“Third row from the right,” he says with certainty in his voice. I didn’t even have to tell him what I needed help with, and he always sounds so happy to do it . . . almost like . . . no. Why would he get satisfaction out of being the one doing all this for me?
“Thanks. I’ll remember that from here on. What’s in the first row?”
“Green tea. The fourth row has espresso coffee and the fifth is vanilla latte.”
“My sister stocked all her favorites, I see.”
“None of those are yours? I’m a little disappointed. Green tea is the best.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Aside from the hot chocolate, no. I prefer making tea the old-fashioned way, and I’m not a huge coffee fan. I do like stocking up on chai lattes for those lazy days, though.”
“Phew, you do like tea. I was worried I was going to have to end this ever-growing appship of ours early. You should add some chai along with the Mexican hot chocolate to your next grocery list.”
I set a cup under the spout and go based on memory when hitting the start button after filling the back with water. We fix ourselves a hot beverage at the same time, chit chatting about everything and nothing until I resume the movie. I spit my drink at his animated voice when describing the cartoon images at the North Pole. There’s so much excitement in his voice when Buddy is spinning around in the revolving doors, and a sound of disgust at the scene where he tosses chewed gum into his mouth.
He overdoes it a little, not missing a single detail whenever there’s any kind of Christmas decor that shows up on scene. He’s enjoying the movie. It’s easy to tell. He laughs with me at similar parts and makes comments about how he would have done this or that if it were him.
I keep forgetting he’s somewhere else, lifting my cup to my mouth as I lean into the couch cushion, pretending it’s his shoulder my head’s resting on.
“Okay, you’re right. This one isn’t so bad.”
“I’m what?”
He lets out an overexaggerated sigh and chuckles. “You’re right.”
“Mhm. I thought that’s what you said.”
“Okay. There’s no reason to gloat.”
“Oh, but I disagree, when I feel like I’m contributing in such a big way to help thaw out that Christmas-movie-hating heart.”
“Wait a minute. I never said I hated them.”
“You sure act like it.”
“Yeah, yeah. I think it’s more to do with the fact that . . . you know, never mind.”
“Something for movie six?”
He laughs. “Yeah . . . or movie ten.”
“You really think you’re going to want to suffer through that many more with me?”
“No.”
My smile falls. “No?”
“It will in no way be suffering. Watching and enjoying it . . . But suffering, not even close.”
My lips tilt again, and I feel like a fire is lighting up inside me. “I have to say, your tree descriptions were top tier in this one.”
“Yeah? What else did I do good with?”
“The ice skating and that first kiss.”
“First kisses are always too special to not take my time on.”
“You mean while describing movies or in general?”
