Edinburgh is for Lovers (l.s.)

xxix.

The week between Christmas and New Years was spent mainly inside Louis' flat. It had snowed again lightly a few days after Christmas, and the temperature had been too cold to enjoy being outside for too long. Harry and Louis did spend a few afternoons on the fire escape, or by the open window, with hot mugs of tea to keep them warm. The sat on the couch and read more poetry together, cooked a bunch of meals together, and even spent one whole day in bed cuddling and making love until the windows fogged up.

The morning of New Years Eve, Harry and Louis ventured outside for the first time in a week and walked to a cafe on the corner of Louis' street for breakfast. They sat in the corner booth by the window in the little cafe for hours, enjoying being out of the house.
Around noon, they walked back to Louis' flat, taking their time on the icy sidewalks. Henry had called Harry a few days after Christmas and invited him and Louis over for dinner before their New Years Eve party at Waldron's, so they planned to take the 4:00 train to Glasgow. Dinner at Henry's at 6:00, and then the party at 9:00.

With half an hour until they had to leave the flat, Harry and Louis packed a bag of clothes for the hotel Harry had booked for them for the night, and then pulled on layers of warm clothing to brave the cold trek to the train station. There weren't too many clouds in the sky as they walked, but it was still freezing. They were shivering by the time they reached the station.

Dinner at Henry's was wonderful. His flat was decorated for the holidays, and the fireplace was lit, casting a warmth around the room. Henry had hired someone to make a holiday roast for them, and they sat around his large dining table eating brilliantly prepared turkey, potatoes, vegetables, sausage, and bread pudding. Henry had pulled out a bottle of Glennfidich 18 year scotch, and they'd toasted to the new year early.
Harry and Louis were slightly tipsy by the time they hugged Henry goodbye and trudged back down the stairs of his building. They'd dropped off their bag at the hotel before dinner, so they decided to just head to Waldron's straight from Henry's flat.

The streets of Glasgow were busy and loud. Bright Christmas lights were strung from light posts, and crowds of people walked down the sidewalks, all on their way to festive parties or pubs. The inside of Waldron's was decorated with tinsel and Christmas lights, and Connell and Graham had turned one of the display tables by the seating area on the first floor into an open bar. The second floor was closed for the night since the party would probably be small.
Harry and Louis made their way through the rows of book shelves to find Connell and Graham at the checkout desk. They both already had a drink in hand, and cheered excitedly when they saw Harry and Louis approaching.

"Aaay. Cheers mates. Happy Hogmanay! Happy new year!" Graham came around the front of the counter and pulled them each into a hug.

"Good to see ya lads." Connell greeted them after. "Drinks?"

When the four of them had drinks in hand, they made their way over to the mess of arm chairs that they'd brought downstairs for the party and sat. They chatted about the year for awhile, and talked about Harry and Louis' dinner at Henry's. Eventually the conversation turned to Louis' book and all the success he had that year.

"So uh.." Louis started, finishing the last sip of his drink. "How many copies of my book are left..?"

Graham frowned and finished his drink also. "'bout thirty."

Louis nodded. "Right. Well.."

Connell stood to grab the bottle of whiskey off the desk.

"Harry told us about the... stipulations of your publishing contract." Connell started when he came back with the whiskey, holding it towards Louis to pour into his glass.

"Yeah. Well." Louis sniffed and cleared his throat.
"Cheers then, I suppose."
He held his glass up, a forced half smile on his lips.
"Cheers to having my first book published... no matter how short lived it was."