Oh how the tables turn

Sam feels Nick’s naked toes nudge against his thigh. “Ew, Ni. Stop.” He glances up from the book he was reading to see that Nick was wigging his eyebrows at him, eyes glinting with mischief. He goes on to press his toes harder into Sam’s thigh. The smile on his face ten times bigger than it was a second ago. Sam couldn’t help but smile at that but no. He drew the line at smelly,ugly and dirty toes. “Get your smelly feet off me” Not that Nick’s toes were smelly or dirty. But they were kind of ugly. Aren’t all toes? Why do some people find toes attractive? Ugh, Sam shudders at that thought.

“Sam, Sammy, Sammmmien”, Nick whines, now moving from his spot on the other side of the sofa to sit right next to him. 

“What?” Sam asks not bothering to look up from his book even though his mind wasn’t registering anything that was printed on the black and white paper in front of him. He tried his best at feigning annoyance but if his heart was beating just a tad bit faster because Nick pressed up against him, shoulder to shoulder, nobody needed to know. 

“Nick is really bored. Nick wants to do something fun. Will you help Nick get over his boredom?” He has a pout on his face. Why would a grown man act like that?Does he think he looks adorable? He definitely doesn’t look even a tiny bit cute. Sam definitely doesn’t think that. 

“Did you just refer to yourself in third person? Nick, our friendship is done. Over. Do you hear me? It’s Over”

“Really?” He is still pouting and Sam might just turn into a big lump of putty.

“Ugh, Can we not do this? Stop acting like a kid. Tell me what you have in mind? “ Sam says, closing his book and placing it on the table in front him. He puts his feet(socked, obviously) onto the table and sighing exaggeratedly. 

“Ok, listen. I have an idea but I know you won’t agree to it because it won’t work with just the two of us. We need an experienced person to help us. I know somebody that could-“

“Nick, what’s the idea?”

“Remember when I told you that I might be a little short on cash because I have been saving up so much for college?”

Sam nods, remembering the conversation from last week all too well.

“So, yeah I might have seen this ad for a competition that it set to happen. The cash prize is five thousand dollars “

“What competition?”

One of Nick’s eyes becomes smaller than the other as he scrunches up his eyebrows together,his expression worried. 

“It’s a baking competition “

Sam looks at him quizzically. “No”, he says as he gets up from the sofa, stretching his arms and neck. They crack with a pop. 

“But Sam-

“No, no way, not in a million years, over by dead body. You know the drill.”

He hears Nick sigh audibly from behind as he walks to the kitchen to get himself a glass of water. He doesn’t need to look back to know that Nick is tousling his long brown locks, eyes crinkling with frustration. 

“Sam, what if I said it’s not just the money?”

That catches Sam’s attention. 

“What? Why else? “

A flush creeps up Nick’s face. “Remember that girl I told you about last week? The one I met at that cafe down the corner?” Sam already knows he is not going to like where this conversation is heading. Not that he can express it out loud. “The one with the long blonde hair and blue eyes?”

“Didn’t you tell her name was Evonka or Ebony or something?”

“Oh, so you do remember.” Nick says looking surprised. “And it’s ‘Evanka’ by the way. Evanka with an ‘a’ not an ‘o’.” He smiles, as if he was remembering a fond memory. 

“Yeah, what about her?”, Sam asks trying his best to keep his voice casual.

“I was texting her a few days back and she said that she works at a bakery downtown. Isn’t that sweet?”, Nick says smiling abashedly at his own joke(pun, whatever it’s the same thing). 

“Yeah, mate. Real sweet” says Sam, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Right?” Nick replies, completely oblivious. “So, when I saw the ad for this competition, I thought I might as well try you know- it’s a win-win and all.”

Sam hops onto the kitchen counter and looks into his ‘mate’s’ eyes.

“So, you are telling me you want to attend this competition that we- well, you, have practically no chance of winning just so that you have another chance to see this girl you met at a coffee shop?”

Nick’s gets up from the sofa, shaking his head vigorously as he walks over to the counter, “Sammy, it’s not just some random girl. I’ve been texting her a lot and she seems to be a really nice person. What are the odds that I meet this really nice girl at a coffee shop, who is exactly my type on the only day I decide to get a coffee? You know how much I despise coffee. Ugh- don’t even want to think about it. Anyways, don’t you think it’s fate? Like it sounds like a scene from some movie.”

Sam sighs again. 

“Nick, I don’t know what to say. Do what you want to. I just don’t understand why you are ropping me into this plan of yours.”

At that, something resembling confusion passes over Nick’s face. But that quickly turns into a blinding smile.

“Because... “

“Because?

“Because you are my best friend. And you know how awkward I can get sometimes”

“So, you want me to be a third wheel?” Sam decides that he doesn’t really like the sound of what he just said. 

“No. Not really. Just you can clear the air whenever it gets a little weird. Also, this way she won’t feel like it’s a date”

If what Sam just felt inside his heart was a pang of disappointment, he ignores it.

“Ok. Ok, I’ll shall do it for you. Thee majesty, is there anything else you want of this poor peasant?”

He didn’t know it was physically possible for Nick’s to smile any wider but that’s exactly what happens. Ear to ear, Nick couldn’t look any more comical. 

“No, that shall be it for today, dear slave. You may now go back to your quarters.”, Nick says with a horrible posh accent and narrow eyes just as something buzzes from his pocket.

Sam gets of the counter and flips Nick off, his lips twitching into a sly smile. As he walks towards his room, he turns around to tell Nick, “You never told me you got her number last week, you idiot.”

Nick just shrugs. “Oops?” and he goes back to typing something on his phone. 

Sam doesn’t want to take a guess as to who that might be. He just continues walking to his room, eyes dull and the smile from a moment ago, long gone.

                  ~ 

The first time Sam sees her, he feels like he as well have been in love with her as well(as,well? not that he is in love with Nick already). The wind is blowing through her hair and she looks like she just came out of an anime or something. An anime princess, seems like a fair description for her, thinks Sam.

“Hi, Are you Sam? Nick’s friend?” Her eyes are blue. Cerulean blue. Blindingly beautiful. She extends her for a handshake. 

“I don’t know any Nick. Who are you?” Sam doesn’t know what he is thinking. If he is trying to be funny, he is failing at it miserably as she her faces immediately contorts into confusion and she withdraws her hand back. She takes a step back as she says, “Oh my god, I’m sorry. I must have mistaken you for another person.”

The words tumbling out of her mouth gracefully.

Sam just laughs nervously as he extends his hand towards her, “No, I’m just joking. Evanka, right?”

It was truly mesmerising to see the features of her face smoothen and her lips turn into a smile.

“Funny, aren’t you?”, she says smugly, her hand now in his. Eyes interlocking.

“Oh, sorry I’m late”, Nick’s loud voice booms through the cafe. Sam and Evanka both take a step back(a little too fast for it to seem normal). If Nick senses it, he doesn’t speak on it.

“Hi, Ni”

“Nick, Hi”. They say at the same time. Nick doesn’t look too bad himself in a white shirt with its top two buttons unbuttoned, paired with black skinnies. Evanka is wearing a black and white flowy dress. They kind of look they match. And that brings Sam’s mind to the actual reason they are here.

“So, you two have met already but pretend that interaction didn’t occur because I want to introduce you both”

Sam rolls his eyes. Evanka smiles.

“Evanka, meet Sam.” His hands gesturing to Sam as he says, “My best friend” and “Sammy, meet Evanka”, his hands now moving to rest comfortably on her waist,” My friend?” He looks at Evanka. Evanka nods as she says,“Yes, friends.”

Ouch. 

It doesn’t really bother Nick though. He probably didn’t even notice. He can be like that sometimes. But that’s why Sam was here. To do his job. To remove the tension that now surrounds the three of them.

“Evanka, did you know that Nick just completely forgot to mention that it was a cookie making competition? Not even normal cookie making but we need to make giant cookies.”

Her smile tugs up just a tad bit higher as she goes, “Yeah, I know. Is it bad that I’m kind of excited? I make cookies everyday at the bakery. I’ve never made big, really big ones though. And this seemed like the perfect opportunity to cross that off my checklist”

“I’m excited too, E”, Nick says just as Sam asks, “Checklist?”.

Blondie just smiles as she gestures for them move to sit at a table. Blondie? Why had his mind even thought of that? Nick being the gentleman he is, pulls back Evanka’s chair for her to to sit. Sam rolls his eyes at that. Does Nick just forget every once in a while that he was here as well?.  

The next two hours goes by in a blur. Conversation never felt so smooth. Easy banter flowing between the three of them. Though Sam is still annoyed at Evanka’s choice of cookies, he can’t help but smile. What kind of person likes white-chocolate and ginger cookies? It even sounds obnoxious. When he had expressed his distaste in the matter, Evanka had promised to make him a batch the next they meet and that moment the prospect of Evanka and ginger cookies didn’t sound all that bad.

                  ~

Sam sighs. They won the competition. Surprise! No, not really. Evanka was an amazing chef. If anyone could have won the competition, it was her. Except, one tiny problem. So it all started on the day the won the competition...

                  ~

“The winner of this year’s giant cookie championship is Sam, Nick and Evanka. Their cookie was not just the biggest but also the most creative.”, everything was just white noise after that. They did it. After two whole months of inhaling icing sugar and corn flour,they actually won the competition. It was Evanka who broke the silence, bringing them all into a hug. Nick was crying. Just a few tears, but Sam knew how much this meant for him. Over the past month, Sam had realised it was money that was more important for Nick. He needed it and Sam felt bad for realising it earlier. But right now, being in Nick’s arms was the best feeling ever. He was smiling so hard. 

                   ~

The tiny problem was that Nick and Evanka decided to just be friends. How is that a problem? It meant that he wasn’t the only one who felt the connection that first day he met Evanka. How had he managed to put himself into this mess? All he was feeling right now was the strong urge to throw his phone away so that it breaks and somehow the texts from Sam and Evanka disappear as well.

                  ~

Evanka:

Heyyy

Would you like to maybe grab a cup of coffee?

Just me and you? ;)

                   ~

Nick:

There’s something I want to talk to you about

It’s kinda important 

I want to tell you about it in person