Casey’s head whipped around, her face mimicking my shock. “You’ve got to be kidding me? Why on earth would anyone ever date that stiletto-wearing succubus?”
“I’m guessing they’re not friends of yours?” Chelsea asked, taking in the blonde demon spawn who had her claws in Tyler Bishop’s arm.
Casey turned back around, her cheeks burning with anger. “No, she’s definitely not a friend.”
“Lexy was pretty much the Mean Queen of Northwood High,” I explained.
“She was more than that,” Casey replied. “She broke up with Archer in the worst way possible and tortured us all on social media like the psychological terrorist she is.”
I pushed out a calming breath. The fact that Lexy had hurt my boyfriend made even the most sensible parts of me want to claw her eyes out. But I was trying not to give in to the feisty Texan side of me. “Basically, she made high school a living hell for anyone who wasn’t popular or part of her lipstick mafia of cheerleaders,” I said, trying to sound unaffected.
“You guys weren’t popular?” Chelsea asked, genuine shock on her face.
I caught Casey and Alex’s eyes and the three of us burst into the first comfortable laughter of the night. “We were tomboys!” we replied in unison, laughing even harder when the table next to us looked over to see what all the noise was about.
“That’s not a bad thing, is it?” Chelsea asked, making me love her even more.
Her comment seemed to win Alex and Casey over too because in no time they were recounting a who’s who of Northwood High to get Chelsea up to speed. They even pointed out potential fake boyfriends for her in case she got called out on not being a Trojan.
We laughed over old high school stories and relived our sporty glory days, but I still hadn’t forgotten about the conversation that our Lexy-sighting had interrupted. I planned to get to the bottom of what was bothering my best friends before the night was over.
“So Tyler’s dad owns Champs,” Alex was saying. “Ty’s not a bad guy. Just kind of a show-boater.”
“More like annoying one-upper,” Casey chimed in.
“You’ll see,” I said. “He’ll definitely stop over here.”
There was no way Lexy wouldn’t steer her new trophy directly into our paths to try to rub our noses in the fact that she’d scored one of the richest guys in Northwood.
That she thought we cared about those kinds of things only showed how little she knew us.
Nope, I’d never be friends with the Lexy Bales of the world, and I was perfectly okay with that.
“Twenty bucks says Tyler offers to make our hot cocoas Irish,” Alex said.
Casey snorted a laugh. “I’ll take that bet.”
“No way,” I challenged. “You don’t think he still does that, do you?”
“Do I even want to know what that means?” Chelsea asked.
“I think we’re about to find out,” Casey said under breath.
I looked up to see Tyler and Lexy walking our way. Great.
Luckily, I had my good old southern hospitality to fall back on. That plus my practice on stage made it easy to paste on a smile even with that blonde she-devil sneering at me as she gave us all a ridiculous finger wave.
“Hey guys! You made it!” Tyler practically yelled, offering us all fist bumps.
“We come every year, Ty,” Alex said, dryly.
“Yeah, but this year’s special,” he said, winking at Lexy who actually smiled back at him.
“Why’s that?” I asked, only to get kicked by both Casey and Alex under the table.
“Because we’re engaged!” Lexy squealed, flashing a diamond ring the size of a Buick in my face. I was just about to congratulate her when her fake smile grew as her eyes dropped to my hands. “Looks like we win, baby” Lexy said to Tyler. “I told you Archer and Marissa wouldn’t be engaged yet.” She swiveled her eyes toward Alex. “I guess you and Grant are the only ones we’ll be racing to the altar.”
“It’s not a race,” Alex growled.
Ignoring Alex, Lexy turned her attention back to me. “Don’t worry, you’ll get there too, Marissa. He may be a star on the field, but Archer’s always been a little below average in the romance department.”
“There’s nothing average about him,” I snipped, as Chelsea grabbed me by my belt to keep me from climbing over the table to wipe that smug smirk off Lexy’s face.
“If you say so,” Lexy quipped. “Oh! I see the girls,” she said, waving to a table of cheerleaders near the door. “We’ll it’s been . . . entertaining catching up.” She smirked as she flipped her hair, turning toward Tyler and giving him a nauseatingly loud kiss. “Find me later, baby?”
“You bet!” he said, a dopey grin lighting his face.
Ugh! Just go with her, Tyler!
I was no longer in the mood to play nice after Lexy’s digs. But Tyler had never been one to take a hint.
“So,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets and coming out with two flasks, “you ladies enjoying your cocoas, or should I make them Irish with the help of my friends, Jameson and Bailey?”
Chelsea’s eyes lit up. “Now you’re talking!”
Tyler spiked her cocoa and regaled us with all the Northwood gossip we could handle. After a round of fake laughter and some even faker small talk, he finally got distracted by another classmate and left.
Alex held her hand out. “Pay up, Grinches.”
Casey rolled her eyes but put a fist full of cash in Alex’s hands.
“Okay,” Chelsea said, “I don’t even know them, but I can already tell they deserve each other. Talk about narcissism.”
“I like this one,” Alex said, pointing at Chelsea as she pocketed her winnings.
“Stanton Prep had mean girls too,” she replied, staring into her hot cocoa like it held memories she’d rather forget.
Huh? Maybe even the girly-girls had it bad in high school.
I shook my head, bitter that I hadn’t found a way to remain unaffected by mean girls at this point in my life. “I just hate how Lexy acts like she knows Archer so well. Average?” I scoffed. “Average! Spoken like someone who doesn’t have enough sense to spit downwind.”
Chelsea gave me a weird look, but Casey only laughed. “Marissa gets all Texas when she’s mad,” she explained. “Speaking of average. Lexy’s diamond isn’t as big as I’d expect considering who bought it.”
“Tyler’s dad owns a bunch of businesses in town,” I clarified when I saw Chelsea’s confusion.
“It’s bigger than mine,” Alex interjected.
We all looked at her.
“What?” she asked, defensively. “You guys know the only diamond I care about is a baseball diamond.”
That made me laugh, loosening the tension in my chest. “And that’s one of the many reasons why we love you,” I replied.
“Ignore Lexy,” Alex ordered. “She’s just jealous that she screwed up and dumped Archer. He’s obviously the best thing that’s ever happened to her.”
“Easy for you to say,” Chelsea said, nodding to the engagement ring on Alex’s finger. “You’re practically married. That takes all the stress and what-ifs out of a relationship.”
Alex’s eyes dropped to her ring and she fell silent.
“Stop,” I said, giving each of my friends a stern look. “I’m not in a rush to get married. Marcher is stronger than ever,” I teased, reviving our old high school ship name. “We’re not in a hurry. Like Alex said, it’s not a race. I know Archer’s the guy I’m gonna end up with and that’s enough for me.”
Both Alex and Casey gave me a doubtful look.
“Ladies, I love you for worrying, but Archer and I are solid. I’ve truly never been happier with our relationship.” But as I stared at my friends, I realized that maybe they weren’t.
Why else would two of the strongest most confident women I know look so uncertain right now?
“So, you’re not at all worried about the NFL draft?” Alex asked.
; “Yeah. What if Archer ends up on the other coast and you land a gig on Broadway?”
When they both started coming at me with uncharacteristic questions, I knew I was right. “You know, we have actually discussed these things,” I said.
“And?” Casey pressed.
“And, wherever he goes, I go.”
“What about Broadway?” Alex demanded.
“Broadway’s not going anywhere. And it’s not like New York is the only city with great theaters.”
“You’re going to give up your dream?” Casey looked appalled.
“I’m not giving up anything. I’m gaining the life that I want. The life that makes me happy . . . But I’m not so certain you two are.”
Both Alex and Casey dropped my gaze.
“Are you ready to tell me what’s going on yet?” I begged.
Chelsea broke the silence that stretched out across the table. “I can grab a seat at the bar if you guys want to talk . . .”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Casey said, shutting me down yet again.
I looked to Alex, who only shook her head.
Sighing, I threw my hands up. “Fine. But I’m not giving up. When you’re ready to talk, I’m here for you.”
Chapter Four
Nicole
I checked the flight app on my phone for the millionth time as Chris drove us to Champs.
“Ya know, refreshing the app doesn’t make the plane fly any faster,” my brother teased.
“Thanks, genius.”
“Anytime, nerd.”
I rolled my eyes. Two years at Princeton and my older brother was still just as annoying as ever. Honestly, his consistency was refreshing.
I wish I could say the same about the rest of my life. Adjusting to life after high school hadn’t been easy for me. I’d survived my first college semester, but I wasn’t looking forward to going back.
It’s why I’d been looking forward to this winter break so much.
I really just wanted things to go back to how they used to be. Me and Chris under one roof, and Ian living next door. But thanks to a last-minute phone call from Ian’s mom, my boyfriend was spending his winter break in Puerto Rico instead of here with me as planned.
I was happy Ian was finally getting to reconnect with his mom. They hadn’t had much of a relationship for the past few years and the fact that she was making an effort made my heart sing because I knew what it meant to Ian. But that didn’t stop me from missing him like crazy.
Even with us both attending colleges in the same city, I felt like I barely got to see my boyfriend. With his crew schedule and my soccer schedule, we were like two ships passing in the night. We spent more time apart now than last year, when he was a college freshman and I was finishing high school.
I couldn’t help despising the irony of it all. Ian had lived next door to me for as long as I could remember. As my brother’s best friend, Ian practically grew up at my house, annoying the crap out of me with Chris. But now that we were dating, we never got to spend any time together.
It was Ian’s senior year of high school by the time we finally stopped fighting our feelings and got together.
Just in time for him to leave for college.
Talk about regrets . . . we’d wasted so much time.
Sighing, I looked out the window at the falling snow. I huffed a breath onto the cold glass and traced a heart in it, then wrote Ian’s name.
“Give me a break!” Chris whined.
“What?”
“He didn’t die. He’s just in Puerto Rico.”
“I know,” I muttered, not even trying to hide my scowl. “But he’s in Puerto Rico without me.”
“If you’re gonna be like this the whole time why are we even going to the stupid Mistletoe Mixer?”
“Because, this is my first year going as a college student. And the Mixer’s not stupid. You and Ian go every year.”
“True, but your Debbie Downer vibe is really gonna make it hard for me to beat my record.”
“Record?”
“Yeah, for how many girls I can kiss under the mistletoe. Last year it was four.”
“You’re disgusting.”
Put off by Chris’s laughter, I turned my attention back to my phone. I refreshed the flight app one more time. Still no change. I checked the time. Having memorized Ian’s flight schedule, I knew he should’ve landed by now. I fired off a quick text.
Me: Miss you already. Let me know you landed safely. Love you.
I held my breath hoping to see those tiny bubbles telling me Ian was on the other end, missing me as much as I missed him. But after a solid minute of silence my hope deflated, and I put my phone away.
I went back to staring out the window, wondering why no one ever knew they were in the good old days until they were gone. I wished someone had warned me not to rush through high school. To enjoy the blissful moments of childhood fun and zero responsibilities.
I’d been in such a hurry to get to where I was going that I was beginning to realize how much I’d taken for granted.
As we drove past the snow-covered streets of Northwood a million memories came flooding back, making me long for the days when me and Ian and Chris had nothing but time together. Now it felt like everything was changing.
I was at Whitman, and Chris and Ian were at Princeton. In a few years, we’d be graduating, moving on to other things. I couldn’t imagine a world where we didn’t all live near each other. I didn’t want to.
Perhaps that’s why I’d pushed Ian to take this opportunity to see his mom. Family had always been what was most important to me. I knew it wasn’t easy for Ian when his mom left. If she was extending an olive branch now, I didn’t want him to regret not taking it.
Besides, that’s what the holidays were about—forgiveness, family and love.
What better time to for Ian and his mom to make amends?
As much as I truly hoped this trip would be a step forward for them, I still couldn’t convince my heart to stop hurting. It didn’t matter how many times I reminded myself that I’d spent countless Christmases with Ian and there would be many more in our future, I still couldn’t get rid of the emptiness in my heart.
Without Ian here, it just wouldn’t feel like Christmas.
It didn’t help that by the time we pulled into Champs, he still hadn’t texted me. I glared at my phone like it was to blame for keeping us apart.
“Can you try sending me a text?” I asked Chris as he parked.
“Why?”
“I want to make sure my phone is working.”
“Nicole, you’re being that girl.”
“What girl?”
“The I-need-to-know-where-my-boyfriend-is-every-second girl.”
“I am not that girl! I’m just worried because Ian said he’d text when he landed, and he should’ve landed twenty minutes ago.”
“Clingy is not a good look on you, sis. You need to chill.”
“I’m trying to but look at this!” I said, pointing to all the snow around us as we exited the warmth of the car. I stopped and scrapped a handful of snow off the hood. A lot had gathered in the short time we’d been parked. “What if the snow screwed up his flights?”
“It doesn’t snow in Puerto Rico, Nicole. Ian’s fine.”
“But what if he’s not?”
“Nicole, I know he’s like the sun in your sappy solar system or whatever, but you’re being ridiculous. There’s nothing to worry about. Ian’s mom was probably waiting for him at the airport. This is a big step for him, so give him a free pass if you’re not the most important thing on his mind right now.”
Chris’s words stung but I knew he was right, and somehow that made it a little easier to breathe.
Chris slung an arm around my shoulder and squeezed. “Ian’s not me, Nic. He actually texts his girlfriends,” he said, with a mischievous wink.
I rolled my eyes. “You’d actually have to have a girlfriend in order to know if you’d text her.”
“Um no, I’m pretty sure your revolving door of girls doesn’t count.”
He laughed. “Okay, okay. But it’s not my fault. There are so many girls and only one of me.”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re the universe’s gift to women. But do you think you can take tonight off, Casanova? I really want to hang out with my big brother.”
“Are you asking me to keep this from all the girls in there?” he teased, gesturing to his statuesque six-four frame. “Where’s your sense of Christmas spirit?”
“Chris, I’m serious.”
“I’m just messing with you. Of course we’ll hang, but I thought all your friends were gonna be here?”
“They are, but I’m just not in the right frame of mind to join in happy conversations while I’m worried about Ian.”
Chris gave me a long look. I didn’t know what he saw, but he finally dropped his endless teasing and nodded. “You got it, sis. Tonight, you’re the only girl I’m going home with.”
“Gross! I’m your sister,” I teased.
He laughed. “You know what I mean. Tonight’s all about Team Fraser.”
“Really?”
“Promise,” he replied.
I raised my eyebrows. “So you’re actually going to hang out with me all night and not flirt with anyone?”
Chris crossed his arms. “You don’t think I can do it, do you?”
“They say miracles happen on Christmas . . .”
“Challenge accepted.” Chris gave me a playful shove, but then held out his fist. “Team Fraser.”
I grinned and bumped my fist into his, feeling my chest loosen even more at the old childhood gesture. “Team Fraser.”
Feeling lighter than I had since Ian left for the airport, I relented to let Chris steer me through the icy parking lot toward Champs.
Even if he did manage to make it through the whole night without flirting, I couldn’t help wondering if he would ever change. It would certainly take a special girl to curb my brother’s perpetual flirting and I doubted he was going to meet her at the Mistletoe Mixer in our tiny hometown.
Tomboys Don't Love Christmas Page 3
