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I squeezed the bag one more time in my hands. What if she don't like it? Am I going to look weird? Ok, calm down. I just give her a gift as a friend. Well, "friend" ... hoping more is my daily life.
Now in front of the entrance to the Stardrop Saloon, I felt a slight stress rising in me. The snowflakes and the cold night air made me shiver but strangely, I felt warm inside. I took a deep breath and finally pushed the wooden door.
"Welcome!"
I was greeted by the voice of Gus. Behind the counter, the woman who put me in all my states was there. As usual, she helped the owner to serve customers. Emily. As soon as I walked into the saloon, she greeted me with a smile.
There weren't much customers during that particular evening, and the ones who were here were for most of them already sitting at a table while chatting. Stardrop Saloon's income was good enough, so that wasn't much of a problem for Gus. It was quite the contrary, as both him and Emily took a liking for these quiet evenings.
There weren't too many customers that night and those who were there were for the most part already sitting at a table and chatting. Stardrop Saloon's revenue has always been good so it wasn't a problem for Gus. On the contrary, he as much as Emily enjoyed these quiet evenings.
I took a chair and sat in front of the bar. Emily came close to me. My heart missed a beat.
"So, same as usual?"
"Yes, please."
Almost immediately, she grabbed a mug from the shelf and began filling it with Pumpkin Soup. It was a specialty they did every Saturday. It gave me an excuse to go to the Saloon every Saturday night. Emily probably thought that I loved pumpkin soup a bit too much, while all I really wanted was to see her.
While trying to supress my shyness, I started taking to her.
"Are you not too tired always working this late?"
"Maybe a little bit." She smiled. "But you know, it's a nice job. I get to talk with everyone in town, and the music is nice."
She handed me my command.
"And you must be the one who's working the most! You're always running all around the town with hands full of random stuff. That actually looks pretty fun, I'm envious."
We both laughed.
I palpated again the package I still had in my hands. My attention on it stirred Emily's curiosity. Before she asks me what it is, I took a deep breath and handed it to her.
"I expected that you'll be tired so I, uhm, baked something for you. It's a burger made with ingredients from the farm. You said you liked them the other day so... "
Without letting me finish my sentence, she grabbed my face and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I felt my cheeks, then my whole face turning red.
"This is so sweet of you! To think that you took the time to make this for me... You're adorable!"
I tried to respond, but only vague gibberish came out of my mouth. She didn't seem to find this weird; Instead, she giggled a bit.
She looked inside the bag with a huge smile, while I just sat there with a happy face.
I was about to say something but then new customers came in. Emily had to get back to work. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing as I was afraid to end up making the situation awkward for both of us, or for Emily to notice my overly red cheeks. So I decided to take this as my excuse to go back home.
As I made my way to the exit, a voice stopped me.
"Wait!"
It was Emily.
"It was very nice of you. Next time, please make one for you too, okay? I'm sure it would be even tastier if we eat together."
I nodded and gave her a huge smile in response. If I had talked the only thing that came out of my mouth would have been a cry of joy.
Just as I was going to close the door behind me, Emily spoke again, this time in a softer voice.
"Will you come back tomorrow?"
This time, I had no trouble choosing my words.
"I promise."