It was the worst day of the year. Everyone was smiling too broadly, the children were louder than ever and the couples were grosser than the kids. Ruth groaned as she strutted down the street, rolling her eyes at every bauble, she hated Christmas. It was her yearly reminder of her loneliness and boredom. She could go to the party her assistant, Mirabel, had reminded her of, but she couldn't fathom entertaining a bunch of drunk men for the third year in a row.
She stopped in front of a small shop, it looked like a gingerbread house, and sighed happily. Inside was a cake, it looked like heaven to her, it was her yearly treat. The only thing that kept her cold, dead heart beating year after year. She couldn't fathom something better than the taste of cake on this otherwise horrid day. Ruth pushed the door of the small store open and sashayed to the counter like a peacock. She beamed at the sales boy, showing off her perfect white teeth.
"Could I get the ginger cake?" A rough voice asked from behind her before she could open her mouth, however it hung low when she recognised the voice. She quickly processed what had happened and almost screamed.
"NO! That cake is mine, sir. I got here first. Please, please pack it up for me." She begged, letting her eyes and cleavage work in harmony to demobilise the worker as she took off her coat. She gave herself a mental high five for not doing laundry and wearing a low cut top in exasperation. The boy gulped and took the last cake out of the display and placed it onto a plate. It was bite sized but tasted like heaven, which was what she needed on a day that felt like death.
She pulled out a twenty from her pocket and rested it onto the counter, grabbed her cake and spun on her heels. She locked eyes with the man that made her numb to the world, the man that helped her realise there was no point in trying to impress anyone, the man that destroyed her social life.
He approached her and she felt nervous crocodiles in her stomach, she hated confrontation but understood its necessity. "Miss, could I please get that cake? I'll pay double for it!" She felt aghast.
You are a leaf on a river, you are a leaf on a river, you simply float, she thought as she calmed herself down. "Why?" She queried. "Please, sit down and tell me."
He followed her and they sat down on some couches in the shop. She noticed that he aged well, his muscles were bigger, his beard was ragged in a sexy way, his voice still gave her tingles. His piercing brown eyes found their way to her dark ones and she wondered how he had forgotten her so easily when she thought of him every month. He ruined Christmas for her.
"My mother loves these cakes, she's just extremely sick. I really want her to get one before she passes away." She almost laughed aloud at his sob story. She had met his mother just last week, it was possibly why he had destroyed her reputation with everyone, his mother liked her more. They met in secret because she hated the idea that he would know of their meetings, she loved his mother far too much.
"Your mother would kill you if she heard that." She hissed before lifting the cake and taking a bite from it. "Lovena is healthier than either of us, Jeb. So please, take your idiocy and get out of my sight." Her tone changed to one of annoyance immediately and she returned her attention to the cake in front of her.
"...and here I thought you didn't recognise me, Ruth." His finger lifted up and wiped a small crumb from the side of her lip, with the same familiarity he had always used against her. His other hand lifted the cake and took a bit from it, a grin spreading across his lips. "I can't believe you still come here, year after year."
"How did you know I come here year after year?" She questioned as she grabbed the cake from his hand. She took a bit from it and made sure to wipe her mouth and felt her cheeks blush as she remembered his touch.
"I come here every year too." He said softly. She took another bite and bore her eyes into his. She made a decision.
"Open your mouth." She ordered, as she always did. He opened it, following her words as he always had, she placed the last bite of the cake into his mouth and he ate it. "Follow me."
He was like a puppy, as she led him out. "You have a choice, get dinner with me and talk or turn around right now and we never see each other again." She held the cards for now and he knew that there was never a real choice. He had stared at her for five years, knowing that he had ruined Christmas for her, and now she was giving him a chance.
"Let's have dinner." He answered.