Blake picked me up at one in the afternoon. 

"Hello," he said, as I got out of the house. 

"Hello," I returned looking at his handsome face.
He had worn a blue jacket, with a light-blue shirt and black jeans. It matched the Christmas mood. I smiled at him.

We walked for fifteen minutes and then reached the venue.

"Hey! Lucy, Blake!," Kristine waved from a distance.

 "Hi," we said waving back .

She greeted us with a warm hug.

"Hey guys," Eros grinned. Eros didnt talk much but was a guy of knowledge. He had a great sense of  humour too. The three of us were best friends. Kristine had fallen for him almost instantly after seeing him. Well, after all with his dark brown hair and eyes,he did look handsome.

"We didn't get lost this time," Blake said, smirking. 

"Ha-ha," I replied, unimpressed. "You're getting funnier and funnier"

"It's all the magnificient  living you're making me do," he said.

Kristine and Eros  looked at us amused, and then burst out laughing.

"Okay," she said, finally managing to stop "Let's look around for a while, then we'll go for lunch"

We roamed about the streets, admiring the decorations and the lightings. Each shop had a "merry Christmas" banner, had chirpy  employees welcoming  their costumers warmly as their business was at its peak. Christmas trees and white and red balloons adorned the roads, children hopped and played around, shaking hands with santa clauses and eating candies. The jubliant atmosphere made us all smile.  We came across a huge christmas tree which was decorated beautifully, making it look phenomenol. We decided to click a picture. After seeing it, we all laughed, since we looked like a bunch of crazy teenagers. That's christmas spirit, I thought. 

We finally decided to go for lunch. 

____*_____

We sat down on our table and looked at the menu. 

"Lets have Italian," Eros suggested.

"Yeahh! Pizza would be great," Kristine exclaimed. 

"Okay," I agreed, satisfied with the idea.
"And pasta," Blake said.

"And rosetto," she said again .

"How much do you want to eat?," I  asked, shaking my head and laughing.

  Deciding for food is always fun. 

Finally, we settled on a medium sized pizza, pasta and some drinks for everyone. The waitress took our order and informed that we would get out food in 20 minutes.  

We were talking about school, when suddenly, Kristine asked Blake,"You lived in USA right?" 

Blake nodded.

"So, didn't you have a girlfriend?" 

Yeah, right. He lived in USA. He might have had one.Oh God, please no. My pulse thundered. 

"Nope," Blake informed, much to my relief.

 "Ahem, ahem," Kristine teased  giving me a light  push. I sighed at her eccentricities.

Then, our food arrived. 

We ate, talking, laughing and enjoying ourselves endlessly. Finally we finished our lunch , paid the bill and went out. 

"We need to go," Eros said, holding Kristine's hand. I raised my eyebrows at them. She was serious when she said she wanted me to be alone with Blake?

"Yep," she said as if reading my mind and waving at us. "Bye guys!" 

"Bye," Blake and I said in unison. Then, I turned to him, unsure of what to do or say.

"Alone again. Let's go somewhere?," I managed to say.

"Okay " he agreed.

"There's a park there", I said, gesturing towards the place.

"What are we waiting for?," he replied pulling me towards the park.

___*_____

We walked inside  the park, admiring the flowers, with Blake whistling beside me. Red and yellow roses, red calicos, white and pink lilies, orchids, and golden irises, adorned the place, filling the it with a beauitful scent. 

We sat down on a bench after an hour or so. Blake turned towards me and extended his hand. "A flower for a flower," he said, handing me a red rose. 

I giggled. "Thanks"

We sat there for some time in silence, in each other's warmth, defending the cold. With him, I never felt alone. I don't know why. 

"Let's go for coffee?," Blake asked.

"Sure," I smiled.

____*____

We sat in the coffee shop and placed our order. 

"Two cappuccinos, please," Blake said. The waitress  nodded and bought our coffees in five minutes.

I sipped my coffee which made a white moustace above my lip.  I grinned at him. 

Blake looked at me in surprise, his blue eyes filled with amusement, then threw back his head and laughed,properly,louder than I'd ever heard before. Why was he finding this so funny?

 Everyone in the cafe' turned around to look at us. He apologised to them, bending his head a bit, but he couldn't  manage to keep it together. 

"I'm coming, wait a min," he said, going out, laughing to himself, unable to stop. Everyone looked at me, the white foam still on my face, and I gave them a toothy grin of embarrassment.

___*____

Once we were out, Blake watched me, his eyes alight, and laughed again. His laugter was contagious and I too, started laughing. 

Once we finally managed to stop, Blake looked at me and said,"You're crazy. And that's one thing I love about you"

The sun was setting into the horizon. They looked at each other. They didn't have to say anything. They just walked, silently, towards home, hand-in-hand. 

********