Page 37 of OMG Christmas Tree
WE MADE OUR WAY BACKinside Checkers. I stopped short a step past the door. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Half the restaurant had gotten to their feet, tables pushed aside to clear room for an impromptu dance floor. Okay, maybe not impromptu as a DJ jammed along to the song at a table shoved in the corner. Austin and Kelsey twirled in time to the music. My brother—my brotherwas dancing. Last time my brother danced in my presence he’d been wearing his high school graduation suit and fake breakdancing with his buddies.
“Want to dance?” Nick’s voice sidled close to my ear. He stood right behind my shoulder.
I whipped around. He held a hand out. “You want to dance? Here?”
“It’s Christmas.”
His response made sense. Ridiculous and somehow perfect. Involuntarily, I looked up. No mistletoe. A pang of disappointment hit. No, not disappointment. Relief. Surely relief.
The song changed over to a familiar tune played at weddings and graduations. The dancers assembled themselves in rows and stepped in time to the song.
Suddenly, Nick’s hand covered mine and I moved forward, pulled along by his strong grasp. Still in my puffy coat, we landed at the edge of the dance floor, shuffling right, left, then swaying and dipping.
Nick peeled off his coat and gestured for me to do the same. He dashed off to stash the coats at the table within the time it took to shuffle back. Seamlessly, he rejoined the dance, adding an extra dip and twist.
Color me impressed. “How’d you learn to do that?”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” His boyish smile carried a shade of maturity. Heownedthis dance.
We stepped to the music, knocking elbows a few times (definitely my bad), growing nearer to each other with each step as more dancers filled in around us. This was likeFootlooseafter the town broke the dance ban.Everybody cut loose!
He turned in the dance and caught my eye again. “What’s your dream? You never said.”
I hadn’t said. Maybe because I didn’t know.
One thing I did know—my dream wasn’t to manage the cafe.
The next song took a turn for country, and the dancers stayed in their rows. They stepped to a new dance I’d never seen.
Nick grabbed my hand. “This one’s fun. Watch.”
He shuffled, did two quick steps, swiveled and turned—and I was lost. I tried to catch up and stumbled over my own feet. My boot’s thick rubber sole caught the floor and sent me pitching forward into Nick’s arms.
He caught me easily, like he’d been waiting for my blunder. “Whoa there. Are you okay?”
The room and the dancers fell away. Nick’s eyes sparkled green. Like pine. Like Christmas.
“Uh-oh. Don’t look up.”
I knew before I looked. The crowd had nudged us closer to the bar and that pesky dangling plant with skinny leaves and white berries.
Still in his arms, I offered, “You know, mistletoe is a parasite. They steal a portion of their energy from other plants.”
“Are you suggesting you want to steal my energy?” Nick’s lip twitched.
I discovered I liked that lip twitch. I liked it quite a bit. “Maybe a nip of your holiday spirit.” I leaned in before I could talk myself out of it.
Nick met me the rest of the way. His lips were softer than I expected. Warmer. Sweeter. Minty. I sighed into him and kissed him.
It wasn’t a peck. It wasn’t over quickly. I kissed Nick Bennington and I meant every moment of it.
