Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

It's not like Corley couldn't see the sparks between him and Roseanne. Even if they were subtle, they were unmistakably there. And if there was something there, it certainly wouldn't escape his notice.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around.

Roseanne, trailing a few steps behind because of his sudden halt, nearly collided with him.

She steadied herself just in time.

"Sorry," Corley said, looking down at her. "Forgot something."

Roseanne looked puzzled.

The next second, he handed her a cup of steaming hot cocoa.

The warmth spread through her palms, leaving her momentarily stunned.

"Hold on to it. If you spill, I'm not cleaning it up."

Roseanne was confused. "When did you buy this?"

They had been sitting face to face the whole time, and she hadn't noticed him ordering anything.

Corley smirked. "Secret."

"Oh," Roseanne nodded, "seeing how smoothly you did that, I guess you've used this move to charm lots of girls." "Wrong. You're the first."

That comment left Roseanne speechless. She felt they were too close and subtly stepped back.

Corley caught her subtle attempt to slip away. He realized it wasn't wise to pressure her too much at that moment.

What if he frightened her off and she ran straight into someone else's arms in a panic?

"Alright, let's head back. I won't walk you to your door. You probably wouldn't want me to anyway." "Goodbye then."

"Yeah."

He watched her safely cross the street before driving off.

Roseanne still holding the hot cocoa, was pondering over the

situation when she suddenly sal.net

Owen standing under a tree. She was startled.

"Mr. Reynolds, you haven't gone up yet?"

"Was waiting for you." His gaze fell on the hot cocoa in her hand. "Do you like that?"

"Not a regular thing, but it's nice once in a while."

Owen looked at the cocoa, curiously asking, "I've never tried it. Is it good?"

Roseanne was puzzled. "Do you... want to try mine?"

"Sure, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Corley was in a good mood, tapping rhythmically on the steering wheel. Even waiting at a red light seemed more bearable.

...

Cliff called, and the car's Bluetooth system picked up automatically. Loud rock music blared from the other end, causing Corley to frown. "Corley, what have you been up to lately?" Cliff moved to a quieter spot, but the background noise was still chaotic.

"Work," Corley replied.

"Anything else? Any updates on the love front?" Cliff asked, fishing for information, probably with Murray hovering nearby, curious for gossip.

Corley raised an eyebrow. "Who's asking? Is Murray there? If he wants to know, he can ask himself."

Cliff gave a resigned look to Murray, who was pretending not to be interested while smoking.

"Corley's onto us," Cliff admitted with a shrug.

"Really?" Corley laughed, clearly not

buying it. Anyway, I don't mind sharing. You've got me on speaker, right? Make sure everyone around can hear."

Cliff, who had already switched to speakerphone: "..."

"Got it on? Everyone listening? Okay, here it goes."

Murray paused mid-smoke, paying full attention.

Corley continued, "The update is I just left her place, and she accepted the hot cocoa I gave her. How's that?"