Dammit.
I was cold and hungry. I sat on the ground by the stall.
I should have put pants on.
I scrunched up my legs under my coat, willing Matt to leave. I looked back around the stall again.
Nope. Still there.
“Fuck my life,” I whispered then texted Olivia.
Merrie:Room for one more?
Olivia:What happened to your shop?
Merrie:Terrible landlords who surprise you in the middle of a cookie and movie session.
Olivia:Ooh, like sexually surprised?
Merrie:No, like a “You need to vacate the premises” surprise and also “I’m going to stand out here in the cold like a lunatic because I don’t have anything better to do than harass my renter” kind of surprise.
I crawled on all fours to another stall that would better block Matt’s view. I didn’t want the billionaire to know I was there. Then I headed to Olivia’s car.
My friend was stretched out in the back of her ancient station wagon when I rapped on the window. She opened the hatchback, and I crawled in.
She took one look at me and snorted.
“Where are your pants? Are you wearing underwear? You really undersold the level of surprise Matt gave you!”
“Gross. And I’m wearing underwear but no bra,” I said, climbing under her mount of blankets.
“I’m sure Matt was happy about that. Did hisyou-know-whatgrow three times its size when he saw all your Christmas cheer?”
“Har har. He was just more appalled.”
“Highly doubtful. I bet he’s standing outside in the cold to calm everything down so that he doesn’t go home and jack off. Honestly, it’s like the premise of a bad fanfiction.”
“He is not fanfiction material.” I wished I had cookies.
“Really? Because people online are super into him. There’s all sorts of seedy content,” Olivia said cheerfully in the dark. “You should play into it and score those fan favorite points.”
“I’m looking on the bright side. I’ll lose, sure, but at least I won’t have to deal with Matt again. See? I’m all about positivity this Christmas season.”
Olivia’s cat jumped off the seat back and landed on my chest then curled up under my chin.
“This is fine,” I said. “Everything’s fine.” I closed my eyes. The trunk of the car was uncomfortable. And cold.
Go to your Christmas happy place.
Ever since I was a little girl, when my parents would fight or I did something embarrassing in school, I went to my happy place to escape. My happy place was Christmas. I slowly built up the scene in my mind. I was in a Christmas cabin in the woods. Moonlight sparkled on fresh snow. A fire roared. I had hot chocolate. Christmas carols were playing, and I was baking cookies.
My super hunky Hallmark Christmas boyfriend was coming up the path with a freshly cut Christmas tree. He opened the door; the smell of the fresh spruce brightened up the room. He set the tree down, but instead of wearing flannel, he was wearing…a suit? No, that wasn’t right. My dream boyfriend turned to me, and instead of dark hair and eyes, he had blue eyes and platinum white hair.
Shit.
I opened my eyes, blinking in the dark.
Screw Matt, I mouthed.First, he ruins my bake-off, then my shop, then he ruins my happy place too?
