The Hazards of Mistletoe Read online

  “I wasn’t rejecting you.”

  My hurt turned to anger. “No you don’t. Don’t start playing that game. You rejected me. I was there. I remember.”

  “I was there too, and unlike you, I actually know what I was thinking.” He pulled off his coat and put it on the chair next to him. “I didn’t do it because I didn’t want you.” He paused for a second as though deep in thought. “I wanted you so bad it was scary.”

  “Then why did you do it? Why’d you run away the second you saw me?” There went the tears again.

  “Because I didn’t deserve to have you.” His penetrating stare was unwavering. “I still don’t, but I’m going to hate myself if I don’t try.”

  “Savannah?” Dalton appeared at my elbow. “Not to be annoying, but if we want to eat during the movie we’ve got to go and order. Do you want to come, or should I just order for you?” There was concern in his voice and expression. He was such a hard guy to understand. He went back and forth between hot and cold so often I couldn’t keep up.

  “I’m ready.” I glanced at Glen. “See you around.”

  “We’re not done talking.”

  “Yes, we are. You heard Dalton, we’ve got to go.”

  “Where are you guys sitting?” Glen pulled out a ticket. “Maybe we can switch with people and all sit together.”

  “I’m sure we can manage that.” Spiky hair guy walked over.

  I put a hand on my hip. “Excuse me, but who are you?”

  He grinned. “I’m so glad you asked. I’m Winston. I’m roommates with your boy over there.”

  “You go to CU?”

  “No… I live here.” Winston looked at Glen. “I’m guessing you guys didn’t get too far into your talk.”

  “We only had five minutes.”

  Dalton pushed up the sleeves of his shirt. “Eleven actually.”

  “Is he always this annoying?” Glen asked.

  “From what I can tell.”

  “Oh, so you are still in there.” Glen laughed. “But I thought you were good friends.”

  “His mom is dating my dad.” I don’t know why I told him except that it came naturally for me to tell Glen everything. I always did. He was the only person I told about losing my virginity. I blinked trying to push off thoughts of that unfortunate experience and Glen.

  “Oh.” Glen looked between us. “So he’s like your step-brother.”

  “Not yet,” I said hurriedly. “Let’s find our seats.”

  I didn’t need to say it twice. Dalton followed me over to the entrance of the theater.

  “Wait up. Did you forget we’re going to try to switch around to sit together?” Winston called after us.”

  “How could I forget?” I mumbled. Technically I could have made a scene. I could have told Glen and Winston to leave us alone, but what good what that have done? I’d still know they were watching me the whole time. That would already be enough to ruin the movie.

  We found our seats, and Glen quickly slipped into the seat next to me.

  “Someone’s going to be sitting there.”

  “I’ll just wait and see. Maybe they won’t show up.”

  I stuffed my coat into the space between me and the arm rest. “Maybe they will.”

  “Quit acting like I’m ruining a date for you or something. He’s your almost step-brother.”

  I sighed. “That doesn’t mean I want to sit next to you.”

  “You’re arguing with me.”

  “So?” I crossed my arms. He was really getting on my nerves.

  “This is normal for us. We’re supposed to argue. I like this so much better than that ‘I don’t want anything to do with you’ act you were pulling earlier.”

  “It wasn’t an act.”

  “Yes it was.”

  Thankfully the couple whose seats Glen and Winston had taken walked over.

  “Would you mind switching with us? We’re just a few rows up.” Winston hurriedly confronted the couple. “We didn’t realize our friends were going to be here.”

  “Of course. No problem.” The guy agreed.

  “You don’t have to do that.” I jumped up. “You picked out these tickets for a reason.”

  “Theirs are just as good.” The guy exchanged tickets with Winston and Glen. “Enjoy the movie.”

  “Perfect. See. Not a problem at all.”

  “Lovely.” I slumped back down in my seat.

  “Come on, Savy. We used to love watching movies together.” He slung his arm around my shoulder.

  “Yeah, and did you see how great the last one turned out?” I turned to Dalton. “Switch seats with me, please?”

  “Are you serious, Savy?” Glen groaned.

  “Don’t Savy me. Call me Savannah if you’re going to call my anything.”

  “Why? Why can’t I call you by the same name I’ve used for you since we were little kids?”

  “Because you’ve lost the privilege.”

  Dalton and Winston both started to laugh. I glared at Dalton. Winston could do what he wanted.

  “Come on, switch seats.”

  “Normally I would, but I get the sense it’s going to be a lot more entertaining if I don’t.”

  “It will be. I assure you.” Glen smirked.

  That was the last straw. “Either switch seats with me, or I’m leaving.”

  “Are you really going to keep threatening that?” Dalton smiled. The damn guy smiled.

  “Yes. I don’t care if I have to walk and I end up freezing to death.”

  Glen nudged me. “Don’t you think that’s a little bit melodramatic? You might end up with frost bite, but actually freezing to death? I doubt that.”

  I pushed into his shoulder. “Stop.”

  “Stop what?”

  “Teasing me. You’re not allowed to do that anymore.”

  “I can’t call you Savy, and I can’t tease you? What other rules are there?”

  “You can’t sit next to me.” I stood up. “Dalton, switch seats with me now.”

  “Fine.” He stood up.

  I took his seat.

  Glen leaned over Dalton. “I’m not done talking to you.”

  “I’m done listening.”

  “No you’re not.”

  “Okay, you two need to stop. I’m not listening to any more of this.” Dalton put his hands out to either side. “What the hell happened between you guys?”

  “None of your business.” I glared at him.

  “You can’t keep saying that.”

  “I can.” I crossed my arms.

  “What happened is I made a huge mistake in an attempt to protect her. I did something for her own good, and now she hates me for it.” Glen looked at me as he spoke.

  “I don’t hate you,” I mumbled.

  “You sure act that way.”

  “I’m done.” I stood up. “Give me my phone, Dalton. I’m calling my dad. He’ll drive my grandpa’s car and get me.”

  “No. Sit down. We’re watching the movie. I think we missed our chance to order so I’ll get us food. What do you want? A salad?”

  Glen chuckled. “A salad? Savy? Try a burger or something.”

  “Oh. Interesting.” Dalton gave me a knowing look.

  “I’ll get the food.” I wasn’t going to let him leave me there with Glen.

  “Do you have money on you?”

  “Some.”

  Dalton shook his head. “I’ll do it.”

  Glen smiled. “Good idea.”

  “You’re coming too, Glen.”

  “No way. I’m not leaving Savy alone in here.” He looked all around.

  “She won’t be alone. Your friend will be here too.”

  “If there’s some sort of chicken sandwich I’ll take that.” Then I considered it. “With fries.”

  “Absolutely. Be back soon. Come on, Glen.” Dalton waited for Glen to stand up before heading back out to the entry.

  As soon as they left, Winston stood up and took the seat Dalton had vacated. “So. You
’re the famous Savy, huh?”

  “Glen doesn’t talk about me.”

  “Sure he does.” Winston pivoted in his seat so he was looking right at me. “He talks about you all the time.”

  “No he doesn’t.” I looked away.

  “Admittedly, before yesterday he never talked to me about you.”

  “See.”

  “But he stares at your picture and talks about you in his sleep.”

  “He doesn’t.”

  “He does.” I jerked as he touched my shoulder. “Wowsers. Someone’s uptight.”

  “I don’t need someone I don’t know touching me.”

  “But you do know me. Maybe we should do this more formally.” He held out his hand. “I’m Winston. Nice to meet you.”

  I accepted the handshake to make him stop. “Hi Winston. Let’s sit here quietly and wait for the movie.”

  “But then what was the point of introducing ourselves? Kind of a waste.”

  “Are you always like this?”

  “Like what?” He seemed genuinely confused.

  “This weird.”

  “Weird? Me?” He put a hand to his chest. “What’s weird is you and Glen.”

  “It’s not weird. We grew apart.”

  “Grew apart? Come on, Savy. It’s me, Winston. You don’t need to pretend for me.”

  I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “You should go into comedy.”

  “You’re not the first person to say that.”

  “I’m not surprised.”

  “So back to the important discussion.”

  “Which was?” I stopped trying to get him to leave me alone. It wasn’t going to happen.

  “You and Glen. What are you thinking? Going to give him another chance?”

  “There’s no chance to give. He made his feelings known a year ago. I made mine known too.”

  “A lot can change in a year.”

  “Yes it can.” I looked at the advertisement moving over the screen.

  “Have you changed?”

  I turned back to Winston. “I went away to college. That changes people.”

  “It does.”

  “Is Glen still in school? What’s going on with him?” I couldn’t hold the questions in any longer.

  “Nuh uh. Not going there.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because that’s Glen’s story to tell. Not mine.”

  “Come on. I need to know.”

  “And he needs to talk to you. I’ve got this crazy idea.” He put a hand over his mouth as if in surprise. “Maybe you two could talk? Wouldn’t that just be wild?”

  I laughed again. Winston was a real character. “The strange part is the more I get used to seeing him the less angry I am.” Then I realized what I’d said. “Wait. Didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

  “Don’t worry. It’s a gift I have. People tell me things.”

  “Why?”

  “Maybe I look trustworthy?”

  “Do you just look it, or are you?”

  “What do you think?”

  “I think I’m going to keep my mouth shut from now on.”

  “Come on. You don’t need to do that.” He put a hand on the armrest between us.

  “Evidently I do.”

  “Your secret is safe with me.” He stood up and moved back to his seat.

  I glanced at my original seat. The one next to Glen’s.

  “Come on, you know you want to do it.”

  “Why do you care so much?”

  “Because Glen’s a nice guy. He’s had a crappy year, and something tells me he’s going to be nicer to live with if things work out for you two. Plus he needs to get laid.”

  I looked away. “I can’t help with that last part.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  After a few more minutes of debate I moved back to my original seat. What was the point of sitting two seats away anyway?

  Just as the previews started Dalton and Glen returned with the food. Dalton took a glance at where I was sitting before stepping around me to my seat. He set my meal in front of me. “Moving around again?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “Just giving you your seat back.” I put my napkin on my lap.

  Glen settled in next to me. “Glad to have you back, neighbor.”

  “The person in front of this seat is shorter,” I whispered, finding the need to explain my actions.

  “Whatever you say.”

  I didn’t answer. I kept staring at the screen, waiting for the movie to start. I didn’t look away for over a half hour. Glen took the opportunity to grab my hand during a jumpy scene. I didn’t remove it from his right away. I liked the feel of his larger hand wrapped around mine, but I didn’t allow myself to enjoy the luxury for long. I couldn’t feel that way with Glen. He’d only hurt me again. I pulled my hand away.

  “Hey. I was using that,” he whispered against my ear before taking my hand again.

  “It’s mine.”

  “I thought you were good at sharing.”

  Winston looked around Glen and right at me. He winked. Dalton seemed oblivious. I guess he was just completely zoned in on the movie. Either that or he was being careful.

  I didn’t take my hand back the second time. I let him hold it. I tried not to focus on the way he rubbed his thumb over my hand, but it felt so good. So comforting. So familiar.

  I reluctantly pulled my hand back when the movie ended. Glen straightened up. “So where to now?”

  “What do you mean?” I stretched before slipping back into my jacket.

  “Where to now? It’s only nine.”

  “We’re going home.” There was only so much time I could spend around Glen. Holding his hand or not, that didn’t mean we were going to start hanging out again.

  “Oh. Maybe I could drive you home?”

  “Dalton’s going to drive me.”

  “If you change your mind in the next few minutes, let me know.” He smiled.

  “Doubtful, but thanks.” At least my stomach wasn’t in knots when I looked at him anymore. I hoped eventually the years of good memories would replace the one night of bad ones.

  Chapter Nine

  Glen

  The feel of Savy’s hand in mine was like coming home. It’s a dramatic statement, but it’s a true one. Everything in my life was a mess, yet for the first time in a year I actually felt good. When she pulled her hand away at the end of the movie, she left me cold. It couldn’t be the last time I touched her. I needed more.

  I caught Winston’s eye as we headed out of the theatre. The first part of the plan had worked. Layden had told me her plans for the evening, and we’d made a huge step forward. She was talking to me, and she was also letting me hold her hand. Now I just had to keep moving things in that direction.

  We walked outside of the theater to the plaza at Solaris. It was another one of the swanky resort areas in Vail. In good weather it was actually a short walk from Lionshead, but I had no plans to let Savy walk.

  “Is that a sleigh?” Savy pointed to a horse drawn sleigh, complete with bells, waiting off to the side. “I haven’t been on one of those in years.” Her face brightened, and for a moment she looked like the Savy I knew again.

  “It is a sleigh,” I smiled, aching to grab her hand again, but fighting the impulse.

  “I didn’t take you as a sleigh ride person.” Dalton looked at her skeptically. “You seem too bah humbug for that.”

  “Savy loves Christmas. She’d probably listen to Christmas music year round if she could,” I quickly supplied, letting it be known that I knew a whole lot more about her than he did.

  “I used to.” She looked off into the distance.

  “So have you changed your mind about letting me drive you back?”

  “It’s not that far away. Dalton will take me.”

  “What if I offered you the scenic route?” I added. Winston laughed.

  “What?” She looked between us.

  “What if I told you my offer for a ride home
wasn’t in my car?” I nodded over to the sleigh. “Would that interest you more?”

  “Wait?” She looked at me. “Are you saying that sleigh is for us?” Her voice lilted. She was excited, and that got me excited.

  “Maybe. I thought we could do it for old times’ sake. You did have your first sleigh ride with me after all.”

  She smiled lightly. “I did.” She turned to Dalton. “Are you up for it?”

  “Hey. Who said he’s invited?” There was no way step-brother was intruding on this.

  “You can’t expect me to go alone with you.”

  “Why not? What do you think is going to happen? The driver will be with us anyway.”

  She looked conflicted.

  “Can I talk to you for a second?” Dalton asked.

  I hesitated. I didn’t want to step away from Savy, but there was something in Dalton’s expression that made me wonder if he might actually want to help.

  “I’ll keep Savannah company. We bonded earlier.” Winston stuffed his hands in the pockets of his coat.

  “We’ll be right back.” Dalton walked around the corner, and I followed after one quick glance back at her.

  “What is it?”

  “Do you really care about her?”

  “Of course.”

  “And all that stuff you said earlier, about regretting the way you made her feel. About wanting to make things up to her. You meant it?” So he had been listening as I’d tried to explain myself to him as we’d waited for our food.

  “Yes. I’ve been crazy about Savy for years. I know it seems weird because we only saw each other once a year, but she’s one of my best friends. We used to talk all the time.” She was still a favorite contact in my phone. One my thumb had hesitated over more frequently than I wanted to admit.

  “I really have no say in what she does, so I’m not going to be able to convince her of anything, but I’ll see what I can do. It looks like we both want the same thing.”

  “And what’s that?” He had better not say he wanted her.

  “We want her happy. Although we want it for different reasons.”

  “What’s your reason?”

  “Aside from just generally kind of liking her, I also need her to snap out of her funk so her Dad stops stalling on proposing to my mom. I’ve got a lot going on in my life that I’ve put on hold. If she’s happy, and my sister’s happy, then I can start worrying about myself. Got that?”