Frost

3. December

♪ On the third day of Christmas, Mr Jack Frost gave to me,
- Three subtle hints
- Two tiny smiles,
- And a big shocker to my panties... ♪

•

Summer really hated winter.

As she woke up that Saturday morning and looked out her window, the earth was covered in a medium thick layer of snow. The air in her bedroom was cold and nibbled at her exposed skin, making small goosebumps dance across it.

After a hot shower to warm up her body for the day, she got dressed in a thickly knitted sweater and put on her usual simple makeup consisting of just mascara and a bit of concealer here and there. She ate a quick bowl of cereal for breakfast and then bundled up in thick layers as she headed out the door. Driving to work today was going to be a bitch.

The snowplow machines had already been there and the roads had been salted, but Summer still didn't dare go one mile above 10 on the small town roads. Whitefish was a tiny town in Montana with a population just reaching 6,500. Everyone basically knew each other, and as all small towners, nobody ever seemed to leave. So when new people passed through or moved in, gossip went wide and fast.

"I heard that he's in town to do some landscape constructions," Bev said while they were setting up the last preparations before opening up the coffee shop. They had baked fresh pumpkin pies yesterday which happy customers now could enjoy today. "Apparently, he's from somewhere north and he's actually very well accomplished for someone his age."

"What is his age?"

"Don't know," Bev shrugged while fixing a Christmas flower decoration on the counter. "But he can't be above thirty with that face, can he?"

"I honestly don't really care, he's just another customer," Summer replied while setting up the cash register. "He seemed a little strange though, I mean, he bought an iced caramel macchiato with extra ice? That's a strange order in this weather."

"Yeah, and what is with that cane? He seems to walk just fine, why does he need a cane, then?"

Summer just shrugged indifferently. "Maybe it's a trend where he comes from, I don't know. Again, I don't really care."

"Oh come on, you so care," Bev chuckled, bumping her hip against hers teasingly. "I saw the way you looked at him, you were totally digging him. I don't blame you, he's rocking that silver-hair-silver-flair. Kinda reminds you of Zayn, doesn't it? I mean, before he let that razor violate his hair."

"Alright, enough," Summer said, closing the register. "Let's get the shop open for business. If you want me to buy you an expensive Christmas present, we better get selling."

"I'll flip the sign then," Bev said and then opened up for the shop.

Not thirty minutes later, the coffee shop was booming, so much in fact that Summer had to run out and buy more milk at the store. Everyone wanted their coffees with warm milk or cream since the weather had flipped to full-on winter over the night.

She was stuffing all the milk cartons and gallons of cream into the trunk of her car when the air shifted. A cold wind blew by and she shivered, but it wasn't the wind that made her shiver.

She glanced sideways on instinct and saw him, Jack Frost, playing on the lawn next to the parking lot with a bunch of kids. They were in the middle of a mean snowball war, basking around in the ankle deep snow. Jack was grinning from ear to ear, making snowballs impossibly fast while somehow managing to keep his cane tugged under his arm. The kids were kids Summer knew well; their mothers were customers of her shop, so she also knew that their kids always usually waited outside while their mom's shopped. Obviously, they had found great company.