Piper made her way into the small kitchen, setting down the bags on the counter top. “Stu!” she called, not exactly sure where he had run off to, “I know I said I wasn’t going to get you a taco… But, I did, and I know I’ll probably regret that decision in a little bit.” Piper pulled the pint of ice cream out of the plastic shopping bag, making sure to place it in the freezer before it completely melted into a big chocolate puddle. Closing the freezer, Piper returned to the bag and pulled out the tray of brownies. Why did one man need so much food? And why did it always seem as if he never gained any wait? He ate like a pig and considered getting up to get more food to be all the exercise he needed. It truly puzzled Piper. 

Piper stuffed the plastic bag under his sink, along with the rest of the plastic bags that no one would probably ever use, yet sat down there anyway. One final bag sat on the counter after that — a paper one this time. Inside, the prized taco. Piper pulled it out, threw the bag in the trash, and went to grab a plate from the cupboard. A single, clean plate sat on the shelf, and Piper couldn’t exactly say she was surprised. She brought the plate back to where she had been standing previously, and placed the wrapped taco on the plate.

‘Yeah, one sec!’ he shouted, pulling up the gold zipper with a satisfied sigh. Maybe he had been eating too many tacos. It wasn’t a thought he liked to dwell on. He would rather blame it on the fact that he’d just had a shower and hadn’t had a chance to dry his legs off completely. Stuart could almost hear the ‘I told you so’ that would slip out of Piper’s mouth if he ever mentioned his suspicions, and then she’d really start monitoring his taco intake.

Shutting the bedroom door behind him, Stuart enjoyed the sensation of his toes sinking into the soft carpet as he walked over to the sofa. His eyes immediately spotted the taco treat resting on the counter, causing his face to instantly light up. He was fairly easy to please and this was all he really needed for it to feel like Christmas. The way to his heart had always been through food.

"My dinner is going on your credit card, pal," she replied, eyes twinkling underneath the fluorescent lights. This cheeky, blond-haired man had been the shining star of the night so far. Lillian couldn’t remember the last time a man actually made her smile.

Ten tequila shots would be easy. Throughout college, Lillian had built up a strong tolerance to alcohol. She needed it. College had been the time where she had gone through most of her remissions; where she saw the inside of a hospital room more than the inside of a lecture hall. But she hadn’t wanted to get behind, leaving Lillian to drown in more work than she thought possible. Hence the alcohol. Hence Jack Daniels in specifics. She would drink and drink, and other than becoming a bit warmer than normal, she never truly got drunk. But isn’t that what everyone said?

"Bring it on, Peter," she said, beaming at the bartender, pulling her ten shots closer and closer to her. After counting ten, Lillian turned her gaze back upon the James Dean fellow sitting beside her. There was a challenge brewing in his eyes, the air electrifying between the pair. Lillian’s fingers rested upon two shot glasses, itching to get it started. "On the count of three. One…— T H R E E !"

One shot back, two, then three… Lillian kept her eyes closed, tossing back each and every shot as if it were water. It tasted awful, her face showing it quite perfectly, but she had learned that throwing it at the back of her throat and nearly choking on it was a much more effective trick to do than to actually drink it. — - Eight, nine, then… “DONE!” Lillian exclaimed, slamming the last glass down as she turned to look at the man who was just finishing his last shot.

One… Two- Wait, what?

It took a second for his brain to comprehend what was going on, and in the time it took for him to stare at her - wide-eyed and somewhat impressed that she had the guts to try and cheat him out of a taco – she had already downed at least two shots. Feeling more determined than ever to crush her, he knocked back two shots at the same time, instantly regretting it as the drink burnt his throat. Suppressing the urge to gag, Stuart grabbed another two shots and chucked them towards the back of his throat. His somewhat accurate aim was surprising considering his technique now consisted of frantically throwing the liquid in the general direction of his mouth. The cute girl was to blame, she was great competition, and as he continued taking shot after shot he had to admit that maybe he had met his match. Stuart grimaced and picked up the last shot glass, the liquid just about touching the back of his throat when she announced she had won.

“What would you like today?” He asked, resting his arms on his side of the opening. “Could I just get one taco, please?” Piper asked, looking up at him. As the man working the truck quickly took her order, Piper moved out of the way and stood off to the side. In her hand she held a plastic grocery band which contained a tray of brownies and a pint of ice cream, which Stuart had also asked her to pick up the day earlier. Unfortunately, Piper didn’t own a car, which meant she had to carry everything everywhere. 

As the cold of the night started to set in and the sky began to turn a darker shade of blue, Piper bounced from one foot to another, her impatience growing. Finally, the man called out her order and she quickly grabbed it, paid, and thanked him. It was a short walk from Tacos Nitos to Stuart’s apartment, and for once that day, Piper felt relieved.

After eleven minutes of power walking, she had finally arrived to his building. Rushing up to the doorbell, Piper quickly scanned the selection of name’s until she found the one that printed his name. “Stuart,” she called into the speaker, “Can you buzz me in? It’s getting cold and I’m pretty sure the ice cream is melting — Oh yeah, I got rocky road – but for fuck’s sake, let me in already.”

Stuart looked around the room and sighed as he surveyed the damage. Pizza boxes, dirty clothes, several posters showing missing pets that he had personally found and returned to their owners. Keeping them made him feel like a good person. Almost like Jesus but specifically for animals. Knowing it wouldn’t be long before Piper arrived he plugged in his iPod and attempted to clean while dancing around the room. Needless to say his technique wasn’t very effective, but he did remember to light the candles she kept going on about so the room would smell a little less of cheese and meat. Although he truly didn’t understand how anyone could find such a comforting aroma disturbing.

Remembering the last time that he and Piper had met up was proving difficult. Both of them had been so busy recently, and he honestly couldn’t say that he had even tried to arrange anything. Blaming his lack of organisational prowess on several family gatherings seemed like a safer bet than telling his girlfriend of two years that he just didn’t want to deal with the drama that seemed to follow their relationship. With the holiday for sharing love and cheer just around the corner, it seemed like the perfect time for them to give sorting out their relationship a real shot instead of continuing to just ignore all of the issues. Stuart really did believe that there was still something there between them that was extremely special, they just needed a little work.

As he wandered around the room collecting rubbish and shoving it into a bin bag, his left foot stood directly onto an old pizza box. It wouldn’t have been a problem had the box not been wide open, and as he sighed and lifted his foot to examine the damage, crusty cheese and a slice of pepperoni slid over his toes, right back into the brown box on the floor.

‘Fucking hell,’ he mumbled to himself, dumping the bin bag on the floor so that he could hop over to the bathroom and have a quick shower.