7 Winter Night

"I think Veronica likes him, I am sure about it, the  way she  looks at him and I've seen not twice or thrice but many times in these five months. what do you think? Does he like her too?" One day, I phoned Rachel and asked her.

"Don't think much about it Jess,  I don't think Austin would  like her, you know what kind of person she is and I don't understand what makes guys go crazy about her. If a guy likes a girl like her then he is the most foolish person on the earth," I heard her voice in reply.

Veronica, Austin and Justin belong to the  same section. I don't know much about her, all I know is that  she is  talented and beautiful. Many boys like her  character little do they know that she is not what they think. She is a beauty with a black heart, says the girls of her class. But no guy believes it, especially my cousin Justin with whom Justin and I had arguments about the girl.

"Why does your reply sounds  like you are talking about Justin?" I said with a teasing tone.

"What makes you think that I was talking only about him?  I was talking about all the guys not him specifically," she denied instead of admitting the truth.

"Why don't you accept the fact that you  like him ?" I asked with a giggle.

"I don't want to accept it and I hope he will never know that I like him, Justin will make fun of me and...I don't want that to happen," she spoke in a low  voice.

I replied with a hmm and asked her if she was going to attend the Christmas party  to divert the topic. The  Smith family, I mean Justin's parents  hosts christmas party every year where all my uncle's business partners and family members  are invited.

"Yes I am but I might be late because mom must to attend a meeting," she replied.

"Oh okay, try coming soon," I answered.

"Sure Jess, miss me till I come."

"Of course, I will miss you. Okay bye I have to get ready," I replied and ended the call.

Rachel's mom, Clara, is a CEO, she is a very hard working woman. She is a sweet person and treats Rachel just like a friend. She divorced Rachel's father when Rachel was ten years old and never married or dated any other man because she wanted to be only with her daughter.

It was evening and I got ready to attend the party. I wore  a lavender coloured gown which had long sleeves and a simple necklace leaving my silky black  hair open.

It was around seven in the evening by the time I reached Justin's house with my dad John Olsen and my mother Lucy Olsen. My father and my uncle, Steve Smith are business partners and good friends too.

As soon as we entered inside the hall, we  were welcomed  by my uncle. My mother  hugged her brother Steve and asked about his wife as she wasn't present there.

"She said she would come in ten minutes  when I asked her an hour and a half ago," he replied with a shrug.

"Haha!! that's alright ... let sister take   her own time to get ready," my father let out a chuckle.

They started to talk something related to their  business, a glass of wine in their hand. I left to the balcony excusing myself because of boredom. The cold breeze of the winter night made me stand there for a long time and look at the sky filled with shining stars.

When I looked down, I saw kids playing.  I gave Justin's cake to them  without letting people know about it. They were the children  of  the workers here.

The place where I  was standing, it was silent yet a perfect bliss. I saw the moon was  shining bright and the stars twinkling in the sky, the roads were empty with flickering streetlights and children were playing. I could hear the sound of breeze and the trees swaying in a rhythm, I was caught in euphoria when a voice came from behind.

"What  are you going to give them this time ?" my heart dropped  a beat at the question that was posed for me to answer, it was his voice which attacked my heart. It was a voice could makes my heart flip over and over.  And in that  silent night, his voice made me feel like  a morning  coffee which was deep and addicting and I had no plan to get rid of this addiction.

I knew who it was, I turned back and looked at Austin. He wore a black shirt, his  thick black and light brown hair was shining as always.

He held two  glasses of orange juice, while he stood at the door.

"What... are you going to give the kids this time?" he asked me again. His feet strode towards me, he me a glass of juice which he must've brought for me, I thought because he wouldn't have picked two glasses for himself.

I came back to my senses and  I replied like a dumb person.

"Haahhh?! "

I was puzzled and and was  left speechless to his question.

I asked myself if there was any chance that  he saw me  giving Justin's cake to the kids or was it  Justin who told him  as no one was there at that time  when I looked around.

As I kept asking myself with numerous possible ways, I heard him say that he saw me that day.

I turned my head towards him, l looked into his eyes and asked him with curiosity,

"..Whenn?"

My hands turned cold. Not because of the cold wind but because of my nervousness when I crush stood by my side. I wanted to ask him many question but words didn't slip out of my mouth.

"You are a  curious one, aren't you ?" he  asked with smile.

"Yes...no, I mean ...how did you..."

He let out a chuckle but I felt I would faint out of nervousness.

"On  Justin's birthday ....I was standing right here  and saw you giving his cake to the kids," he answered to the question I never asked or couldn't ask, and then he took a sip of juice amd looked at the children.

Of all the people why should it be him,' I thought after his brief narration.

Pausing for a moment, he continued. "Justin called your  name out loud enough for me to hear while running towards you to save his favourite cake which I ordered  especially for him. He kept cursing you the entire time," he said with his eyes  fixed  at me and there was a smirk on his face.

I closed my eyes out of embarrassment, I didn't know that it was his present. I apologized to him when he gave a simple nod in return as he  took another sip  and asked me why did I stand alone in the balcony, may be to divert the topic.

"I was bored inside and thought of coming here," I answered. And he replied with an okay.

As the wind blew through my hair, I tucked it behind my ear.

"Beautiful," I heard him say and when I looked at him, I saw him looking at the stars.

"Indeed," I replied  with a smile and finished my juice in one gulp.

He was looking  only at the stars and admiring them while I was looking at the stars and at  him. We both were admiring, the only difference was, he was admiring the stars while I, him.

There were a few minutes of silence between us before  I broke it to  ask him if he liked  his new school.

"Yes," he said with a grin  and drank the remaining juice .

"Do you have any close people other than Justin," I asked.

"Are you asking about best friend or crush," he asked me looking into my eyes.

"Both," I replied without breaking our eye contact.

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That night Jessica  finally spoke to him looking into his eyes. Even though  It happened when she was in  eighth standard and wrote her diary when  she was in  tenth standard, Jessica  was able to remember every single minute of that night and she  still does, because each and every moment with him was very special to her.