EVAN
Evergreen Books has been transformed into holiday romance novel heaven. Pink and red everything, mistletoe in doorways, standees of cover models with impossible abs.
"Build-a-Boyfriend station!"
Jocelyn drags us to a table covered in construction paper gingerbread people and containers of colorful trait stickers shaped like frosting blobs. A hand-lettered sign reads: "Build Your Dream Boyfriend or Girlfriend!"
Jocelyn's already grabbing supplies.
"This is ridiculous," I inform Holly.
"This is fun." She's reaching for a gingerbread cutout. “Okay, ridiculous but also fun.”
We're performing "casual friends" for Jocelyn while every look between us tells another story.
I reach for a blue frosting blob sticker. Holly reaches for a green one. Our fingers collide, then tangle. Every accidental touch is a negotiation—do we acknowledge this? Do we pull away? Do we lean in and see what happens?
She pulls back first, her smile perfectly innocent. I press the blue sticker onto my gingerbread person. Holly peels a purple sticker from its backing and places it on hers.
As she moves around the table, surveying all the sticker frosting blob options, I try not to be obvious about tracking her. But my peripheral vision is Holly, Holly, Holly. The way her hand hovers over the pile. The angle of her shoulders. How close she is. The want I feel is so loud I'm sure the entire store can hear it.
"Okay, so mine is—" Jocelyn's narrating the traits as she adds them to her new boyfriend. "Tall, obviously. Great hair. Oh! And 'Looks good in a suit.' And 'Has a boat.' Do people actually have boats?'"
Holly and I are both nodding along, overcompensating hard. I select a red sticker, place it on my cutout’s knee, then reach for a yellow one. Holly's hand wavers over two piles of stickers, as if deciding between them. She takes one of each.
"'Remembers my birthday without reminders!'" Jocelyn continues, selecting from a new pile. "'Good at karaoke!' That's important, right?"
"Absolutely crucial," Holly says, pressing another sticker in place.
I'm running out of spots. I add another sticker to the cutout’s knee, then one more to the shoulder. Holly's doing the same, filling in the empty spaces.
“Okay, time for the reveal!" Jocelyn announces.
She holds up her gingerbread person—a dozen frosting-like traits covering every available surface. "I may have gone overboard."
"It's perfect," Holly assures her.
“Thanks,” Jocelyn says. “Your turn, Holly.”
Holly holds up hers. I read each trait aloud.
"Steady. Generous. Shows Up. Secretly Soft. Supports Your Dreams."
Did she build me? Interesting.
"Now you," Jocelyn prompts me.
I hold up mine. Holly leans forward, reading each frosting blob.
"Organized," she says. "Clever. Warm. Dry Sense of Humor. Makes Everything Better."
Holly looks up from my creation and meets my gaze. “You built me too.”
"I know what I want."
She gives me a coy smile.
“Geez, you guys—” Jocelyn starts.
