“I really can’t stay”

A posh man about twenty or so stated as he sat on the white ‘L’ shaped couch of his college classmate. It was unbeknownst to the female renter of this apartment that the fashion design major had a crush on her.

The man looked at the pictures that sat framed on the coffee table in front of him. Most of the pictures were the roommate’s but, the one that wasn’t was a black and white polaroid of the design major back in his freshman year in college when him and his crush first officially meant.

Their meeting wasn’t the most romantic however, the setting was. They were both at at the spring dance and he noticed she had snapped a photo of him. He swallowed his nerves, asked her about it, and she replied with a cheesy pickup line that cause him to fall evening harder.

Now, being the type of man he was he thought that leaving was a better option then staying and risk being the talk of the town. In this decade it was considered taboo for a man to stay with a woman unattended. Who knows what unspeakable things they could do together? Like build a pillow fort or play scrabble or if they want to be a little risque play scrabble in the pillow fort. 

“Gabriel, it's cold outside.”

The girl of his dreams replied batting her eyelashes as an attempt to get him to stay. She had purposely invited him over even know her roommate was staying at a friends. This had given her the perfect chance to make a move on the brilliant young man that sat before her. But, she knew Gabriel was more of a traditional man in that the boy should always ask the girl out. She had often thought that stereotype was ( in her roommate's best terms) utterly ridiculous.

“I gotta go away.”

He told her before he stood up and grabbed his medium grey  trench coat off the back of the couch. He could easily stay with her and drink hot chocolate and watch reruns of Lone Ranger but he couldn’t. He put his coat on and slung his scarf around his neck as he he headed to the door. His hand was on the door knob when his blonde friend took it upon herself to fix his vibrant red scarf into a classical knot.

It seemed more often than not  that she was nitpicking what he was wearing. This all started during that spring dance all those years ago when he showed up with a slightly crooked bowtie. To be honest after that incident he purposed made something he was wearing slightly off just so she would fix it. That includes this scarf that coincidentally she had gotten him as a gift this season.

“Gabriel, it’s cold outside.”

She said as she tied the scarf. Gabriel did his best to avoid making direct eye contact with her. He knew one look into her emerald greens and he was staying for better or worse.

“This evening has been...”

“Been hoping that you'd dropped.”

“So very nice.”

He tried to thank her for inviting him over and was sorry that he had to leave but to be trapped with Emilie was agony.  Agony. The best word to describe Gabriel’s situation. He had Emilie, the most amazingly talented and not to mention beautiful woman so close. Yet, according to their mutatal friend, Emilie saw’ll Gabriel as nothing more then ‘just a friend’.

However, Emilie felt the exact same way. She thought that if she ever wanted anything more than a friendship with Gabriel then she had to ignore those stupid stereotype. She grabbed his hands in hers and planned on asking him out him out on something as simple as a date to the ice skating rink. But the words that exited her mouth were far more daring.

“I’ll hold your hands they're just like ice.”

“My mother will start to worry.”

He replied regrettably taking his hands away from hers. She looked at him with a slight glimmer of determination in her emerald eyes that could make any sane man swoon.

“Handsome, what's your hurry?”

Her last defense was pickup lines that she learned from the TV comedies. Her pickup line reminded Gabriel of the one she first told him. It was right when he confronted her about the polaroid and she replied with “I had to take a picture of my future husband.”  Add a smile that could lift even Eeyore’s mood and there’s a recipe for the perfect woman.

“My father will be pacing the floor.”

He quickly replied pulling his coat collar up as an attempt to hide his embarrassment. Thinking about his past wasn’t going to help his present. 

“Listen to the fireplace roar.”

She added as she looked at the fireplace. Selfishly wishing for him to consider to at least stay in the apartment for safety  instead of facing the mountain of snow and ice  that awaited outside. His hand was back on the doorknob as he said:

“So, really I'd better scurry.”

She put her hands on each side of his chiseled cheeks and pulled his face to hers. She was centimeters from wavering his decision with a kiss. The word tradition popped into her head at that exact moment causing her to pull away.

“Handsome, please don't hurry.”

She whispered causing him to reply with a favorable response. It was about time to. She had thought she had lost him by being too direct in the matters of her own heart but there was a possibility that she wasn’t being direct enough. Since, Gabriel wouldn’t have objected a kiss especially by her.

“Well maybe just a half a drink more.”

“I'll put some records on while I pour.”

Emilie said words a bit slurred after realizing she still has a chance. She prepared the hot chocolate in the the kitchen with the help of Gabriel even know he wasn’t much of a cook. But, even he can’t mess up hot chocolate. He stirred the milk as the pan heated up to prevent the milk from scorching.

Emilie grabbed the whipped cream from the fridge, the candy canes and marshmallows from the top cupboard which was a bit of a challenge since she was slightly too short to get it.
Gabriel wanted to help her but if he tired she would of gave him the ‘I’m a independent woman and I don’t need a man to get a bag of marshmallows’ speech.

“The neighbors might think.”

Gabriel added as he continued to stir the milk. She glared at him as she hopped off the chair with marshmallows in hand. She didn’t care whether the neighbors thought that him not helping was gentlemanly or not. They’d be more concern in why a single man and woman were alone together.

Emilie looked out the window to check just how bad the weather was. The streets of Paris were buried beneath inches of snow. Maybe, four or six? It was hard to tell when on the fourth floor of an apartment complex and the window was iced over. 

“Gabriel, it's bad out there.”

Since the milk was at a boil, Emilie ripped open some Hershey chocolate bars and threw them into the pot as Gabriel continued being the master stirrer. When the milk change from white to brown it was time to turn the stovetop off and pour it into the coffee cups. She was incharge of putting toppings on the hot chocolate. She snuck a few marshmallows into his drink when she knew very well that he doesn’t like marshmallows.

“Say what's in this drink?”

Emile smiled not confessing to putting marshmallows in his drink. She was tempted on lecturing him about why it was necessary for marshmallows to go with hot chocolate. If she wanted to ruin the atmosphere a lecture was the best way to do that especially on winter break.

They both ended up looking out the window trying to identify silhouettes of the objects obscured by the ice and snow. Not a car in sight. Not even Santa would dare travel in these conditions.

“No cabs to be had out there.”

Emilie pointed out. Gabriel wasn’t paying much attention to the window or what goes on the other side of it. He could care less about that. What had his full attention was coming up with a way to impress her.

“I wish I knew how.”

He wished he knew how to impress her in a situation like this. He knew how to play the piano and he knew she had a thing for pianist but there was no piano in sight. He read in books that the man would give the woman his coat yet this only work if the woman was wearing a strapless gown and Emilie was in the complete opposite. That didn’t mean she wasn’t any less beautiful.

Emilie and Gabriel sat comfortably together on the couch sipping there hot chocolate. Emilie couldn’t help but to try one last pickup line for the evening. A favorite from her Dean Martin song. If it fails no harm done but if a line like this works for men why won’t it for a women?

“Your eyes are like starlight now.”

“To break this spell”

He muttered back unconsciously pointed to his lips wondering if a kiss from Emilie would keep him permanently entranced. As he weighed his thoughts, Emile sat her mug onto the coffee table then grinned a grin that was only achievable by someone who was up to no good. She quickly took his hat off his head and ruffed up his neatly kept hair.

“I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell”

“Why thank you.”

He sarcastically replied as he tried to reach for his hat but Emilie figured that if he’s going to complain about the marshmallows, then he can’t have his hat. She placed his hat on her head and got up to turn on the record player to her favorite Dean Martin song. The very same she got her pickup line from. She held out her hand accepting Gabriel to take her invitation to dance.

“I ought to say no, no, no Emile”
He stood up to dance with his crush. He usually was a good dancer some would say great however, everytime he tried to dance with Emilie he felt like a nervous wreck.
“Mind if move in closer?”
She asked as she waited a couple seconds for a reply before placing her hands on his shoulders. A waltz. A very intimate and simple dance that somehow Gabriel was managing to mess up.
“At least I'm gonna say that I tried.”

“What's the sense of hurtin' my pride?”

“I really can't stay”

He replied feeling that he was going to embarrass himself pass the point to no return. He would rather get frostbite then make a fool of himself. That’s one of the reasons why he admired Emile so much. She didn’t care if she did something embarrassing like stuffing candy canes under her top lip to look like a walrus.
“Gabriel, don't hold out.”
“Awe, it's cold outside.”
“Ah, you're very pushy you know?”
“I like to think of it as opportunistic”