Just My Cup of Tea

fourteen

After I had hesitantly pulled away from Eric's very warm embrace, I stepped back embarrassed, colour spreading across my face. I laughed nervously and apologized, glad to see that I hadn't made a mess of my makeup on his dress shirt. Other than the smudge of red on his collar from the lipstick. Eric was quick to help me get my bag, pay for the wine and lead me out of the restaurant, his hand in mine. 

I noted how Alexander had much warmer hands than he had. But I didn't dwell on the fact too much. I didn't even want to think about that asshole yet alone think about the perks of his warm hand. 

The cold air hit me like a wave and goosebumps rose all over my arms. Summer had come to an end and the cold autumn air was beginning to creep through the thin fabrics. I could feel my hand shaking and Eric probably noticed though it was no mystery with the goosebumps evident on my arm. 

It didn't help that I was practically cold blooded and through winter and summer both, I had ice cold hands and feet and basked under every blanket I could find. Eric smiled down at me, a nostalgic look on his face as he waked to his car that was on parking, opened the door and pulled out of his jackets. 

I gaped at the jacket for a moment as he handed it to me. It was the same jacket that he would always give me when I was cold. It wasn't rare for me to randomly need heat if we were out on a date and because, I kept stealing his favorite, best jacket, he eventually began to bring it everywhere. I thought about all the nights I had snuggled into this jacket when we went out for ice cream or a walk. 

Thankful for the dark, I graciously took the jacket from him and wrapped it around my petite frame, welcoming the familiar softness of the material and how it was way too big for me and yet it fit me perfectly in a way. I buried my head inside the covered area, discreetly inhaling and smiling softly to myself when I realized it smelled just like it always had.

I could feel Eric's eyes on me and when I looked up he was checking how the jacket looked on me before giving me a lazy and satisfied grin. Suddenly the abnormality of the situation came crashing down onto me and I bit down my lip, looking at the ground. 

'Sorry.' my voice was quiet and I was hoping he didn't hear but he didn't miss it despite the hustle of the city. 

'What for?' he asked frowning at me in confusion. 

'You passed down dinner just to tend to me. You didn't have to.' I fiddled with the sleeves of his jacket, feeling his eyes burning down at me. 

'I couldn't leave you there like that. Besides, who said dinner had to be over? I was thinking we could go get some Mcdonalds?' I looked up at him carefully studying his face. I didn't know what his intentions were or what he wanted from me because at this point he'd just been asking to see me and nothing else.

There was an innocence hidden inside the ocean of his eyes and as if on cue my stomach rumbled rather embarrassingly loudly making me freeze and cringe. He laughed at me as I turned an interesting shade of pink and glared at him. 

'See you clearly need it. C'mon, let's go get some burgers.' Subconsciously almost, he took hold of my hand and gently tugged me towards the direction of where the nearest Mcdonalds was, knowing I preferred to walk rather than take the car. I didn't know how smart going with him would be but to be fair, I did get ditched by my husband at dinner, missing my chance to eat anything and now I was hungry and he was offering. 

I matched his pace and pulled my hand away from his casually, tucking my hands into the pockets of the jacket. He definitely noticed because I caught the cute little frown on his face from the corner of my eye. We walked in a comfortable silence for a moment before he broke it, probably wanting to talk.