Christmas Eve

~ New York City, 2002~

It was that beautiful time of the year, it was Christmas! New York City's streets were decked out with stunning lights and plants.

Stephanie stood in front of the Rockefeller Center plaza, marveling at the gorgeous Christmas tree. Thousands of lightbulbs were used to ornament the tree, which was capped with a new Swarovski star.

Stephanie's wavy black hair flowed loosely on her shoulders as she gazed up and stared at the star with a big smile on her face.

She kept her arms crossed under her Beige sweater to keep warm.

A red turtleneck and white palazzo trousers were worn underneath the sweater. She accessorized her look with a Saint Laurent medium sunset shoulder bag and a Saint Laurent lace-up boot.

Water vapor streamed out of her nostrils as she breathed out. She let out a big exhale, and more water vapor from her mouth. As she stared at the lightbulbs, she became lost in thought.

Her mind drifted back to her most recent Christmas Eve in New York City. Owen, her first lover, had stood in this very area with her.

Owen was her boss when she met him at work that year. Owen thought Stephanie was the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen, and things between them quickly heated up. Stephanie, who perceived Owen as a charming and compassionate boss, made things simple for Owen. They were infatuated with each other and became couples in no time.

As time went on, Stephanie began to notice some strange behaviors in Owen, he became aggressive and paid very little or no attention to her. She tried to find out what went wrong, and it dawned on her that Owen was married to a woman in another country.

Their relationship came to an end because she was heartbroken. She lost touch with Owen and moved on from her previous job.

Stephanie had vowed to never date another man since that time.

She always convinced herself, "I adore the single life."

*

Stephanie inhaled and exhaled deeply and checked her wristwatch on her left wrist; it read 10 p.m. She needed to get home so she could rest and prepare for the next day. Her family would be visiting her.

She heard a euphonic voice behind her as she was going to walk away.

"You've been staring at that star for 40 minutes; I'll get you one so you may stare at it all day."

Her cheeks flushed, and she turned around to see who was speaking in such a pleasant tone.

She noticed a young, attractive man with golden brown hair and an ivy league cut. He was dressed in a black round-neck shirt beneath a white wool overcoat. His black jeans were paired with brown boots. He stood 5'9 in height. Because Stephanie was 5'4 tall, he stood taller than her.

In his hands, he held two reusable coffee cups, one of which he extended to her.

"This is for you,"

Water Vapor came out of his mouth as he spoke, followed by a contagious smile. Stephanie’s cheeks reddened, and she revealed a smile too.

She collected the cup of coffee. “Thank you.”

He heaved a sigh and looked at the star on the tree.

“It is truly beautiful.”

Stephanie turned to look at the tree once again, and the stranger stood next to her. They both stared at the star.

“It is late.” He looked around and saw people leaving already.

“I was about to leave when I heard you talk from behind.”

“I'm really sorry for sabotaging your plans. My name is Sebastian. And you, what is your name pretty one?”

He looked at her, and she giggled and bowed.

“Stephanie.”

“Wow, What a nice name. Nice to meet you, Stephanie.” He sipped coffee out of the cup with his eyes in contact with hers.

“Nice to meet you too.” She moved her fingers nervously on the cup she held in her hand.

“You should drink that before it gets cold.”

She looked at the cup and bounced her head.

“Thank you for the coffee and your time, Sebastian. I have to take my leave now.”

“Are you heading home or you are going somewhere else to enjoy the night?”

“I have nowhere else to go, I am heading home. Nice meeting you once again Sebastian.”

She turned her back and began to walk away. Sebastian wasn't going to let her slip off his fingers, so he ran after her and spoke again.

“I can ride you home.“

Stephanie looked at him with a smile on her face and shook her head.

“Do not bother, you have done more than enough for me tonight.”

“I insist Stephanie. Trust me, you are going to enjoy this ride.” Stephanie sighed and nodded her head.

“Okay.”

Sebastian jumped and punched the air happily, making Stephanie laugh. She found him to be an interesting person.

“Wait here. I will be right back with the ride.”

He ran off, and Stephanie folded her hands, waiting patiently for him to come back with the ride.

She lowered her head and stared at her boot. She was busy drawing things on the cemented ground with her foot.

Soon she heard the roar of a motorbike approaching. She looked up, and she saw it was Sebastian riding it. He got to where she stood and stopped. He rode the Ducati 998.

“Wow.”

“You like it?” He passed the helmet to her, and she nodded.

“I am impressed, this is the latest model of the Ducati brand.”

“Wow. You know so much about bikes. I am impressed... Come on, hop on.”

He signaled with his head as he also wore his helmet. Stephanie wore her helmet and hopped on.

She sat on the chair and leaned forward to hold him. As she did this, his cologne filled her nostrils, and she shut her eyes to inhale it.

She loved how he scented.

“Hold on tight... this is going to be a very long ride.”

“It can't be a long ride, my house is close by. It is the second house on the third street from here.”

“I’d give you a tour first, then I’d take you home.”

He kick-started the motorbike and took off at a very high speed. Stephanie shut her eyes and grabbed him tighter. The remaining of her hair let out and began to fly in the air. He kept his back low, and so did Stephanie.

He dashed down the clear road and Stephanie giggled periodically. To some extent, dangerous was fun to her.

It got to a point where Stephanie wanted to raise her hands in the air. She slowly let go of Sebastian, and when he noticed this, he reduced the pace at which he rode. She let go of him finally and raised her hands in the air.

She laughed out loud and Sebastian chuckled as he kept riding. She drank from her cup of coffee periodically.

“Haa!!”

She screamed at the top of her voice happily. She didn't want it to end. She had not been so happy in a very long time.

***

The roaring of the motorbike reduced as Sebastian stopped in front of Stephanie’s house. She released her firm grip on him and got off the bike.

“That was amazing.”

She removed the helmet and shook her head so her hair could rearrange. She passed the helmet to him and he collected it and placed it on the bike.

“I am happy you had fun... Your house is nice too.”

Stephanie blushed and lowered her head shyly.

“Thank you for today, Sebastian. You made it a memorable Christmas Eve for me.”

“I also enjoyed myself thanks to you. Enjoy the night Stephanie.”

“Good night.”

Stephanie smiled widely as she walked up to her porch. She looked at him occasionally and she saw him staring at her.

She got to the door and he kick-started his bike. She opened the door and walked into the house, she took one last look at him and he winked at her.

He zoomed off and Stephanie grinned as she shut the door. She rested her back on the door and exhaled.

“One of the best Christmas Eve ever!”