Page 10 of Merry Little Sugar Rush
“You so do, don’t deny it. I know you better than anyone, and you’re blushing right now and refusing to look at me.”
I turn and meet her gaze, trying to keep my true feelings hidden, but it’s no use. She sees right through me. “Fine, he’s cute.”
“I knew it! What if you two fall in love, get married, and live happily ever after?” my best friend bellows, practically bouncing on her toes with giddy excitement.
“Stop right now! It’s not like that. I probably won’t even see him. He’s here working, Krista. He’ll be so busy at the tree farm, I bet I’ve seen the last of him during his time here,” I state, trying to convince her as much as I try to convince myself.
She grins widely and shakes her head. “We’ll see about that.”
FOUR
Burk
With my handsshoved in the pockets of my coat, I slowly make my way toward the downtown square. There are people everywhere, up and down the sidewalks and snow-covered park. The entire place is lit up with white Christmas lights, while holiday music is piped through speakers throughout the area.
I wait with about a dozen other townspeople for the crosswalk signal to change, granting us permission to move to the other side of the street. As soon as it changes, we all start to walk. When we reach the other side, most head to what I assume is the hot cocoa stand. That’s where it always was when I was growing up and attending this festival, and that was usually our first stop too.
I head in the opposite direction though, just so I don’t get too caught up in the masses. Walking toward the pavilion where the pageant will be held, I take in the faces around me. Some look vaguely familiar, but many I don’t recognize at all. It causes another wave of sadness to wash through me.
Today, at work, I reconnected with a few people I knew from my time here. Mrs. Englewood, my old third grade teacher, and her husband came out to get a tree. It was nice catching up with them for a bit while we searched for their perfect tree and I cut it down. It was weird taking their offered tip after I loaded it up into their pickup truck, but no amount of refusing would deter them. I took their ten-dollar tip and shoved it in my pocket before sending them on their way.
The carnival rides won’t run until tomorrow night, as to not take away from the main stage entertainment: the pageant. I remember riding those things for hours and hours, from the moment they opened until the last spin they took at the end of the night. Joy was always there with her sister, enjoying the rides all weekend long.
I spot the ice-skating rink too, and again, my thoughts are consumed with memories of Joy. If she wasn’t on the rides, she was skating. I went with her often, but I was never as good as she was. It was amazing I could stay standing and continually moving in the same circle as the rest of the skaters. I was athletic, sure, but there’s definitely an art to ice skating.
My eyes move toward the bakery, all on their own, and I’m surprised to see it lit up. In fact, there appears to be a line out the door, so that’s where I head. While everyone else is grabbing their sweet treats and drinks from the stand manned by the local church youth group, I walk to where Joy is, a little too much spring in my step.
I can’t help it. Adult Joy is fucking gorgeous.
She definitely grew up in all the right places. Her hips are a little curvy and her tits the perfect handful. At least for my hands.
I should most certainlynotbe thinking about her this way, but I’m human. And a guy. And she’s checking some of my boxes where females are concerned. Maybe it’s the fact I haven’tdated much in recent years. My last girlfriend was Sharon, who was practically picking out wedding china by our second month together. She would text me ads for rings and venues, and I had to have the awkward conversation that I just wasn’t ready for that. She swore she wasn’t either but loved to browse for “someday.” Yet proved me wrong when I got a call from a minister of a church, who informed me he had a date open up three weeks from that day and asked if I’d like to book it.
Fuck. No.
She didn’t make it easy to break up either. She insisted I was overreacting, that she wasn’t actively planning the nuptials I wasn’t ready for, and for weeks, would show up at my workshop and house unannounced and uninvited. Once, when my friend Drew was over, she barged in, accusing me of cheating on her. The only thing she managed to do was interrupt the basketball game we were watching and have a restraining order slapped against her.
Turns out, it wasn’t her first.
I was a bit more hesitant over who I started talking to in a bar after that. Who would blame me?
Not all the women from my past were like Sharon, however. I dated a girl for almost two years in my early twenties, and things were really great. I thought she might be the one. We had a lot in common, and she didn’t mind if I’d lock myself in my workshop for hours on end and barely come out to sleep or eat. But at the end of the day, there was one major difference we couldn’t quite get on the same page about.
I wanted kids eventually, but she did not.
Last I heard, she was happily married with four dogs and a cat.
When I reach The Sweet Escape, the line is just inside the door, and even though I’m pretty sure I recognize the woman in front of me as the owner of the small grocery store here in town,I don’t say anything. Instead, I watch the woman behind the counter as she rings up the customer at the front of the line.
Joy laughs and smiles, seems genuinely happy to serve each and every customer who approaches the counter. I recognize Krista behind her, mostly from the fiery red hair. You can tell they’ve worked together plenty in the past and have a routine. Krista works on making drinks, while Joy grabs the treats and works the register.
As I approach the front of the line, I notice the signage about the limited menu. She’s offering two drink options and two treats, and I’m sure that’s for simplicity purposes and to not compete with the hot cocoa stand in the square.
When the couple in front of me reaches the counter, that’s when Joy notices me over their shoulders. She hesitates for a brief second but then smiles as she turns her attention to the payment system. I follow her every move as she hollers out the drink orders to Krista and then retrieves two cake pops from the display. She steals glances my way as she completes her task, and just as I take a step up to the counter, Krista turns around, her eyes widening with surprise.
“Holy crap, Burk?” she squeals, running around the counter and giving me a huge hug.
“Hey, Krista. How are you?” I ask, returning the gesture.
