by Mary Smith
“I mean, he did come barreling through here. My second thought was are you okay. That counts,” she said confidently.
“I guess.” He shrugged, amused. He couldn’t remember the last time he spent time with a woman who made him genuinely laugh as much as she did.
“And I mean, he is just a little boy. He couldn’t have hurt you that bad, the big strong college man that you are.”
“Are you teasing me now?” he asked, grinning at her.
“Maybe.” Lily shrugged. She put out her hand to him. “C’mon, let’s go check out the part with the North Pole. Maybe Santa will give you a candy cane to help your ouchie.”
Again, he took her hand like it was the most natural thing to him. “My ouchie?”
“You know, your boo-boo.”
“Let me guess, you used to do a lot of babysitting when you were younger?”
Lily shrugged and an adorable smirk crossed her lips.
“You were serious? There’s really a Santa over there.” The man in the big red suit had him stopped in his tracks. Zane had forgotten all about this part of the display.
“Of course Santa is here, silly. It’s Christmastime.”
“Ho-ho-ho, Merry Christmas!” Santa bellowed when they walked up to him.
“Hi, Santa. Merry Christmas!” Lily said sweetly.
“Merry Christmas, my dear.” Santa handed Lily a candy cane. He turned his attention to Zane. Nodding, he handed Zane a candy cane and said, “Ho-ho-ho. Merry Christmas.”
“Santa, has he been a good boy this year?” Lily mused.
Santa nodded. “I believe this one is on my nice list as well as you, my dear. And I think everything you want will be by the tree this year.”
Zane tried not to roll his eyes when they walked away. Every Santa Claus says that. No one wants to hear that they were bad this year, or what they really desire won’t be under the tree on December twenty-fifth. He learned that early on when he asked Santa for only one thing every year—for his parents to come back.
Shaking off the sad memories, he looked at his watch and saw the night was still young. He was right about it not taking all evening to walk through the exhibits, even if he was a bit sad that it was over.
Walking outside, the ground was covered in white fluffy snow, and it was still coming down quickly.
There was a faint aroma of popcorn in the air from a street-side stand, and it made his stomach growl.
“Wow, it really snowed while we were in there.” Zane bent down and picked up a handful. “There’s got to be four or five inches.”
He mashed the snow around his hands until it formed a ball. Looking from the snowball to Lily, he wondered, should I? He didn’t know her well enough to know if she would appreciate having a snowball thrown at her or not. Some young women liked the snow and would have fun with it, but some would get angry. It could ruin the evening and possibly their blossoming friendship, if she was the latter.
While debating his next move, he was hit on the shoulder with a snowball.
“What the…?” Looking up to find where it came from, he locked eyes with a hysterically laughing Lily. “You just hit me with a snowball.”
Lily innocently smiled. “Who? Me?”
“Don’t play coy. It’s on now.” His decision was made for him. It was a snowball fight.
Lily had some kind of arm on her, and she came close to hitting him a few times.
“You might need to be a little quicker,” he teased as he ducked out of the way from another snowball. “My cousin and I had many epic snowball battles growing up, so I’ve had plenty of practice.”
The snowball fight got so wildly fun that he forgot his opponent was Lily. Tossing a tightly packed snowball across the yard, he hit her right in the face. Realizing what he had done, Zane immediately began apologizing and silently scolded himself. That is the kind of thing he would do to his cousin, not a young woman that he barely knew.
Zane hurried over to Lily, who was bent over and had her mitten clad hands cupped around her nose and mouth.
“Lily! I am so sorry! Are you okay?” He bent down to check on her. “I didn’t mean to—”
Suddenly, Lily removed her hands from her face, grabbed two handfuls of snow and shoved it all down the neck of his coat while she laughed. “Is that quick enough for you?”
Zane couldn’t help the high-pitched yell that escaped his lips as the ice-cold snow slid down his back. “You tricked me!”
Lily snickered as she shrugged devilishly.
There were remnants of his snowball still on her knit hat and a little in the curls that fell by her cheek. Always the gentleman, Zane took off his gloves and gently brushed the snow off her hat and then ran his knuckles over the snowflakes that sat on her cheek.
Her beautiful eyes had his attention, and he couldn’t help but admire her rosy cheeks and plump lips. Surely he was staring, but he couldn’t help it. Zane wondered what it would be like to kiss those beautiful lips.
Her gaze lingered with his. Her beautiful blue eyes locked with his for what felt like forever.
Soon, Lily dropped her eyes to the ground as she took a half step back. The silence between them quickly crossed that fine line from passion to uncomfortable.
He cleared his throat and fumbled with his glove as he contemplated his next move.
Breaking the nervous silence, Zane asked, “Do you like fresh kettle corn?”
The air between them relaxed as she responded with an abrupt, “Who doesn’t?”
“Right?” he agreed. He pointed to the popcorn truck parked on the side of the road. “Well, this company has the best kettle corn. You’ve never tasted more delicious popcorn.”
“Sounds good. I am getting hungry.”
Stopping at the popcorn truck, Zane ordered each of them a bag. They snacked on their bags of hot buttery popcorn in silence. It was not the typical wintertime treat, but it felt perfect for tonight.
“You’re familiar with this part of town, right?” Zane asked.
“Yeah, kind of. Why?”
“Well, have you ever been to the hot dog shop that’s down there on the corner?” Zane pointed down the perfectly decorated street.
“Actually, no. My roommate has on occasion raved about it, but I’ve never had an occasion to stop.”
“Well, you’re in luck.” Zane held out his arm to her. “Because I’m treating.”
Walking in the hot dog shop, a welcome wall of heat hit their faces.
“So what’s good here?” Lily asked with a smile, which made him think she was trying to be funny.
“Since you’ve never been here, do you mind if I order for you?” he asked, eager for her to taste the deliciousness this place offered. “It’s okay if you don’t want me to, but I don’t think you’ll regret it either.”
“Okay.” She shrugged. “Order away.”
Looking around the little shop, Zane pointed to an empty table. “Do you mind grabbing that table while I order? Tables are hard to come by in this place, and I really don’t want to have to stand outside and eat in the cold.”
“Sure, I’m on it.”
As Lily went to save the table, Zane didn’t have to study the menu, he knew exactly what they were eating. After all the Christmas adventures that were basically her turf, it was nice to be on his for a change, and even nicer that he was able to show off a little.
Zane took their food to the table. The aroma of hot dogs was already making his mouth water. Normally, he would’ve had a bite before he even got to the table, but tonight he wanted to see Lily try hers first.
“These smell so good,” he said and set her food in front of her and waited.
“Why are you staring at me?”
“I want to see your reaction to your first bite.”
“You’re for real? It’s just a hot dog,” she stated.
“Just a hot dog?” He grabbed his chest like she had wounded him. “Lily, this is like no other hot dog you’ve ever tasted. This is the hot
dog.”
She shrugged. “If you say so.”
His stomach growled as his hot dog teased his senses while he eagerly waited for her to take a bite.
“So.” Lily picked up her hot dog and examined it. “It just has chili, cheese, and onions on it.”
“There’s nothing simple about that dog. Just wait till you try it.”
Lily looked unconvinced but flashed him a grin, probably to appease him since she ran him all over the place for numerous Christmas events, and he took her to a hot dog stand.
He watched as she took a bite. While she chewed her first bite, her face went from uninterested to ‘wow’. He couldn’t wait to sink his teeth into his own hot dog but couldn’t take his eyes off the adorable smudge of chili she had on her cheek.
“You’re staring. Oh no, is my face a mess?” Lily frantically moved her napkin to everywhere on her face except where the chili was.
Zane tried not to laugh. “Here, let me.” Taking his napkin, he gently wiped the chili off her cheek.
Her face turned red as she thanked him. “Well, you were right. This hot dog is the best hot dog I’ve ever had. I don’t know what it is, but the chili is out of this world, and the hot dog is…I don’t know how to describe it. Delicious doesn’t seem to do it justice.”
“Right?!” He took two quick bites of his and his stomach grumbled a thank you. “The onions look like they are just a garnish, but once you take a bite, they help to elevate the flavor of the whole sandwich.”
Lily covered her mouth as she laughed. “So, you are like a secret hot dog aficionado and didn’t tell me?”
“Well…” He cleared his throat. “That is what secret means. If I go around telling everyone then it’s no longer a secret.”
His words had her cracking up. “You are so right. Undercover hot dog aficionado.” Lily set down half her hot dog to take a drink.
“You going to finish that?” Zane reached for her dog.
To his surprise, she playfully slapped his hand away. “I am, thank you very much.”
“So, now I know you like big ol’ burritos and hot dogs.”
“Are you trying to say I’m a cheap date?”
“Not at all. I’m saying you’re an awesome date. What guy wouldn’t love a night out for Mexican or hot dogs? Best date ever!” he teased.
An odd look crossed her face.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I was just wondering if it would be terrible for me to order another hot dog?” she asked, her words bashful.
“Hell no!” Zane laughed. “I was just thinking the same thing! Now I have an excuse to go order another. Girl after my own heart.”
It was just something people say, but for some reason, with Lily, it felt like more.
Chapter Nine
Lily
Laying in bed curled up on her side, Lily listened to the iHeart Radio Christmas music station. Mariah Carey’s stunning voice floated through the room. Lily should have been out of bed hours ago but had no desire to move from her position. Last night played over and over in her head. He called their night a date. Just as she convinced herself not to think or even acknowledge there were any feelings, he went off and called it a date.
Was it a date?
Were they dating?
No. Obviously, they weren’t dating. This was just two Christmas enthusiasts enjoying time together.
Nothing more because there was nothing there.
He meant date as just two people hanging out. Again, nothing more.
“Why are you laying there like a log?” Harley’s question caused her to turn toward the door. “Did one of your Christmas movies end sadly?”
Lily smirked. “You know they end happily.”
“Then what’s up?” She strolled further into the room and sat down on the side of the bed.
“You’re going to think I’m nuts.” Lily forced herself to sit up.
“Oh, then I know exactly what’s going on.” Harley smiled.
“You do?”
“Zane must have said something that threw you into a female breakdown, but you didn’t do it in public, just internally. Now, you’re laying in your bed, listening to sappy Christmas songs, reevaluating your entire life.” She paused. “How close am I?”
Taking a deep breath, Lily didn’t answer her rhetoric answer.
“Guess I hit the nail on the head.”
Rolling back onto her side and away from Harley, she hated how easily her best friend could read her.
“Lily, locking yourself in your room is very childish. You are not childish. You’re the most realistic person I know. So, come on and tell me what’s going on? For real.”
It took her several seconds before Lily gave in and faced her. “We were eating hot dogs and he called it a date.”
Harley turned up her nose as if she smelled the worst smell in the universe. “Come again?”
“Everything about last night went perfectly. I pretended my feelings toward him meant nothing because these aren’t dates. It’s just two people hanging out.”
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Harley appeared to be frustrated. “Lily, I adore you. I love you as if we were actual blood sisters. However, you have forgotten one definition of dating. It’s two people hanging out. Why are you hiding your feelings for Zane? Just tell him. He’s probably feeling the same for you because who the hell eats hot dogs on a date? For fun? Willingly?”
For the first time, Lily giggled. “You had to be there.”
“I guess, but you’re not answering the question.”
Lily had always been good at dodging questions she didn’t want to answer, but Harley never let her. She made her open up.
“This was just meant to be a Christmas thing. No more. I can’t confess that I actually like him when he just thinks of me as a friend or something less than a friend.” She always guarded her heart, for no particular reason. She just disliked being unhappy. Being sad and lonely were two emotions she hid the best. With Zane though she felt he could easily break her.
Harley reached for her hand and held it tightly. Even though she always kept a hardcore, tough girl persona, Lily knew Harley was a big softy on the inside. “I truly don’t think this guy is just hanging with you for no reason other than the fact he likes Christmas too. From everything you told me, he sounds like a nice guy. Why don’t you just tell him how you feel?”
“Easier said than done,” she moaned.
“How are you going to become an attorney if you don’t express yourself?”
“Different situation.” Lily only half explained because she never expressed herself.
“No, it’s not and I think you should talk to him. Do it tonight. Speaking of which aren’t you going to the cathedral?”
Lily nodded.
“You’re going to wear that?” Harley glanced down at Lily’s white flannel pajamas decorated with candy canes. “Although, I think it fits the theme.”
Laughing, Lily managed to get off the bed, put her feet on the floor for only the second time today and made her way toward the bathroom.
Washington National Cathedral would take anyone’s breath away. Especially during the holidays. For Lily, it was one of her favorite places, no matter what time of year it was. No, she wasn’t a religious person, but it felt welcoming to her. She had texted Zane and told him she’d meet him here because she wanted to stand outside and admire the beautiful building. He would probably think she was crazy. However, it was exactly what she did.
She watched the smiles and the happiness painted on everyone’s faces as they filed into the cathedral. For the first time, Lily felt a bit sad. She wasn’t feeling the Christmas joy she normally did. Closing her eyes, she inhaled the cold winter air filling her lungs. Exhaling, she saw her own breath leaving her. It brought upon a memory. A memory she’d forgotten from long ago. Her father had taken her to Rockefeller Center to ice skate—something she had never mastered. He held her hand as she shuffled herself around the ice with pe
ople whipping all around her. Focusing on her dad’s instructions, she kept her head down to make sure she didn’t fall. When she glanced up, her mother had the camera in her hand and was taking several photos of them. She waved which caused her to lose her balance, but her father quickly made sure she didn’t land on the ice.
‘Stand tall, buttercup.’ Her father would say to her, and the memory made her laugh.
Many happy memories with her parents surrounded this holiday. She was lucky they provided for her so well and loved her even though they showed it differently. They were there for her.
Pulling her phone from her purse, she tapped the screen.
After a few rings, she heard, “Hello, buttercup.”
Lily smiled. “Hi, Dad.”
“Everything okay?”
“Of course, I just…” She trailed off unsure of what she wanted to say. “I just wanted to say hello.”
“You sound sad? Tell me what’s going on.” His fatherly tone warmed her heart.
“No, I’m fine. I’m sure you’re busy.”
“Lily. Talk to me.” When her father used her name, she knew it always meant business.
“I’m at the Washington National Cathedral, and it made me miss you and Mom.”
“We miss you too. Soon you’ll be back home, and we’ll be able to celebrate. Then, soon after, you’ll be home permanently and working.”
Thinking of being back in New York City brought a mixture of feelings. Yes, she wanted to be working with her parents, but she was still unsure if she wanted to leave Washington D.C. This had become her home.
“I love you, buttercup.”
Her father had a strong personality. The type to control a courtroom or a negotiation, but he had a soft spot for her and her mother. He always had and she loved him as well.
“I love you too, Dad. I’ll be home soon.”
When she ended the call, her spirit came back. Her parents had been her strength. They taught her so much about life and love. She was strong like them. Sure, there were times she wasn’t as expressive as Harley, but there were other ways to get a point across. Even with Zane.
She couldn’t be with him, no matter what she wanted. Her focus was on her future career, family and moving back to New York. Zane would be here in Washington, D.C. with the ones that he loved and cared for.