On The 4th Day of Christmas

On the fourth day of Christmas, there was only you and me.

"That'll be five dollars," I said to my own sister as I handed her the cup of coffee she ordered, along with the paper bag that contained her pastry. She handed me the exact amount before slotting another bill into the tip jar, "For my darling baby brother."

"Why are you in such a chirpy mood?" I groaned, glancing out into the outside world. With the snow and cold temperature dominating everything, I find it difficult to be so happy.

Though that did not faze her at all, "I've got a date tonight."

Rolling my eyes, I should have known. She was one of those people who fall in love so easily and the amount of times I found her crying because her boyfriend broke up with her was sadly high, "Why do I have a feeling that this won't end well?"

I could almost see it – my sister on a stool at some bar, screaming out all of her frustrations to the bartender. For one thing I can conclude from observing her past relationships, she doesn't have a good eye for men.

"Well, I think he's the one," she grinned, hope glimmering in her eyes, "Well, I've got to go."

"Bye," I muttered as I watched her leave the café.

The moment she got out, another customer came shuffling in. I was about to greet her with the customary welcome but my eyes instantly filled with concern when I took in her current state.

I knew that there was a storm raging on outside, but her appearance was something else. Her petite frame was shiver from the cold and the fact that her clothes were completely drenched did not help her at all.

Even after she removed her coat, her hoodie was still soaking wet and her shoes weren't much better. She left her dripping umbrella on the stand next to the door, quickly making her way to the counter with her feet producing a sloshing sound with every step, "One large coffee please."

If I were her, the coffee would be the least of my concern.

"Why don't you take a seat first?" I suggested, gesturing to the table by the fireplace. Her lips that were as pale as her skin pressed into a thin line as her eyes followed my line of sight. Instantly, her face brightened with a new look of excitement at the crackling fire.

She dropped all of her belongings on the table before she plopped down on the chair. I turned around to start on her order and when I glanced back, I almost the cup I was holding. She deftly peeled off her hoodie from her body, leaving her in a thin white shirt – something that was practically see through because of how wet it was.

After I finished her coffee, I scrambled around to get the blanket that was perched on the couch for decorative purposes. The moment her freezing hands made contact with hot cup, she sighed in content before grabbing the blanket that was hanging from my arm, "Thank you."

I felt like an awkward sheltered middle school boy seeing a girl for the first time.

Walking back to my spot on the counter, I tried to act nonchalant but I kept my ears opened. Much to my relief, she relaxed more after she wrapped her body in the blanket and had taken a sip out of her mug. She pulled out her laptop from her bag, examining it first to make sure it wasn't damaged from her battle with the snow outside.

So that how it went for the next half hour. No other person was brave enough to go out with the weather so there no one else came through those glass doors. I pulled out a stool from the kitchen to sit on while I made a show of flipping through one of the outdated magazine, my gaze still trained on that beautiful lady.

At some point, her phone started ringing and that was when her talkative side came into light. Maybe because the place empty or perhaps it was because she had capture my undivided reason, but for some reason, her face was booming around the café.

Pushing my glass up on the bridge of my nose, I strained my ears in order to hear her joyful voice. Her eyes were twinkling with amusement, her head slightly tilted back, and her back now slacked against the wooden chair she was occupying, "Yeah, I just went out to do some work."

She glanced down onto the table where various books and binders were laid out. Her bag sat on the seat next to her and it seemed like she had completely forgotten about that half-drank cup of coffee that I can safely assume had gone cold already, "I never expected it to be this cold so I popped into a café."

Now we have the backstory we were unknowingly searching for.

"Go and have fun with Nick, you two haven't had any alone time for a while," she bid her friend goodbye before placing her phone back down on top of the table, picking up her cup to take a sip.

She cringed when she realized that the beverage had now gone cold. I don't know what suddenly came over me, but before she could even ask, I suddenly spoke, "I could make you a new one."

Her head snapped to my direction and she stared at me for a moment before she grinned, "That would be great, thank you."

I flashed her a polite smile before I turned to start the machine. When I faced the front of the store again, I was surprised to see that she had walked from her table and was now leaning against the counter with the blanket loosely hanging on her shoulders.

"Your coffee would be done shortly," I told her, just in case she only stood up because of her impatience and urgent need for something warm.

Her eyes switched to the machine brewing behind me before turning her attention back to my face, "Did I do something wrong?"

You almost gave me a heart attack, but other than that, your hands clean.

"No," I replied, shaking my head, "Why?"

"Well, we're the only two people here and all you've done is sit quietly there and stare at the outside, like anywhere is better than here."

Wrong, I was staring at the girl that sat next to the glass window.

But of course, I can't tell her that because with or without context, it didn't sound right, "I like looking at the snow."

She quirked a brow but hummed in agreement nonetheless, "I like looking at the snow as well."

She glanced away to stare out of the window, watching the light snowflakes touch the ground and add to the thickening layer of white. The small icy glaze that had already formed on the asphalt reflected the cloudy sky, the same sky that brought us to this predicament.

The machine beeped in the background, signaling that the coffee was ready. I took a cup and filled it, grabbing a saucer and a stirrer before placing the ensemble onto the counter in front of her.

She smiled and slapped a ten dollar bill in its place, grabbing her beverage.

Before she can get far, I called her back, "Wait!"

She looked over her shoulder and lifted a brow, "You can keep the change this time. That's to show my gratitude for the blanket and causing you the trouble of making another cup."

Wrong again, even if you weren't here, somebody still needs to watch over the café and it was my job to make drinks for the costumers.

"It's not that," I said, reaching out to hand her back the bill, "I offered to make you a new one, so it's on the house."

"Why thank you, kind sir," she joked before shaking her head, "But keep it."

She returned to the table and pushed the cold coffee away to make way for her new cup. She took a sip, before nodding her head, "That really hits the spot."

And I was back to staring at her.

I could draw a hundred different conclusion just from the way she currently acts. She was serious because I was completely aware that everybody was on winter break, yet I could see from her laptop screen and her notebooks that she was doing her school work diligently. I could say that she cared about her friend, which came from the fact when I watched her earlier, there was a tinge of mischievousness laced with concern in her voice when she was on the phone.

I could assume that she purposely left her place for the benefit of her friend.

She wasn't squeamish, she wasn't bothered by the fact almost all of her clothes were dampened by the storm. She simply hung them on one of the available chairs, waiting patiently for them to dry.

Maybe she felt my eyes on her because she suddenly paused to look up at me. Like a deer caught in the headlights, I quickly tried to occupy myself by grabbing a cloth and wiping the already pristine counter as if it would make any difference. When I gazed back towards her direction, I found out that she was still looking at me.

She had that expression that was telling me that she was expecting me to do something.

Does she need a refill? Does she want to order the peach danish sitting on the display? Tell me, woman! What do you want?!

"Finding the snow interesting again?" she asked, tilting her head to the side and allowing her brown locks to fall over her shoulder.

She's on to me.

"Yeah," I lied through my teeth, "It's very..."

Beautiful? Amazing? Magical?

"...White," I finished, immediately regretting every like decision I made.

Oh wow, give yourself a fucking trophy. Of course it's white!

"I see..." she trailed off before gesturing to the chair opposite from hers, "How about you join me, it doesn't look like anyone else would be coming in soon."

Taking a good look at the seat, I was tempted to say yes, but we have to assess the situation here. She's sitting there with a translucent shirt, a blanket being the sole protector of her body and my sanity. Then, she wants me, a guy, to sit opposite from her when there was only the two of us in this whole café?

Do you really think I was that simple minded to say yes to that?

When I switched my eyes to her, she was clearly waiting patiently for my answer.

Oh well.

I nodded before dropping the cloth under the counter and making my way towards the table. Sitting down on the chair while I tapped my fingers nervously on my thigh, "So what brings you here?"

"I needed to get out," she replied with a shrug, "And my best friend's boyfriend is visiting her, I think they deserve some privacy."

See? I told you she cared about her friend.

Glancing down on one of the notebooks she had on the table, I looked at one of the math problems she had written on one of them and quirked a brow, "This one's wrong."

"What?" she gasped, her eyebrows scrunching in confusion. Taking the initiative, I examined the numbers and signs that were written in one of the spaces in between the blue lines. I then grabbed one of her spare pencils and started jotting down a new solution beside hers.

When I tilted my head up to explain what I did, I found out that she was giving me the same stare she had when she asked me about the snow.

What's wrong now?

She blinked when she saw me matching her look, scrambling around and lowering her gaze to the notebook, "How did you come up with it?"

I blinked at her before bowing down to slowly elaborate on the answer, scratching the lead of the pencil on the surface of the paper to create various lines and circles to help her understand the process.

"Got it?" I asked, releasing the pencil.

Her eyes were distracted but she nodded nonetheless, "I think so."

Coughing to get rid of the sudden awkward air that dawned upon us, I looked around to find a way to occupy myself.

"So you work here every day?" she questioned out of the blue in an attempt to strike up a conversation.

Snapping my head towards her direction, I hummed as a yes to her inquiry, "Yeah, but my hours shift every month."

To my surprise, her lips curved up into a stunning smile as she spoke, "Then it looks like I have a new hangout spot then."

"If I were you, I wouldn't sacrifice my fun pizza parlor for a quiet little café," I chuckled. It was a joke, but from the way she her expression contorted into another one, I could assume she was one of those girls who were serious on the school days but can give you enjoyable company in the weekends

"And how did you know about my whereabouts?" she asked, propping her chin on the back of her hand, obviously trying to fight back a smirk.

Sorry to disappoint, but I'm no stalker.

"Just assumed," I explained, crossing my arms over my chest, "And from the looks of it, I wasn't far off."

"Good observation," she laughed, sliding the notebook back to her, "But I don't mind a bit of peace and quiet every now and then, and besides..."

Her voice became quiet with the last part of her sentence, but from the way her ears turned red, I couldn't gauge whether what she said was something good or bad.

"What was that?" I asked.

She shook her head, refusing to repeat herself before bolting up to a standing position, "I'm just going to the restroom."

She didn't even allow me to say a word when she started to walk rather quickly to the direction of the toilets, practically slamming the door behind her.

One thing's for sure, she's one interesting girl.

A sudden vibration from the table alerted me and when I looked down, I noticed that it was just her phone.

I swear that I didn't meant to, but the message was flashed across the screen and when I glanced towards it, I couldn't help but read the words sent to her.

Hopefully by the end of the day, you'll have a date at least.

So she had some she likes.

I heard the clicking of the lock from the door and I started to shift the papers around to make myself appear busy with the remaining math equations written on her notebook.

"Sorry about that," she said, plopping back down on her seat.

Noticing her phone, she picked it up and swiped to read the same message I saw earlier. In a quick second, her face went red as a tomato and she bit her lip to hold back a gasp.

My speculation was true, she likes someone.

"You know, you don't need to coop yourself up in here," I told her, making her shoot up her in a speed that I was slightly concerned about its effects on her neck, "I mean, I'm sure you didn't plan the day to spend time with me here."

"It's snowing hard out there, do you think any of this was planned?" she pointed out, flailing her arms to gesture to the outside with a trace of amusement, "Even if I do want to go somewhere else, I can't really walk there."

I'm trying to do you a favor here.

Scratching the back of my head, I started to run possible solutions to get her out as safely as possible. I know she would rather meet the lucky guy instead of wasting her day here.

The phone that was on the table vibrated once again, and just like earlier, my eyes automatically zoomed into it.

Make a move already! You know that you like him.

She glanced towards me and when she saw that I read the text, the same reddish color graced her cheeks.

"I-it's not..." she stammered with her words, trying to hide her phone as if it would make me unread the message, "She was j-joking."

"I think it's quite obvious," I told her and she froze.

Her mouth opened before closing once again with her eyes wide as saucers. She just stood there like a gaping goldfish, "What?"

"I can lock up early and drive you," I told her, ready to stand up and get my car keys from the back, "Go get the guy you want.

I could practically see the gears in her head turning as she tried to comprehend what I was saying. While she occupied herself with that, I gave her a tightlipped smile before pushing myself up onto my feet. I was able to make a total of four steps before I heard the harsh scraping of her chair on the wooden floor, her hands instantly gripping on my shoulders to stop me, "What?!"

"Don't worry, no one would be coming in and you can live you happily ever after. It's the Christmas season after all, everyone deserves a merry celebration."

Her hands fell limply back to her sides and as I was walking back to the counter, I heard her speak, "You told me to get the guy I want, correct?"

It was barely audible so I had to whip around in order to clarify what I heard. Before I could utter a single word, she grabbed my cheeks and brought my face down to hers. Blinking at her brown eyes, she had nothing but determination reflected in them, "Then I'm gonna get him."

Crashing our lips together, she kept her steel grip on my face, afraid that I will pull back any minute.

What the hell was happening?!

There was no mistletoe above us!

She finally released me, sinking down to the ground in order to cover her face with her hands, "God you're so dense."

Remember that goldfish expression earlier? I was doing a perfect rendition of it with my own mouth – opening and then closing in the futile attempt to say something. My face turned a deep shade of red, probably competing with the color of her ears.

I have no idea how long we stayed in that position; my brain failing to process everything that just happened.

She just... I just... What?!

"Oh gosh," she groaned, "Please say something."

Finally gathering up the courage, I swallowed hard as I clenched my fists to my sides, "Can I treat you to a coffee next time then?"

It was the most ridiculous and lousiest way to ask a girl out but it had some kind of result. She slowly looked up before nodding. Still blushing redder than cheeky decorative Santa Clause figurine standing by the door, she replied, "I would like that."

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You guys should've known by now that I would pull out something extremely cliche like a coffee shop setting.



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