Home for Christmas
A Collection of Sweet Shorts
Daphne James Huff
M.F. Lorson
Kayla Tirrell
Copyright © 2017
Each story belongs to the respective author.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
***
1. Dirty Santa
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
About Kayla Tirrell
Also by Kayla Tirrell
2. The Christ Redeemer Christmas Spectacular
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
About Daphne James Huff
Also by Daphne James Huff
3. The Night Sale
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
About M. F. Lorson
Also by M. F. Lorson
***
***
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YA Inklings is a collaboration of three YA/NA authors, who write romances for the young and young at heart.
Daphne, M.F. and Kayla have released their first series together. Available now:
Stage Kiss
Leah’s Song
Chasing Love
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1
Dirty Santa
by Kayla Tirrell
Chapter 1
Senior Prom.
It was supposed to be a magical night. I’d been named Prom Queen. My boyfriend, Isaac, crowned King beside me.
Too bad he was puking his guts out in the bathroom when he should have been inside dancing with me.
It was our last big night as high school students. Soon we’d be going off in different directions. My best friends Jess and Sophia were staying in Florida, just like Isaac. Really, most of my classmates were staying in state for the cheaper tuition. I was one of the only people I knew going off to another state.
Duke was a family tradition. Go Blue Devils.
My dad was so proud, and I saw it as my grand adventure.
All of that didn’t mean I didn’t want to enjoy tonight. I watched as couples embraced one another in the dark gym while the second slow song in a row started. All of my friends were paired off on the dance floor—everyone but me.
I debated on whether or not to check on Isaac when a familiar voice started speaking from beside me. “Where’s your boyfriend?”
I turned to see Ben in his tux, complete with red Chucks on his feet. He looked so out of place, but at the same time, completely comfortable in his skin.
“Bathroom.” When Ben raised his brows at me, I clarified. “He and his football buddies brought flasks, and he had a little too much.”
“Oh, man. I’m sorry, Jordin.”
I tried to smile, but knew it was weak. “It’s fine.”
“You should be out there right now.” He tilted his head toward the dance floor. “You look too pretty to be hiding in the corner.”
“It’s hard to slow dance by yourself.” I shrugged.
Ben looked down at his feet. “I could always dance with you.”
“What about your date?”
“We came as friends, and I’m pretty sure it was only to make her ex jealous.” He laughed and pointed to the far corner of the room. In it, was a couple making out. “I don’t think she’ll care.”
I laughed with him. “I guess not.”
Ben and I were friends. And it wasn’t like I would be cheating on Isaac by dancing with another guy. Not that I owed him any explanation after the way he acted that evening.
“I’d love to dance.”
We walked out together, careful not to touch each other until we stopped. Ben looked uncomfortable as he put his hands on my waist, and I tried not to giggle as I stood slightly taller than him. I debated kicking off my five-inch heels, my feet had been killing me all night. But I didn’t want to waste any time. I put my hands on his shoulders, and we started swaying back and forth like everyone else.
This was my second slow dance of the evening. The other one had been the King and Queen dance. Isaac had already been drunk by that point and had stepped on my toes several times during that three minutes of fame.
“Congrats on your crown,” Ben said, leaning in.
“Is it weird that all I want to do is break it and throw it into the crowd like in Mean Girls?”
“I don’t know. Are you a mean girl?”
“You tell me. The bad ones never think they’re bullies.”
His hands pulled me closer, and I barely restrained myself from laying my head against his shoulder.
“Not you, Jordin. Never you.”
I tried to search his face, but his eyes were looking off into the distance. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing.” He shook his head and changed the subject quickly. “You excited about going off to school?”
“Honestly? I can’t wait to move to North Carolina. The seasons are going to be so great!”
He chuckled at my enthusiasm and opened his mouth to say more, but the DJ was already changing songs. Up next was the YMCA. Were DJs forever cursed to play that song at every event? It was as old as our parents.
“Well, I’ll see ya around,” Ben said as we pulled apart.
I wanted to beg him to stay, to dance with me some more, but I could see Jess and Sophia already making their way toward me. Questioning looks on both of their faces.
“Yeah, see ya.”
I watched him walk away before getting the third degree from my friends. After which, I danced to a few more songs, left early to take a puke-covered Isaac home and went to bed with my still-intact crown sitting on my nightstand.
All in all, it was a memorable evening, but not for the reasons I first thought.
Chapter 2
Seven months later.
Three letters.
Three stupid letters were the reason why I was home for Christmas break with all of the belongings I’d brought with me to college. While most of my classmates from school went home to enjoy time with their families, I was back for good. It was humiliating, and I still hadn’t told anyone—not even my roommate.
I had literally waited for her to leave before finishing my packing. I made a show of packing my suitcases with the standard stuff you’d bring home for Christmas break. I even made the excuse of wanting my mom to do all my laundry when she questioned why I was packing almost all my clothing for such a
short trip. It wasn’t until she left campus that I frantically went around our dorm room gathering the rest of my things before campus closed down for the break.
Now, I sat in my bedroom in Florida surrounded by the suitcases I hadn’t unpacked. I’d been home for two days and had only pulled out the necessary items from my bags.
I wasn’t quite ready to admit I was home for good.
I was staring at these bags, trying to remember where I shoved my summer clothes, when my mom popped her head into my room. She leaned against the doorframe looking at me through sad eyes. “How are you doing, sweetie?” I’d heard the question at least a hundred times since getting home.
“Fine.”
“Do you want to go outside and get some fresh air? We could sit on the front porch with some hot chocolate.” Her smile was meant to be comforting, but I could see the underlying concern in it.
“No, thanks.”
“Coffee? Doughnuts? We can have whatever you want.”
“Really, Mom, I feel much better. Besides, I’m going out for coffee in an hour with Jess and Sophia. I’ll soak up some sun while we’re there. I promise.”
She stood there watching me for a little while. I assumed she was debating on whether or not she would push anymore. Thankfully, she decided against it.
“Just one more thing,” she said, tapping against the door. “Don’t forget tonight is the Christmas party. Make sure to grab a gift while you’re out.”
“Do I really have to go this year?”
“It’ll be good for you to see some familiar faces.”
“I guess.”
“You might even have fun.”
“Fine,” I answered, knowing I didn’t have a choice.
After she walked off, I let my body fall onto the mattress. It wasn’t that I hated the annual Christmas party my father’s company threw, I just hated feeling so fake when we went. As partner, my dad had to keep up appearances, which meant we all had to go with smiles plastered on our faces. No family drama was allowed at company events.
I didn’t want to go but thought it might be nice to see Ben after so long. Both of our dads were big shots at the firm, and we always hid out together at company events. I wondered how he was doing since we hadn’t spoken since graduation.
The two of us had an agreement for the Dirty Santa game at each year’s Christmas party. We would both try to get terrible gifts perfectly tailored for the other person and make every effort to walk away with what the other person brought.
I had planned on sitting in my room until meeting my high school friends for coffee but spending that time shopping for the perfect gift would be so much better.
* * *
An hour later, I was pulling up to Hillcrest Coffee. It was my absolute favorite coffee shop. While I loved the convenience of the bigger chains, there was something special about this place. The owner had turned an old bungalow house into a coffee shop. The giant front porch was beautiful, but it was the inside that was my favorite. The furniture was mismatched, there were vintage board games on the walls, and even the menu was written on an old window pane. It was eclectic, but it felt like home in all the best ways.
I sat at a table outside, enjoying the warmth of the Florida sun, while I waited for my friends to arrive. Even out here, the smell of freshly brewed coffee reached my nose.
My toe tapped on the ground with anxious energy. It was ridiculous to be anxious about seeing my best friends from high school, but I found myself second guessing going without makeup that morning. Maybe my cut-offs and tee were too sloppy for seeing Sophie and Jess for the first time since summer since we had always dressed to the nines in high school.
I was seriously contemplating getting up and going home when they arrived.
“Jordin!” Sophia squealed, as she ran up. She pulled me into a hugged and rocked our bodies back and forth. It wasn’t long before Jess was pushing her way in.
“Break it up losers. My turn.”
Soon we were doing the same dance. I couldn’t help the smile that touched my lips. It was the first genuine one I’d had in weeks.
When Jess finally let me go, she looked at Sophia and me. “I don’t know about you guys, but I need caffeine right now.”
We followed her inside, and thankfully there was only one guy in front of us. He was tall and had dark brown hair that just barely hit the collar of his shirt. His shoulders were broad, his waist lean. I looked over to Jess to see she was giving the same appreciative glances I’d just been sending his way.
She waggled her eyebrows, and I smacked her, thankful the guy didn’t see her. Sophia had just started snickering when the guy in front of us turned around. When he saw me, he stopped short.
“Jordin?”
“Ben?”
He started to move toward me like he was going to hug me but stayed rooted in his spot. Putting his hand behind his neck shyly, Ben looked back and forth between Jess and Sophia but didn’t say anything else.
I wasn’t sure what to say either. In high school, my girlfriends and I had been the popular girls—varsity cheerleaders, student government, Prom Queen.
Ben. Well, he was the quiet, artistic type. He’d been slow to hit his growth spurt in high school and was the focus of a lot of bullying. Standing in front of us now, I swore he’d grown even more in the months since graduation. He had to be almost a foot taller than me now. There was a slight stubble on his cheeks that made him look older than his nineteen years. He looked comfortable in his tee and jeans combo, complete with his signature red chucks.
I didn’t want to admit it, since we’d always been friends, but Ben was hot.
After what seemed like an eternity of uncomfortable silence, he spoke again. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around.”
Even his voice was sexy. Had it always been so deep?
“Will I see you tonight?” I blurted, thinking of the shopping bag in my car.
One corner of his mouth lifted in a crooked grin. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
My heart skipped a beat at his words, and I wanted to tell it to calm the heck down. There was no reason to react that way to him. This was Ben, for goodness sake. But even as I told myself this, I knew there was a goofy grin on my face. “Okay, I’ll see you then.”
He gave us all one last look before walking off, and I saw disapproval in his eyes as he looked to Sophia and Jess. They hadn’t noticed it, too focused on ordering their drinks, but I had seen in. I wanted to know what he was thinking, but ordered my drink and followed my friends outside. The comments started as soon as we sat down.
“What a weirdo,” Jess said, before she took a sip of her latte.
“Oh, whatever, you were totally checking him out,” Sophia teased.
“Until I realized it was Ben! What a creeper. Do you remember when he painted Jordin?”
I shifted uneasily. “He asked me to model for him. It wasn’t that weird.”
“Jordin, the guy was obsessed with you.”
“Because he painted me one time?” I sunk down in my seat.
“And remember when y’all danced together at prom? He was like a lovesick puppy dog.”
I pressed my lips together. “No, he wasn’t. Isaac was trashed that night, and he didn’t think I should be standing in the corner by myself.”
“Like I said, obsessed.”
I didn’t have a response, and Sophie took the opportunity to jump in. "How did you guys end up talking to each other anyway?"
"Our dads work together, and partner's kids always get thrown together at company events. It’s not like I had a choice." But I did have a choice, and I'd chosen him plenty of times to escape the endless drama of football and cheerleaders. Sneaking off to art shows in Tampa and Orlando.
Countless late night talks.
“That’s right,” Jess said. “But what was up with all of that ‘Will I see you tonight’ business?”
“Oh, tell me he didn’t ask to paint you naked this time!” Sophia teased, an
d they both started laughing.
“Very funny. It’s just the annual Christmas party.”
“Just don’t get caught under the mistletoe next to him.” Jess elbowed Sophia.
“I don’t know,” she answered with a smile. “Ben might be hot enough now to cancel out the nerdy. I say find the mistletoe and take advantage of that while you’re on Christmas break.”
I sat up in my seat and smacked my hands on the table. “Guys! Can you stop? It’s not like that.”
I felt my skin heat up, and I wasn’t sure what was the cause. It could have been a number of things. The fact that I hadn’t defended him when my friends were talking so horribly about him, or that I had been attracted to him standing inside the coffee shop.
“Look at Jordin. She’s blushing!” Jess said, laughing again.
“She’s probably thinking about later tonight when she gets to see Ben again.”
The two of them started making kissing noises and rubbing their hands over their shoulders like they were making out with themselves. I didn’t think it was funny, and soon they noticed I wasn’t laughing with them.
“Oh, come on, Jordin. Don’t be so serious. We’re just having a little fun. You didn’t forget what that was, did you?”
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