Page 25 of Snowed

Joy: My friend Isla, who you met at the party, was Wayne. Did you actually dress as Wayne, too, or did you just do that for the photo? I go to my sister’s for Christmas. She has two kids, so it’s always fun—unlike my parents’ annual holiday party on Christmas Eve. That I dread.

Nolan: Nope. I was Wayne last year when I was forced to go to a party where everyone had to dress as famous couples. Why the dread for your parents’ party?

Joy: Great minds think alike. And I love my parents. They’re amazing people, but my mom thinks I’m going to die an old maid since Davis and I broke up. Anytime she has people over, she now happens to invite a single guy. I’m not looking forward to meeting this year’s hot commodity. Last year, the guy I was stuck talking to half the night was obsessed with Deadliest Catch. He spent an hour telling me about each episode of the new season. And I’m allergic to shellfish!

Nolan: Oh, man. Why don’t you bring the holiday card to show them you have a new boyfriend? Or better yet, mail them one!

I laughed out loud.

Joy: I couldn’t do that. I’m really close to my mom. She would know if I had a boyfriend serious enough to put on a holiday card. That trick only worked on Davis.

However, maybe if I brought my own boyfriend to the party, they wouldn’t think they constantly needed to fix me up. Would it be insane to ask Nolan to go with me? I chewed my lip, debating. He’d said he had a date the night of Davis’s party—not a girlfriend. And Nolan seemed like a fun guy who was up for anything. I bet we’d have a blast being a fake couple again. Plus…maybe there would be an opportunity for a second kiss. Lord knows I hadn’t stopped thinking about the first one. So I said screw it and started typing before I changed my mind.

Joy: Any chance you’re free on Christmas Eve? Maybe you can come to my parents’ party and play the role of fake boyfriend again—help them get off my back about dating.

A long pause went by, way longer than the time between our messages had been, so I started to grow anxious. Then the text came in.

Nolan: I wish I could. But I already have plans. I told Kylie, the girl I went out with the night of Davis’s party, that I’d go to see A Christmas Carol with her.

***

Two days later, I woke to another tag on Facebook. Nolan had honed his photoshop skills and made some more photos of us. They were definitely better, but still pretty funny. Though the novelty had lost its luster since I was rejected, and the last couple days I’d been walking around with a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Later in the afternoon, I opened my laptop to do some last-minute online Christmas shopping from the office, and I found a new message from Nolan.

Nolan: How did I do with the new photos? I think I’m almost ready to make my own card.

I smiled, but that hollow feeling hit me again. I’d essentially kissed this man, then asked him out, and he’d rejected me. Worse, I really liked him. There was no use torturing myself when he wasn’t into me, so I didn’t bother to respond. Instead, I shut my laptop and decided to brave the stores in person on my way home from work.

A little while later, I walked out of the building, still feeling glum, only to run straight into Davis and his fiancée. They were all smiles and kissy faces. I attempted to slink away without them seeing me, but failed.

“Joy!” Davis yelled.

I turned and forced a smile. “Oh, hi. I didn’t see you guys.”

“I’m glad we ran into you. I’ve been meaning to come talk to you.”

“Oh?”

“Hailey and I are going out to dinner this weekend, on the twenty-seventh, with Ben and his girlfriend.”

“Ben?”

“The guy Nolan came to the party with.”

I nodded. “Oh, right.”

“Why don’t you and Nolan join us?”

My face fell. Davis noticed and held up his hands.

“Unless that’s too weird? Maybe it is...”

I had no choice but to force a smile back on my face, though I didn’t have the energy to come up with an excuse as to why Nolan and I couldn’t make it. So I took the easy route and figured I’d cancel via text in a day or two.

“Sure. That sounds great.”

Davis smiled. “Oh good. I’m glad you don’t think it’s weird.”