A Christmas Kiss

2.Ghost kisses in the night

As I strut towards the kitchen I hear them all explode into peals of laughter and I silently smirk to myself as I venture to continue serving others for the last half an hour.
As I begin to clear another table I feel a presence next to me and I look up to see Hunter,his face darkened with anger from being shown up in front of his friends.
"Could I help-" I begin to say before he tips his vanilla milkshake over my head and all the customers in the diner turn to look at what unfolds before them.
I let out a loud gasp as the sticky white mess drips through my hair and under my work clothes. He laughs and the rest of his mates stand up and make a run for it,leaving me and Charlotte behind.
"Oi you!," shouts the manager,running out to defend me and I mop myself with napkins and hold back tears as onlookers stare and whisper. I hang my head n shame for what seems like the fifteenth time today.

Disgustedly,Charlotte gazes out at the guys who are standing quite far away from the diner,but still on looking.
"I'll show them..." she mumbles moodily and storms after them,leaving me a dripping mess.

"Here,are you alright?" I turn and my face is practically touching Danny's. A rush of adrenaline pumps through my body and I feel the slightest hint of butterflies deep in my stomach as he stares directly into my eyes.
His face is literally perfection compared to the rest of his gang. Perfectly spaced features on an olive toned face with thick,arched brows. His eyes are the lightest brown,as if they weren't meant to be and they look like the eyes of a kind,caring person...
I wonder how i'd never noticed how beautiful his features were... But they probably weren't as beautiful as his personality...
I internally sigh as I offer to take his napkins to finish mopping myself up, but he refuses, reaching out himself and dabbing at my face,oh so gently...
He stares contently and I find the whole situation so awkward as a blush seeps across my face.
I notice him trying to hold back his expression but I can't tell what expression it is,so I cant put my finger on what hes thinking.

" They never should have done that..." he states,wiping the vanilla cream out of my hair, a look of guilt taking over his face,"they-we- can be dicks sometimes...I'm sorry for that as well Rose."
"Rosa." I correct him in a whisper.
"Even a prettier name; for a pretty girl," he looks enquiringly at me to see my reaction and I just cast down my eyes again,afraid of embarrassing myself again.
"Thanks Daniel. I'm gonna leave now-but thank you anyway."
He nods at me,flashing me one of his award winning smiles,but it only lasts for a second as I throw my jacket over my shoulders and make my way out of the diner into the slight rain.
The slight rain begins to slap itself against the ground with more might , and eventually the 'slight rain' is a thunderstorm,drenching me from head to foot and without an umbrella, I feel like I've just been swimming.
Around five minutes later in my miserable trot,i feel icy water splash onto me from my side, drenching me even further as I let out an angry yelp. I turn to the roadside and see someone pulling their scooter aside,removing their helmet as they run towards me.
"I'm so so sorry Rosa,that was not meant to happen" the persons' muffled voice tells me,struggling to pull off their helmet.
Just as I'm about to let out a mouthful of swear words, the person finally removes their helmet and I stop dead in my tracks.
His hair is plastered down against his face and reaches almost past his nose and hes breathing heavily as if hes just run a marathon.
He too,is almost as wet as I am.
We stand,frozen in the rain for what seems like a lifetime before he squeezes out ,"I'm sorry".
I shove past him and speed up,trying to get home quicker now I just had another awkward encounter with Danny.
"Wait Rosa! " he calls,jogging after me and pulling on my arm so I'm facing him.
To anyone else,we'd look like a tragic couple experiencing one of those romantic ,heart wrenching break ups in the rain,but we couldn't be any further away from that. His hands are pressing warmly onto my arms and we both stare at each other for a second,before he removes his hands gingerly,looking away awkwardly.
"I can -if you want - take you home. I mean I can't leave you to walk in this weather...Especially after before." He gestures towards his scooter and I nod eagerly, willing to do anything to get out of this rain.
He leads me over and helps me on,handing me the helmet which I think is very kind of him. Then he hops on in front of me and I feel the tension building between us. Glad he can't see my cheeks right now...
He starts up the engine and the scooter bumps up,almost sending me flying,forcing me to wrap my arms around his waist. I feel his muscles tense and I'm about to pull them away even though that's risky seeing as we're speeding down the road, but his hand places gently on mine and I know he's telling me he needs me to keep them there. But a voice somewhere in my head tells me he wants me to keep them there...
I shake my head as we fly through the rain,trying to tell myself to quit thinking about him because I know how this will end up...
He's just one of the chavvy boys at school that get pictures off girls and then send them to the whole school; one of the guys who'll tell a girl she's beautiful just to get in her panties...
I internally sigh,hugging his warm body and resting my face against his back.
Suddenly he takes a sharp turn and we're at my place.
As I take off the helmet and climb off I realize none of the lights are on.meaning that no one is home.
"Thanks for the ride Daniel, least I won't be sick tomorrow..." I explain as we walk side by side up to my door-step.
He laughs slightly ,hands in his pockets as we slowly climb up the porch stairs. I can't help but notice how good he looks in the evening air. His hair is drying up and he looks kinder-and younger than usual.
My heart begins to beat faster as I realise that we're stood facing each other on my door-step like in all the movies.
The taller guy and the girlfriend facing each other as they slowly lean in and kiss each other goodnight...
I'm knocked into my senses when I notice his hand is reaching towards my face. I know this all too well...
To my disappointment,instead of him perhaps stroking my cheek or pulling me to him, he twirls one of my long curls around his finger,smiling slightly. I remember that my hair probably converted back to curly because of the rain and hold back a blush because it's probably all over the place.
"Pretty hair for a pretty girl" he states ,pulling on a curl.
My heart stops at that very moment as a smile crawls across my face.
"You are as well Daniel."
He raises an eyebrow," So i'm pretty now?" he teases, letting go of my hair and stepping down from the porch,"What a lovely compliment!"
I come to my senses and realize what I just said was -in gender terms- incorrect.
"Oh no! Ugh,I didn't mean that you're gay or anythi-" I try and explain,but before I can finish my sentence he runs up my porch and plants an almost non-existent kiss on my lips and whispers,"Call me Danny from now on."
And in an instant,hes vanished off into the horizon on his scooter.