I was about to say awful when Maya pushes up on her tiptoes and plants a kiss on my lips.
I relax into it but then quickly remember where we are. I reluctantly pull back. “What about the no kissing guests rule?”
She bites her lip, then a wide smile, the one I’ve come to love so much, spreads across her face. “Close your eyes,” she says.
I furrow my brow. “This again?”
“You said you trust me.”
I open my mouth to argue that I never actually said that, but there’s no reason to fight it. I do trust her, so I squeeze my eyes shut.
“Okay, open them.”
When my vision reappears, I see Maya’s arm straight in the air. I’m much taller than her, so her hand actually only reaches my nose. Finally, I realize what she’s holding: a red ribbon tied around green leaves.
She smirks. “Mistletoe is law. I had to kiss you.”
“Oh yeah…Well, we better not break the mistletoe law,” I say. Then, I pull her in and kiss her again. This time with no hesitation and no fear of breaking the rules. I get lost in the joy of showing her how happy she’s made me, and continues to make me.
That’s when it hits me. I smile against her lips and then chuckle.
“What?” she asks.
“Did you have the mistletoe in your dress the whole time?”
Even though there’s less light backstage, I can still see Maya’s cheeks flush pink. “Heaven forbid a girl comes prepared. I couldn’t let you leave without getting one more kiss.”
I laugh and then clasp my hands together behind her lower back. “I was pretty determined to get one more too…But now, I’m thinking one’s just not enough. I’m going to need Maya kisses regularly.”
She bites her lip. “Well, what are we going to do about that? Daily flights from Colorado to Florida might get expensive.”
“True, but we don’t have to worry about that yet. I still get to be with you the rest of the night, and I’m planning to make use of that mistletoe.”
“Well, management might get suspicious. Not sure how many times the mistletoe law allows the same two people to kiss.” She bites her lip, making a valid point.
I nod in agreement. “That might be true, but what’s the policy when it comes to a boyfriend kissing his girlfriend under the mistletoe?”
Maya’s eyes go wide, and a stunned smile appears.
I quickly add, “If it’s too soon or freaks you out, we don’t have to. I really like you…a lot. And I don’t like many people, but if you—”
“Mr. Evans,” Maya says as she puts a hand on my chest. “This has been…” She sighs and trails off. “One of the wildest weeks of my life.” Her smile returns. “I can’t think of a better way to end the week than getting to be your girlfriend…and kissing my boyfriend all night under the mistletoe.”
I chuckle with complete happiness. Then, I lean down and meet her for one more kiss.
Suddenly, she pulls away. “Don’t think you can just distract me from dancing though. I’m dying to see Eddie Evans shake it on the dance floor.”
I pretend to grumble, because I’m not normally a dancer, but for Maya, I’m ready to bust a move.
Epilogue
Maya
Itturnsoutthatflights from Colorado to Florida are about $300 roundtrip. I looked as soon as the ball ended.
It was extremely hard to say goodbye to Eddie when he left the next morning, but I consoled myself by pulling up mental images of him doing the Macarena and giving me mistletoe kisses.
On a positive note, Eddie’s glowing speech worked. I didn’t get fired. In fact, Mr. Mynt said he was so impressed by my work with Eddie that I got a bonus and he wants my input on next year’s Mynt to Make a Difference event.
