A Special Christmas Gift |Zalfie|

A little secret

It was a quiet taxi ride. The white balls of fluff were falling from the sky and hitting the car's windows. It was very calm. Zoe was not whinning about the decision she was forced to take and Alfie was not fighting with Zoe about it. They were both staring outside admiring the beautiful landscape. Unfortunately, the silence was broken, yet again, by Zoe, slightly panicked.

'Wait! Wha-what about my car? I left it there and...' she moved her hands up and down wildly.

'You can always take a taxi back there, you know...' Alfie responded not turning his head from the window.

'But how am I going to get home from yours?'

'Taxi?' Alfie was still looking out.

'I don't have enough money.' Zoe looked in her wallet. 'Dammit!'

'You can stay the night. It's getting dark anyway and you might be exhausted.'

Zoe repeated that in her head. Twice, thrice...until she realised. Was he really inviting her to stay the night? In Alfie's apartment? In the same house as him?Maybe in the same room? She shook a little at the thought of that and felt goosebumps rising.

'I thought you are cold hearted jerk. Why are you so nice with me all of the sudden?' she crossed her arms.

'Maybe I don't want you think that I am a jerk...' he muttered hoping that Zoe would not hear him. But she did, because Alfie sucked at being discrete. And instead of muttering it under his breath, he practically said that normally. And Zoe giggled inside her, she heard something she was not supposed to hear.

After another 10 minutes, they arrived. They got out of the car and looked at the bloc of flats. Alfie scratched the back of his head, while Zoe was muttering something under her breath. Something Alfie can't do.

'It's on the seventh floor, flat number 65.' the driver laughed.

'Oh, heh, thanks!' Zoe waved at him.

As they got in front of the apartment door, Alfie stopped and turned to Zoe.

'Listen,' he began. ', I don't know what's it like inside, so...don't judge.'

'I'm not that kind of person, Alf.'

Alfie turned around and smiled at the nickname. He again tried to mutter, but ended up saying out loud '...cute...'. Poor him, his cheeks got as red as a crab. But what was with this quick change of personality? At the hospital he was acting like Zoe almost pushed him off a cliff, and now... He turned the key in the lock with his heart racing and entered. Both of them had their mouths opened.

'And do you want me to judge on this?' Zoe pointed to the luxurious interior. There was dark wood furniture, crocodile leather armchairs and sofas, furry carpets, big and authentic paintings, tall bookshelves with books covered in leather.

'Holy shit...' Alfie dropped his bag on the hard, light-brown wooden floor. 'I'M RIIIIIIICH!' he started screaming, jumping right on the sofa, without taking his coat or shoes off.

'Um-erm...well...uh...' Zoe raised her eyebrows. 'Maybe you're not actually living here. Maybe the hospital stole the keys to your actual flat and replaced them with the ones of a billionare's!'

'Hmph...makes no sense!' Alfie stuck his tongue at Zoe.

'I was joking, idiot.' she went looking for the guest room.

Zoe climbed the stairs and entered a tiny corridor with three rooms. She checked the first two rooms and no success. The when she reached for the last one, it had a wooden sign hung on the door with caligrafic writing, saying 'Guest Room'. Zoe facepalmed herself, turned the knob and was welcomed by a nose-tickling lavander smell. There was a bed with green sheets and colorful pillows of various sizes. Next to each side of the bed, there was a white night stand, one with a red lamp on it and another one with a Yankee candle, the source of the delightful scent that was floating in the room. She entered and observed a white, fluffy, round carpet right in front of the bed. The Zoe imediately spotted a huge ivory wardrobe, with mirrors attached to its doors.