From the North Pole to Indiana Chapter 8
From the North Pole to Indiana
Date?
Chapter 4, Part 2
Mick heard someone knock at the door. He gets up from where he is sitting.
"I wonder who knocked?"
He looks out the peephole and sees no one. Maybe, it's one of the neighbor kids, and they need help. He would feel horrible if it was an emergency and he didn't open the door to see what was going on. He opens the door and looks around, but he doesn't see anyone; he looks at the floor outside the door. There is a package of cupcakes from the coffee shop that he works at, but how did they get here? He looks for a note, but there is nothing. In his car, Shea is happy with himself.
***
He managed to pull off a surprise gift without being caught. He really figured that Mick would open the door, and he would be busted. Mick can't say that he's never done anything romantic. Fingers crossed that Mick likes the cupcakes. The one goof-up he made was to buy them from the shop that Mick works at, which could be his downfall. Eventually, Mick will figure it out, and that is okay.
***
Shea is at home now thinking about the date, and he can't believe that Mick wants to do this date. He's always wanted to do this, but no one has been interested. Finally, he's met someone who not only wants to do it but is excited to do it. He wants it to be a perfect night. Anything with Mick feels like it would be exciting. Shea finds himself going bonkers when he thinks about Mick.
***
He still hasn't put the finger on it, but something about Mick drives him crazy. It could be the mystery about him. There is a sense of insanity about him, not in a bad way either. Whatever it is, he likes it. All he can do is hope that the lights impress Mick. Meanwhile, Mick's only sister, Kendall, has heard of her brother's date at the North Pole.
***
Kendall is happy for her brother. She might even be just a little bit jealous of him. She decides to call him.
"Kendall, what's going on?"
Mick asks his sister.
"I'm just calling to hear all about this hot guy you're dating and say that I would love to be in your shoes."
Mick isn't sure if he wants to spill the beans on Shea or not. It could be fun, though, to rub it in her face.
"His name is Shea, and he is straight out hunky. He has reddish-brown hair and dark brown eyes. A voice that drives me insane, and he is very polite. He knows how to treat a guy."
It does sort of hit Kendall just a bit. She heard a bit of her brother's date, and it was enough.
"I knew you were dating someone, and I know Mom and Dad seem to like him, and that is about all I know of him."
She thinks the guy sounds fantastic, and she would be right. Shea is a great guy, maybe someday, she'll see for herself, and she'll see for herself just how great Shea is and why her brother is so lucky. Shea makes him feel so richly blessed.
"I heard you're going to see Christmas lights?"
News travels fast, and that is fine with Mick.
"Yupe, I'm going with Shea to see some Christmas light displays."
She would die to tag along and see the lights. It would be amazing to experience it. Their mother overheard the conversation, and she is so excited over it. She is very excited about this date. There is yet another phone call coming in for Mick tonight.
***
April calls to say something pretty cool to him. See, she was at work when a particular red-haired hunk came in to buy cupcakes.
"April, what is going on, my girl?"
Mick asks his best girlfriend.
"I saw your guy this morning. He came to the shop after he was done with his job. He bought some cupcakes and his coffee. Your man drank his coffee in his car, and then he left."
He didn't know why April called him, but he's okay with it.
"I suspected it was him, but I couldn't prove it. He didn't do a good job hiding the packaging; the cupcakes came from work, so Shea didn't cover his tracks very well."
Mick isn't going to ruin Shea's romantic gesture. After all, he did for Mick. April and Mick let the call end. Mick immediately goes back to cleaning his house.
***
Shea decides to go shopping for a new outfit for the date. Nothing fancy, just a new sweater and a new pair of jeans. The sweater he picked out is red and black, which aren't exactly Christmas colors, but it looks nice. The jeans are a darker blue but not quite navy. He didn't need new clothes, but he wanted to look nice. Hopefully, Mick will think it looks good. He just wants it to be perfect.
***
One of Mick's twin brothers, Oliver, is excited for his little brother. He wants to impart some tips to Mick, and just plain congratulate him on finding someone. Oliver is working on figuring out his life. Living up at the top of the world is challenging when it comes to finding a relationship.
"Hey Oliver, what's up?"
Oliver chuckles to himself. His little brother has to know what's going on; his entire family knows about the date.
"Hey, Mick, how is your day going?"
Mick's day is going great. One might even say that he is glowing. He tells Oliver about the cupcakes and how he thinks that his date for the evening dropped them off for him. Oliver has inherited their father's sweet tooth, and he believes that what Shea did was romantic. It's a trick that he might add to his bag of tricks. Course, he'll need to find a woman to do the trick on.
"When you go out tonight, give your date lots of compliments. Guys like having their egos boosted."
Mick cringes because that doesn't sound like something that Shea would expect from him, nor would he want Mick to just throw compliments at him.
"I'm not sure that throwing random compliments at him will work."
Oliver thinks for a second as he tries to find something else to tell his brother that might help him out on his date.
"You can always pay him back for the cupcakes with a random act of kindness."
This is the best thing that he could come up with to help his brother out, and this time Mick likes the idea. Shea most definitely would like this idea because he is sweet like that, and besides, Mick is all about little surprises here and there.
"Thanks for the tip, Oliver! I need to run, though. I love you."
Mick doesn't throw "love" around; if he tells someone that he loves them, then he means it.
"Love you too, Bro!"
Oliver tells his brother. The guys end their call. Mick takes the random act of kindness to heart. The question is, what to do for that random act of kindness?
***
Mick decides to make a small batch of cookies for Shea, but he can't make something sold at the coffee shop. He decides to make his mother's chocolate peppermint cookies. He looks forward to it at Christmastime, and he has to because that is the only time his mother bakes them. He gets busy and bakes them up, then using some Claus' family magic, he decorates them. They look amazing. Shea is going to love them. These cookies are addictive. You can't eat just one.
***
Shea and Mick are excited about their evening together. They really haven't communicated much today. You had better believe that they've been thinking about each other. Shea keeps thinking how lucky he is to have Mick, and Mick is thankful for the opportunity to go out with Shea. It promises to be a fantastic evening. Mick wants Shea to know how he feels, so he writes a note/letter to give to him at a later date:
"Dear Shea,
I want to let you know that you've made me very happy. You are an answer to a wish. I just wanted you to know how I was feeling.
Sincerely,
Mick"
He put the note into an envelope and sealed it before placing it in his journal.