Soulmates

Chapter ten - Halloween spirit

Jordan's POV:

We have many celebrations ahead of us. The first one is Halloween. There is less than a week until it comes. Melanie decorated the coffee shop as soon as the first of October was here. She was so excited about this. I won't lie. This brought more customers. We started giving the coupons around two weeks ago. I should congratulate Cassie on the idea. It works perfectly. This is why we invited her and Mark for dinner at home. The main topic was our wedding. There is one problem with it. Melanie won't let me see the dress. I'm trying to be patient, but it's not working. That's why I only want to see how it looks on her. Nothing else. I don't think this is possible. Mom told me that I needed to distract myself. That way, I won't think about this. I tried to do it. Well, after Halloween passes, the wedding comes. I might ask Melanie for help. She will know what to do. Maybe she can entertain me for some time. I'm sure she won't mind. After all, I love spending time with her. This doesn't mean I won't go out with my friends. The boys started talking about a bachelor party. I'm not much in the mood for this. The girls said the same thing to Melanie. All of them want this to be on the night before the wedding. I don't think that is a good idea. It better be the previous one. No one wants to be late. I hope that our friends will forget about this idea.

It's Halloween. This means that we expect to have more customers than ever. In both coffee shops, we gave more than a thousand coupons. They are only ten percent off and can be used once. We punch each coupon. That way, no one will try to use one many times. The strategy worked perfectly. We have had a lot of customers in the past two weeks. Cassie's idea was brilliant. We made one-fifth of the money we spent on the wedding. Our drinks are not expensive, but people keep coming. I can't be happier about this.

I woke up and turned around. Melanie was still sleeping. Today is the big day. She has been waiting for this for a long time. Her wish will come true. I got up and went to get ready for the day. Later, I went to make breakfast. I made some toast. We can eat in bed today. I put the food on a tray and walked back to our room. Melanie was on her phone. She didn't look happy. I wonder what happened this time. Let's hope that she will tell me.

- Good morning. Why is the sad face?

- You should know.

- Um, no, I don't.

- You left me to wake up alone.

- I'm sorry. I made breakfast.

- I won't eat it.

- Are you sure? - I asked and laid down next to her

- Yes.

- Look next to you.

- Toasts!

- Yes. They are all for you.

- Really?

- Of course, but there is one condition.

- What is it?

- You must stop pretending to be mad at me and kiss me. Then you can have all this.

- Deal. I'm not mad. Now, I want to eat.

- I guess you didn't hear me.

- You said to stop being mad at you.

- And?

- And what?

- And you have to kiss me. Otherwise, there is no food for you.

- Fine. I'll eat something else.

- There is nothing else you can eat for breakfast.

- I'll skip it.

- Why do you want to ruin your Halloween mood?

- I'm not. You are doing it. Can I eat now?

- Kiss me, and you will eat.

- I don't want to do it.

- In that case, I will take one myself.

- Only if I let you.

- You don't have a choice. Otherwise, you will be late.

- So? It's my shop.

- But I gave it to you.

- This doesn't matter.

- I think it does. For the last time, will you kiss me?

- No.

- I'm sorry, then. - I said and kissed her

Melanie didn't pull away. She deepened it. I believe she did all this on purpose. I only asked for a kiss. It quickly turned into something else. It's not like I mind. I like when we find time for such things. If you think we have much time for each other, think again. We ate our breakfast and went to work. When I arrived at the shop, there was already a woman waiting. I checked the time on my phone to be sure I wasn't late. No, I was on time.

- For how long are you here?

- Ten minutes. I want to use my coupon.

- No problem. Come in. What can I make you?

- I want a latte with more milk.

- No problem. Can you give me your coupon?

- Sure. - she said, and I punched a hole in it

- Alright. Here you go.

- Thanks. I love the drinks here.

- I'm glad that you like them. Here is your latte.

- Thank you. I hope you have many customers today.

- Me too. - I said, and she left

- Early birds. - Josh said, walking in

- Yes. She was waiting for me in front of the shop.

- That's a new record. - he said, chuckling

- You are in a good mood. What happened with your neighbor?

- Nothing. I invited her for dinner last night.

- And?

- And what? Nothing else happened. We only talked.

- For now.

- Stop. I tried my best.

- Hold on. You cooked the dinner!

- Yes, why?

- I thought you took her out for dinner.

- I could've done that, but I wanted to save some money.

- Why? Do you need more?

- No, but I don't enjoy spending. Also, I might need them in the future.

- What are your plans?

- I want to buy myself a place to stay. This is why I'm saving. I can't live under a rent my entire life.

- What about your neighbor? Is she under rent as well?

- Yes, but her parents are paying for it.

- You can invite her for a sleepover.

- What? I'm not doing that.

- I'm sure she will enjoy it.

- But I won't. I barely made it through the dinner.

- Why? What happened? You tried to impress her too hard. - I said, chuckling

- It's not funny. Haven't you tried to impress Melanie?

- No. She forbade me this.

- How?

- Simple. She wants me to be myself.

- You hit the jackpot.

- I started hearing this many times.

- Because it's true.

Until the lunch break, we didn't have that many customers. It was the same number as usual. People started coming in the afternoon. There was a line outside the shop. I can't believe that so many people came here. I sent Josh to get us lunch while I dealt with everyone. We barely had time to eat it. I have never made so much money in a single day since I opened the shop. I might say that this is my best day ever. From now on, we'll do this every year.

After work, I went home. Josh and I were tired. Melanie probably feels the same. I can't believe that I earned so much. I went into the bathroom for a shower. Soon, someone joined me.

- Hello. Do you accept guests?

- Only if it's you.

- Deal.

- How was your day?

- Tiring but successful. You have no idea how much we earned today. This might cover all the expenses for the wedding.

- Not all of them, but maybe a half.

- There was a line starting from the outside.

- I had the same issue. One woman was waiting for me when I arrived.

- Really?

- Yes. I think we successfully made our stores famous.

- We did. Cassie is a genius.

- For sure, she is. We should make this annual.

- For every holiday.

- Agreed. I tired Josh a lot. - I said, chuckling

- He will be fine. It was his choice to stay here.

- Yes, but he won't have time for his neighbor.

- What do you mean?

- There is a girl in his building. I think he likes her.

- But what does he think?

- The opposite. They had dinner together last night.

- That's sweet.

- He made it.

- Oh. Do we have love birds?

- I don't think so.

- We do.

- Who?

- Us. - she said, and I laughed

- Yes, sure. What does my lovebird want?

- Some time with you. I had a tiring day. I need a rest. Only you can help me with that.

- With pleasure. You can tell me what you want. I'll do it.

- I think you know. - she said and kissed me

- I like where this is going.

I thought she was tired, but no. My girlfriend had enough energy in her. I can feel her excitement. She dreamed about this day. Things went better than perfect. Well, if that is even possible. This is what we wanted. We have two successful coffee shops. It started with a silly dream. Now, it's my everyday life. I love my job so much. When we finished showering, we went for dinner. Melanie wanted to watch a movie. I left her to pick it up and went to prepare something. I don't want to cook for too long. After half an hour, our food was ready.

- It smells delicious.

- You are just hungry. I didn't put much effort. That will be another day.

- Both of us are tired.

- True. I don't know if it's possible to be tired and happy. I mean, at the same time.

- Who cares? This is how I feel now.

- Do you think we'll have the same success on Christmas?

- I do.

- I know this look. You have an idea.

- Yes.

- Let me hear it.

- We can give free candy canes with every order the week before Christmas.

- What about the coupons?

- This will be instead on them. We can't do the same thing again. We need something new.

- I like this. Free candy.

- It will be only this one. Otherwise, we won't earn much.

- Agreed. We need a strategy.

- I'm sure you have something in mind.

- Not yet, but I will think of something.

- I believe in you. - she said and kissed my cheek

- You don't look tired at all.

- Trust me. I am. Otherwise, I could've shown you more things.

- I'm sure about that. Honestly, I like the tired Melanie more.

- Why?

- Because she is calmer.

- Wait until tomorrow. I will make you regret what you said.

- Are you sure?

- Don't you trust me?

- Of course, I do.

- Then?

- Fine. I'll wait for you to see what you can do.

- You won't regret it.

- You can't surprise me if it's the same as in the shower.

- You have no idea what I am capable of.

- I'm glad to hear it.

- I'm full of surprises.

Melanie and I finished our dinner. I guess we'll go to bed early today. I can't stay awake for a longer time. She, too. We went to bed, and she snuggled. This is one of the things that I like about her. The list is long. I might mention some things. They will be included in the speech I will have at the wedding. I still have no idea what to write there. I have so many things to say, but I don't know how to do it. Well, I can always use help for this. No, I should do this alone. Somehow, I will find the right words. Luckily, I have enough time to think about this. I hope that everything will go well.