Holiday from Hell

Part 1

Valentine's day; my least favorite holiday. In fact, I'd much rather celebrate ground hog's day, or president's day. Hell, I would buy ol' George Washington a birthday present and cake before I celebrated another Valentine's day. And my best friend knew that. Which was why she was spending the day at my apartment, ready to gorge on countless pints of ice cream and have a marathon of Will and Grace. We even had tee-shirts that read, "I do not support Hallmark invented holidays."

"Are we ready to begin our day full of comedy and sweets?" She asked.

"Yeah, I just need to take out Mr. Ben and Mr. Jerry so they can thaw a little."

She scoffed, dug a spoon out, and opened the freezer. "Please, they don't need to thaw. They come already softened. See-" she scooped up some vanilla ice cream and popped it into her mouth with a smile.

I laughed and took out my favorite flavor (minty chocolate chip) and headed over to the couch. "Who needs men when we have this?"

"Exactly."

We tapped the side of our cartons in a toast and laughed. Soon, we started the first season of Will and Grace. Everything was fine until I realized that we'd run out of ice cream, chocolate, and all the other necessity’s we needed for our anti-valentine's day. I stood up and stretched, my limbs sore from sitting so long. "Hey, there's a grocery store like, right down the block. I'm going to run over there and pick up some more ice cream and stuff." I told her.

"Alright, if you must. I suppose you want me to wait to watch more."

"Yeah. Well, why don't you just come with me? That would solve all of our problems."

"It would, but unfortunately, I don't want to get up." She snuggled deeper into the blankets and smiled. "I'll just dream of some hot hunk sweeping me into his arms and-"

I covered my ears and cried, "La, la, la! I'm not listening!"

She laughed, her hazel eyes sparkling. "Come on Kay, a girl can imagine."

"Not on our anti-valentine's celebration, she can't. Now, don't pick up the phone or answer the door."

"Yes mom, and I'll be sure to chew completely so I don't swallow."

I walked over to my coat rack and sighed. "You're a bitch."

"I know it. Now shoo, I want more of Mr. Ben and Mr. Jerry."

I wrapped my scarf around my neck and slipped into my black pea coat. Winters in Wisconsin were killer. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be back." I opened my door and stepped outside, shutting it tight behind me. I trusted Jenn enough to stay in my apartment. We'd been friends for over four years; it would be sad if I couldn't trust her.

I stepped into the street, my breath immediately freezing. Jesus, why was it so damn cold? I put my hands in my pockets and rushed down the sidewalk. It was around four in the afternoon, and the sun was already beginning to set. Snow was starting to fall. Great, more snow. As if driving wasn't hard enough already, I thought, instantly frowning. Suddenly, I heard my ring tone. With a groan, I dug out my cell and flipped it open. "Hello?" I said.

"Don't hate me for what I'm about to say." Jenn replied in a single breath, her voice sounding nervous.

I sighed. "What?"

"Well, Bobby called."

"And?"

"And, he sorta asked me if I'd like to go see a movie with him tonight."

I knew where this was heading. "What time are you leaving?"

"Umm...about ten minutes."

"Ten minutes!" I exclaimed, earning a few strange looks by fellow walkers. I took a deep breath and added, "But, Jenn, it's our-"

"I know, I know. But I really like him Kay. I mean, I really like him."

Who was I to deny my friend her happiness? "Fine. Call me when you get back and give me the gruesome details."

She squealed loud enough that I had to hold the phone away from my ear. "Kay you are the bestest friend in the whole wide world. Do you know that?"

"Yes, I think I was told that in first grade. Thanks."

"Ah, love you. Bye."

"Bye." I snapped my phone off and pouted. Well, I was still going to get more ice cream. Especially now that I was going to be alone. Yeah, drowning my sorrow in sugar and fats sounding good right about now. I walked into the grocery store, glad when the heat hit me. Red balloons and roses were coming at me from every direction. Now, God was just being cruel. "I get it," I whispered. "I'm alone and lonely."

"You always talk to yourself?" A sudden voice asked.

I looked around, my eyes finally stopping on a man to the right of me. He was. . . gorgeous. "Uh, no." I answered.

He smiled, his teeth a dazzling shade of white. "I'm Colin." He held out his hand, waiting for me to shake it.

Was I really being hit on in a grocery store? Of all the places to have a romantic encounter. I shook his hand, a small smile on my face. "I'm Kaylin."

"Pretty name."

"Uh, thanks." I moved out of the way of the door, annoyed that every time someone stepped in, a gust of cold wind went right up my back.

Colin stepped towards me. He was taller than me; which was good, seeing as how I was about five three. And he had the most amazing pair of blue eyes I'd ever seen. To top it off, he had a great set of dark brown hair. Yeah. He was gay. There was no way someone that looked like him, flirted with me. "So, what are you doing in here on valentine's day? Shouldn't you be off with your boyfriend?"

Ah. Smooth. "One, I hate Valentine's day. Two, I don't have a boyfriend. I just came in for ice cream. So, I'll just be on my merry way. Bye." I stepped away from him, my steps quick.

But of course, because he was taller, he was able to catch up to me with no problem. I hated being short. "What kind of girl hates Valentine's day? You get chocolates and flowers-"

"Yeah, something you eat and something that dies. Nice thought, but no thanks."

He laughed. "I take it you're a bit cynical."

"Some would call me that, yes." I finally reached the frozen aisles. The sooner I got what I needed and got out, the better.

Colin leaned against on of the doors, a smirk on his face. "So, what, you're just going to go home and pig out on ice cream all night?"

I groaned, my face in one of the doors, trying to find the flavor I wanted. "That's the plan." I answered. Why wouldn't he go away? Couldn't he see I wasn't interested?

"Well, no one should have to spend a holiday alone." He told me.

"Aha!" I cried, grabbing some cheese-cake flavored ice cream. It was so delicious, I considered it a sin. Then, I turned back to Colin. "Look, I appreciate what you're doing, but I don't need your pity. I'm a big girl, and I'm fine."

His smirk grew larger. "I'm not pitying you. I'm suggesting you come back with me to the cafe I work at, that happens to be owned by my parents. I can give you better than ice cream. We have pie, cookies, and coffee."

I looked down at my pint. Damn. Why did his proposal sound so tempting? I narrowed my eyes, trying to decide if I should trust him or not. "How do I know you're not some crazy, psycho killer?"

He laughed again, making me notice the small dimple on his right cheek. Bad Kaylin. He shrugged his shoulder and said, "I guess you'll just have to trust me."

It was my turn to laugh, although mine didn't sound half as nice as his did. "Sorry buddy, but I don't trust anyone." Okay, it was a white lie. In trusted some people, but not most.

His blue eyes pierced into mine, making me feel slightly on edge. "Do you honestly think I'm some psycho killer?" He asked, his voice soft.

I looked at him, and the only thing I could think was, No. "Alright, I'll go with you. Besides, I could go for some coffee."

His grin was back. And oh, what a wonderful grin it was. "Excellent. I just have to grab some creamer and we can be on our way."

Great, I'm probably going to get my ass killed. I followed him down to the creamer aisle, my steps heavy. I couldn't believe I'd said yes. I started to wonderful if maybe I'd hate just a little too much ice cream. Maybe I was going delirious. "So," I began, "how old are you?" I figured I should probably get to know him a little more. I was, after all, probably going to meet some of his family. How weird.

"Twenty-four. You?" He responded, his eyes on the creamers in front of us.

"Twenty-one."

He nodded his head, his eyes squinting in thought. "Vanilla or hazelnut?" He suddenly questioned.

"What?"

"What creamer should I buy? Vanilla, or hazelnut?"

"Vanilla, hands down." I answered simply.

"Good choice," he replied, picking up a bottle. "Alright, let's jet."

Let's jet? I thought with a smile. Who says that anymore? By the time we got outside, the snow was coming down in torrents. The wind whipped around, causing my shoulder length hair to fly around. Why hadn't I grabbed my hat? Because, you thought you were only coming out for ice cream. I reasoned with myself. "Where's your car?" I asked him.

"Over here. Now be careful, it's probably getting slippery."

"I can watch out for myself, thanks." I snapped. I wasn't five, I could see where there was and wasn't ice. Well, apparently, I couldn't. Because the next thing I knew, I was falling on my ass. My mouth opened wide and I let out a loud, "Shit!"

Colin turned around, snowflakes falling from his hair. He immediately started to laugh when he saw the predicament I was in. "Yeah, you can watch out for yourself." He teased.

"You're not funny. Now, help me up."

He arched an eyebrow, but came towards me nonetheless. I grasped his hand and he lifted me up without breaking a sweat. "You alright?"

"Oh, physically I'm fine. Mentally I'm smacking myself." I brushed off some of the snow from my jeans and jacket. "God, I'm a mess. I'm probably going to catch pneumonia and die."

"Oh, you're not going to die. Come on, my car's right up here."

We walked towards a dark red truck, which looked like it was going to be a bitch to get into. "Please tell me that isn't your car." I complained.

He smirked. "You gonna need help getting in?"

I growled and opened the door. Then, I hefted myself up, thankfully I had good upper body strength. Before I shut the door, I stuck my tongue out at him. Immature yes, but it made me feel better.

A/N: This is just a little short story I planned for Valentine's day. I was going to post the first part yesterday, but the site was down. So, the second part will get posted tomorrow. Hope you like it :) Review and let me know what ya think.
Faith