The holiday season always seems to bring back memories we'd rather forget and this year is no different for Terri-Ann. One Christmas not too long ago, she turned down an unexpected offer from Andrew, one of her closest friends, and three years later...
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The young man standing in the doorway was oozing incredible amounts of practiced nonchalance. In fact, it had taken him all of fifteen minutes to muster the courage to enter the room. He had stared at her for a while, just studying her features, wondering what she was thinking and remembering. He remembered everything: drinking from her cup, teasing her about it, initiating the kiss and the mortifying aftermath. For some strange reason, he had thought that that line would have worked. He had really been an idiot then.
Standing in the doorway, watching her smile at the sinking sun, he finally admitted the feeling that had been resurfacing all day, he missed this girl so much. The thought gave him courage enough to retrace his steps and walk in loudly on purpose. He had practiced his line in his head multiple times assuming that he would have been the first to speak, but then she did. At first he was surprised, he hadn't heard the playful tone to her voice in so long. For most of the day she had seemed so uncomfortable, grimacing every time she looked in his direction. He could never tell what she was thinking, except for that one incident with the box. He smiled, it was nice to hear this side of her again.
When he realized he would have to respond, though, he panicked and his brain short-circuited. He had to say something, so he just continued on with his plan, as though she hadn't spoken.
"So...Aunty Pearl handed me a drink in the kitchen and it tastes a little funny. Do you think I should be worried?" He looked from the drink to her and relaxed when he saw that she looked stunned and not angry. His face lit up with a smile that only grew in size as she returned it.
"Me too! I've been sipping it and now that you mention it, I'm starting to feel a little dizzy." She let her head fall back against the side of the window as he strode over to her.
"I'd forgotten how beautiful the night sky was," he stated.
"Is it too foggy at UQT to see it?"
He nodded, "That and there's not much time to be spending some of it looking up at the stars. Besides, I'm indoors most of the night."
"I find that hard to believe," she muttered under her breath.
He moved to sit next to her and she reached to grab her plate and move it out of the way. She placed it between them and he sat, looking at her curiously, "Why do you say that?"
"I just figured that all those friends of yours must be dragging you out every night," Terri responded and from the looks of it, immediately regretted it. He could read her thoughts as though they were being broadcast on her forehead, right between her eyebrows. She probably wanted to hit herself right now for selling her social-media-stalking butt out. She cleared her throat and took a sip of her drink to compose herself.
He was silent for a bit, struggling with the smile that wanted to spread across his face. Though he won the fight with his face, he couldn't stop his heart from picking up its pace at the idea that she had been keeping tabs on him over the past few years.
