Love & Other Possibilities

Chapter 2 - Ross

      'Not even eleven o'clock and already having dealt with a crazy person,' I mused to myself. I took a long look at the rows of gift bags, and felt a sinking. I hated inventory counting.  

     In a burst of rebellious procrastination, I turned on my heel and headed towards the back room. It sounded like a good time for a cup of coffee - I was at a decent stopping point, after all. A morning person, I never usually drank coffee past nine, but today would be an exception. For a second, I was pretty sure that jerk was going to take a swing at me. 

      I made my way back to the back room. It was brightly lit with boxes on shelves lining the walls, Sealed boxes from a shipment I hadn't checked in yet stacked in the far left corner of my 'Office', which consisted of a computer on a desk next to a file cabinet. On the cabinet sat a small kureg coffee maker, a stack of paper cups and the coffee pods. 

     Looking at the coffee pods, I instantly thought of Winter, and her ability to pack away four or five cups of coffee into that tiny little body during any shift, morning or night. My thoughts drifted to her interaction with that jerk, and I instantly felt a weight in my gut. No one should be talked to like that, especially a lady. Anger welled in my chest again, as after a series of hissing, the coffee pot began to pour the heavy scented liquid into the orange paper cup. There was never a reason to talk to someone like that. I thought about if anyone had spoken to Molly like that - I wouldn't have been so nice, I don't think. 

     I heard the sound of approaching steps and turned to see Winter approaching. My breath caught slightly as I looked at her small, curvy frame, her long brown hair pulled up off her neck into a pile on top of her head. I wondered if she wore her hair like that so that her barely five foot frame could get a few added inches. She had pale, creamy skin, large blue eyes, and full, burnt red painted lips that pulled into a smile as she saw me. 

     "I guess we both had the same idea, huh?" She asked, her eyes flashing up at me as she stood a feet from me, her hands in her pockets. I nodded. 

     "Well, getting screamed out has a tendency to send me running for a caffeine fix." I nodded to her, pressing my lips into a thin smile. A chuckled trickled from her lips and she nodded, turning her eyes from me. I took the opportunity to glance quickly down her shapely body. She wore a long sleeved blue shirt, it's wide neckline showing off a flash more of her light skin, it's sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Dark blue jeans paired with tall brown boots made her short legs look longer. I turned my eyes from her body to her face as she looked back to me. 

      "Well you know my theory-" She smiled. "Any situation is a good situation for coffee." 

     I chuckled, grabbing my finished cup of coffee from the machine and stepping aside to give her access.

     "Well, be glad that you can. When you get as old as I am, you can't drink coffee past noon unless you don't want to sleep that night." I said, taking a slow sip of the beverage, it's heat sending steam rolling over the top of the paper cup. 

     "Oh yeah-" She laughed, sending me a sideways glance. "Because you're just so old."  She mocked. 

     "Winter, I've been alive for over three decades. That's old." I nodded to her, my eyebrows pulled up into a furrow. She made a 'Pshhh' sound and waved dismissively at me as the coffee pot sputtered to life. 

     "So how's house hunting coming along?" She asked me referencing my now six month quest to find a new home. She tilted her head to look up at me. I inwardly groaned, and then outwardly groaned. 

     "Man... Not good." I said, raising a hand to rub at my forehead in the sudden anxiety that welled my chest. 

     "Really? You're not finding anything you like?" She asked incredulously, her brows bent in question. I shook my head. 

     "Not really, no. I mean, these places they're showing me are just... Not great." I said simply. I didn't mention the fact the search is sending Molly into an unspoken 'We should get married' frenzy, and half the places I liked she vetoed because she didn't like them.  Molly and I had only been dating for a few months, but when she found out that I'd been looking at houses, she took that to mean that I was looking at houses for us. I didn't have the heart to refute that assumption, considering I really did like her. 

      Winter's soft eyes looked up at me sympathetically and a small smile played on her lips. 

     "Well, I'm sure you'll find something." She smiled. 

     "Oh yeah, I'm sure we will." I nodded. Her eyebrows lifted onto her forehead and her cheeks took a playful hint of pink. 

     "'We'?" She asked, and my err occurred to me. Maybe I was looking for houses for Molly and I after all. 

     "Well, you know... Molly's been helping me look at places, and been offering some helpful viewpoints." I nodded, feeling my cheeks warm as her icy blue eyes gazed at me, her smile crinkling them slightly at the sides. I narrowed my eyes at her and smiled bashfully. "Shut up." 

     "No! No, I don't mean to tease. It's nice." She smiled at me, grabbing her cup from the machine and taking a few steps back. I blushed again, and tucked one hand in my pocket. 

    "Well... Thanks. She's great."

She smiled at me in response, giving me a small nod. I furrowed my brow. 

"How about you? I guess I've never asked if you have yourself a fellow." I asked, taking a sip of coffee, feeling slightly bad. Here she knew so much about me - my house hunting, Molly, and i'm sure much more - and yet I never stopped to ask her. 

     She scoffed in response and shook her head. 

     "Oh, no." She said simply. For a second I thought she was going to say more, but her lips closed and she looked at me and shrugged. 

     "Well why not? You're a nice girl." 

Again the statement was met with a scoff, and I furrowed my brows slightly at her. I noticed how she started backing out of the room slightly - escaping the conversation. 

     "Yeah well. I'm not great with relationships." She said. Again, very vague. She lifted a hand and pointed back over her shoulder. 

     "You just want me to put away freight?" She asked, changing the conversation. I blinked at her for a second before I snapped out of my curiosity. 

     "Yeah-" I said, taking a few steps forward, running my hand over my chin. "Yeah, go ahead and start on that. I have this to check in too, so you'll have that to put away if you have time." I motioned towards the stack of boxes to my right. She nodded and gave me a thumbs up.

     "Sounds good." 

With that she walked briskly out of the room. I would have had to be blind not to notice the discomfort that met my question and I wondered for a moment, as I started after her, whether I had offended her with asking. Maybe she thought I was getting too personal? No, she always asked me about Molly, about my mom, about my dog even. She just must not have liked talking about herself.

      I thought about her for a second before I grabbed up the scan gun and, taking another drink of my coffee, headed out towards the sales floor.