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“I bet it bothers him.” Giving up on trying to stay busy, she comes and leans on the counter with me. While I’m watching the tables, she’s staring at me so hard it burns.
“Bothers who?”
“Noah.” She says his name slowly, beaning a grin when I turn all my attention on her. She’s definitely had too much coffee today.
“Bothered by what?” I’m confused how we have done from getting drunk and eating chocolate at Christmas to Noah.
“He isn’t going to like you being a Grinch. If he didn’t like Christmas, he would have said there and then and agreed with you. Instead, he stayed quiet which means he probably has an opinion on it which means… he’s a Christmas cheer kind of guy.” She pauses as she glances around the tables before turning back to me.
“Which means nothing…” I mimic her, wishing coffee could affect me that way again. I’ve probably abused it too much now. I’ll need it via an IV to feel its effects now.
“Christmas can come between couples you know.” She says it lightly, but she knows I hear it because instead of firing at me again, she sways silently on the spot beside me.
“What do you mean?” I don’t want to think about it already coming to an end. I’d barely begun to think about us having a beginning, and if this ends, Lord knows I won’t go out trying to get another date again because I can’t deal with the disappointment and prospect of it not working out.
“If I were you, I’d start ordering tinsel and some big baubles.”
Chapter Eight - Noah
Walking into the apartment, a heavy weight lifts off my shoulders. This is the one I showed Silvia, but I didn’t tell her where it is. What will she think of me living on the other side of the apartment complex? I couldn’t tell Fitzy no when she offered this one to me before she put it on the market. It’s perfect. Three big bedrooms, two bathrooms, a huge living room, and a separate kitchen and dining room.
Will she want to stay here? Will Lila later down the line? She’s nervous for Lila and me to spend time together but in the time what we have spent together, I’m certain that we’ll go all the way. I can see myself being her husband later down the line and Lila’s stepdad. I can see babies and holidays and a real life together with both of them. I know before we get to that point, however, I’ve got a lot of proving to do and I need a better, more steady job. I can’t be doing odd jobs like I have. I have money saved; that’s not an issue, but I need a more reliable way of it coming in than cleaning pools and making investments, regardless of the return coming in. This kind of income won’t make Silvia feel secure, and it would be nice if I could help so much that she doesn’t have to work in the coffee shop as much as she does.
After moving an endless amount of boxes and furniture into the apartment, I lie down on the bed and soak up the newness of the room and noises coming from outside the window. They’re faint thanks to the double glazing but they’re still there.
I need to see about changing Silvia’s opinion on Christmas. It’s probably from a bad experience that she doesn’t want to share. I’ve known lots of people to feel that way when single at Christmas as well. I’ve been single for at least the last two Christmases and I love it. I love Christmas. It makes everyone happy. Despite it being cold, everyone makes the effort to go out and do stuff like Christmas light walks and ice-skating. That’s an idea. I can take her Ice-skating. I bet that will make her warm up to the idea of Christmas. Maybe a boozy hot chocolate and a tour of the apartment afterward… I wonder if she can find someone to look after Lila for the night. It’s Friday tomorrow so she is likely to go to a friend's for the night anyway.
Unlocking my phone, I scroll down until I find her number in my recent calls, press the button, and wait for her to answer.
She answers the phone and instantly laughter comes flooding through the speaker. I can hear Lila laughing uncontrollably in the background behind Silvia's as she shouts at her daughter. “You wild thing! Go brush your teeth! I’ll clean it up!” She takes a deep breath, bringing her voice to a reasonable level again. “Hey, babe. Oh my God, this child of mine kills me.” She giggles. “She had Cheerios after her dinner as desert, as if that isn’t weird enough because we do have ice cream, but then she goes to put the box in the cupboard. She’s standing on a chair to do this and she sneezes and shakes the box and now my kitchen is covered in Cheerios as if it snowed ‘em.”
“You two make a madhouse.” I can’t help but grin because it’s a madhouse I’ll live in one day I’m sure.
“I know. How did moving go? I’m sorry I couldn’t help. Shall I come see it tomorrow?”
“Sure, will Lila be staying at a friend's tomorrow night?” I can’t help but close my eyes and pray; I really want this date.
“Yeah, she’s already asked twice to stay at Frankie’s. So I’ll be all yours from four if you want me.”
“You have no idea how much I want you.” I look down at the semi in my shorts; as soon as I hear her voice, he’s there standing at attention.
“Oh, really? Do you want to expand on that?” For someone who has been so chaste for so long, I’m surprised at how forward she’s become.
“No, definitely not. It’ll be painful.” I don’t want to rub one out; I want to save the sexual frustration for when we finally have sex. “What I do want to do is take you out tomorrow night. You need to wear warm clothes, preferably jeans. Decent socks and I expect to see a hat and scarf because I don’t want to be the reason you get sick.”
“Darn it, where are we going?” I hear the sound of cupboards in the background and the telltale sounds of her cleaning up the Cheerio disaster.
“Don’t worry. All will be revealed tomorrow.”
“I don’t really like surprises…”
“You’ll like this one.”
Chapter Nine - Silvia
I don’t like this surprise. Maybe I should feel relieved that he didn’t take me disliking Christmas in a bad way. I didn’t expect him to try to change my mind.
“I don’t care how much you think you don’t like Christmas; I never known anyone to dislike ice-skating.” He grins in a sheepish way as he hands me some ice skates he’d gotten from the attendant. It’s such a sweet thought and I know if I tell him I really don’t want to do it, he won’t hold it against me but I can’t find the words because he looks so excited.
