Tomboys Don't Love Christmas

by Christina Benjamin

  Somehow, we’d gotten separated from our team and now it was just the two of us pinned down behind an old minivan.

  Chelsea panted. “Are your friends always this intense?”

  “This is nothing,” I said. “You should’ve seen them in high school.”

  “Let me guess, this is the jock crowd?”

  “And proud of it!”

  Chelsea rolled her eyes.

  “What?”

  “You were the guys that were mean to theater geeks like me and Marissa.”

  “First of all, I’d never be mean to you. Second, Marissa was a total tomboy.”

  “No way. She told me about all the plays she did in high school.”

  “Yeah, she did plays, but she also played soccer with my sister and softball with Casey and Alex.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, that’s how she snagged Mr. QB1.”

  Chelsea’s pretty blue eyes widened. “Archer? She told me he serenaded her at a concert.”

  I laughed. “Oh yeah. Everyone still talks about that. It was epic. But he only had to go to such lengths because my sister was playing matchmaker and setting Marissa up with some soccer dude she totally didn’t belong with.”

  “Ah, so Marissa’s not the only matchmaker around here?”

  “Nope, but she might be the most meddlesome.”

  Chelsea gave me a shy smile. “I don’t know. I think she’s done a pretty good job so far.”

  Yep! There went my ego, flying off like Santa’s sleigh.

  This was why I didn’t mind losing the snowball fight one bit. Truthfully, my heart wasn’t in it. It was currently wrapped around Chelsea’s little finger.

  “I’d have to agree,” I said, leaning in to savor the warmth of her breath as her lips parted ever so slightly.

  Chelsea’s answering smile was filled with mischief, inviting my pulse to race. Our eyes met and I’m pretty sure all the snow around us could have melted from the heat in our stare.

  Dang this girl was sexy!

  I had to shake my head to keep from getting lost in her eyes. I wanted to kiss her again so badly it hurt. But that was a dangerous slope. One that could lead to falling head-over-heels in love. Which was something I didn’t do.

  Or at least I’d never done before.

  But maybe Nicole was right. Maybe it was time to let my guard down and take a chance. It seemed to work out for her and Ian.

  As if she knew what I was thinking, Chelsea turned to me, batting those long eyelashes of hers innocently as if to say, ‘there’s nothing to fear here.’

  But there was. I could feel it in the way her smile made my pulse race. In the way my lips ached to taste hers like they were magnetized.

  She leaned closer, her shallow breathing matching my own. I was pretty sure my insides melted when I caught her gaze drop to my lips. My hand slipped into her hair and she closed her eyes, letting her forehead rest against mine.

  I waited, my lips a breath from hers. Her eyes opened and our gazes locked. Raw emotion pulsed between us like a livewire, warning that this could be dangerous.

  There was no question that sparks would fly here. But should they?

  “This might not be a good idea,” I said, my voice gravelly.

  Her fingers slipped along my jaw. “Good ideas are overrated.”

  And then we were kissing, slow and tender, like we had all the time in the world.

  Of course, we didn’t. A hailstorm of snowballs rained down on us as our hiding spot was finally discovered. Chelsea screamed and I yanked her to her feet, tossed her over my shoulder and sprinted away from the attack.

  We were both breathless and laughing by the time we reached safety. Our reprieve only came because somehow the teams had shifted, and it was now guys versus girls. That war was raging so vigorously around us that no one seemed to miss me and Chelsea. And that was fine by me.

  She was still laughing, clinging to my chest as I held a finger up to her lips so she wouldn’t give away our hiding spot. But the moment I touched her lips I couldn’t help myself, I wanted to taste them again.

  So I did. Over and over.

  We kissed with a hungry urgency that couldn’t be satisfied. And this kiss and every one after meant more than I could put into words. We weren’t kissing because of mistletoe or pickup lines. We had nothing to prove. We were just two people, drawn to each other by an undeniable connection, and I’d never felt anything more powerful or more . . . real.

  “I was wrong,” I said between breathless kisses. “This was a good idea. A very, very good idea.”

  “A great idea,” she concurred, slipping her arms around my neck.

  “Ya know why this is such a great idea?” I asked, coming up for air.

  “Beside, the obvious?” she asked, hitting me with another stunning smile.

  “Well, yeah.” I tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear forgetting my train of thought for a moment as I lost myself in her eyes.

  “I can think of a lot of reasons that this is a great idea,” she teased, “but let’s hear yours.”

  “Well, it seems like I’m gonna need quite a few wedding dates.”

  Her eyes sparkled. “Are you asking me out?”

  “That depends. Will you say yes?”

  “To a date with you?” Chelsea leaned in and whispered her answer against my lips. “Absolutely.”

  I grinned even as we kissed. When I finally managed to drag my lips away from hers I asked, “Do you wanna be my date on New Year’s Eve? I hear there’s a royal Northwood wedding.”

  “I’d be honored,” she said. “But just so you know, I’m not the kind of girl who’s gonna be out there trying to catch the bouquet. So don’t get any ideas.”

  “Too late.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. And ya know what? I didn’t care.

  The moment my lips touched Chelsea’s I’d known she was special. She made me want more, so much more. And that was . . . exhilarating.

  Was she the one? Who knew? But for the first time, I was willing to put in the time to find out. And that meant letting her in—something, I realized, I was finally ready to do.

  “Come on,” I said, taking her hand. “Let’s go.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Why wait until New Year’s Eve when I can take you on a date now?”

  She raised her eyebrows. “A date on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve? You’re setting the bar pretty high.”

  I winked. “Get used to it, beautiful.”

  Marissa

  I caught Chelsea’s eye as she walked past me toward Champs, her hand firmly intertwined with Chris’s. She looked happy and that made my heart glow.

  I mentally ticked another Christmas miracle off my list and I blew her a kiss when she sent a wink my way.

  I looked around me to where my best friends were still locked in the most epic snowball battle of all time. But the best part? Every one of them was smiling.

  Today had been full of Christmas miracles after all. I didn’t know if it was the mistletoe or just plain luck, but love was the real winner here tonight.

  Each of us were right where we were meant to be.

  Maybe it was Northwood that was magical.

  I looked at Archer who was laughing like the good sport he was while Alex and Casey creamed him with snowballs. Northwood certainly felt magical to me. It had not only brought me my best friends, but the boy I was going to marry. I couldn’t imagine anything better.

  In a flash Alex and Casey were back at my side, refueling on the snowballs Nicole and I had been packing. Surprisingly, Lexy was with them, looking quite at home.

  The prissy mean girl was certainly in her element out here nailing people with snowballs. It was nice to see her without her resting Grinch-face for a change. Her cheeks and nose were rosy and there was a brightness to her eyes I hadn’t seen before. I wanted to tell her she should just cut loose and be this laughing, carefree version of herself more often. It was a good
look on her. Maybe Tyler brought it out in her.

  That thought made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Everyone deserved someone to love and someone to love them in return.

  Even mean girls.

  Lexy caught me watching her and wrinkled her button nose into what I could only imagine was her attempt at a genuine smile. It was so foreign to me I was caught off guard. Luckily, I recovered quickly and smiled back, laughing as I realized I was glad she was finally on our team.

  A rogue snowball came sailing over the car we were hiding behind and hit Casey in the chest.

  “Hey!” Alex yelled, standing up and firing three snowballs that all hit their mark.

  We collapsed with laughter as we heard the guys groan.

  “Maybe I was wrong about Tomboys and Christmas,” Alex said. “This could be my new favorite sport!”

  I rolled my eyes dramatically and on cue, everyone heaved snowballs her way. Even Lexy.

  “Hey!” Alex screamed. “Not the face, I’m getting married in a few days!”

  That turned our friendly fire into a group hug, that dissolved into a riotous giggle fit.

  “I knew it would all work out,” I said when we regained some semblance of order. “We just needed a little mistletoe magic.”

  My sappy declaration warranted another collective groan from the group and before I knew it, I was the one getting pelted with snowballs. We were so distracted we didn’t even hear the guys sneak up until it was too late.

  One massive snow pile later we all walked into Champs laughing like a bunch of kids at Christmas.

  And what else could you ask for?

  All of us were together, safe and happy and in love, like we were meant to be.

  And if that wasn’t a Christmas miracle, I didn’t know what was.

  I slid into the booth next to Chelsea, who was sharing a hot cocoa with Chris. We all ordered another round of cocoas, which we let Tyler make Irish, and finally broke into my Christmas Cookies.

  I was stuffing my face when Grant raised a glass. “To Marissa, the most mischievous, meddling mistletoe elf this side of the North Pole.”

  “Here! Here!” Everyone raised their mugs of cocoas and cheered.

  I sank into Archer’s embrace, my cheeks warming at all the attention. Silly I know, but it was different than being recognized on stage. It meant so much more coming from my friends.

  “I just want everyone to be happy,” I said. “Y’all are family to me.”

  “Us too,” Alex said.

  “And us,” Casey added.

  Nicole chimed in. “I think that goes for all of us.”

  “I have an idea,” Chris said, piping up. “Let’s make a pact to meet here every Christmas Eve, no matter what.”

  Nicole sat up straighter, putting her hand in the center of the table. “Deal,” she said, her voice laced with pride.

  “Me too,” Ian added.

  “We’re in,” Alex answered, her and Grant adding their hands to the pile.

  “And us,” Casey said in unison with Lucas.

  “Oh, what the heck,” Chelsea said, grinning at Chris as she reached for his hand in the center of the table.

  “That just leaves us, babe,” Archer said.

  I grinned at my little Northwood High family—these people who had come to mean so much to me. “There’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be.”

  “Don’t forget us,” Tyler said, crowding back into the booth with Lexy.

  Both of them joined their hands with ours. Lexy’s eyes met mine as our fingers brushed. Understanding, acceptance, apology—all of it was in that touch. And I took it all in, giving every inch of it back to her as I gave her fingers a squeeze before nodding. “Every Christmas Eve,” I promised.

  “Every Christmas Eve,” the group echoed.

  Tyler gave us a toothy grin and threw his head back to shout. “Trojan’s on three! One, two, three!”

  “TROJANS!”

  The Northwood High battle cry echoed throughout Champs, drowning out the Christmas music and replacing it with a feeling of home so powerful it brought tears to my eyes, reminding me that miracles can happen in even the most unexpected places.

  Lexy

  I slipped away from the group, a feeling of joy cemented solidly in my heart. It definitely wasn’t something I was used to. Kind of like being accepted by the legendary Northwood High Tomboys.

  But I guess stranger things have happened.

  Like me falling in love with Tyler Bishop. Oh yeah and that momentary truce I’d just forged with Marissa Munns after everyone made that ridiculously sweet pact to return here every Christmas Eve.

  I waved over a bartender and ordered a champagne. I needed something to wash away the sickly-sweet taste all this love was leaving in my mouth. Ugh, I was going soft.

  If the lipstick mafia could see me now.

  But those girls had dropped me as soon as high school was over. At least the tomboys had always been real with me. Maybe that meant I could build something real with them now.

  I supposed that part was up to me.

  Sighing, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and opened up an app I hadn’t used in forever. Thankfully, I still remembered the password. I typed a quick message and snapped the phone shut. When the bartender came back with my champagne, I changed my order to a round for the whole table.

  Gotta start somewhere.

  I sauntered over to the table with the tray of bubbly and set it down to respectable praise. Tyler helped me pass them out and then gave me the best seat in the house—his lap.

  Yes, I said it. We’re cheesy and in love. Deal with it.

  Collectively, a chorus of phones went off at the table. I pulled mine out, pretending to read the message just like everyone else. But really, I was watching one face in particular.

  “No way!” Casey shouted. “Someone is still posting on the Trojan Tattler!”

  “Shut up!” Alex replied, but her eyes bulged when she looked at Casey’s phone.

  The guys all groaned, and Chelsea looked around in confusion. “What is the Trojan Tattler?”

  “Only the bane of my existence,” Casey muttered.

  “It’s like if Twitter and Snapchat had a demon spawn dedicated to destroying the confidence of insecure girls everywhere,” Alex grumped.

  When Chelsea only blinked, Marissa chimed in. “It’s a horrible gossip site that made high school a nightmare,” she explained.

  “I thought that site was dead,” Nicole said.

  “Wait,” Casey frowned at her phone. “This can’t be right. The post is . . . nice.”

  “What’s it say?” Ian asked.

  Casey read the post out loud to the table.

  Trojan Tattler:

  Thanks to mistletoe and miracles more than a few wrongs have been righted tonight, and I’ve never been so grateful for both. I feel the spirit of Christmas in Champs tonight. Rumor has it, forgiveness and friendship was on the menu tonight.

  Don’t elf it up, Trojans. See ya next year.

  The whole time Casey was reading, Marissa’s eyes were locked on mine. I held my breath, waiting for her reaction. Waiting to see if our truce would stick or if she’d out me.

  After a moment her mouth twisted into a knowing smirk. “Well, not everything the Tattler did was bad.”

  Alex crossed her arms. “How so?”

  “It definitely helped cement our friendships,” Marissa said.

  The table burst into conversation as the girls argued with her, reciting some of my more memorable posts. But I couldn’t help smiling. Because Marissa was smiling back at me. And that was something real.

  The End

  See ya next year Northwood High Fans.

  Also by Christina Benjamin

  YOUNG ADULT CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

  DANGERS OF DATING A DIVA SERIES

  Kissing The Hero

  HOW TO DATE A TOMBOY SERIES

  Tomboys Don’t Wear Pink

  Tomboys Don’t Kiss The
Quarterback

  Tomboys Don’t Crush On The Captain

  Tomboys Don’t Love Christmas

  PREP SCHOOL BOYFRIEND ACADEMY

  (All Boyfriend Books are Stand-Alone Novels and can be read in Any Order)

  The Practice Boyfriend (Book 1)

  The Almost Boyfriend (Book 2)

  The Goodbye Boyfriend (Book 3)

  The Holiday Boyfriend (Book 4)

  The Stand-In Boyfriend (Book 5)

  The Maybe Boyfriend (Book 6)

  The Accidental Boyfriend (Book 7)

  The Summer Boyfriend (Book 8)

  The Wedding Boyfriend (Book 9)

  The Winter Boyfriend (Book 10)

  The Lost Boyfriend (Book 11)

  THE BILLIONAIRE BOYFRIEND SERIES

  (All Billionaire Boyfriend Books are sweet romance and are stand-alone novels)

  Sebastian: A Clean Billionaire Romance (Book 1)

  Cooper: A Clean Billionaire Romance (Book 2)

  Donovan: A Clean Billionaire Romance (Book 3)

  Eric: A Clean Billionaire Romance (Book 4)

  Jacob: A Clean Billionaire Romance (Book 5)

  Do you or your kids like to read Middle Grade Fantasy books like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson?

  If so check out Christina’s Pen Name - C.J. Benjamin and her completed series: Geneva Sommers

  Geneva Sommers and the Quest for Truth (Book 1)

  Geneva Sommers and the Secret Legend (Book 2)

  Geneva Sommers and the Myth of Lies (Book 3)

  Geneva Sommers and the Magic Destiny (Book 4)

  Geneva Sommers and the First Fairytales (Book 5)

  Want to read for FREE?

  Download Christina’s FREE ebook More Than Words today!

  Download The Free Ebook Here

  About the Author

  Author, Christina Benjamin, lives in Florida with her husband, and character inspiring pets, where she spends her free time working on her books, eating chocolate and drinking wine.