Nine Days (Unfrozen Four)

“I’ll bring you coffee with a kiss on your head”—Say You Won’t Let Go by James Arthur

Lily

“Nope, this one is nasty!” Colin spits his sip of coffee back into the cup.

I laugh. This is the fifth coffee he has done this to.

Since we’re taking these coffee’s to-go, nobody ever sees Colin’s hideous way of tasting them. To his own luck. If the staff member were to see the way he spits his coffee back into the cup, I’d assume he’d get banned from the coffee shop in no time.

We’ve already been to six cafés. I, for my part, liked four of them. They weren’t the best, but I also had worse coffees before.

Colin, on the contrary, he hates every single one. Except for the very first coffee we’ve tried.

“I like it,” I tell him.

Colin made up two rules. “Don’t drink too much” and “we’re only buying one coffee per café with the same amount of milk and sugar.”

It makes sense. We have at least ten more cafés to visit, and I would prefer not dying from too much caffeine intake. That would be a sad way to go.

It definitely is a waste of money and coffee anyway. I hate that. Colin promised he would take the cups home and serve them to the guys though.

I wonder if he will give them the ones he spat in as well. It certainly would be hilarious to know my brother drank a coffee that contained Colin’s spit.

Disgusting, but hilarious.

“How? This one is even worse than the one we had before.”

“It’s not,” I protest.

“It is, Lilybug.”

“I would try it again, but I prefer drinking coffee without saliva in it.”

“I just saved your life, you’re welcome.”

Colin starts to drive again, making our way toward the next destination.

“Who’s your favorite musician?” I ask in need for this silence to be gone.

I usually don’t mind silence. And the one between Colin and me isn’t awkward. But ever since today’s morning it’s just weird. But so is talking.

Yet I still enjoy his company.

And although I have to admit to this coffee tasting being completely unnecessary and stupid, it actually is quite fun.

“Don’t think I have a favorite. However, I do listen to Chase Atlantic a lot,” he answers.

My eyebrows raise without me being able to control it. “I really can’t picture you sitting in this car while vibing to PLEASEXANNY,” I laugh.

Colin shakes his head and throws his phone into my lap. “Connect it with my car and open my playlist, I’ll show you.”

My mouth stays open and for a moment I just look at him dumbfounded. He tells me his passcode and eventually I do open his music app. He has five different playlists. The very last being titled “Alone-Time.”

“Seriously?” I click onto the playlist only to find it filled with Chase Atlantic songs.

I hit play and Falling starts to play. And so suddenly, I’m spending the next four minutes watching, laughing, while Colin is pouring his heart out, singing along to the lyrics.

At some point I join in, now going with a duet. I don’t even care that I can’t sing.

When the next song comes up, we’re both laughing.

“Aw, shit,” Colin mutters under his breath. “I could go for some McDonalds.”

I look out of every window, trying to figure out how the hell he thought of food.

Turning the volume down, I say, “I don’t like McDonalds.”

“God dammit, Reyes!” He is shocked, much to my amusement. I’m sure if he wasn’t driving, he would look at me with those huge blue eyes, boring into my soul. “Tell me you’re kidding!”

“Not kidding.”

“Aw, hell.” He exhales a deep breath. “Like, nothing that they have on their menu?”

“Nothing at all,” I admit.

“How?”

“I don’t know. I personally just don’t like the flavor.”

“The flavor of burgers?” he asks incredulously.

“No, but their sauces. And I don’t like their consistency. It’s weird to me.”

“McDonalds is a lifesaver,” he objects. “Not only is it affordable, it’s also good for its price.”

“So is KFC.”

“So, you like KFC but loathe McDonalds?”

“I’ve never been to KFC before,” I admit, laughing awkwardly.

The car stops at a red light. The second the car comes to a hold he turns, eyes on me, holding a gaze of irritation and uncertainty.

“Have you been living under a rock?” His mouth stands open, not for one second does he believe me telling the truth.

“Some people prefer homecooked meals,” I say, avoiding to look at him. I find it much more appealing to look at trees right now.

“Alright.”

Colin and I are walking into the next café, diner fits it better. It has a retro touch to it, I like it. It has the typical black and white tiled floor. Red seating booths, and red chairs for normal table seats. The front bar has white tiles and red countertops, fitting to the red and metal barstools.

I never even knew New City had a diner like this.

“I love this,” I say under my breath. My eyes wander around the room, taking in the stereotypical movie ambience this place brings.

And I truly feel like I’m in some kind of Hollywood romance movie. The only thing missing is the cold and rainy weather while it is also dark outside.

I certainly have the guy of someone’s dreams here with me.

All this is so mesmerizing to me. I don’t even realize when Colin takes a seat at one of the booths. All I do is stand in the middle of the diner, staring around myself like a fool.

But when I snap back to reality, I see Colin videotaping me. I don’t even question it anymore. I know he needs those for our project that I have no knowledge of.

“Excuse me?” A black-haired young woman taps onto my shoulder. “I love your outfit.”

Her hair is straight, but one can see it’s been straightened and that’s not its natural state. She has beautiful eyes, dark and mysterious. I feel like this girl right here is someone trustworthy.

But then again, I tend to trust brown-eyed people more.

“Oh, my God. Thank you.” A smile appears on my lips. Compliments about outfits are the best. “I love yours, too.”

The girl is wearing a white, skintight, satin dress, showing quite the amount of cleavage as well. It’s beautiful, with no doubt. But I personally wouldn’t wear this to a diner. A club for sure. But hell, she can pull it off.

The white of her dress glows on her skin, and it’s absolutely stunning. She looks absolutely stunning.

My outfit, on the other hand, is completely boring compared to hers. I did decide to wear Colin’s jersey. Why? I don’t know. I was hoping he would comment on it, think it was adorable. But he didn’t, much to my dismay. And I paired it with some black leggings and sneakers.

So like I said, nothing fancy. I wonder why she likes it.

“You’re a hockey fan?” she asks, flashing me a big white smile.

“I guess I have to be,” I say, shrugging. “My brother is one of the hockey players at St. Trewery U.” I have never said that out loud. Well, if you don’t count telling Colin that Aaron is my brother.

“For real?” Her eyes widen in shock. “That must be exhausting.”

I decide to just offer her a slim smile. I never felt like Aaron being a hockey player was exhausting. But then, I also didn’t exactly grow up with him. Perhaps Ana thinks differently.

“What’s your name?” I ask instead of answering.

“Kya Young,” she says, smiling. “What’s yours?” I feel like starting another possible friendship isn’t something I should be doing. But Kya seems genuinely nice.

“Lily Reyes,” I answer. “Are you here all by yourself?”

She lets out a sad sigh, then plasters a smile back onto her face. “I am. I had a date, but he stood me up.”

“Such a dick,” I say. “You can eat with Colin and me if you want.” I point toward Colin. I doubt he would mind.

“I prefer not to tag along on someone else’s date.”

“This isn’t a date.” I laugh. “Colin and I have a bet going. We’re just friends.”

“So that’s why you’re wearing Colin Carter’s hockey jersey, huh?” She smirks, raising her eyebrows. “But…we can exchange numbers, hang some other time. I’m sure we will see each other on campus, now that we met.”

“You’re a St. Trewery student?”

“Yup. I study architecture,” she answers. “I’m not sure why I attend some classes. Our construction technology professor only has eyes for Aaron Marsh.”

These are a lot of information to give to a stranger.

“I swear, she grades him A’s for his looks.”

I look over to Colin, only to find him staring at me. He has this questioning look printed on all over his face.

Kya and I end up exchanging numbers. She doesn’t stay to eat with Colin and me, like she said she wouldn’t.

I guess, if I didn’t have this huge plan of my death right in front of me, I would actually love having Kya as a great friend of mine. She seems like a hell lot of fun.

Kya leaves after hugging me goodbye like we’ve known each other for years.

“Seems like Kya likes you,” Colin says as I take a seat across from him. I blink at him like I’m in some sort of trance, trying to make up a story as to how he knows her. Every single one I could think of ends up with them having dated at some point in life.

I hate that I even think about it. I shouldn’t care.

“She’s stopping by at my parents’ house every other day, tutoring Eira.” A smile tugs onto his lips as if he knew being in the dark about their relationship bothers me.

Colin’s hand reaches over the table, lying on top of mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze. A surprisingly comforting squeeze I never knew I needed.

“Lilybug.” His voice is raspy, kind of as if he’s fighting the urge to spit some words out. I wonder what words those would be. Then a low guttural sound comes out of his throat, throwing his head back into his neck.

“What’s wrong?”

He appears to have some internal conflict going on. He adjusts his head, his eyes flickering between mine, my lips and our hands.

“What the hell are we doing?”

“You’re trying to make my life less miserable for the amount of time I have left.” I offer an awkward smile. Truth is, I have no idea is going on.

Ever since that accidental kiss at the arena, there is this certain warmth in my chest whenever I look at him. I feel safe around him. But to hell with what that could mean.

His head bobs, chuckling as he tries to find words to say. He’s as much at a loss for words as I am.

“Maybe we should stop,” I suggest, pulling my hand away from underneath his. At least I try to.

Colin’s fingers wrap around my hand, digging into my skin until it is almost painful, keeping my hand from leaving his.

“Stop what?” He doesn’t even acknowledge his hand squeezing mine. “Stop trying to get you to see a more colorful world? Stop trying to pretend that I don’t want to kiss you? Stop trying to ignore that I’m hard as a rock right now, only because I am touching your hand?”

I gasp. Jesus, how can he say stuff like that so casually?

“Stop playing with me. That’s not funny.”

“I’m not joking, jeez.”

This has definitely taken a turn I wasn’t expecting.

Colin was supposed to pretend he could make me fall back in love with life. He was supposed to give me a couple more good days, not complicate it with some attraction.

“Just forget it,” he says, withdrawing his hand from mine. “You’re right. It was a bad joke.”

Damned if that doesn’t burn in my lungs as I suck in a sharp breath. He was joking, dammit. How does one joke about…that?

Just in time, a brunette waitress approaches us. I’m glad she does, otherwise I would have probably started to cry.

“What can I get for you today?” she asks in a sweet tone, holding her notebook right in front of her. Her name tag reads “Miriam.” She looks friendly, but also kind of like she is about lose her shit.

And despite her friendly appearance, I can’t help but notice the hungry look she beams at Colin. He doesn’t even acknowledge it.

“Not a clue, can you recommend anything?” Colin looks up from the menu, but he doesn’t look at her. Instead, his eyes are on me.

“Would you want something light, or something for a bigger hunger?” She’s looking at me this time. Clearly she got the hint that Colin wasn’t going to pay her any more attention.

“Not sure what he prefers, but I would take something lighter.”

She beams a smile. “Sure. How about the Chicken Salad Croissant?” she suggests, then proceeds to tell me what it is made of.

“Sounds good. Also, could I get a blueberry-cheesecake muffin?” Miriam nods, writing down my order. “Colin?”

For the first time since Miriam approached us, he looks at her, allowing himself to appear friendly enough. “Do you have burgers?”

“Yes, but our menu is small. We only offer three different ones.”

“What’s the best one?”

“I would have to say the Hickory Burger.”

“Great.” Colin fake-smiles. “I’ll have one of those. And I will take fries with it.”

Miriam nods and writes down our food orders. “Would you like something to drink?”

Colin and I are both quiet. His eyes are back on mine, boring holes into my soul. At least until he cracks a smile.

“We’ll have a water each. And one coffee, two packs of sugar and about’—he holds his thumb and index finger up to Miriam—“this much milk.”

In an attempt to fight my laughter, I bite my lip. It doesn’t help much, because a chuckle still manages to escape from my throat.

This one little chuckle triggers Colin to the point where he breaks out in laughter as soon as Miriam leaves. Which then causes me to laugh.