A Mate for Christmas

Suggestion

Tuesday morning was slowly setting, but the skies were cloudy, and the morning chill was imminent. Maeve was still in bed, and her room was dark due to the curtains covering the windows. However, one of the lamps close to her bed was turned on since Maeve was on her phone and the Friends & More app. She was researching events on Wednesday, and a few things were happening since it wasn't too close to the holidays. Also, there weren't many things on weekdays; only the weekends had more options. Maeve looked at the time, and it was 6 a.m. She stopped looking at her phone, put it to the side, and looked at the ceiling. The memories of her little date yesterday overcame her mind.

Although she dated Stephen for many years, they haven't been on an exciting date throughout that time. They would eat at their usual place or see a movie. Maeve always wanted to try something new, but Stephen would always make excuses for not being interested. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Stephen was losing interest in their relationship. It hurt, but Maeve still wished he had told her sooner so they could have lived their lives. Her thoughts were interrupted when her phone vibrated; she was surprised that someone would be trying to call her early in the morning; when looking at the caller ID, Maeve rolled her eyes and answered the phone. "Morning Patrisha."

"Girl, why didn't you tell me!?"

"Tell you what?" Maeve knew what Patrisha was talking about. She guessed her mother told her she was going on a date with Treyton. The young woman also knew Patrisha would have found out and would ask about it. However, it was unexpected that Patrisha would call so soon.

"You know know damn well what I'm talking about! Why didn't you tell me or at least text me that you were going on a coffee date with a guy you met!?"

Maeve sighed as she fixed the pillow her head lay upon. "It's not like I was going to keep it a secret forever. I just wanted to see how that date went to see if it went well or not."

Patrisha hummed. "So, how did it go!? Details, I need delicious details! Is the guy at least handsome?"

"He's not handsome; he's gorgeous. I mistaken him as a model when we first met. We went to a nice coffee place where spoke for a couple hours, we then went for a walk afterward. That was that."

"That's it!? No kiss or touchies!?"

Maeve rolled her eyes playfully; her friend was always blunt and would do anything to get bits of information. "You know how I am, Patrisha. Whenever I go on the first date, I don't kiss. We barely met and wanted to see how it would go with him."

The friends were silent momentarily until Patrisha broke the silence. "I'm not going to lie to you, but your mom told me that this guy is eighteen years older than you. Is that true?"

"Y-Yeah. I never dated a guy with a major age gap, but I don't know how to explain it. When we first met at the Botanic Gardens, my heart skipped a beat. His looks wasn't what captivated me. I couldn't help but feel a strong pull toward him. It was as if my whole world shift when I first laid eyes on him." Maeve smiled at the memory of her first seeing him. Everything she described was what she exactly felt. She did not want to leave his side. "I'm not going out with him out of desperation, but I was intrigued to know more about him. My mom always did say to keep an open mind."

Patrisha was quiet on the other end as she listened to her friend's explanation. The older woman felt that Maeve was trying to move on quicker. Maeve told her a lot about her dating history, and this was the first time she had heard that she was going out with an older man. When Laoise told her, it was difficult for Patrisha to believe it. Worry filled her since Maeve was her best friend, and she didn't want to see her get hurt again. "Maeve, you know that I care and worry for you. Believe it or not, you kind of sound desperate." Before Maeve could intervene, Patrisha continued. "However, you're an adult, and I will not butt in too much in your personal life. I will say this: don't jump into a relationship too quickly. Don't feel pressured to accept something that might destroy your peace. Understand?"

Maeve slowly sat up from her bed as she squeezed her phone. She knew Patrisha was looking out for her but knew she was right. "I know. That's why it's just dating. I don't want to get my heart broken again."

"So, since it went well, what's next? Are you guys going on a second date or something?"

The anxiety slowly disappeared, and Maeve felt relieved by the change in topic. "Yeah, we agreed to meet again tomorrow but haven't decided what to do. I'm reviewing the app to see if anything interesting is on Wednesday. Nothing."

Patrisha was quiet on the other end and was thoughtful until an idea came up. "Hey, you know that I have baking classes on Fridays. My baking teacher told me to inform people that there is a free class tomorrow to make gingerbread houses for the holiday spirit. You should go there."

It had been a long time since Maeve had made a gingerbread house, and it sounded fun, but she couldn't imagine a man like Treyton making one. "That sounds like fun, but I'm not sure if that would be Treyton's cup of tea."

"So his name is Treyton, eh? Cool name. Well, he better go! If he's not open in trying new things then that should tell you a lot about him! You can tell him that I demand it if you have to!"

 "Okay, okay. What time will the class be?"

"At 4 p.m., I will give you the address and information about the class. Anyway, I have to get ready to go to work! Also, don't worry about anything; everything is going fine in the classroom. The kids ask about you, but we told them you're coming next week. I'll call you Thursday to see how your date goes!"

The two women hung up; five minutes later, Maeve received a text message with a link showing the event information. It looked intriguing to her, so she decided to text Treyon later in the morning. She wanted to enjoy her breakfast and decided to watch a movie.