Christmas in the City

Chapter Seven

THIS IS THE second time it is snowing on this trip. The snow is heavier and colder than the last.

This is the perfect weather to be cuddled up under a blanket with a cup of hot cocoa, but instead we're going to Union Square Holiday Market. I'm hoping to find some inexpensive gifts for my family and also not freeze to death since it takes place  outside.

I'm glad my mom thought ahead and got us a Uber over to the market, because it's way too cold to be walking. I'm sure New Yorkers are used to this weather, but unfortunately I'm not a New Yorker.

This is the smallest Uber I've ever been in. When my dad said he ordered a Uber SUV, I thought it was going to be large. It turns out that it does fit everyone but on the tight side.

Brandon's really invading my personal space by being way too close to me.

His elbow jabs into my rib and I have to refrain myself from screaming loudly in pain.

"Traffic is bad like usual. It's going to take another ten minutes. I'm sorry," Our Uber driver tells us.

He hasn't really said much besides yelling at other drivers, so when he finally does it's bad news.

The truck suddenly jerks to a stop and it  causes me to be all up on Brandon.

Brandon gives me a smirk. "Well, this is interesting."

I shove his shoulder and it makes him lean into my brother.

"You guys stop flirting. I'm trying to take a nap," My brother groans from beside Brandon.

"It's all Nia's fault. It seems she can't keep her hands off of me," Brandon teases. His eyes crinkle from laughing at my shock expression.

He's a little liar. My hands were not all over him. This isn't a Selena Gomez moment.

I gasp. "What? My hands were not all over you. You take that back."

My brother leans over Brandon so he can face me. "Well, your hand is on his thigh now so..."

I look down to see my left hand is indeed on Brandon's thigh. It must've landed there when I got shoved into him. I quickly take my hand off his thigh like it's hot lava.

My cheeks are on fire from the embarrassment.

I decide not to saying anything else during the rest of the ride in order to save myself from being embarrassed again.

I'm positive Brandon notice, but he doesn't say anything.

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The market looks festive and fun. There's a lot of people here, and they seem to be eager to empty out their wallets.

You can smell the delicious food and it reminds me of fair food. Obviously this food has to be way more better than fair food.

My plan to stay away from Brandon ends up not working out. This time it's Brandon's mom who decides that we split in groups to shop.

It's a smart idea, because I don't want anyone seeing what I get . The downside is I get paired with Brandon. I'm sure he's going to have fun teasing me about earlier.

The quicker I finish shopping then the quicker this is over.

As I look around, I realize how impossible that's going to be. There's enough shops here to overwhelm me.

We start off by going to a vendor that's selling food. My stomach has been growling since we got here and I smelled everything.

Brandon and I both get a pretzel and a water to snack on while we walk. My mouth waters from the smell of the pretzel.

We stop at a vendor that's selling sunglasses, and Brandon picks up a pair. "Do you think your brother will like these?"

"Yeah. I think they will up his cool factor."

I think there's something special about shopping at these types of markets. It's a different experience than just going to a department store to buy someone a gift.

We end up at another vendor. This one thankfully has a lot of variety. I pick up a candle that smells like orange citrus with a hint of pine.  I pick it up for my mom and find a different one for Ms. Matthew.

In line I notice this beautiful snow globe. It has the New York skyline in it with snow falling down and on the bottom it says "New York 2020".

Unfortunately, I'm not here to buy myself gifts, or I would so get. It's sad but I'm sure I'll get over it . It's just a snow globe.

I sigh and hand my two candles to the lady who's checking me out. She wraps them in paper that has Christmas trees on them.

"This kind of looks like you." I hold up a pair of ugly grinch socks to Brandon. "The same nose and everything."

Brandon stops walking and stares at me. "How dare you. I'm way cuter than he is. I can't believe you would compare me to the grinch."

I shrug and continue walking. "Or maybe it's the hair."

He pulls on my elbow and turns me so I face him. There's a small tiny space between us.

I feel myself gulp as Brandon stares intensely at me.

"Look at who can't keep their hands off the other now," I say and nod towards his hand that's still touching my arm.

It takes him a minute to realize what I said. He pulls his hand away.

I clear my throat. "We should probably go and find the others."

He scratches the back of his head. "Right."

It's awkward as we walk to find our family. I try not to think about what happened a few minutes ago, and instead take in the other vendors.

I was kind of hoping that we would get to visit all of them, but there's way too many. I'm happy and satisfied about the few that we did get shop at.

We'll have to come back the next time we come to New York again. I think we're going to be busy throughout the rest of our trip.

Christmas is in a few days and then we'll have a few days after that here. It's crazy how it all flew by.

It's also crazy how this trip has changed me and Brandon's relationship. From enemies to whatever we are now.

It's all too confusing.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Thanks for reading!

This chapter isn't heavily edited. If you see any mistakes then please kindly point them out.

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There's three chapters left and Christmas is next week. This month has went by so fast.

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