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You hummed, staring at the board, carefully analyzing your situation.
You thought you had finally beaten Istvan but truth was all his moves were carefully planned; he just wanted to make you believe you could win, that way your overconfidence would be your ruin.
He had you cornered, just like he wanted. The worst part was that you didn't suspect a thing until it was too late. You had no other option than resign.
If this wasn't your fifth loss in a row maybe you could keep trying and find your way to win, but it was impossible, it would only delay the inevitable.
Playing chess against Istvan was a nightmare, talking about difficulty levels at least. Still you enjoyed it to the fullest, he knew how to make every game interesting.
"Let's play again." You suggested
"Are you sure? It's late, perhaps you would like to rest.
You glanced at the clock on your room.
'20 minutes left until midnight'
"Don't worry, let's play one last time."
He chuckled, amused by your proposal.
"You think you can buy some time, but trust me I could win in less than 10 minutes. Would you still like to play?"
"Oh, so you noticed..."
"You're not being subtle about it. You keep checking the time every now and then. Also, we could have played anywhere else, yet you decided to do it in your room. I had enough reasons to suspect you're planning something."
There was no point in hiding it anymore, still you wished you could have waited a bit more. You excused yourself, leaving your sit to go to your desk. Nervous and excited, you picked the package you had on one of your drawers. It was carefully wrapped with a shiny navy blue paper and decorated with two black and silver ribbons. You couldn't recall how many minutes you spent to make it look perfect.
"Well, it's almost Christmas and... I got you a present. I didn't know what I could possibly give you, so it was hard thinking on what to pick. My first thought was giving you a bottle of wine but I'm probably not the best person to choose. Also it goes over my budget..." You mumbled that last part. "That's why I got you something simpler."
His hands brushed delicately with yours when you gave him the package; they felt surprisingly warm in comparison with your own. Istvan unwrapped it carefully without breaking the paper. Even if he seemed amused you couldn't help but get nervous; What if he didn't like it? It's not as if you could return it.
"This is..." He examined the fabric, it was soft and warm.
"A scarf, yes. Do you like it?"
Istvan tried on the azure scarf, it suited him perfectly. A pleased smile formed on his face.
'Did you make it?"
"No, I... I tried but let's say it didn't turn out well."
"Ah, that's a shame. Thank you, it's lovely."
"That's great! I mean, I really had a hard time choosing what to give you, especially since your birthday is coming soon... Which reminds me I have nothing prepared. Of you like it I could try and knit you another scarf! But you already have one so maybe I could think of something else."
Your monologue was interrupted by Istvan delicately grabbing your chin, pulling you closer to softly kiss your lips.
"You shouldn't doubt too much on your judgement, besides spending time with you is enough."
"So... Does that mean we can keep playing?"
He laughed, somehow he expected you to say something of the sort.
"Is that how you want to spend the rest of the night?"
"Well, it's not that late, I'm sure we can do more than playing chess. If you want to stay of course."
"As you said, the night is still young, how could I reject such a pleasant invitation."