Chapter 27—Nat

Part Three: A Tale of Two Timmies

“I had a really great time tonight,” Nat said to Adam as the two approached The Cozy Cup. They’d gone to dinner and then taken a stroll through Downtown Cherry Creek to look at lights.

“Me, too,” Adam said.

Because it was so cold, they both had their hands in their pockets, but their arms regularly grazed against each other as they walked.

“This place is cute,” Nat said. She paused to let her eyes take in all of the lights and sounds of the little town. It really was charming.

“It is,” he agreed with a shrug.

“You don’t sound like you think so,” she teased.

“Well, for starters, I feel like I’d be missing a golden opportunity if I didn’t say you’re cuter.”

Nat pressed against his chest in what was supposed to be a playful shove. It ended up just being her resting a hand on him for too long.

“Don’t get me wrong,” he said. He put his own hand over hers while he spoke. “This place is great. Wonderful people. It looks like something out of a movie during Christmastime—but it’s not really where I want to spend the rest of my life, you know?”

“I do,” Nat said with a nod. She understood completely. The week had been fun, but it hadn’t made her want to pack up her life and move to some magical small town. She worried that it was having that effect on her best friend, though. Not that she could blame her. It wouldn’t be easy to go back to a life where her best friend was her ex-fiancé's sister, and she lived above his parent’s garage.

They approached the coffee shop doors, and both paused there, neither seeming ready to give up on the night just yet. The windows were mostly dark since the shop was already closed. Andi, Jackson, and Andi’s parents were all out celebrating, and Jackson gave Eric the night off since the next day was going to be so hectic.

“Does this mean our second date might be a little closer to Ft. Charles?” she asked as she looked up at him.

Adam lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “Are you asking me out on a second date?” he asked.

“I might be,” Nat said. She scooted a little closer to him. He was still holding onto her hand.

“Well, if you are—and if we do—I’d be happy to have a date in Ft. Charles with you.”

A smile consumed Nat’s face, and she didn’t bother trying to stop it. “In that case, I’m definitely asking. Are you free for New Year’s Eve?” Just the thought of kissing this hunk at midnight made her want to skip Christmas and jump straight to ringing in the new year.

“Yeah,” Adam said. “But, if I can be honest, I’d really like to see you before then. I know that’s not the cool thing to do. I’m supposed to wait three days and all of that, but I really don’t want to.”

Nat stopped herself from squealing. But she couldn’t stop her racing heart. He was hot and he didn’t play games? She might actually swoon. This was too much. Instead of swooning, she started to lean in for a kiss—hoping that would convey all she wanted to say about seeing each other again. But just as she was reaching up and he was bending toward her, a flashing light inside the coffee shop caught both their eyes.

The pair turned to look in the window and were greeted with an ear-splitting and completely unnecessary screeching sound. Nat cupped her hands around her face to look in and see what was going on, but it was hard to tell with all the lights flashing and the chaos.

The next thing she knew, she felt Adam’s hands, once again, around her waist. He was pulling her back away from the windows. If he wasn’t so cute, and generally harmless, his willingness to pick her up and place her where he wanted her to go would be way more annoying. As it was, it mostly just confused her.

“What’s wrong?” she asked him. He was pulling out his phone and telling her to get back.

“That’s the fire alarm,” he said. “I need to go in and make sure no one is in there.”

“No,” she said. “I don’t think anyone is. Don’t go in there.”

“I have to,” he said, shaking his head. He took off his jacket and started wrapping it around his hand. It took Nat a second to process what he was about to do.

“No!” she screamed. He looked back at her for a second—long enough for her to say “Key! I have a key.”

His posture relaxed slightly, and he held out a hand as she fumbled in her pocket for the key Jackson had handed her earlier that night.

“I only have three of these,” Jackson had said. “And Zack took the third one to Hawaii, so don’t lose it.”

Adam used the key and disappeared into the dark building. Within moments, she could hear the firetrucks approaching. She tried to shine her phone's flashlight in the shop and call for Adam, but it was useless. Whatever was in the air didn’t smell like smoke, but it was thick, and she couldn’t see much.

What should she do? Call Andi? Call Jackson?

She tried Andi first and got no answer. She dialed Jackson next, and the tension in his voice when he answered made her wonder if he already knew.

“You need to get here quick,” she said. “I don’t know what’s going on, but your fire alarms were going off. I can’t see flames or anything, but Adam ran in, and he still hasn’t come out. The fire department is here.”

“On my way,” was all he said before hanging up. Nat threw up a silent plea to the Universe that Adam and The Cozy Cup would both be okay.