The Hazards of Mistletoe (2 page)

“Classic Mac, huh?”

“Yeah. Well, on the bright side he waited a few years. At least you won’t have to move schools or anything. She can’t pull you out second semester of senior year.”

“That is a bright side.” I blinked back some more tears. I refused to let Glen see me upset. Maybe I was blowing things out of proportion, but I was tired of Mac constantly leaving me out of things and my mom just taking it. I was positive he’d purposely waited until I was getting ready to leave for college before proposing. I didn’t fit in with his image of a perfect family, and so the simplest solution for him was to wait until it was easier to keep me away. Maybe if my relationship with my dad was better it wouldn’t have bothered me so much, but it did. I knew that in a lot of ways I was alone, but that wasn’t a feeling I was ready to accept.

“Want to go ice skating?” He gestured to the rink.

“Now?”

“Yeah. It’s Christmas Eve. Ice skating kind of fits the mood, right?’

“Right.” I considered the offer. I wasn’t exactly in the holiday spirit, but maybe some skating was what I needed.

“Nice, I knew you’d say yes.” He grinned.

“Hey, I haven’t said it yet.”

“I can tell that you’re going to.” He fidgeted with the zipper on his deep red ski jacket.

“It is possible for a girl to say no to you.”

“I don’t doubt it, but not this time. This time you’re all about skating with me.”

“I hope you can keep up.” I headed over to the skate rental line. I didn’t mind if we had to wait. I was in no rush to get back to the condo.

“I played hockey for twelve years. I wouldn’t worry.” His shoulder brushed against mine as he waited right next to me.

“Hockey shmocky, that doesn’t mean you have my grace or speed.”

He laughed. “Ok, you’re totally over that stuff with your mom.”

I wasn’t, but I was good at pretending things didn’t bother me. I understood that no one wanted to be around someone in a bad mood. The line moved slowly, but finally we reached the counter. Glen insisted on paying for my skates, so I let him. I took my white skates and sat down to put them on. The cold seeped through my jeans making me wish I was wearing my long pea coat.

With our skates on, we stepped onto the ice that was lit up by bright white lights strung up above the rink. Despite my bragging about speed, that wasn’t going to happen on the crowded ice. Still, it felt good to glide around, and I did get to show off a few of my tricks. My years of lessons had paid off, even if ice skating wasn’t the most popular activity in South Carolina.

For his part, Glen nearly made me fall over laughing as he sang along to
White Christmas
in an absolutely horrid take on a crooner voice.

Just when I thought the night couldn’t get any more picturesque the snow started. The snow was light at first, but it was enough to have everyone excited. “Looks like your song worked.”

“You shouldn’t be surprised. I’m very talented.” He put an arm around me. “Are you ready to go, Tinker Bell?”

“Tinker Bell? Since when do fairies ice skate?”

“I don’t know. It’s the blonde hair and green jacket I guess.”

I laughed. “You watch too many Disney movies.”

“You can never watch any Peter Pan adaptation too many times.”

“Why? Because you share Peter’s mantra, ‘never grow up’?” Glen definitely had an immature streak in him, but it didn’t bother me as much as it did with other guys. He knew when to shut it off.

He leaned in close. “Growing up is overrated.”

“It is.” I sighed. I still couldn’t quite wrap my head around the idea that I was graduating. College had always seemed like this far off place or idea I’d never actually reach. I was down to only eight months.

“Before we go, I need a picture.”

“A picture?” I was never much of a picture person. I wasn’t photogenic.

“Yeah, to remember I went skating with Tinker Bell.”

I laughed. “Sure. How can I deprive you of that?”

He took a photo of us with his phone, and miraculously neither of us fell over in the process.

“How about we go over to the café and get some hot cocoa?”

“Ice skating and hot cocoa? What are you buttering me up for?” I sat down on the bench and unlaced my skates. The snow was falling a little bit heavier, but the flakes were still light and more pleasant than a nuisance.

“I’m just enjoying an evening with a beautiful woman. I do have a romantic side you know.”

“Romantic?” What was Glen playing at? I’d had a crush on him for years, but things had stayed completely platonic. We were good friends who saw each other once a year, and teased each other through text messages and late night phone calls. That was it.

He didn’t hear me. He was already in line to return our skates. I waited for him to return with my boots, and not for the first time I was glad I’d worn wool socks. It was cold during the day, but the nights were absolutely freezing.

“Here you go, my lady.” He bent down and proceeded to put my foot into my boot.

I pulled away from him. “Knock it off. What’s gotten into you tonight?” As charming as Glen was being something seemed off with him. I wondered if maybe I wasn’t the only one who was upset.

He proceeded to move on to my next boot. “It’s Christmas Eve. Aren’t you Miss Holiday Spirit?”

“Usually.”

“Exactly.” He put on his shoes and tugged on my hand to pull me to standing. “Let’s get those hot chocolates.”

The line at the café on the other side of the rink was nearly out the door, but I was enjoying Glen’s company so much I didn’t mind.

He insisted on buying my hot cocoa for me, and considering he’d already paid for my skate rental, I was starting to feel uncomfortable. Glen had all the money he could ever need, but I wasn’t used to guys buying me anything. My dating experience wasn’t extensive, and it involved boys who were all about going dutch. “I really don’t mind paying.”

“Yeah, but I want to pay. Stop arguing and enjoy yourself.” He lightly bumped his shoulder into mine.

“Well, thanks.”

We walked around the village sipping our hot chocolate and not saying much. After a while we took a seat on a bench. It was underneath a tree, and the pine needles blocked some of the falling snow. I closed my eyes and listened to the chatter of people walking by mixed with the low hum of holiday music.

“You guys need to kiss.”

I opened my eyes and saw a girl who was probably ten staring at us. “You’re sitting under mistletoe. That’s the rules. You’re under mistletoe, you kiss.”

I looked up. Sure enough there was mistletoe hanging over us from the tree. It wasn’t real, it was just the decorative stuff they used, but it had the same unmistakable appearance.

Glen put an arm around me. “I think she’s right, Savy.”

I turned to glare at him. “Don’t even start.”

“Why not? Scared to kiss me?” he teased.

Yes. I was scared. Terrified. This was Glen. Kissing him wasn’t something I was prepared to do casually while sitting on a bench in the snow with a bunch of onlookers. Of course I couldn’t tell him that though. “Why would I be scared?”

“I don’t know. Just checking.” He got a twinkle in his eye. That twinkle should have given me all the warning I needed, but it didn’t. I was wholly unprepared when his lips made contact with mine. They were warm and soft, and they moved perfectly against mine. I kissed him back, desperately wanting to know what his mouth tasted like, and if his tongue felt half as good as his lips—but the giggles of the little girl brought me back to earth. I jerked away. Glen sat there staring at me.

“Merry Christmas,” the girl said in a sing song voice before hurrying off after her parents.

“Our first kiss. It took a few years.” Glen was back to joking. That was usually how he handled things.

“Yup. Was it all you wanted it to be?”

Glen shook his head. “No.”

I tried not to let his words get to me. I looked off. “Good, I wouldn’t want you getting too attached.”

“I mean I wish it could have been more.”

“Oh.” That changed things. “You mean you didn’t want to make out in front of a ten-year-old?”

He laughed. “Not on my to-do list.” He opened his mouth like he was going to say more, but then he stopped.

“What?”

“What are your plans for the rest of the night?”

“Nothing really.”

“Any interest in watching a movie or something?”

“That depends. What type?”

“We can watch a Christmas one. It’s too cold to hang out here much longer, but I don’t really want to turn in yet.”

“Ok. Let me just tell my dad where I’m going.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll do it. My parents are with your family. I think everyone went to see that show over at Vail Village tonight.”

“Oh. Okay.”

He stood up and offered his arm. “Our movie awaits.”

There was something different about walking with Glen after that kiss. I knew it didn’t mean anything to him, but I’d felt something I wasn’t sure I wanted to feel.

“You still with me?” he asked as he opened the door to the main lobby of the building both of our families had rented condos in. We’d been spending Christmas week at the same place for years.

“Yeah, sorry.”

We walked through the busy lobby, past the families chatting over by the fireplace. I didn’t know what was bugging Glen, but he obviously wasn’t in the mood to hang out with family either. I figured his reason didn’t matter. At least I had some good company.

We took the elevator up, and he opened the door to his condo. He gestured for me to enter.

“Thanks.” I glanced around to make sure he was right about no one else being home. His family was nice, but I wasn’t in the mood to talk to them, especially after that kiss.

“Let’s make this authentic. I’ll pour us some egg nog. You flip through the stations and find something Christmassy.”

I walked over to the large picture windows and looked out. It was dark, but I could still make out the shadow of the mountain. “Do you have Christmas cookies too? I mean if we’re going all authentic.”

“I do.” He headed into the kitchen. “Be right back.”

After taking a seat on the plush couch, I slipped off my boots and curled my feet up under me. His condo was a mirror image of the one I was staying in down the hall. Even the furnishings were all the same. I’d just settled on
Miracle on 34
^th
Street
, the original, when he walked back in balancing two glasses of egg nog and a plate of perfectly frosted cookies. “Refreshments have arrived.”

He flipped the switch on the gas fireplace and turned off all but one lamp. “Now we’ve got the atmosphere. Let me grab a blanket though. It’s cold in here.”

Glen returned a minute later with a blanket and sat down next to me. He put his arm around my shoulder. “Now we’re set.”

“Ice skating, hot cocoa, and now this? I’m starting to worry about you, Glen.”

“You forgot the mistletoe kiss.” He laid the blanket out over both of us. “You know I paid that little girl to do that.”

“Oh yeah? What are child actors charging these days?”

He grinned. “You don’t want to know.”

I picked up my glass of egg nog, and Glen lightly tapped his glass against mine. “To our own version of Christmas Eve.”

“Yes. To new traditions.” I snuggled into his side. Friends could snuggle. They could also kiss under mistletoe I reminded myself. The egg nog was strong, really strong, so I tried to drink it slowly.

We watched a few minutes of the movie, but before long Glen’s commentary about the film took over, and neither us were really watching it. I turned around so I could look at him better. “This was really nice. I kind of needed it tonight. I’m glad we ran into each other.”

“We didn’t run into each other.” He leaned back against the arm of the couch, stretching out his long legs alongside my body.

“We didn’t?”

“No. You stopped in time.”

I smiled. “Oh yes, physically we didn’t.”

“You’ve gotten even prettier.” He watched me as he sipped his egg nog. “You’re probably one of those girls that’s going to be even hotter in your twenties and thirties. You’ll age well.”

“Oh yeah? You know a lot about women in their twenties and thirties?” I set down my glass on the coffee table.

“I’m just saying, you get prettier every year.” His eyes fixed on mine.

I could feel blood rushing to my face. “Well you get more attractive too.”

“I do?” He sat up and grabbed me around my waist. He lay back down, pulling me with him.

“Yeah, you do. I don’t know if it’s going to continue into your thirties though. I can’t tell.”

He laughed. “You’ll have to tell me then.”

“You think we’ll still know each other then? I mean you’re only nineteen now.”

“We will.” He slipped his hand underneath the hem of my sweater and ran two fingers over my skin. “I know we will. That’s the best part of only seeing each other once a year. There’s no reason for us to start hating each other.”

“That’s a good point.” I closed my eyes, his fingers were cool from holding the cold eggnog, and they felt good as he brushed them against my skin again and again.

“You’re going to have to be careful next year. When you start school.”

“Why?” I asked carefully. I didn’t want to do anything that stopped him from touching me. His fingers had moved up slightly higher, and he was continuing the back and forth motion.

“Because of what you look like. Guys are going to want to take advantage of you. You need to be smart.”

“I can handle guys.”

“Can you?” His hand moved up even higher, and I took in a deep breath. I wasn’t sure what game he was playing, but I liked it. The problem is I wanted more.

“I’m very capable of taking care of myself.”

“I know you are. I just worry about you.”

“You already told me that.”

“And I wish you didn’t live so far away.”

“Didn’t you just tell me it’s better that we hardly see each other because we won’t hate each other?”

“Yeah, that’s not true. I wouldn’t hate you if I saw you every day. We’d still be friends.” His hand brushed right underneath my bra. Why was he talking about being friends as he touched me in a very un-friend like way?