The Twelve Dates of Christmas

by Andi James

  Liam started reading the next question, and Steven shushed Aiden loudly.

  “Okay, teams, we’re coming down to the end of the game. Here’s your next question. What traditional Christmas decoration is actually a parasitic plant?”

  “Poinsettia,” Steven whisper-screamed at Aiden before Liam had even finished reading the question.

  “Um, I think that’s actually a flower.”

  “Flowers can be parasitic.”

  Aiden thought the answer was mistletoe, but he’d learned with the memorable “candy cane” question from the first round that there was no point in arguing with Steven.

  “Ten seconds,” Liam said over the sound of the crowd.

  “Aiden, go!”

  Aiden hastily scrawled their team name across the top of the paper. Below it he wrote, Father Christmas, Attorney at Law, says the answer is poinsettia. Also, you and I are no longer friends. He grabbed the slip of paper and walked it the twenty feet to where Liam was standing. Aiden dropped it on the pile of papers on the table and gave Liam his most serious glare before returning to his seat.

  Aiden watched Liam try to stifle a laugh reading what he suspected was their answer. After he’d done his tally, Liam stood and spoke into his mic. “Okay, the question was ‘What traditional Christmas decoration is actually a parasitic plant’?” Liam glanced down as his paper. “We had some interesting responses. Poinsettia…”

  “Yes!” Steven actually pumped his fist in the air.

  “…was not the answer we were looking for,” Liam continued.

  Aiden watched as Steven sunk down in his chair.

  “The correct answer was ‘mistletoe,’” Liam said, and winked at Aiden. “And I’m glad so many of my friends got that answer correct.”

  Aiden tried to hide his chuckle.

  “With that, we are down to our final question.” Liam read the current standing of teams and their points. Not surprisingly, Aiden and Steven were in last place. “And, so, our last question of the night is ‘what are the names of all of Santa’s reindeer’?”

  “We can do this,” Steven said, enthusiastically.

  Aiden had to admit, the night could have been much worse. Steven was obviously a fierce competitor, but he was committed to the game and wasn’t a poor loser.

  “If we wager all of our points and get it right, and every other team wagers all of their points and gets it wrong, we could still win.”

  The likelihood of that seemed about as possible as Aiden actually finding someone to go with him to his company holiday party, but the smile on Steven’s face was brilliant.

  “Okay,” Aiden said, “let’s do this.”

  Steven beamed. “Okay, so there are twelve reindeer, right?”

  “I think that might be a few too many,” Aiden said. “It’s more like nine?”

  “Oh, yeah, I was thinking of Snow White and the dwarves.”

  Also not twelve.

  Aiden ignored that. “So, obviously, the most famous reindeer is…”

  “Rudolph.”

  Aiden scrawled that on the paper in front of him. “Who else?”

  Steven ticked names off on his fingers. “There’s Smasher, Dancer, Dancer, and Bobber… Wait, why do two reindeer have the same name?”

  Aiden coughed. “I think one is ‘Prancer.’”

  “Yes!” Steven’s eyes lit up. “Good catch. So, that’s five.”

  Aiden poised his pen above the paper. “Just to confirm, I’m writing down Smasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Bobber?”

  “Yes.”

  Aiden gave Steven a little salute with his pen before transcribing the list. Together, they came up with four more names, three of them correct, and Aiden jotted them down.

  “And you’re sure you want to wager all of our points on this?”

  “Absolutely. It’s the only way we can win.”

  There was literally no way they could win, but Aiden nodded and added the point tally to the slip of paper. He stood from his chair to walk it over.

  Liam grinned at him as he approached. “Well, I can’t wait to read this one.”

  Aiden laughed. “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you.”

  Aiden placed the slip of paper in Liam’s outstretched hand and tried to ignore the tingle in his fingertips where his skin touched Liam’s.

  Liam glanced at the slip of paper and snorted. “Bobber?”

  “Yeah, you know, the floating reindeer.”

  Liam laughed, his eyes twinkling like tinsel, and Aiden decided maybe the night hadn’t been a total write off after all.

  Chapter 8

  “I kid you not, Chelsea, he said it was like eleven inches.”

  “Shut up. No way.”

  “He did! I told him I didn’t believe him, and he offered to take off his pants and show me.”

  “Aiden?”

  Aiden turned away from the Balsam firs he’d been browsing to come face-to-face with Liam. Holy shit. Had he heard that? “Um, Chels, I gotta go.”

  “No! You have to finish the story,” she yelled. “Aiden, don’t you dare hang up on…”

  Aiden pushed the end button on his phone and pulled his Bluetooth out of his ear. “Hey, Liam. Sorry, I was just on the phone with Chelsea.” An awkward silence hung between them that Aiden could not allow to continue, so he kept talking. “I was just telling her about my last date.”

  Liam nodded. “Eleven inches, huh? And he offered to show you?”

  Aiden’s face was on fire. “It was a scar,” Aiden blurted.

  Liam chuckled.

  “He told me he’d been bitten by a shark and had an eleven inch scar on his calf to prove it.”

  “And did he prove it?”

  Aiden laughed. “I respectfully requested that he keep his pants on and the date ended quickly after that.”

  “Wow, I’m sorry I missed that one.” Liam had been in the back room doing inventory during most of Aiden’s last two disastrous dates.

  “Wish I had missed it,” Aiden mumbled.

  “How did the other one go that I missed?”

  Aiden groaned. “Yeah, that one didn’t last long either.”

  “Oh, bummer. What happened?”

  “Well, after he asked me if I was sure I didn’t want to order a salad instead of garlic cheese fries…”

  Liam cringed, but Aiden hadn’t even gotten to the worst part.

  “Then he got a text from his wife.”

  Liam’s eyes went wide. “His ex-wife?”

  Aiden popped the “p” sound as he enunciated his answer. “Nope.”

  “Jesus. You cannot catch a freaking break, can you?” He looked at Aiden with what looked like pity.

  Desperate to change the subject, Aiden gestured to the dozens of cut trees surrounding them. “Fancy meeting you here. On the hunt for a tree?” Aiden cringed. Did he really just ask that? Why else would Liam be in a Christmas tree lot?

  Liam chuckled. “How’d you guess?”

  “Business or pleasure?” Aiden asked with a wink.

  “This one is for the bar. Call me old fashioned, but it just doesn’t feel like the holiday season without a tree or two.”

  Aiden had to agree, which was why he was shopping for a tree at eight at night, six days before Christmas.

  “Should you be in here though? I mean, without a helmet?” Liam grinned wickedly.

  Aiden rolled his eyes. “Oh, ha ha. Do you live around here?”

  Liam chuckled. “You’ve been to my place quite a few times now.”

  Aiden raised an eyebrow before realization set in. “Oh my god, do you live in the bar?”

  Liam laughed. “No, I live in an apartment above the bar.”

  “Oh, wow. I didn’t know that. We’re practically neighbors.”

  “You living nearby explains why you’ve been using the bar as your headquarters for this Thirty Dates in Thirty Days thing you have going on.”

  Aiden gave Liam a look before reaching across him and fluffing the branches on a short
Fraser fir.

  Liam glanced at the tree Aiden was fondling. “Hmmm. You know, they say you can tell a lot about people from the type of Christmas tree they buy.”

  “Who says that? No one says that.”

  Liam rubbed his face thoughtfully, and Aiden couldn’t take his eyes off the thick stubble under Liam’s fingertips.

  “Oh yeah? And what does this one say about me?” Aiden asked, waving a hand over the tree in front of him.

  Liam narrowed his eyes in thought. “I’ll have to make my assessment at the completion of this trip so I can come up with a valid and accurate judgment.”

  “Liam, are you saying you want to shop for holiday greenery with me?”

  “Well, I think it’s the only way, Aiden.”

  Aiden chuckled and stepped forward a few feet before he stopped and turned back to Liam. “Are we okay leaving this area? Or did you need some more time browsing the trees the color of frozen peas?”

  Liam grimaced. “Oh, no. Peas are the worst.”

  “I know, right?”

  “They’re either too mushy or too hard, and they smell like the bottom of a garbage can,” Liam said as they walked through a narrow aisle together.

  “I never like them as a child, either. I mean, I know I should like them…”

  Liam gave him a puzzled look. “Why should you like peas?”

  “Because they’re good for me.”

  “And?”

  “And they’re a good source of vitamins?” Aiden tried to remember what Justin had told him every time he’d layered peas on Aiden’s plate. “And adults eat things they don’t like?”

  Liam chuckled. “I think one of the best parts about being an adult is taking a pass on stuff like peas.” He paused to touch a tall, thin tree, then made a face at the large bare spot near the bottom. “I mean, there are a lot of things I have to do even though I don’t want to, like pay taxes, do laundry, remember the password for my bank account.” Liam shrugged. “So, if I don’t want to eat peas, I’m not going to.”

  He moved on to run a gloved hand over another tree. “If I wanna play hooky every once in a while to go hiking, I will. And if I want to spend a weekend binge watching Schitt’s Creek in my boxers, I’m gonna do that too. Because being an adult doesn’t mean being unhappy all the time. It means taking care of yourself, and sometimes that’s easy and sometimes that’s hard.” He took a deep breath and looked at Aiden, grinning. “And sometimes it means eating Skittles for dinner.” Liam shrugged and paused again, assessing a different tree.

  Aiden was stunned into silence. He had never thought about it quite like that before. He always associated being an adult with things he didn’t want to do, but Liam was right. Sometimes doing the wrong thing was the right thing.

  “You okay?”

  Aiden exhaled loudly. “Yeah, I just… You just kind of blew my mind a little bit.”

  Liam grinned.

  “How did you get to be so wise?”

  “Is it wisdom?” Liam shrugged. “It’s just kind of how I see the world.”

  Aiden snapped out of his daze and walked toward another row, but he couldn’t help glancing at the pines, the trees that caught his eye year after year. He had always thought the pine trees were the most beautiful and fun, but Justin had complained about how hard it was to clean up the fallen needles. Aiden had always assumed that adults bought trees based on things like cost and ease of cleanup, even if they didn’t feel the most Christmassy. But now, Liam’s words echoed in his head.

  “You know what?” Aiden shook his head. “No, not this year.”

  He walked away from Liam and headed over to the row of pines, breathing in deeply the scent that always reminded him of hot chocolate and home.

  “Good choice.” Liam appeared beside him as Aiden was lost in admiration.

  Liam leaned in close, and Aiden could smell his cologne as Liam reached for the tag on the tree Aiden was touching.

  “Oh, look, this one comes with a free box of Band-Aids.”

  “Ugh.” Aiden shuddered. “And just when I thought we could be friends again, you bring up the incident.”

  Liam laughed. “Well, I’m willing to forget your inability to walk past holiday decorations without injury if you’re willing to forgive me for that stunt with Steven.”

  “I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forgive you for that,” Aiden said, laughing.

  They continued walking side by side, Liam commenting on all the trees Aiden stopped to browse. They meandered to the front of the lot, each towing a new tree.

  Aiden stood his upright as he waited for the high school kid to take his money, and he couldn’t help but smile at the perfect pine he hadn’t even realized he’d wanted so badly. “Okay, so what’s the verdict?”

  “Hmm?”

  Aiden rolled his eyes dramatically. “You said you could tell a lot about a person based on the tree they buy.” Aiden shook his tree, the branches shimmying. “So, what do you think about me?”

  Liam took a long look at the tree, then up again. When he spoke, his voice was a little quieter than it had been, but his smile just as bright as always. “I think you’re a really good guy, Aiden.”

  Aiden was expecting a snarky comment about the possibility of grave injury or death by decor, not a genuine compliment that should not have made his heart quicken. As he searched for a response, Liam looked down at his phone, swearing under his breath.

  “Everything okay?” Aiden asked.

  “Yeah.” Liam sighed. “Andrea just reminded me I need to get more wreaths for the outside of the bar.”

  Aiden glanced toward the wreath and garland display at the back of the lot. “Want some help?”

  Liam grinned. “I’m not sure you’re cleared to handle wreaths just yet. But I’ll catch you later?”

  “Oh, yeah. Sure.”

  Liam flashed him another quick smile and a wave before jogging back into the lot, and Aiden had no idea why watching Liam disappear between the trees gave him a tiny pull deep inside of him.

  Chapter 9

  Aiden wiped a tear from his eye. “Stop! You’re killing me.” He looked up at Liam’s wicked smile and couldn’t remember the last time his abdominal muscles actually hurt from laughing. “There is no way that actually happened.”

  Liam grinned widely. “Hand to god,” he said, lifting his left arm.

  Aiden reached for another bottle cap and added it to his garland. When he’d arrived, Liam had been hard at work assembling decorations for the beautiful, but naked, Christmas tree standing to one side of the bar. Looking at it, Aiden couldn’t help but smile. It hadn’t been the coldest night they’d had so far, but Aiden chuckled at the memory of Liam’s pink nose and cheeks and the way the bright lights of the lot had sparkled in his eyes while they’d shopped together.

  The decoration-making station had been set up on the bar so Liam could put things together between serving customers, but Liam had looked so lost, Aiden had offered to help when he’d arrived.

  “I can’t believe you’ve been saving these all year,” Aiden said, motioning to the bowls of bottle caps and corks in front of him.

  “Well, you can’t beat free, right?” Liam chuckled. “And, store bought decorations are great, but it doesn’t really feel like Christmas to me without something I’ve made hanging on the tree.”

  Aiden thought about Justin’s perfectly decorated trees, covered in expensive ornaments. They were always absolutely stunning but had never given Aiden the same feeling of the holiday as he felt at that moment, crafting garland from beer caps and watching Liam make reindeer out of wine corks.

  Liam’s smile faded a bit as he looked at his watch. “I think we might be safe to assume he’s not coming.”

  “Who?” Aiden straightened, and Liam gave him a quizzical look. “Oh! My date.”

  Aiden looked at the time on his phone and did the math. Had it really been forty minutes already? He felt like he’d just sat down.

  Aiden sighed. “I thin
k you might be right.” Which made sense since this date actually seemed promising. Chelsea had finally listened to his requests and seemed to have found someone closer to Aiden’s own age and with some genuine interests in common. Not that those were the only defining characteristics for a successful date, but he hadn’t really been batting a thousand lately.

  Yet, even though the possibility of an actual good date was slipping through his fingers, Aiden couldn’t find it in himself to be heartbroken about it. It definitely didn’t feel great to be ditched, but as he looked up at Liam and his bright smile, Aiden realized he would have been content to spend the rest of the evening laughing with him, snagging his few free moments as Liam served his customers.

  “So, then what happened?” Aiden asked, the pain of being stood up slowly dissipating. “Did you actually go to the circus?”

  Liam chuckled and looked down at his hands. “Hey, Aiden, I know this is random, but would you want to—”

  “Aiden?”

  The deep voice behind him caught his attention, and Aiden turned to see a very handsome, pink-cheeked man.

  “Drew?” The photo Chelsea had sent to Aiden didn’t really do justice to the man standing before him. He was dressed well, but his clothes were slightly disheveled. His sandy blond hair was threaded through with a few strands of silver and fashionably cut but just a little long, and his aqua colored eyes were so deep Aiden could have fallen into them. He reminded Aiden of the captain of his high school baseball team.

  Drew ran a hand through his hair before extending it and offering a warm smile. “I’m so sorry I’m late. I hope you got my message on the app, but I didn’t get one back, so I wasn’t sure.”

  Oh, right. The app that lived on Chelsea’s phone.

  “Um, sorry. I didn’t see a message.” Aiden watched Drew’s broad shoulders rise and fall a bit more rapidly than seemed normal. “Are you okay?

  He gave Aiden a smile. “I am now.”

  Aiden felt his cheeks heat at what felt like such a sincere sentiment from someone who thought it was perfectly fine to show up forty minutes late.

  “I am so sorry,” he said again. “I saw an accident on the way over, so I got a bit tied up.”