Cinnamon and Spice

I was sitting in my car, relaxed and listening to music. I was driving to the mall to buy myself a new pair of shoes. When I got to the mall, I excitedly hopped out of my car and walked across the parking lot and through the entrance doors. 

As I walked through the mall, I observed the things that were happening around me. I do this a lot, in many places. I think people are fascinating, because everyone is so special and unique. My friends call it people-watching, but I think that’s kind of creepy, so I call it being observant. 

I watched a mom and her teenage daughter walk across the mall and into Bath and Body Works. Then I got the brilliant idea to go in there too. Besides, who doesn’t love smelling lotions and candles? 

I stepped into the store and my nose was overwhelmed by all of the amazing scents in the air. It took me a minute, but I eventually decided to smell the candles first. 

The first candle that I smelled was called “Orange Cream.” I didn’t really like the smell, so I put down that candle and picked up another. This candle was called “Apple Peach.” I liked it more than the one before, but not enough to buy it, so I put it back on the shelf. Then, another candle across the room caught my eye. 

I slowly walked over to the candle, trying not to run into anyone. When I stood in front of the shelf with the candle that I had recognized from across the store, I read the label. It was called “Cinnamon and Spice.” I picked it up and smelled it. It smelled like a cinnamon roll. 

At that moment, I started daydreaming about my first love, Sophia. 

We were teenagers, in high school. We had been friends for about a year, and I had developed a crush on her about a month after I met her. But, at that time I had never been to her house before, so I was extremely excited when she invited me over for dinner at her house one night. 

My mom drove me over to Sophia’s house that night. She was very excited that I was making friends, because I didn’t have many friends in middle school. When we finally arrived at Sophia’s house, I jumped out of my mom’s car, waved goodbye, walked to the front door, and rang the doorbell. I was greeted by Sophia’s mom, who was very friendly and kind. She closed the door and we walked to her kitchen, where we talked for a minute. Then, Sophie came downstairs.

“Hi, Abby,” she said with a smile on her face.

“Hi, Sophia,” I replied happily.

“Why don’t you two go in Sophia’s room while I make dinner?” Sophia’s mom suggested.

“Okay,” we replied simultaneously.

We quickly walked up the stairs and into Sophia’s room. My eyes were immediately drawn to the rainbow pride flag above her bed. I heaved a sigh of relief as she closed the door behind us. Then she asked, “What do you want to do before dinner?”

I didn’t know what to say, so I shrugged. 

She pulled out a stack of board games and told me to pick one. I pointed to the Monopoly box and she grabbed it from the bottom of the stack. She set up the game while I was deep in thought. I was thinking about how beautiful she is, and how amazing her bedroom looks. I guess I was staring at her radio, because when Sophia was done setting up the game, she gracefully walked across the room and turned on the radio. It played “Hello” by Adele.

“I love this song,” I told her.

“Me, too,” she said. “It’s my favorite.”

“Yeah,” I replied. But she had moved on, and was now looking for something.

“What are you looking for?” I asked.

“A lighter,” she responded vaguely.

“For what?” I inquired.

“A candle,” she said. “My favorite candle.”

She found the lighter she was looking for and lit the candle. We started playing the game that Sophia had set up. After a couple minutes of playing, I could smell the candle. It smelled amazing, like a cinnamon roll.

“Your candle smells amazing!” I told her. “What’s it called?”

“Cinnamon Bun,” she answered. “I have a hidden stash of them. I own a lot of candles, but I love this one the most.” 

I smiled and nodded. I made a mental note that she loves candles, just for future reference.

We continued playing the game for about a half hour. Then, Sophia’s mom called us down for dinner. 

Sophia and I washed our hands and sat down at the table. Her mom made the most amazing lasagna that I had ever tasted. My mom’s recipe is okay, but not nearly this delicious. Sophia and I ate our dinner pretty quickly because we wanted to get back to our game. When we finished eating, we put our dishes in the sink and went back to Sophia’s room.

When I stepped into her room again, I remembered about her amazing candle. She must have read my mind or something, because she walked over to the candle and lit it. After a minute, the amazing smell filled the room, and we sat down on her floor and continued playing our game. 

After about a half hour of playing, Sophie won. She stood up, did a cute little happy dance, and sat down again, closer to me this time. 

“I won,” she said, looking into my eyes and smiling. I smiled back. Then she leaned into me and kissed me. She instantly pulled away, and then she apologized. 

“I’m sorry,” she said. 

It makes sense that she felt the need to apologize to me. We had never really talked about our sexualities, so she didn’t know that I was bisexual. It was never really the right time to bring it up, so I never did. 

“Don’t be sorry,” I said, and I kissed her again. She smelled like cinnamon, just like her candle.

Later that night, Sophia’s mom drove me home. I thanked her and walked into my house. I knew that I would never forget that night at Sophie’s house.

Suddenly, I was brought back to the present by a young girl who tapped on my shoulder. I realized that I was still standing in a store. I bought the candle and walked out of the mall, completely forgetting about the shoes that I was going to buy. I got into my car and started driving. After a minute, I noticed that there was no music playing in my car, so I turned on the radio. The first song that I heard was “Hello” by Adele.