“Well, I greatly appreciate that.”
“Shall we go?”
“Of course!Where are you taking me?”
“I thought we’d shoot some pool and have a few beers.Sound good?”
“Sounds great!But you might not have a lot of fun because I’m an excellent pool player.Most people call me a pool shark.”
The two were breaking a set and sipping beers within minutes.
“How’s the place?”
“Are you kidding?It’s great!Especially after you filled it with all of my favorite things.”
“Good!But I don’t intend to stop there.I know you said you’re not big on the holidays, but who doesn’t want a Christmas tree?”
Kalliopi nearly choked on her beer.She hadn’t put up a Christmas tree since her sister died.There hadn’t seemed to be much of a point for her to celebrate since she was the only one left in her family.In fact, she went out to a bar on every Christmas Eve to eat.And she slept through Christmas Day just to avoid seeing anyone until she got together with Treasure for dinner.Seeing a tree up would be a constant reminder that nothing was the same.
“Me.I don’t want a Christmas tree.”
“Come on now…”
“Stan, I’m serious.I’m here for work.”
“Are you saying you’re a Scrooge?”His usual panty-melting smile had less of an effect on her as they discussed such a sensitive topic.
“I don’t begrudge others their celebrations, but I do ask that others respect my decision to avoid them.”
“So your family leaves you alone this time of year?”
“My family is gone.”Kalliopi focused her gaze across the bar.This wasn’t the kind of thing she discussed on a first date, but it didn’t seem like she was going to be able to avoid it with Stan.
“I’m sorry to hear that.I was really hoping I’d be able to convince you to join my gingerbread-house-building team for the annual contest.I’ve won two years in a row.”
“Impressive!”Kalliopi attempted to give him a smile, but she knew it didn’t reach her eyes.“But even if I was feeling up for it, believe me, you wouldn’t want me on your team.My only experience with gingerbread houses in the past ended up looking more like Halloween décor than Christmas, since I couldn’t get the walls to stay up once I stuck the roof on.”
“There’s a trick to that.”
“One I’m not interested in learning.”Not wanting to be too much of a stick-in-the-mud, she offered, “We’ll see how things go.If I don’t have anything else going on that day, maybe I’ll sit on the sidelines and watch you make your masterpiece.”
Stan’s smile dropped a little as he nodded.“It isn’t about winning.It’s about having fun.”
“That may be true.But I wouldn’t know.I have done nothing like that in years.”
“Then maybe it’s time to change that.”Stan palmed Kalliopi’s hand.“What if we didn’t call it Christmas?What if we called it, ‘The Great Canadian Winter Fun Time’—TGCWFT for short.”
Kallie laughed and rolled her eyes.“TGCWFT, is that the best you can come up with?I thought you FUCs were better than that.”
“Hmmm… what do you have, then?”
She thought for a moment before smiling widely.“KROCH.Kallie’s Reprieve from Obstructing Christmas Happenings.”
“I like it.”He smiled back at her.“But do you mean it?Will your KROCH really open things up and allow us to enjoy ourselves?”
She rolled her eyes, used to the innuendo and unable to hold back a laugh.It was nice to be goofy with a guy, and she liked the idea of reframing the festivities.“Well, it seems like unless I’m willing to hole up in my lodgings for the season, I better embrace a mindset shift.So, yeah, I think I can do it with KROCH.”
“All right, that settles it, then.Tomorrow is the Taste of Winter Festival on campus.It’s a thing they do for all the cadets who can’t get home for the holidays and all the residents who don’t have a home to go to.We can sample Christmas cookies, hot chocolate, and all other things holiday-themed.They even invite in shifter merchants who have Christmas ornaments and other decor for sale—which will give us plenty to choose from for decorating your place.Then, at dark, they do the tree-lighting ceremony.Do you want to come with me?”
