A Very Marycliff Christmas

by Jerica MacMillan

  Laughing, I agree. “And have a bohemian streak a mile wide.”

  Turning back to me, Lance lifts an eyebrow. “What about you? Any Matt Juniors on the horizon?”

  This time my laugh is more spluttering shock. “No. Not unless it happens like it did for them. Hannah’s getting her feet under her at a new job. I’m looking to hire a new marketing person and keep expanding my business. Now’s not the best time to add a baby to the mix. Speaking of …”

  Lance looks down at the glass of champagne in his hand, turning it back and forth a few times before draining it. “Yeah … about that.”

  My stomach sinks. I already know what he’s going to say before he even says it.

  “Abby and I were talking …”

  “She doesn’t want you to give up your job.”

  He meets my eyes. “That’s not … Actually, she told me to take the job with you if it was what I wanted.”

  “Right,” I say, nodding like a bobblehead. “Okay. Sure. So you just don’t want to work with me. I get it. No worries, dude. I’ll uh … I’ll … shit.”

  “You’ll set up a meeting with me for next week and listen to my proposal.” When I force myself to meet Lance’s eyes again, they’re not full of pity or pain at letting down a friend. No, they’re actually full of fire, his face lit up in the way it only gets when he’s seriously excited about something. “I love the idea of your company, Matt, and I would be thrilled to get to come on a trip with you once or twice a year as a perk of handling your marketing. But I also like the variety of handling a whole stable of clients and working with my team to make the best use of someone’s marketing budget. We’re fantastic at our job, and I think we could make better use of your money if you contract with us to work on this for you rather than you having to hire me. Besides, man, I looked at the financials you sent over and you really can’t afford me as an employee. Not making what I’m making now. And you can more than afford the agency fee, which is one hundred percent a business write off, and you don’t have to worry about payroll taxes.”

  At first I’m not sure what to say or how to react to this. I had an idea in my head of what I wanted, how I wanted to run my company, and I’d built up this fantasy of working with one of my best friends, him and Abby and Hannah and me all traveling and surfing together and having the time of our lives.

  But he said no. Except not really. He’s just tweaking the parameters. I’d still be working with one of my best friends, but I wouldn’t be his boss, which, to be honest, could’ve definitely put a dent in our relationship eventually. And we could still do the traveling and having fun, too.

  Blinking a few times while all the new pieces click into place, I let out a breath and nod. “Alright. I’ll call you on Monday and set something up.”

  Lance grins, relief taking over his face. “Good. I was hoping I could convince you to go for it. I think it could work out well for all of us.”

  He holds out a hand for me to shake, and I take it, my own grin taking over as I really take in the picture he’s painted. “Yeah, man. I think you might be right.”

  “Lance! Dude, get over here,” Chris calls from his place on the couch. “We need you to settle something.” Abby and Megan are both staring at him with narrowed eyes.

  “Uh oh,” Lance mutters. “Better go play referee.”

  “Good luck,” I tell him, laughing. Better him than me, for sure.

  Hannah steps up next to me, slipping an arm around my waist. I wrap my arm around her and pull her in close, sighing in contentment. All is right with the world with Hannah next to me, even if Lance did just throw me a curveball. A good one, but still not what I was expecting.

  “What’d he say?” she asks, confirming that she was watching my entire conversation with Lance.

  “He said he wants me to come in for a meeting to listen to his proposal.”

  Her shoulders slump under my arm. “So he didn’t take the job?”

  I shake my head. “No. But don’t worry. I think he’s right that this will work out better for everyone.” I pull her around in front of me and drop a kiss on her sweet, pink lips, still flavored with the champagne. “He’ll still run all my marketing, just from his position at the agency. He doesn’t have to give up anything, I still get one of my friends helping me out, and you still get to go do what you love.”

  Her face brightens. “Really? You’re okay with not having someone in-house?”

  I contemplate her question for a moment, checking in with myself, and then nod. “Yeah, I really am. It’s Lance, not some random stranger, so I trust him. This’ll be good. For all of us.”

  She smiles and gives me a squeeze. “Good. Then we have even more to celebrate tonight. I’ll get more champagne.”

  Before she can wriggle out of my arms, I let my hand slip down to cup her ass and use the growly voice that I know turns her on. “Oh, yeah. We’ll have plenty to celebrate later when we get home.”

  Her eyes darken with lust, and she gives me a coquettish smile as she rubs her tits against my chest. “We definitely will.”

  And with that, she spins away, her laugh trailing behind her as she heads for the kitchen.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Lance

  Evan and Layla and Daniel and Elena are the last to leave, though they don’t linger for long after Chris, Megan, Matt, and Hannah bundle up and head out.

  Abby gives hugs to Layla and Elena, promising Elena they’ll get together soon and telling Layla to be sure to plan something for the next time they’re in town. I exchange fist bumps with the guys as they settle their coats on their shoulders.

  “Thanks for coming, guys,” I tell them.

  Evan grins at me. “Thanks for having us. I know we’re kinda tagalongs, but we had fun anyway.”

  I scoff. “You’re not tagalongs.”

  Daniel gives me a doubtful look, but doesn’t verbally disagree.

  Abby laughs, and squeezes between us to give them each a hug in turn. “The secret is that we’re all tagalongs. Lance, Chris, and Matt are the three who started this group. Then I came in and brought Megan along with me. Then Matt found Hannah again, and you guys all came with her. You’re always welcome here. Don’t be strangers.”

  “Thank you,” Layla says, the comment mostly directed at Abby, but she glances at me to let me know I’m included too. Which is nice. It seems like she’s remembering that she’s not such the odd one out here. She and Abby have a lot in common in terms of personality. She seemed to stay closest to Abby and Elena tonight, so hopefully she felt comfortable enough. I suppose the fact that she didn’t convince her boyfriend to bug out early with her is proof enough that she wasn’t too uncomfortable.

  “Drive safe going across the pass,” I tell Evan, same as I told Chris and Megan before they left.

  Evan waves a hand. “We’ll be fine. It wasn’t too bad coming over, and the weather’s been good while we’ve been gone.”

  We exchange another round of goodbyes, and then they’re all out the door. Once the door closes behind them, Abby lets out an audible sigh of relief.

  Grinning, I turn to face her. “Happy everyone is gone?”

  She gives me a return smile and steps into my open arms. “I enjoyed having everyone here, but it’s been a busy few days, and yes, I’m glad for the quiet and for all of them going back to their own places.”

  We stand in silence with our arms wrapped around each other for a few moments, my cheek resting on the top of Abby’s head. “Crazy that Chris and Megan are having a baby, though, isn’t it?”

  She shrugs, but doesn’t say anything.

  Pulling back, I look down at her to find her avoiding my gaze. “You knew?” I guess based on her evasion.

  She shrugs again.

  “You knew, and you didn’t tell me?” I can’t decide if I’m more impressed or disappointed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  She finally looks at me, her blue eyes narrowed. “Megan told me not to. She needed to tell Chris firs
t.”

  I mull that over and decide it makes sense. “Why did she tell you before him, then?”

  Yet another shrug. “She was kinda freaking out, and she needed to talk. I’m her best friend. So she told me.”

  Definitely impressed. This girl could be a sphinx the way she sits on information without giving anything away. I mean, I knew that already, but I’m just glad to know she’d sit on any information I wanted her to keep quiet too. And no one would ever suspect a thing.

  I pull her against my chest again, settling us back in our comfy hug. “If you find yourself pregnant and freaking out, you know I’m fully prepared to handle it, right?”

  She snorts, and my eyebrows scrunch together. Does she doubt my ability to handle an unexpected pregnancy? But her next comment makes it clear that’s not the cause of her derision. “If I found out I was pregnant, one—I’d tell you right away. And two—I wouldn’t be freaking out the way Megan was because my parents aren’t ultra-judgmental assholes who cut me off for living with my boyfriend and think I’m going to hell. So … it’s not quite the same.”

  “Ah,” I say, unsure exactly how to respond. But framed like that, yeah, Megan freaking out and needing someone like Abby to calm her down makes total sense.

  “Should we go practice making a baby?” I ask.

  Abby giggles, but steps back, her hand sliding down my arm until her fingers tangle with mine. She gives me a tug and leads us toward the bedroom. “I like practicing, even if I’m not ready for the real thing yet.”

  I laugh, carefree and happy. “Good. Me either. But let’s practice making one anyway.”

  EPILOGUE

  Simon

  The sound of the front door opening and closing reaches me in my bedroom, and Ellie’s now-familiar voice shouts, “Cal! We’re gonna be late if you don’t get your ass in gear!”

  “Shut up, Ellie!” Cal yells back to his sister from the bathroom across the hall.

  A moment later, my phone dings with a text, Can you go deal with her?

  Shaking my head at their antics, I pull on a Marycliff Football T-shirt, make sure my joggers aren’t showing my ass crack, and head out to the living room. My family lives in town, so I’ll be staying here during the break and hanging out with them for all the usual holiday traditions while still getting my own space. I can’t think of a better way to spend the break. Cal and Ellie, on the other hand, have a four hour drive ahead of them before they get back to their parent’s house in The Dalles.

  Ellie crosses her arms and cocks her hip, carrying herself with a swagger reminiscent of her older brother, even if their coloring is different. Ellie’s brown hair—a stark contrast to her brother’s dirty blond—is pulled back in a ponytail while her brown eyes rake over me in frank assessment that I still haven’t quite gotten used to from my friend’s little sister. “He sent you out to try to calm me down, didn’t he?” she demands.

  I shrug and head for the kitchen. “Want some water?” I call over my shoulder.

  Her snort follows me. “No, thanks. I have a cooler full of drinks and snacks.” She yells the last part, obviously for her brother’s benefit more than mine.

  Any response he makes is covered by the sound of running water as I fill my glass. When I return to the living room, Ellie’s sitting on the couch, her phone in her hand.

  She looks up at my entrance, her eyes sweeping over me once more. “How are you handling Coach Hanson’s forced retirement?”

  Shrugging, I raise an eyebrow at the interview-like nature of the question. “Fine, I guess. Not much I can do about it.” I settle onto the loveseat adjacent to the sofa—Cal’s mom insisted we needed a matching sofa and loveseat when we moved into our little two-bedroom house—trying to negotiate the appropriate balance between being nice to my roommate’s sister and not encouraging the obvious ogling. She hasn’t spent a lot of time in our house, despite attending Marycliff as well. She’s a freshman, lives on campus in the dorms, and has her own friends. And I’m pretty sure that Cal’s made it clear that she doesn’t need to be hanging out here.

  She chuckles, her grin erasing the sullen expression she’s worn since she got here. I guess she doesn’t appreciate her brother keeping her waiting. “That’s what I like about you, Simon,” she declares. “You don’t let anyone or anything get under your skin. You just handle whatever life throws your way.” She shifts her position, leaning closer to me, her hands clasped together. “Please please please help my brother learn to be more like that. He’s way too uptight for his own good, and he’s all worried and driving himself crazy about what’s going to happen next year.”

  I shrug again, drinking my water, but somehow this seems to frustrate Ellie. She straightens and throws her hands in the air. “That’s it?” She mimics my shrug. “That’s all you’re going to give me? No, ‘Sure, Ellie, I’ll try,’ at least?”

  “Cal is the way Cal is. I’m not sure why you think I can do anything about that.”

  She lets out a loud sigh of exasperation and flops back into the corner of the couch. “Of course you can’t.” But it comes out sarcastic.

  Oh, well. I really can’t. Plus, Cal’s neuroticism is what makes him a good quarterback. He runs scenarios and potential plays through his head constantly, trying to pit the best aspects of our team against our opponent in a way that brings out their weaknesses. My job is to make sure no one knocks him on his ass.

  If that translates into him being a bit of a controlling worrywart in his life off the field, well … I’ll agree with Ellie that the guy needs to loosen up a bit and learn to let go of things that he can’t control, but again, there’s really not anything I can do to make him see that.

  “Ellie, leave Simon alone,” Cal says, coming into the room and dragging his suitcase behind him.

  She looks at him gape-mouthed and stabs a finger in the air in his direction. “You’re the one who sent him out here. How’m I supposed to leave him alone if he’s the only one paying any attention to me? If you want me to leave your roommate in peace, why don’t you be ready on time? Especially after the way you lectured me about making sure I’m here on time so we’re not late to Mom and Dad’s annual Christmas open house. Hmmm?”

  I hide my smirk in my water glass, but they’re both so wrapped up in their sibling bickering, that I could probably grin openly and neither of them would notice.

  “Shut up,” Cal grumbles. “I’m ready now. Stop talking about Coach Hanson, and let’s go.”

  She rolls her eyes dramatically, but stands. “Music to my ears. I’ve been ready to go for a while. But since you’ve taken so long, I’m going to use the bathroom before we leave.” And she flounces out of the room.

  Cal sighs and runs a hand down his face before turning to me. “Sorry, man. You know how sisters are.”

  I nod. “Sure.” Except my sisters aren’t anything like Ellie. They’re still in elementary school, for one thing, so our relationship isn’t plagued by the same sort of arguing that Cal and Ellie get up to every time they’re in the same room. Despite that, it’s clear that they care about each other. Cal texts her pretty frequently to make sure she’s doing alright her first semester at college, and he’s scoped out her dates a couple of times to make sure she’s not hooking up with known douchebags. He’s protective of her, and that I understand completely.

  He looks around the room, then pulls out his phone, looks at the screen, and shoves it back in his pocket. “Hurry up!” he yells down the hall to Ellie.

  “Screw you!” she yells back, the sound muffled by the closed bathroom door.

  “You know,” I venture, Ellie’s question about Coach plus her suggestion that I help Cal lighten up fresh on my mind, “next year’s probably going to be fine, even with a new coach.”

  Cal’s face immediately darkens, the same way it does every time Coach Hanson’s retirement and the new coach next season comes up. But I plow on, ignoring the change in his demeanor. “We met the guy. Remember? He’s been working in a Division
I school for the last few years. He has more knowledge of what it takes to run a program at this level. What they did to Coach was shitty for sure, but I think for us it’ll be a good thing in the long run.”

  “Where’s the loyalty, man?” Cal says, his hands going wide in a gesture equally as dramatic as his sister. I can’t say that to him, though. He’d kill me. Or at least he’d try. Considering I outweigh him by a good fifty pounds and bench press his weight on a light day, he probably wouldn’t stand much of a chance. I have to fight back a grin at the mental image of him coming at me and me holding my hand on his head to keep him back while he punches wildly like in those old cartoons. He probably wouldn’t appreciate my humor, though. Especially not now.

  I shrug. “It has nothing to do with loyalty. Coach is retired. Officially as of today. We had the party. There’s nothing to be done about it. The athletics department wanted someone new. All I’m saying is, we should make the best of it and get what we can out of our final year of eligibility. Staying mad about Coach getting forced into retirement isn’t going to help anyone.”

  “Well I’m thrilled for you that you can move on so fast,” Cal says. “But I’m not there yet. So excuse me if I need a bit more time to just get over it.”

  I hold up my free hand in a gesture of surrender. “I’m just sayin’.”

  He sighs. “I know.”

  Ellie finally comes back out and picks up her purse from its spot on the floor next to the couch. “He’s got a point, you know,” she says to Cal.

  “Shut up, Ellie. Let’s go.”

  Ignoring her brother’s pointed gesture at the door, she turns to me and offers me a sunny smile. “Bye, Simon. Merry Christmas!” And she surprises me by wrapping her arms around my torso in an impromptu hug.

  I awkwardly pat her back and mumble, “Merry Christmas,” looking over her shoulder at her brother, who’s scowling at me like I’m hitting on his sister. When she peels her body off me, I can’t help the relieved sigh that escapes, but from the way Cal’s scowl deepens, I think he may have misunderstood the sigh. Shit.