Winter is for Lovers (Bucky Barnes X OC) [Book 1]

7. Happy Birthday

It felt like possibly the hottest day of the summer. The sun was blistering outside, and the humidity was at an all-time high.

I opted for a cotton fitted, red and white striped shirt with a ribbed ringer crew neckline, tucking it into my high-waisted navy blue cotton shorts with sailor buttons in the front. I finished the look by wearing a red pair of peep-toed pumps. My hair seemed frizzier than normal, so I wrapped it into a headscarf, keeping it off my shoulders, with loose curls at the front.

I didn't bother with makeup, it was much too hot, and I didn't feel like putting any more effort into my appearance, knowing the heat and humidity would ruin it within a couple of hours anyway. I took one last look in the mirror before a knock at my door left me to accept that this was as good as it was going to get.

My doorbell rang continuously as I rushed downstairs to see Rebecca, Bucky, and his friend, Steve, waiting for me at my doorstep.

Rebecca's outfit was similar to mine, except her shirt was dark blue and white striped, and fire engine red shorts that flared out with white wedges, giving her an extra two inches in height. She had two victory rolls on the top of her head, letting the rest of her hair drape down to her collar bone. Bucky was wearing a cool blue long-sleeved button-up with charcoal buttons and a loose pair of slacks with black saddle oxford shoes. He looked devilishly handsome, with his hair much shorter than the last time I saw him, perfectly gelled with a slight poof.

I looked over at the more petite man at his side, dirty blond hair covering his forehead and a loose white button-up shirt, with khaki pants and the same style of shoes as Bucky. He was much smaller than his friend, being about as tall as Rebecca if she wasn't wearing shoes. He was maybe weighed about 100 pounds soaking wet, his features slightly sunken in, looking completely malnourished, and a dark yellow bruise under his sky blue eyes, a hint of green around the irises. I raised an eyebrow at the bruise, then noticed a healing scab at the corner of his bottom lip, clearly from getting into a scrap a few days before.

Rebecca threw her arms around me, twirling me around, showing me and my outfit off to the two boys on my porch. Bucky looked me up and down, taking in the sight of me, legs bare and fair-skinned. I smiled wide at him as he came in to kiss my cheek, greeting me in his seemingly charming Bucky Barnes way.

"Hey there, Doc," he said, winking at me.

"Hey there yourself, soldier," I scrunched my nose up at him as he pushed his small friend forward, who seemed relatively embarrassed and out of place next to the Barnes siblings.

Bucky wrapped his arm around Steve's shoulders, making him slump where he stood. "You remember my pal, Steve."

"Hello again, Steve," I said to him, extending my hand to him. "Nice to see your face is still mostly intact today."

"Yeah, well..." he mumbled off some excuse that I didn't quite catch, and I decided that I would internally scold him, seeing as today was a special occasion. "Hi, Doctor Grace."

"I think you can call me Hazel, Steve," I winked at him, putting on an encouraging smile. "We are in a social setting, not at the hospital."

"Right," he smiled back at me. "Hi, Hazel."

"It's also Steve's birthday today, so we figured he could tag along? If that's alright," Rebecca said to me, her grin beaming.

"Of course," I said, not bothered in the slightest. "We should get going, the parade starts soon, and I want to find us a decent spot."

Rebecca hooked her arm around mine, skipping us along the street as we headed to find a taxi cab to take us into the city. Bucky and Steve walked right behind us, talking low enough to where Rebecca and I couldn't hear.