Tis the Season

“He’s just so great with my family,” Grace gushed before blowing on her hot chocolate. “When T spilled something last night he didn’t even hesitate to help out. My mum loves him, dad loves him, I love him.” The girl sighed contently as she leaned back in her chair. She had a dreamy look on her face and Brooklyn couldn’t help but feel immensely jealous. She wanted that with someone, she wanted to be all swoony over something as simple as cleaning up a mess. “He’s perfect, B.”

Brooklyn chuckled and wound her fingers through the handle of her cup. “You did manage to nab one of the good ones,” she agreed before taking a tiny sip. “Ask him if he’s got any super amazing friends like him, yeah?”

Grace frowned as she sat up a little straighter. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out with Niall,” she said quietly.

“Don’t be. It just wasn’t meant to happen, that’s all.”

Brooklyn smiled but disappointment was flowing through her. It’d been a couple of days since her disaster of a date with the Irishman and she still wasn’t sure what had gone wrong. She almost wanted to text him a few times and ask what happened – they did have solid conversations when it was just texting – but she knew that wasn’t a very good idea.

“Well, still,” Grace sighed and shook her head. “I thought for sure you two would hit it off with the way Chase talks about him.”

Brooklyn nodded and picked up her cup, desperate for something to focus on other than this topic of conversation. It was awkward and she felt somewhat pathetic for being disappointed about the whole thing.

“It’s alright,” she finally said, her lips pressed to the rim of her cup. “I guess I’ll just be kissing my dog again on New Year’s.”

Grace snorted and the tension dissipated. The two girls went back to laughing and talking about Louis and Brooklyn’s German Shepherd Bella. They laughed until their cups were empty and Grace was on the verge of being late for work.

“Call me later, okay?” She said to Brooklyn as they embraced for a quick hug before parting ways.

Brooklyn shoved her hands in the pockets of her black pea coat as she strolled down the sidewalk. It was at least ten degrees below the monthly average and windier than usual for December but the brunette didn’t mind. She liked seeing all the street decorations and the couples walking hand in hand down the street.

She planned on heading straight home. She would get home, take Bella for a walk and then bake some cookies or take a nap but a bright and colorful display on the corner of the street caught her eye. There was green and red garland twisted together and draped in the store front while two painted on snowmen danced to imaginary music in a snowy scene below. It was a music shop she’d been by at least half a dozen times but all the previous times it looked dreary and uninviting.

Brooklyn paused in the middle of the sidewalk for a moment, contemplating whether or not she could go in and whether or not Bella had been by herself for too long. After a long moment of deliberation, she promised herself that she wouldn’t be in there very long and slipped inside.

An overwhelming smell of peppermint attacked her when she stepped inside and Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You was blaring from the overhead sound system. The guy at the counter next to the door smiled and Brooklyn nodded in acknowledgement before weaving through the rows.

It seemed to Brooklyn that the store specialized in records, especially, but there were also racks and racks of CDs, something that the brunette thought were obsolete with iPods around. Walking down the aisles, she trailed her fingers over the different racks, sliding past the x’s, y’s and z’s. Moving to the next row, she noticed another customer coming from the other direction out of the corner of her eye.

Down through the a’s and halfway through the b’s was when she spotted it, the thing she had searched for in various stores for months without luck, the thing that wasn’t sold online: the Michael Bublé Limited Edition Complete Collection. Gasping with excitement, she reached for it but it was snatched away before she could grab it.

“Too slow,” an Irish accent said, the voice full of mirth. Brooklyn turned on her heel and looked at the other customer. Niall stood there, bouncing on the balls of his feet as his eyes scanned the back of the five-disc box.

Brooklyn wanted to say something rude but instead what came out was, “you like Bublé?”

Niall looked up then, his blue eyes widening in shock. “Love him,” he said when his mouth finally caught up to his brain. “Sorry.”

The brunette couldn’t help but laugh. They’d spoken less than ten words in the last minute but it was still more than they spoke in the whole hour of their date. Niall watched in confusion for a moment before realization dawned on him and he joined in.

“Guess I had to steal something to break the ice,” he said through a laugh and Brooklyn nodded.

“Yeah but it would have preferably been something else,” she agreed before moving a little closer to have a better look at the other Michael Bublé CDs.

Like she feared, Niall had managed to grab the only Limited Edition Complete Collection. Frowning, she rifled through the CDs again as though one would magically appear.

“Like I said,” Niall chuckled, “too slow.”

Brooklyn laughed and shook her head. She wanted to be mad, she really did but there was something about Niall’s bright blue eyes and his charming smile that made it nearly impossible. “You’re awful,” she joked and bumped him gently with her hip. “I’ve been looking for that collection since forever!”

“Me too,” the Irishman said as he reached over and plucked another CD from Bublé’s section. “Here, have this one,” he told her as handed her Call Me Irresponsible. “It’s a good one.”

“I know,” Brooklyn said as she placed it back where it belonged. “It’s my favorite.”

“Mine too,” Niall agreed quietly. He was beginning to wonder if he was too quick to write Brooklyn off. They did connect pretty well over text and first dates are always awkward. With that in mind, he decided to take the plunge and try again. “Can I buy you a coffee after I buy this?”

The brunette smiled softly. “I just had a coffee.” Niall’s face fell. He opened his mouth to say that was okay but Brooklyn beat him too it. “But you can walk me home? I live just a few blocks away.”

“I’d love to,” Niall agreed and the two headed to the checkout.

After going through the till, Brooklyn and Niall headed out into the cold. They walked with a few inches between them, their hands brushing twice before Brooklyn saved them both the awkward handling by shoving her hands into her pockets. The pair laughed over Michael Bublé and talked about their first ever concerts. They both agreed that they wanted to go to the upcoming Coldplay concert and that Snow Patrol is vastly underrated and eventually they transitioned into a conversation about their families and Brooklyn’s dog.

And when they reached Brooklyn’s flat they were both wishing that the walk had been just a little bit longer.