Page 19 of My Ex for Christmas
“Come on, Hads.” He gives the bottle a little shake. “For old times’ sake.”
I lick my lips as I shift uneasily on my stool. “What happened to last call?”
Brooks looks over my shoulder, and I do the same. The regular crowd has apparently already seen themselves out.
“Everyone knows we’re closed.” He uncaps the bottle and pours out the shots. “It’ll be our little secret.”
When he slides one of the shots toward me, I catch it. The challenge is clear in his gaze. I don’t run from it.
The liquor slides down my throat with ease, but the burn makes my eyes water. I push the empty glass back to him with a shake of my head. Though now that my insides are full of warmth from the Fireball, I suppose I should thank him for the liquid courage.
While Brooks is busy closing down the bar, I pull up my latest texts with my sister. When I told her about him taking care of me when I was sick, she nearly swooned herself to death. Now she won’t stop going on about fate and destiny.
Sister Sam
It’s like a present! It is the holidays after all.
You think the universe decided to give me my ex for Christmas?
Sister Sam
I think that whatever it is, you shouldn’t waste it.
Of the two of us, I’ve always been the most logical. While my sister follows her gut, I tend to find some reason to distrust my instincts, and then I spend a great deal of time thinking everything over in excruciating detail.
Maybe the universe is telling you something. Something about you and Brooks.
And maybe… Maybe I don’t want to think so much anymore.
I grab the bottle of Fireball still sitting on the bar and pour myself another shot. This one goes down even easier, and the alcohol sets my pulse abuzz.
Before my brain can catch up to itself and stop me, I pull the mistletoe from my pocket and slap it on top of the bar like some kind of offering. I’m not sure why I kept it that day I pulled it from the doorway at the resort, but it has been taunting me ever since.
“Kiss me, Brooks.”
He turns to me then, his eyes wide, mildly taken aback. He runs a hand through his hair. “Not that the request is unwelcome, but…where is this coming from? Last time we kissed, you freaked out.”
That is a good fucking question. One I don’t immediately have the answer to.
“Would you believe me if I said I was listening to a sign from the universe?”
He laughs, full and deep. “No. But that is definitely something Sam would say.”
I groan, letting my head drop into my hands. Embarrassment stains my cheeks, turning them red. “Fucking sisters.”
He laughs again. “She getting in your head?”
“Yes!” I lift my gaze to him, picking up that stupid mistletoe and tossing it down the bar. “And this isn’t helping.”
He leans over the bar again, closer this time. “What does Sam think the universe is saying?”
I sigh. “That because we’re both in Sugar Peak at the same time, it’s trying totell us something.”
“Alright,” he says. “Forget the universe for a second. What doyouthink?”
“I think…” I bite my lower lip. “I think I don’t know what I think.”
My mind has been at war with my body and my heart since I first saw Brooks in this very bar. I’ve been all over the place, pulling myself away from him, only to push myself closer. It’s frustrating, to say the least. If I were him, I wouldn’t be so forgiving of me.
