Page 5 of When Midnight Strikes
4
Cole
I’m reminded that I left my blinds open as the sun comes barging in through my window, making my eyes squint when I try to open them as I stretch out my arms. I’m glad it's the weekend already. Yesterday was full of house showings with not a single bit of interest. I was even extra and made lemonade and laid out cookies I picked up from the nearby bakery. My stomach grumbles from the memory of the delicious sugar and sweetness. I rub the sleep from my eyes and check my phone for missed calls, finding a text from Paul telling me he will see me tonight and not to forget to bring a plus one. I ignore the plus one bit. I’m flying solo tonight. I plan on having fun, and I don’t want to worry about leaving anyone behind or have someone worry about where I’m disappearing off to when I catch someone appealing in sight. After a year of not dating, I’m ready to get out there again and have some fun. Paul's double dates didn’t count. I’m not usually the type of guy who has hookups but there’s a first time for everything and I’m not ready to be serious with someone again.
My bathroom’s floor is comparable to walking on ice and I hobble to the tub, quickly turning it on. The water from the shower covers my body and I lean into the warmth. I’m one of those people who have to have it so hot I can almost feel my skin burning. This is probably why none of my exes cared to shower with me. I never cared to share my showers with anyone anyway. It’s one of those things I like to do alone. It’s my time to myself where I can just close my eyes and sink into the hot water and not think for once. It’s my relaxing time, and I’d much rather not have someone there to interrupt it.
Out of the shower, I throw on a pair of dark jeans and a plain white shirt before slipping on the first pair of shoes I come across in my closet. I figure I can get all my grocery shopping done this morning and then pick up some food on the way home so I can relax with some random movie I’ll probably end up falling asleep to. There are times I do eat food from my own fridge that didn’t come out of a Styrofoam or plastic container. I sometimes buy an array of frozen food and stuff to make sandwiches for those cold weekends I don’t feel like going anywhere. I also live off around eight cups of coffee a day, so that’s always number one on my grocery list. So opening up the empty canister is a bit of a disappointment this morning.
I hurry to my car and it takes me a while to get all the snow off the windows. It doesn’t take too long to get to Harvey's even with snow covering the streets.
The grocery store is fairly empty for a Saturday, but I bet it’s because no one wants to come out in the snow if they don’t have to. Sometimes it still doesn’t stop people though. It doesn’t stop me. I grew up in a town where it snowed a lot, so this was the norm for me. Everything is fairly close to my apartment anyway; I didn’t ever have to drive too far. That’s what I love most about living in a small town not far from the city. The only downfall about living in a small town during winter was our roads were usually the last ones to get plowed.
I throw everything into my cart that is on my grocery list, and I’m about to head toward checkout when I come across a familiar person. I would say familiar face, but it’s covered in his usual sunglasses, beanie, and hoodie. I walk his way, and he finally turns to face me, lifting his glasses over his head while pulling up his beanie to where it sits right at the top of his molten chocolate eyes. “Oh, hey there, neighbor.”
I smile his way. “Hey there, looks like Saturday is the perfect day to go grocery shopping, huh?” Not many people come out this early on a holiday in a small town. Not on New Year’s Eve anyway.
He nods after glancing around. “It would appear so. It’s emptier than I thought it would be, which is always a good thing. I usually come on Sundays but came today instead in case I didn’t feel like going tomorrow, and most places will be closed on New Year’s Day.”
I nod. “Yeah, smart thinking. So, you have any big plans for tonight? Or do you not celebrate the new year?”
He nods. “I usually don’t make too huge a deal of it, but this year I’m being dragged to some party with a friend.”
I’m tempted to ask what party in hopes it will be the same one I will be at, but I don’t want to seem too eager. So instead, I say, “Oh, fun. I’ll be going to a party too. My friend is throwing one tonight. Maybe we will be at the same one, and if not, then have a great New Year’s Eve.” I shuffle my feet. “Or New Year in case I don’t see you tomorrow.”
He smiles with his hands wrapped around his cart handle. “Same to you, Cole. See you around.”
His sweet smile makes it almost difficult to walk away. I lift my hand up in a wave as I push my cart toward the checkout. I wish we could have talked longer, but we were standing in the middle of the grocery store. I was surprised he was talking to me at all after yesterday’s encounter. Perhaps he had a long day at work and was caught off guard. I wasn’t always the friendliest when I got off work. It takes everything out of me not to look back as I walked away from him. I throw the bags in my cart and push it outside to my car.
I attempt to get everything up to my apartment in one trip, almost slipping on the small amount of ice on the steps and falling backward down two flights of stairs. The twelve bags on my arms made it hard to keep balanced and the slippery railing didn’t help. That would have been a great way to start the new year, breaking almost every bone in my body.
I load everything in the fridge once inside and just kind of stand there thinking of what else I could do, besides my neighbor, to pass the time before the party tonight. Nothing else sounds more appealing, and once the thought entered my mind, it's hard to get it out. Perhaps I would meet someone tonight who could help me with just that. If only there was some magical way to speed up time so I wasn’t tempted to walk right across the way, shove my neighbor into his apartment the moment he answered the door and claim his mouth with mine, then maybe even more right after that. It was crazy that he was getting this reaction out of me. I hadn’t been this interested in anyone since Michael, and I’m not even sure Michael’s presence had this effect on me when we first met, or ever, for that matter.
