Winter sucked out here in Portland. It was always icy and grey. Parker hated it because she was always cold. No matter how many layers she wore, there always seemed to be a chill in the air.
During the day she stayed in and around the kitchen, doing her best to stay out of the way. The stove, oven, and fryers being on all day helped with the cold.
Eliot was the one who saw why Parker was always around. He set her up (next to where he always worked) with chopping vegetables. They talked while they worked, mostly about random things that came to mind.
If Parker ever started shaking from the cold that only she could feel, Eliot sent her out to help with tables for a while so that she didn't cut herself. She would smile at him, thanking him because she knew what he was doing.
Every night they were the ones to close up the brew pub. A lot of the time she asked him to stay and watch a movie with her, but it was rare that he did.
It was a Friday night, same as any other. Parker and Eliot were cleaning tables and stacking chairs when Parker asked if he wanted to watch a movie when they were finished.
"Nah, I got something better than the back room." He told her as he finished with the bar.
He waited for her by the door with a heavy jacket on his shoulders and keys in his hand. He led the way to his truck, opening the door for her so that she didn't have to touch the cold metal.
When he slid into his place behind the wheel he cranked the heat up all the way for the short drive to his apartment.
She followed his up to the fourth floor, keeping an eye on what was outside the building so that she could come back.
They stopped outside the door that was at the end of the hall. (Closest to the window, which she took note of.) When she entered the small apartment she was hit with the smell of beef stew that had been cooking all day.
"Make yourself at home darlin'. Do you want some stew?"
Parker nods as she hangs her jacket on the same chair that he had draped his over. She wandered into the living area where there was a large bookcase that went from the floor to the celing. The whole thing was stuffed with book, some brand new while others were being held together by the books on either side of them. The two shelves at eye level though had DVDs on them, packed just as tightly as the books above and below them.
She picked out a few DVDs then turned to the doorway just as Eliot walked in with two mugs in his hands.
"These." She said, holding them out to him.
He nodded in return and traded her one of the mugs for the movies. He set up the one that was on top then went to sit next to Parker on the couch. Eliot draped a thick blanket around both of them before picking up his own mug.
An hour and a half later would see Parker pressed into Eliot's side and his arm around her shoulders.
When they look back years later they would call this their first date.