the day. It was a big mistake.” Cora laughed. “Anyways, if I can get a ride, then yes, I’ll be there.”

Mark was starting towards Cora, holding a massive glass bowl of various different ice creams, and Cora could feel her stomach drop. “I have to go, but I’ll try to send Youngjae and the others to pick you up.” She hung up the phone before Maria could protest and slipped it into her purse, smiling brightly as Mark approached.

He frowned, placing the massive bowl on the edge of the table away from Cora. “I thought we had a deal.” He said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Today was supposed to be a you and me day, no phone, no drama, just us.”

Cora slumped in the chair. “And you call yourself my boyfriend. You should know that I can’t live without Andrew.”

“Andrew?”

She nodded. “I named my Andriod.”

Mark’s stern frown twitched as he fought a smile. “Well, give me Andrew, and stop trying to figure out what everyone else is doing.”

“So that was your plan, wasn’t it?” Cora asked, pulling her phone out of her pocket. “Catch me in the act of trying to decipher what is going on with the stupid party.”

Mark took her phone and slid it into his pocket. “Sure, we’ll go with that. And it’s not stupid. It’s important to your mom. And besides,” He said, sliding into the booth with Cora and pulling the ice cream bowl towards them. “I really want to see you in a formal dress again, since last time you took Jackson.”

“And he was totally worth it! Seriously, he made Henry so happy. I mean, I had no clue my step father liked fencing, and man did his face light up when Jackson walked into the foyer.” She turned, smiling, to Mark. “But,” She started, her smile growing a little less bright and more sincere. “I wouldn’t have minded having you there too.”

Mark made a face. “Ew, you’re getting sappy.”

“Coming from the boy who decided that today was a “you and me” sort of day.”

“That was just to keep you from finding out anything about your birthday party.” Mark grinned, scooping a spoon full of ice cream.

Cora gawked at him. “Are you kidding me?” She asked, and he shook his head. “You .” She laughed, dipping her finger in the whipped cream and running it across Mark’s nose.  

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