Christmas Present

Stephanie was still sleeping when she heard the doorbell ring so loud in her ears.

“Holy f**k! Who the hell is that!”

She sat up and looked at the timer on her desk. It was 7 am.

“Has family arrived already?” She wondered and wore her fluffy slippers. She dragged her feet on the floor as she headed for the door.

She yawned and cleaned her eyes because she still wanted to sleep.

She got to the door and didn't bother to check who it was before opening the door.

“You all...”

She pushed when she saw it wasn't her family at the door, but Sebastian.

He wore a black jeans jacket, a white t-shirt, and blue jeans pants. He wore a different kind of boots from yesterday. It looked very expensive too.

“Sebastian. What are you doing here very early this morning?”

“Merry Christmas, pretty one.” Stephanie's face brightened as he lifted the present he had gotten for her.

“You didn't have to... Come in, please.” She opened the door wider and stepped aside so he could walk in.

She looked down the street and at his bike before shutting the door.

“Did I wake you up?”

Stephanie nodded as she walked up to him.

“You should have told me you were coming. I would have freshened up. I look unkempt.”

Sebastian chuckled and shook his head.

“If I told you then, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore. I must say, you are still looking very beautiful.”

Stephanie lowered her head shyly and divulged a smile.

“Thank you.”

He stretched the pretty huge present in his hand to her with a bright smile on his face.

“I got this for you.”

Stephanie collected the present and smiled widely.

“Thank you so much. I feel bad for not getting a present for you too.”

“No, Stephanie, don't feel bad. You had no idea I would be dropping by again. Do you want to open it now?”

“Please sit. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier.”

He nodded, and they both sat on the couch.

She loosened the tied ribbon on the present and exhaled. She was anxious to see what he had gotten for her.

She opened the box, and her mouth fell open when she saw what the present was.

He had gotten her a Tom Ford heel sandals, and an Aesop perfume.

“Oh my God, these are so expensive.”

She looked at Sebastian in amusement, and he wore his bright smile.

“You like them?”

“Like, are you serious? I love them! They are so nice.”

She opened the cover of the perfume and moved it to her nose. She Inhaled it and shut her eyes.

“It smells so nice. Thank you so much, Sebastian, you didn't have to.”

“I wanted to. You deserve more than these Stephanie.”

“I don't understand. You just met me, Sebastian. Why are you doing all these?”

“Don’t think about it too much. The thing is, I have been seeing you for some time now.

I arrived in New York City two months ago. stay down the street. And, I have always seen you walk past my house every morning.”

“Really, And you never thought of saying Hi?”

“I wasn't sure it was going to be polite. You were always in a hurry. I guessed you were going to work, and distracting you would be so rude of me.”

“So meeting at the Plaza wasn't a coincidence?”

He smiled widely and shook his head.

“I was looking for the perfect opportunity to start a conversation with you. Luckily, I met you at the Plaza, and you made my whole Christmas immediately.

She raised her eyebrows and shook her head feeling impressed.

“So much effort... Just to talk to me?”

“Yes. Any other reasonable man would do the same.”

She laughed hysterically at his statement. She remembered how Owen shredded her heart into pieces again.

“Emphasis on reasonable,” She responded, standing from the couch.

“What would you love to eat? I am yet to do anything this morning. I'm deeply sorry about that.”

“You shouldn't bother. I am very fine.”

Stephanie stared at him for some seconds. She felt he was too perfect to be true.

*He must be pretending.*

“I insist. I'd make some chocolate chip muffins. Do you like them?”

“They are my favorite. I’d be so glad to taste your made muffins.”

Stephanie’s cheeks flushed again. She feared he wasn't going to quit saying sweet things to her, and she would end up falling for a Christmas stranger.

She reminded herself again that she wasn't going to fall in love anymore. Owen’s was the height of it.

“Okay.”

She walked into the kitchen and got to work.

Sebastian kept still on the couch he sat. He kept himself busy checking out the interior designs of her living room.

“She has great taste.”

The living room was that of rich velvet. A painterly floral wallpaper provided a delicate backdrop to a beautiful and rich deep-blue velvet sofa.

The sofa looked so comfy that Sebastian wanted to sit on it badly.

On the couch he seated was a blue seat cushion, which complimented the deep-blue couch perfectly.

A 29 inches Smart TV sat on a wooden shelf, which had books, and small flower vases arranged on it.

Sebastian was very impressed by her sense of interior decorations. Even though he preferred the color white to any other color, he found it perfect because she used it.

Soon, the aroma of the chocolate muffins Stephanie was baking filled his nostrils.

“Gracious heavens.”

He shut his eyes and inhaled deeply. His mouth watered in anticipation of the muffins.

His eyes were still shut when Stephanie walked out of the kitchen. She was cleaning her hands with a napkin, and she still had her Apron on.

She wanted to tell him it would be done in a few minutes, but his reaction caught her off-guard.

*What is he doing?*

He threw his head backward, his eyes were shut and his smile was very wide.

“Sebastian?”

The smile on his face faded immediately, and he lowered his head to look at her.

“Oh, you are done.”

He felt quite embarrassed because she saw him like that but Stephanie found it cute.

“Not done, few more minutes to go.”

He nodded reluctantly and buried his hands between his legs. He was shy.

They both became awkwardly silent, and before they could say anything to each other, the doorbell rang.

“You should check the muffins. I'd answer that.”

Stephanie gave a nod and walked into the kitchen, while Sebastian stood up and headed to the door.

Without asking who it was, he opened the door and saw four people.

They were Stephanie's family.

“Owen!”

Stephanie’s youngest sibling called Princess yelled and jumped on Sebastian before he could speak.

“Owen? Who is Owen?”