Page 49 of Christmas in Mistletoe
Ruby frowned. “Not foof. Is this what comes of having gay dads? No woman to tell you appropriate slang for your vagina?”
Fran walked up so close, Ruby could see the whites of her eyes.
“On the contrary, my dads probably did more research on how to be a mother than any mother alive. To say they were paranoid about it would be an understatement.” Fran knitted her eyebrows together. “I have a feeling foof was my Auntie Christine’s word. She was around a lot when I was little, playing the female role model.”
Ruby licked her lips, never taking her eyes from Fran. “Have you had a lot of sex on the beach?”
“It’s a one and done kinda thing, isn’t it?”
Ruby leaned in. “I was talking about the drink.” She gave Fran a loaded stare. “When you have sex on the beach, how do you like it? Strong and quick? Or slow and savoured?”
Fran looked her right in the eye. “Depends on my mood. But right now? Strong and quick.”
A spark of desire ignited inside Ruby, and it was all she could do not to throw Fran down in the snow and kiss her into next week. However, a little like sex on the beach, sex in the snow wasn’t advisable. At least the beach had heat. The snow had no saving grace.
“I’ll remember that.” Ruby tore her eyes from Fran and shook herself, then dropped the small backpack she’d been carrying to the ground. “Shall we make your childhood dreams come true and set about making Steve the Snowman?”
Fran laughed. “Steve? Really?” She stamped her feet. “I was thinking more Shantelle the non-binary Snowperson.”
Ruby’s laughter crackled in the air. “Shantelle it is.”
They packed a large snowball each, then began to roll it, packing more snow around it as they went. Fifteen minutes later, they both had sizable snowballs. Ruby carried on with hers, instructing Fran to roll another. Then she stamped out a patch of snow in between two eight-foot Norwegian spruces, and rolled the largest ball onto it.
“Can you help me lift your first one?”
Fran walked over. Together they lifted the body onto the base, then the head onto that.
Fran breathed in again. “I could happily die in this forest, the smell is incredible.”
“Please don’t, your dads would not be pleased with me.” Ruby patted the tree beside her. “The smell comes from the Norwegian spruce. This is the one to buy if you want the true Christmas feel.” She paused. “Are you getting the Christmas feeling here?”
“If I wasn’t, I might actually be dead.” Fran frowned. “I just thought, though: we didn’t bring anything for the face. It’s a blank snowperson.”
Ruby gave her ahang-on-a-minutelook, then picked up her backpack. She took out a carrot and handed it to Fran. “Nose.”
Ruby then produced two shiny buttons. “Eyes.” She grinned. “You can draw the mouth.”
Finally, Ruby took out a hat and scarf. “These are our special snowperson items. We’ve had them since we were kids.”
Fran shook her head. “You really have thought of everything.”
“I aim to please.”
They dressed the snowperson. Fran drew its mouth, then they stood back.
“Not bad,” Ruby said. “How do you feel? First snowman since your youth. Your first non-binary snowperson ever.”
Fran gave her a beaming smile. “I feel a sense of accomplishment. Which is crazy, because I just rolled some snow. But it’s so much better than if I finish a spreadsheet or meet a sales target. That’s just something off my to-do list. Something else will replace it, as sure as night follows day.” She patted their creation. “Whereas, Shantelle? She’s a work of art. We created her from thin air. There’s something to be said for that, isn’t there?”
“It’s what I do every day with music.”
Fran held Ruby’s gaze. “You make gorgeous music, have I told you that?”
Ruby flushed. If she’d heard those words dropping from Fran’s lips a few months ago, she’d have dismissed them as music exec waffle. But now Ruby had got to know Fran, she felt the sincerity behind them. Plus, Ruby had just made a snowman with Fran. She’d kissed her. Right now, the pulsing thought in her brain was that she’d like to do it again soon. But preferably, somewhere warm. They’d already had a snowy kiss. She was ready for something different.
“Thank you,” Ruby said. “I’m trying to get better at taking compliments, especially from you.”
Fran curled her mouth into a smile. “That’s the best you’ve done yet. Much better than your rebuff in the club months ago.”
