Kaden's Luna

Chapter Twenty

At one point, I really thought that I had been caught by Nick but thankfully he didn't notice. I wanted to keep Kaden to myself, just for a little while, before telling my family that I'm dating someone.

"Who are you texting?" Nick asks, leaning over to see my phone screen making me turn it off.

"Just Eva." I reply with a smile, ignoring his narrowed eyes.

Technically it is half the truth because I am in fact texting Eva and Maddox throughout my break. I watch the scenery pass by through my window as we drive to the square, realising just how much I missed Amsterdam and how some things have changed.

It takes us a while to find a good parking spot because everyone is at the market during this time. Eventually, I'm getting out of the car with an excited grin, catching up to my brother as he walks ahead. He drapes his arm across my shoulders and just when I think that he's being nice, he pulls my beanie down so that I can't see. I groan and fix it, punching his arm lightly while he cackles like a maniac.

Our parents walk with us through the entrance and I instantly feel excited when I see everything set up and all festive. There was a huge Christmas tree in the park, decorated and lit up. Everyone was walking around and visiting stalls, buying things, drinking and trying out traditional delicacies. As we make our way through the crowds, I see that there are people and children on the ice rink already.

We decide to try out some food first since the last thing we had was breakfast and then some snacks in town. I follow my parents to one stall that sells Stroopwafel which is very popular around here. It is a waffle cookie with sweet syrup in between the two layers. I happily take it from the vendor's hand, biting into it as I try and find Nick.

I have just finished my waffle when we find Nick making his way towards us through the crowds with paper trays of Oliebollen. My Dad and I perk up at the sight of them and I take one tray from him. Oliebollen are Nick's favourite, they are deep fried dough balls with powdered sugar. Dad likes his with raisins inside whilst the rest of us like the plain ones.

After having some drinks, we decide to go on the ice rink. I grab the right size of ice skates and put them on, lacing them tightly. I make my way onto the rink, Nick grabbing my hand as I walk onto the ice. He grins at me before pulling me along, skating backwards. I'm not as skilled as my brother when it comes it ice skating but I can do a twirl without landing flat on my arse so I guess that counts.

After I have steadied myself, he lets go and we all skate around the long ice rink. I see children slowly learning to skate, some falling with adults tumbling to the floor also, laughing in delight. I love the atmosphere as everyone enjoys being with their family and friends. It's cold but the activity warms me up and I start to skate faster, catching up with my Mum who has passed Nick.

We skate for a long while and I never want to leave but Dad eventually suggests that we get some more snacks before leaving for the cruise. I get off the ice rink and take off my skates, handing them to the man working there. Putting on my own boots, I follow my Mum towards the Kroket stall. We buy some and dig in to the deep-fried roll with meat inside, covered in breadcrumbs. I chose to have mine served on a bun with mustard on the side.

I burst out laughing when Nick yelps and throws the snack back into his tray, burning his mouth because of how hot the kroket was. After we finish that, I grab some of my favourite Appeltaart from one of the stalls before rushing back to my parents. It is basically an apple pie flavoured with cinnamon, sugar and lemon juice apples. There is a lattice on the top and cakey dough on the bottom and edges.

I see that my parents have grabbed some Chocoladeletters which is a Dutch candy made of chocolate in the form of a letter. They are only given during early Christmas and can be bought in either white, milk or dark chocolate. I personally love milk chocolate and get it every year.