by Kris Bryant
Tinsy pawed the air in front of my face and purred.
“I think I’m right. And so does Tinsy. She deserves a really nice Christmas gift. Speaking of which, what did you get the doc?”
“I can’t tell you, because Tinsy and I got you the same thing.” I laughed at my own joke. “But we got you other things, too.”
Mo put her hand on her chest in mock surprise. “What? I’m not special enough?”
“The most special.” I blew her a kiss.
She curled her fingers into the shape of a heart and mimicked it beating.
“You’re such a charmer. Your wife is one lucky girl. Christmas is going to be fun with a baby around.” Mo, Angie, and baby Melody were coming over on Christmas Eve, along with my parents, brother, and grandmother. I was cooking the turkey and everyone else was bringing a side dish. I was off until next Monday so I wasn’t stressed. Yet.
“I miss being around your parents. You mom is so sweet to us. And I like how much pressure she puts on you to settle down and have babies.”
I rolled my eyes and fell back onto the couch. “I have the worst luck on Earth when it comes to finding a woman. I fall for all the wrong reasons.”
“I think this might be the real thing with Doc,” Mo said.
I shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal, but I was starting to think there was hope. “She is quite the whole package. Smart, fun, attractive, and with such a calmness about her. Then I have to question what she sees in me, if she sees anything at all.”
Mo scoffed. “Listen, you’re the whole package, too. You’re just as smart, just as beautiful, and fun when you aren’t sick or breaking up with somebody. I think you’re a catch, but you just fall for the wrong people. I told you Sophie—”
“Stephanie.”
“Stephanie was no good. I’m sure she was great in bed, but now that you’re almost thirty, maybe you should start thinking long-term. Find somebody who fulfills everything in your life, not just your sex life.”
“Ugh. I can’t believe you said that to me.” I covered my face with my hands. “But you’re right. I need to grow up. Maybe you should screen all my dates.”
“Well, we have a home run here in Taylor, so let’s just see how this plays out.”
“It can only go up from here, right?” I asked.
“True that.”
* * *
I spent the day prepping the turkey, trying hard to not think about Taylor coming over. I was supposed to cook for Taylor but decided on delivery instead. The Italian restaurant three streets over had killer pasta and a sauce that was to die for. I ordered chicken on the side, a salad, and a healthy amount of breadsticks.
“Are you ready for Doc? Do you miss her?” Tinsel danced at my feet as if she understood what I was saying. In reality, she was waiting for me to drop a piece of chicken or cheese. “I miss her, too. But don’t say anything.”
Taylor and I texted some during the day, but I knew she was busy saving animals, and I was busy trying to get my team in order. My texts were friendly, with zero possibility to read anything into them other than friendship. I didn’t want to make that mistake. I’d already made too many with her.
Tinsel raced for the door before Taylor even knocked. I opened it to a smiling Taylor.
“Merry Christmas, both of you.” She gave me a quick hug and scooped up Tinsel. I didn’t mind that she got more attention. It gave me a chance to look at Taylor, who was wearing dark jeans, boots, and a sweater that showed off her curves. She was dressed for a date, which made me smile even harder.
“Hey, you. Merry Christmas. Come in. Make yourself at home,” I said. Our eyes met when I reached out to take her coat. She smiled sweetly and looked away. I made her nervous. My confidence boosted, I kept going. “You look incredible.”
“Thank you.” Her voice was low and raspy. She cleared her throat and repeated herself. “Thank you. I brought the bottle of wine I picked at the Christmas exchange. I don’t know if it’s good or not.”
“Funny story. That’s actually what I brought.”
“How serendipitous. On so many levels.”
“What do you mean?”
“You picked my present and I picked yours.”
“You drew all those cute designs on the tissue paper and the bag? Those were adorable. You’re very talented.” I motioned for us to head to the couch.
“If this vet gig doesn’t work, I can always fall back on my art.”
“You can draw for my team. We’re always looking for artists. But seriously, I think you’re going to do just fine at your practice, Doc. I’m sure all your clients, human and animal, love you,” I said. Perhaps love was not the best word considering I was a part of that mix.
“I really love my job. Sometimes it’s hard to get there on time because I’m on-call most days. The morning we ran into each other, I was at the animal hospital helping set a dog’s leg. I stopped and got doughnuts because I was already late and wanted to apologize to everybody because it’s a lot of stress when we run late or appointments take longer than scheduled.”
“Now I feel like a bigger ass than I was.” I groaned into my hands. “I can’t apologize enough for how shitty I was that morning. And the morning at the coffee shop. And the party. Gah. How are you still my friend?”
She touched my arm. “Stop worrying about it. You’re remembering it worse than it was.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll drop it. How about I open this wine, and we’ll decide if it’s good enough for dinner or if we have to polish it off before we eat?”
“I’m in.”
I smiled and excused myself to open the wine and pour two glasses. I handed one to her and sat down a little closer than I was before.
“We need to toast Tinsel. And Christmas and that kind of stuff. But this little girl is really the reason we’re friends.”
Tinsel fell out on Taylor’s lap and offered up her belly for rubs.
“My cat has no shame,” I said.
We both sighed at her cuteness. “If only it was this easy.”
I laughed. “Oh, really? It’s hard for you?”
She smiled at me over the rim of her glass and shrugged. “New girl, new town, new people. And I work. A lot. When Dawn invited me to her holiday party, I was giddy with excitement. I was finally able to meet other lesbians.”
“I always feel like I’m the oldest one there. I used to be one of the young ones, and then just this year, Angie and I were talking about how young the crowd was.”
“You’re young.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” I said. I knew she was joking, but it still made me feel good. “I’m almost thirty.”
“You look great. I would’ve guessed you to be twenty-five tops.” She clinked her almost- empty glass against mine.
“Why, thank you, Doc. I already know you’re thirty-one, but you don’t look it at all.”
“I feel like I’m much older.”
I touched her knee. “First of all, you’re beautiful and very successful. Look at what you’ve accomplished. So much in so little time.” I thought back to the stories she’d told at Dawn’s party about the bigger animals she treated and the fun little furry ones at the sanctuary. I felt the warmth of her fingers on my hand but kept talking out of nervousness. “Your family must be so proud of you.” I finally looked down when her fingers entwined with mine. Yep. This was happening. She was interested in me, and not just in a friendship. Friends didn’t hold hands. Not like this.
“Your family must be proud of you, too. Successful business advertising executive leading a hungry team of worker bees who owns her own home and is fur mama to the most amazing cat on earth,” Taylor said.
Tinsel looked sleepily up at us and yawned. Her head was resting on our arms and as much as I didn’t want to disturb her or our moment, I was starting to feel the wine.
“We should probably eat some dinner. I hope you like chicken parm.”
“Even though I like what’s happening here, I�
��m kind of hungry.”
She reluctantly dropped my fingers and stood. My heart swelled in my chest. It was nice to be wanted, especially by a beautiful woman. Mo was right. She ticked all of my boxes and made me feel like I was wonderful. I was making it my mission to find out why she was single.
“Tell me about your life back in Denver. What did you do for fun? Did you have a girlfriend?”
Taylor held her hand up to her mouth as she finished her bite. “Life was fun, but this was a better opportunity. My uncle had an established business, and I had a bad breakup and needed a fresh start.”
“Wow. What happened? No, I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer that.”
She waved me off. “I was putting my career first. Now that I have a normal schedule and we can hire another vet at the beginning of the year, I can focus on me.”
It was easy to talk to Taylor. Even though we had that moment on the couch, I wasn’t as nervous around her as I thought I’d be. Before we knew it, it was almost eleven.
“I really want to stay, but I have to get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a busy day. People always bring their pets in before holidays.”
“I understand. Long day at work and then you have to fly home. Oh, shit. We have a present for you,” I said. Her gift was on the side table near the front door. I handed her the poorly wrapped gift and waited for her to open it. “It’s nothing big, but I thought you’d appreciate it. And forgive my horrible wrapping skills.”
“It’s perfect,” Taylor said. She ran her fingers over the tiny paw-print frame. Inside was a photo of Tinsel on my bed. I had captured everything perfect about her, from her sharp, silver eyes to her fluffy fur. It was gorgeous, and not only was I proud of my photography skills, but of my cat. “She’s so beautiful. I’m glad you decided to let her stay.”
“Our beginning was questionable, but I think we have a good vibe now.”
Taylor slipped on her coat and reached inside the pocket. “Here’s Tinsel’s gift.” It was a catnip mouse wrapped in a piece of paper. “Don’t throw that paper away. It’s her chip info that I neglected to give you.” She reached into her other pocket. “And this is for you.”
I busted out laughing. “This will definitely get used.” I held up a Cool Beans gift card.
“Oh, there’s more,” she said
“More?”
“Turn it over.”
On the back of the gift card was a free coat cleaning at Montgomery’s Dry Cleaners. I pulled her into a hug.
“Most thoughtful Christmas gift ever.”
She felt right. Her body next to mine, her arms around my waist. The hug lasted longer than a normal one. At this point, we were holding one another, and I didn’t mind one bit. When she slowly pulled away, I knew I had to kiss her. Her lips were slightly parted, and those big blue eyes kept staring at my lips. I leaned in slowly and pressed my mouth against hers. Her lips were soft. I ran my tongue along her bottom lip, slowly tasting her. Taylor had full lips, and kissing her was better than I imagined. Every part of her was against me. I hated that she was wearing her coat, but that was probably a good thing. Otherwise, I’d pull her back onto the couch, and she wouldn’t get any sleep before her big day.
Pinpricks of pain ran up my leg. “Ow. Ow. Ow.” I broke the kiss and looked down. Tinsel was clawing her way up both of us. We stood there frozen until she reached our waists. I lifted her up to my shoulder. “What are you doing, little one? I thought you wanted us to get together.” Tinsel meowed and licked my cheek. She reached for Taylor, who grabbed her and nuzzled her neck.
“Maybe she wanted in on our little session. She’s so adorable. I don’t know how you leave her every day to work.”
“I know. It’s tough. I’d make her an office cat, but I’m not that high up on the ladder yet. Give me a few years. In the meantime, you are always welcome to take her to work. She’d probably love that, but I would be worried that she would try to escape.”
Taylor kissed Tinsel’s forehead and gently put her down. “Thank you for a very nice evening. Have a great Christmas with your family and I’ll talk to you when I get back.” She put her hand on my cheek and kissed my lips again. It was a kiss full of promise. I shivered at the message.
“Have a safe trip. Text me if you get bored.” I closed the door after I made sure she got into her car and drove away. Tinsel was safely tucked in my arms. I gave her a quick squeeze. “Thank you, little one, for getting us together.”
Chapter Ten
“How does my cat, who has been with me only three weeks, have more gifts than I do?”
Tinsel literally had presents from every single person who was at dinner. I had four. She had twice that.
“Well, honey, she’s cuter and nicer.” My mom laughed at her own joke. At least I think she was joking.
Even my grandmother brought Tinsel a tiny toy that she’d crocheted. It was adorable and would immediately go in the trash the second Grandma left. I didn’t need another trip to the vet at three in the morning. Too many strings.
“Do you like the tree, Grandma? I hung most of your ornaments. I had to take the tinsel down because of an unfortunate incident.”
“It’s beautiful, Jessie. I’m glad you appreciate a nice tree.” She shot my parents a mean look, and my dad looked away.
My mom held up her hands. “Hey. I’ll put up a nice tree when these two start giving me grandkids. I’m going to need more than Melody.” She wiggled her pointer finger back and forth between me and TJ.
“Well, Jessie’s off to a good start. You should ask her about the doc.”
My mom turned to me, wide-eyed with excitement. I groaned.
“The hot vet and you are dating? Why am I always finding out things from Mo and not you?”
“Because Mo likes to be a thorn in my side and beat me to all the good news.” I scowled at her playfully, and she blew me a kiss.
“Oh, and a toe-curling kiss was involved,” Mo said.
“Mo!”
“Okay, okay. You tell the story. Just so you know, I really like the doc. I think she’s wonderful and really good for Jess.”
I told my mom everything that had happened after what is now referred to as the Tinsel Incident. How Taylor took care of me when I was sick, how much fun we had the other night, and even the kiss we shared. I didn’t tell my mom that the kiss lasted about five minutes. It was better to let her think it was as romantic and chaste as what she was picturing. Both she and my grandma sighed. “And then Tinsel climbed both of us when we hugged good night.”
“I love this cat so much,” Mo said. Tinsel clung to her arm as she twirled her gently around.
“I don’t think she likes that,” I said.
Mo put her down, and Tinsel climbed her jeans for more.
“Or maybe she does,” I said.
“All kids love twirling, even the four-legged kind,” Mo said and twirled Tinsel again.
My phone buzzed and I smiled. It was Taylor. It was the first time she’d sent me a selfie. I thrust the phone at Mo because I was excited.
“Let me see,” my mom said.
Mo handed her my phone.
“This is the doc? This is Taylor? This is the one you complained about how horribly judgmental and rude she was when we were at lunch the other week?”
“I know, I know. I was being ridiculous. She’s really pretty, isn’t she?”
“I think it’s great that Jess is dating again, but can we have Christmas dinner? I’m kind of hungry over here.” My dad wasn’t shy when it came to food, and holiday meals were the best.
“Give me your phone real quick,” Mo said.
“No way.” I knew better.
“No. I was going to send Taylor a selfie. Of us. That’s cool, right?”
I nodded.
Mo picked up Tinsel and took a picture of the three of us. It was adorable, and I couldn’t wait to see what Taylor thought. I checked my phone periodically until she answered in the middle of our gift exchange.
&nbs
p; Out of respect for my family, I didn’t text her back, but I did take a ton of photos of Tinsel attacking the wrapping paper and trying to climb the tree. I’d send those to Taylor later. Mo, Angie, and Melody left right after presents because Melody was getting fussy. TJ drove Grandma home because she got worn out easily. My mom would have camped out with me, but my dad had other plans. He wanted to get home before the snow hit. I was okay with an early Christmas Eve night.
I wanted to clean up the kitchen and all the wrapping paper, and maybe text Taylor, if she was available. I knew her family would open gifts in the morning, but I wasn’t sure of her plans for this evening.
Look at what my perfect kitty did. I sent her one of the pics of Tinsel hidden in the pile of paper.
Awww. She’s so adorable. I miss her.
How was your night?
It was fun. I always have a good time with my family.
Does it make you want to go back to Denver? It was an unfair question, but I was curious if being away was too hard for her.
I like right where I am in my life. I have a wonderful job, new friends, and somebody who piques my interest.
Oh? Really? Who might that be?
She sent me the winking emoji. The surge of adrenaline made me stand. Tinsel looked at me as if I’d lost my mind.
“Tinsy, Doc said I piqued her interest. That’s something, right?”
She meowed and pawed my phone. She was definitely Team Taylor.
* * *
I watched my phone incessantly for Taylor’s text messages and photos while she was out of town. By Sunday I was ready to see her. I invited her over once she got settled and only if she felt up to it.
“If it’s too much, we can have dinner this week,” I said.
“Trust me. I need adult entertainment after being with my nieces and nephews for three days.”
“Adult entertainment?”
“Oh, my gosh. I meant conversations with adults. People my own age. And I want to cuss and say bad things. So, can I come over?”
I laughed. “Definitely. I have no restrictions here.”
