“Because you don’t put me on hold for anyone, Tessy.”
“He’s apologizing.”
Anyway, I didn’t ghost you. I was hoping to have a second date actually.
“And asking me for a second date.”
“Ekk, get it girl. Don’t let me stop you. Tell me all about it later, love you.” With that, she hung up, leaving me to stare at my phone for a second before I could respond.
Uh, sure, I’d love that. What did you have in mind?
Ever been tree picking?
I stared at my fake one sitting in the corner and frowned.
Can’t say I have.
Perfect, pick you up in twenty. Jeans and a long sleeve shirt are great.
“You pick your own tree every year? And I never knew about this?” I asked, more than confused. I mean, sure, I didn’t know every minute of his day, that wasn’t my job. But going out in public like this seemed to have been something I would have picked up on, or at least I thought I would have.
“Every year. It’s something I did as a kid with my family, and it hasn’t stopped. I even had one year with my parents, when I was on a break from filming. It’s nice to go look for it, cut it, carry it, and then decorate it. You’ve never done it?”
“Uh, no. My mom hated the sap, so real trees were never a thing.”
“I can see that. But a real pine tree, oh the smell just makes it feel even more like Christmas to me.”
I just stared at him as he bound down the lane in his truck to the tree farm.
A tree farm.
Who the hell had ever been at one?
And in California, nonetheless?
I mean, I never thought I’d see one out here. But it was pretty far out of town, and in a direction, I would never go, that’s for sure. It was also a lot smaller than I would have thought, so I’mgoing to say it wasn’t as big out here as it might be in other places.
But from the number of cars parked, it was still a popular enough spot.
“Shall we?” he asked as he parked the car and I could only nod.
What else could I freakin’ say? No?
This was my second date, and though it was different, it was also something that was him. He was showing me a part of himself I don’t think others saw. And that was special.
So, I was going to enjoy this, even if I was scared shitless about what he would want me to do.
“I can't believe you got such a big tree,” I told him, as we finally sat on his couch, mugs of hot chocolate in hand. Was it cold enough out here for it?
No, of course not.
But it just added to the festival cheer, and I wasn't about to take it away from him. Or me. Because I loved it too. And actually, thanks to him, I was getting far more in the holiday mood.
“I love big trees. And I have more than enough decorations for it. This year, the theme is white. I try to change it up. So, I have white lights, white bulbs, ornaments, and so on. You name it, it's white. Even my outside stuff is white.”
“I never would have pegged you as someone who loves to go all out, Joshua.”
“I can't give all my secrets away in interviews. Besides, you know most of that is just surface level stuff, right?”
