“That’s really positive,” Mack said. “Do you have siblings?”
“No, it’s just me and my parents.” Holly sighed. “The thing with being an only child is, the expectations are enormous. In my case, their expectations were for me to get married to a man, buy a home, have babies, and meet them at church every Sunday. It’s unlikely any of that will happen, so needless to say,they need some time to get used to the idea. I don’t understand why they were so surprised in the first place. I’ve never shown any interest in men, and they even caught me kissing my best friend when I was twelve.”
Mack chuckled. “Ah…the best friend. Haven’t we all been there? My parents were very accepting when I came out to them, though. I was lucky that way.”
Holly felt a blush creep up her cheeks when their eyes met. “You too, huh?”
“Yeah. I’m gay too. But don’t worry. I’ll stick to my side of the bed,” Mack joked.
“So will I,” Holly quipped with a wink. “So do you have a girlfriend? Wife?”
“No, I’m single.” Mack ran a hand through her hair, leaving it tousled. “You?”
“I’m single too. I was seeing someone, but she left me right before I came out to my parents. She didn’t want to date someone who was in the closet. She’d been through that before with her ex and didn’t like that we always had to spend the holidays apart.” Holly shook her head. “I was so hurt, but it also gave me the courage to come out to my parents. I knew I had to if I wanted to win her back.”
“But that didn’t work out?” Mack asked.
“No. A month later, I called her to tell her the news, but by then, she was already seeing someone else. Considering how fast she moved on, it clearly wasn’t meant to be.”
“So you’ve been struggling with your breakup and your parents,” Mack said.
“Yes. I’m over my ex, but I want my family back. I need them in my life.”
Mack reached across the table to squeeze her hand. The gesture was simple, but it conveyed a depth of understandingthat Holly hadn’t expected from someone she’d only met hours ago.
A gust of wind rattled the window, drawing her attention to their reflection in the glass. The sight made her chuckle softly.
“What’s so funny?” Mack asked, tilting her head.
Holly gestured toward the window. “I was just thinking about how we must look to anyone passing by. Two women sharing a candlelit dinner of convenience store delicacies in a worn-down motel room. It’s like the setup for a bizarre indie film.”
Mack grinned as she turned to look at their reflection. “Oh yeah, I can see it now.Stranded at the Mistletoe: A Christmas Tale of Dental Hygiene and Unexpected Friendship.”
“Starring two lesbians who started out as enemies and ended up sharing a bed,” Holly added, laughing.
As their laughter subsided, Holly realized she wasn’t all that miserable. Yes, she was stuck in a questionable motel room with a stranger. But somehow, it didn’t feel as dire as it should.
Chapter 5
Mack
Mack leaned back against the headboard, wine glass in hand, trying not to stare too obviously at Holly. They had finished their makeshift dinner and decided to get more comfortable, settling onto the bed with the remaining wine. Holly wore an oversize T-shirt that rode up slightly, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of her thigh. Mack found her eyes drawn to it repeatedly, each time forcing herself to look away.
“So, Holly,” began, swirling the wine in her glass, “have you always lived in Minneapolis?”
“Pretty much, other than college. How about you?”
“Same, though I was born in South Korea. I was adopted as a baby by my parents here in the States. They’re Minnesotans through and through.”
“Oh? You’re adopted?” Mack wasn’t sure why that surprised her. Maybe because she’d never met anyone who was adopted. “How was that, growing up?”
Holly tilted her head from side to side, her expression turning thoughtful. “It was tough at times. I always felt different, you know? I stood out, and kids can be cruel. There were timesI wished I looked more like my parents or the other kids at school.” She paused, reaching for a pretzel.
Mack watched as Holly dunked the pretzel in her wine before eating it.
“And then realizing I was gay on top of that,” Holly continued, “it was a lot to process. I didn’t want to be different in yet another way.”
Mack felt a pang of empathy. “That must have been really hard. How did you finally come to terms with it?”
