Page 25 of The Holiday Exchange

“I need to use the restroom.” I walk away from Annie and into my room, closing the door behind me. I know I can’t stay in here all night, but I take a few minutes to breathe and splash water on my face before going back out.

I spend the rest of the evening avoiding Annie and trying not to spy on Trevor. I check on him a couple times, but he doesn’t seem to be having any issues with keeping up a conversation with Gracelyn or any of the other girls that crowd around him from time to time. Most of them move on after a few minutes to continue mingling, but Gracelyn sticks to him like a burr. Eventually, the crowd begins to thin as guests start to head out, calls of “Merry Christmas!” filling the air as people say goodbye. Gracelyn and Trevor are the last to go.

I overhear her tell him she’s going to get her jacket from Annie’s bedroom. I seize the opportunity as she walks away and move to stand beside Trevor, who is pulling on his own coat.

“Leaving?”

“Yeah, I have to work tomorrow so it’s time for me to get home and get to bed.”

I nod. “Well, I’m glad you could come. Hey, I’ll walk out with you.”

He starts to respond but stops when Gracelyn brushes past me to take his arm. “Thanks for waiting,” she says to Trevorbefore turning to me with a sweet, genuine smile. “And thanks for hosting such a fun party, Kayla.”

My mouth opens and shuts like a fish. “No-no problem,” I stutter.

With a little wave, Gracelyn tugs Trevor out the door and that’s that. I close the door behind them to keep myself from watching them walk away together and lean my forehead against it with a sigh.

How did this happen? Yesterday Trevor was just a friend – albeit an admittedly cute male friend – who was helping me with the play. Now, all of a sudden, I’ve caught a case of feelings for him. And I’m pretty sure he couldn’t care less about me.

I push off the door with a growl and start cleaning up.

13

TREVOR

“Maybe we can see each other again soon? Just give me a call whenever you’re free.” Gracelyn holds out a scrap of paper with her name and number on it, but I don’t take it.

We’ve been standing outside Kayla’s apartment for nearly ten minutes now. I’ve been ready to go home since long before now, but I haven’t been able to find a way to extricate myself from Gracelyn’s attention without being rude.

I’m beginning to think there’s no way around it.

“Gracelyn, you’re really nice, but…” Her face falls but I push forward, fighting against the urge to reassure her. Honesty is the best thing I can offer her. “I don’t think we’re a good fit.”

“Why not? I thought we were having a great time together.” Her voice trembles and I think I see her eyes shining with unshed tears under the parking lot lights.

“I did have a nice time, it’s just…there’s someone else. And I don’t want to lead you on.”

“I see.” Gracelyn pulls in a deep breath and clears her throat. “I’m sorry I misunderstood.”

“I’m sorry, too,” I say. “I really do think you’re nice. I enjoyed talking to you.”

“Thanks. And thanks for being honest with me.” She sniffs. “Well, I guess this is where I let you go.”

I extend my hand and we shake. “Have a safe trip home, Gracelyn. Merry Christmas.”

She nods and gets into her car.

As I get into my own vehicle and drive away, I can’t stop thinking about Kayla. She looked gorgeous tonight in her red sweater and slim, dark jeans. Her green tasseled earrings, layered to look like Christmas trees, stood out against her blonde hair and gave her a festive look. All evening I kept wishing there was mistletoe somewhere that I could catch her under.

I wonder if she feels the same way. Until tonight, I thought we had a connection. Now, I’m not so sure.

I thought I caught her watching me a few times throughout the night, but she seemed content to set me up with Gracelyn. To be fair, I meant what I said to Gracelyn about enjoying our conversation. The tips Kayla gave me definitely worked. I asked her plenty of questions and tried to find common subjects to connect over. I guess you might say it worked a little too well, given how quickly Gracelyn’s feelings seemed to escalate tonight.

My biggest regret is that I didn’t seek Kayla out tonight. I should have made the effort to go find her instead of waiting for her to come to me. I wanted to spend the evening with her, ask her if she’d readTimelineyet, find out more about her outside of our holiday project. This afternoon, I spent quite a bit of mental energy psyching myself up to be ready to ask her out.

But once I settled into a conversation with Gracelyn, I got too comfortable and just stayed where I was. Like, I physically didn’t move from the corner I claimed when I first got there.

I rub my hand over the back of my neck. I can’t go back anddo it over, but I can do better next time. And next time will be this Friday. Now that the set is done, there’s nothing to hold me back.

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