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“He just…” She heaved a sigh. “Walker makes me so mad sometimes.”
“He’s clearly jealous that Tyler’s with Zoe,” Jay responded. “Which, is it just me, or is that relationship kind of weird? Maybe she should date Walker.”
Rory hated the way her heart fluttered at the thought of Zoe breaking things off with Tyler. But then the thought of that lovely blonde angel being with Walker made her head spin. Was that why Tyler was fake dating Zoe? To protect her from assholes like Walker?
She pulled herself out of his grasp. “Come on, let’s catch up with them.”
* * *
“Are you sure you don’t want to come to the diner and hang out tonight?” Gabi asked. “They’ll have roast beef and sweet potato casserole and cheesy broccoli.”
Rory smiled, shaking her head. “Tempting, but I’m sure.”
Gabi sighed. “Fine. Come on by if you change your mind, okay?”
She nodded, watching Gabi leave for her shift. Rory sat on the couch, still in her pajamas, wrapping paper scattered across the floor. As promised, Gabi woke her up at the crack of dawn with coffee, pancakes, and presents under the tree, all so Rory could have some semblance of a normal Christmas before she had to leave for her shift at eight. They even FaceTimed her grandparents, but their reception cut out as they cruised across the Caribbean, looking sunburnt and blissfully happy.
Despite being as busy as she was, Gabi nailed it with her presents this year. Ten bottles of nail polish for Rory’s signature rainbow nails and a fancy new sketchbook with a set of pencils. “Your one from the dollar store is looking ratty,” Gabi said. “An artist needs the right set of tools.”
Rory got her a new set of inserts for her sneakers, which had Gabi cackling as she made fun of her mom for getting older. She also got her a new case for her headphones that clipped on her keys (Gabi was constantly losing them), and as a joke, a bright red thong. “Come on, none of the other bartenders catching your eye?” Rory teased. Gabi flicked Rory’s arm and told her to watch it, but not before a smile sneaked across her lips.
It wasn’t like everything was fixed between the two of them, but after their night of eating buffalo chicken pizza and staying up far too late watching two movies from her Disney list, things felt marginally better. So much so that Rory found herself letting go of the Fred Barry mystery.
Her phone started buzzing from inside the couch cushions where it must’ve slipped during gift-unwrapping. Rory fished for it, expecting it to be Jay calling her to wish her a Merry Christmas. She hadn’t heard from him at all since the Festival of Lights. She figured he’d been busy with his family, and truthfully was okay with the distance. Having space to think didn’t feel like such a bad thing.
But it wasn’t Jay. When she saw who was calling, she rushed to answer, fumbling with her phone as she held it up to her cheek. “Hello?”
“Joyeux Noël, mon amour,” Bea said on the other line. “You won’t believe what I got.”
She chuckled, remembering how Tyler told her that Bea was taking French this year, and how she loved sneaking it into any and every conversation. “Bonjour, princess. Do tell.”
“Bea, who is that?!” She heard Tyler’s deep voice in the background. Then some wrestling and laughter as Tyler pulled the phone out of Bea’s grasp.
“Sorry about that,” Tyler said, and her heart pounded in her chest at the sound of his voice. “We clearly need to have a conversation about boundaries.”
“Since when do we have boundaries with Rory?” Bea protested next to him. “Tell her to come over here.”
Tyler just chuckled, and then, to Rory’s surprise, he did. “Get over here.”
She felt panicked. Things were still so unsettled between the two of them. So much they needed to talk about…so much she needed to say to him. “Um, I’m still in my pajamas, and—”
“So are we,” Tyler said.
Rory turned around, looking through the window above the couch. Tyler was looking out from his own living room window next door, Bea beside him. She wore a silky pink matching pajama set, and Tyler was still in his sweats, his durag tied to his head.
Her heart stuttered at the sight of him. “I’m not sure if I—”
“Look,” he explained, a smile blooming on his face. “Mom made way too much gumbo, as per usual, and she’s about to pull some beignets out of the fryer.”
Rory moaned, her stomach growling even though she just downed a mountain of chocolate chip pancakes.
“You should not be alone today,” Tyler said adamantly. “Now, get over here and I’ll let you put as much powdered sugar as you want on your beignet without judging you, and we can even watch whatever Disney movie is next on that list of yours.”
“And make friendship bracelets!” Bea yelled, holding up a plastic case of beads to show Rory what she got for Christmas.
Rory grinned. “Alright, fine, you relentless piece of crap,” she said. “I’m coming.”
* * *
