Christmas Inn Maine

by Chelsea M. Cameron

  “Can I talk to you for a second?” she asked.

  Pretending I had no idea what this could possibly be about, I said, “sure.”

  I followed Michelle into a corner of the empty library.

  “So, uh, what was with you and Laura under the mistletoe this morning? It looked pretty . . . yeah.” She hadn’t been able to come up with a word.

  “Honestly, I'm not really sure. But there might be something? Please don’t say anything to anyone.” I didn’t know if I could trust Michelle with this information. If this got to one member of the Sterling family, my feeling was that it would get to all of them.

  “Oh, yeah, sure. No problem.” Her voice squeaked and I could tell she was crestfallen.

  “It just kind of happened. We didn’t plan anything. She’s been pissing me off at work for a year and now . . . I have no idea.” I laughed, but it wasn’t really funny.

  “Yeah, shit happens,” Michelle said, looking at the floor. “Um, I should get back to work.”

  “You should go,” I said, just as she was about to leave the room.

  “Huh?”

  “You should go to Boston and stay with Laura. See what the city is all about. Figure out who you want to be, outside of this,” I waved around to the inn. “Or don’t, but know that the option is there and it’s yours.”

  She nodded and bit her lip before walking away without saying anything else.

  I guess that went as well as it could have gone. I really hoped she came to Boston, even if it would be awkward for a while. She’d see that there were tons of people she could date that weren’t me. The only reason she’d latched on was that I was new and shiny and not related to her.

  In between lunch and dinner, Laura and I took a slow walk. My legs were still jelly from the sledding earlier, but it had just started to snow, and Laura wanted to take some pictures, so I agreed to go with her.

  Laura took some pictures on her phone of the inn and the lights on the porch before asking me to pose.

  “No, I’m good,” I said. Pictures sometimes made me feel weird.

  “Are you sure? You look great right now with the snow on your eyelashes.”

  “I guess,” I said. “But I get veto power on any images and you have to delete them.”

  Laura held her phone up and angled the shot.

  “Deal.”

  I didn’t know if I was supposed to pose or not so I just kind of stood there.

  “Okay, turn a little to the left? The light is perfect.” I posed and she gave me directions and then we started walking and she kept randomly snapping pics of me.

  “I very much doubt any of these is good,” I said. I wasn’t a huge fan of pictures of myself.

  “No, they’re good. Want to see?”

  Not really, but she handed me the phone and I scrolled through the pictures. They weren’t horrible. Instead of taking all of them of my whole face, she’d focused on my features. My eyes, my profile, my lips. She’d taken a few while I was talking and smiling without realizing it.

  I looked amazing. I didn’t know how she’d done it, but she’d captured . . . me. Me, distilled down to my essence.

  “Wow,” I said. There were a few that I didn’t like, so I deleted those, but the majority were good.

  “Can you send me those?” I asked.

  “Absolutely. You really do look amazing.”

  She put her phone in her pocket and grabbed my jacket, using it to bring me closer.

  “Can I kiss you in the snow?”

  “Yeah, you can kiss me in the snow.”

  Laura kissed me in the snow, and the snow melted on my eyelashes.

  We walked back in the woods, near the path we’d taken the kids on to get to the golf course.

  “It’s so quiet out here.” Every now and then you’d hear the distant sound of a car. Otherwise, snow fell from the trees as they creaked in the breeze.

  “Yeah, this is something I do miss. The serenity. Hard to get in the city when you’re always surrounded by people.”

  It was true, you couldn’t get a whole lot of privacy or alone time in Boston. That was one of the reasons why I’d wanted to come to Maine in the first place. For the solitude.

  Funnily enough, I was enjoying my solitude with Laura. It was nearly as good as being alone.

  Laura hummed a tune under her breath and took my hand.

  “I think we’re safe here.”

  That reminded me of the conversation I’d had with Michelle and I told Laura about it.

  “She’ll keep her mouth shut. When I came out to her, she came out to me at the same time and we kept each other’s secret until we could tell our parents. She’s solid.”

  That made me feel a little bit better, but I was still a little worried about everyone making up their own mind what Laura and I were doing.

  “Speaking of that, what are we doing, Colden? Are you ready to talk about it?”

  I wasn’t, but we had to.

  “I don’t know, Laura, I honestly don’t. This is still so new and I’m confused and can we just . . . ride it out through Christmas and regroup when we get back to Boston? It’s too hard to think right now.” Too much holiday spirit clouding my judgment.

  “That’s fair. So you’re still okay with doing what we’re doing until we get back to Boston?”

  I was more than okay with it, actually.

  “Absolutely. I want to see you wear that strap on, baby,” I said, and she burst out laughing.

  “I don’t think I’m going to look as hot as you wearing it, but I’ll give it a shot.”

  We argued about who was hotter until our noses got too cold to continue staying outside and we headed back to the inn.

  Laura snuck a kiss on the porch before we walked inside and I knew we were being reckless, but I didn’t care. It was Christmas Eve Eve.

  Eleven

  Dinner that night was festive and noisy. The Sterlings had absorbed the extra people already and things were going well. The kids seemed happy and the adults were doing their best, between taking calls about insurance and dealing with the fire inspector.

  Donations had also been flooding in, and Laina had to section off part of the library for all the gifts and supplies people kept dropping off. I couldn’t lie, it made me pretty emotional to see how this town took care of its own.

  I couldn’t get enough of being with Laura. Whenever she was gone, I was always glancing over my shoulder to see if she was going to come around the corner. I kept thinking of things I wanted to say to her.

  I only had a few more days here, and I didn’t know what it was going to be like to leave here and go back to normal. Granted, I didn’t have to think about things like making dinner or cleaning my apartment when I was here, but still. Being with the Sterlings was like being wrapped in the warmest, most wonderful weighted blanket. They made me feel wanted.

  The activity of the night was apparently the kids putting on a play they’d written and practiced all afternoon which was a mashup of The Grinch, Charlie Brown, and some popular kid’s TV show I’d never heard of. They had costumes and a set and props and everything. It was painfully cute and they got a standing ovation from everyone in the dining room.

  Afterwards, they were rewarded with more cookies than they could possibly eat and more hot chocolate. The adults partook in mulled wine and eggnog, and I sat with Laura while we watched the little ones mess around on the piano.

  “Aren’t you worried they’re going to break something?” I asked, as little hands slapped down on the keys, making dissonant sounds.

  “No, that piano is pretty tough. I think it can take it.” She sipped from her mug of mulled wine and studied me.

  “What are you thinking about?” I asked.

  “What do you think?” she asked, raising one eyebrow.

  “Oh, I’m guessing it’s not anything that you can talk about in public.”

  She pointed at me. “Bingo.” I think she was starting to get a little tipsy, and I was curious
to see how she’d be if she’d had a few.

  “I’m eager to see what you have in mind.”

  “I’ll bet you are.” She smiled at me and then started giggling.

  “You’re so cute right now.”

  “You’re cute right now.” She leaned over the table and motioned for me to come closer. “I wish I could kiss you right now.”

  I wanted that too. For a second, I allowed myself to think about what that would be like, if I let her kiss me in front of everyone and then we could just . . . be together.

  If only we could do that without questions from everyone. They would want to know everything, when it started, what we were going to do when we got back to Boston, if we were serious. I didn’t think either of us was ready for any of that. All of this was happening so fucking fast and I was along for the ride. At least we could try and control who knew what and when.

  “Soon you can kiss me,” I whispered back.

  “Not soon enough.”

  She sat back and pouted before finishing her cup of wine.

  The evening started to wind down and Laura had some more wine, and I wanted to laugh at how silly she got. She wasn’t drunk by any means, but she was definitely getting there.

  “Come on, baby,” I said softly to her. “Let’s go to bed.”

  Her eyes lit up.

  “Hell yeah, let’s do that.”

  I shushed her, but she just laughed and I knew that it was time for us to head to her room.

  “Come here,” she said, the second the door to her room closed, giving me a sloppy kiss.

  “Hey, slow down,” I said, putting my hand on her chest to put some space between us.

  “Let’s have some snacks first, okay?”

  She pouted again, but sat on the bed.

  I fed her again and she started yawning. I didn’t think anything sexy was going to happen tonight, which was fine. Instead I pushed her into the shower and joined her, soaping up her body while she tried to stay awake.

  “Note to self, wine makes Laura sleepy.”

  “Not always. But tonight for some reason.” She yawned again and leaned on me as I scrubbed her back.

  I got her into pajamas and under the covers where she snuggled up into a ball like an adorable little creature.

  “You’re so cute right now, I can barely stand it,” I said, as I put on my own pajamas and then got in next to her.

  “Come here, baby,” I said, and she scooted over so I could wrap her in my arms. She was so warm and I breathed in the scent of her freshly-washed hair.

  “I’m not going to let myself fall in love with you,” I whispered so low that she couldn’t hear it. “I won’t let it happen.”

  She mumbled something in a sleepy voice.

  “Go to sleep, Laura.”

  She mumbled something else and then I heard a soft snoring noise. She was out.

  The next morning I woke to find her watching me.

  “Weirdo,” I said.

  “I’ve only been watching you sleep for a few hours,” she said in a creepy voice, making her eyes wide.

  “Okay, now I’m scared. This has been your whole game, hasn’t it? The long con.”

  She shook her head.

  “No, I have no idea what you’re talking about, Colden. I would never ingratiate myself into your life and then slowly take on your identity and then poison you and stuff your body in a deep freezer. I’m not that kind of girl.”

  My eyes narrowed.

  “That was all extremely specific.”

  “Hey, you ready for breakfast?” She bounded out of bed and spun around to face me, her hair flying everywhere.

  “You’re trying to change the subject, and it scares me.” I stretched out and looked at the clock. I hadn’t slept in as much as I’d like on this vacation. I was still on work time.

  “I’m so hungry, aren’t you?” she said in a singsong voice.

  “You are deliberately evading my questions, Laura.” I got up and went through my suitcase of clothes. My options were dwindling as far as what I had to wear. I’d need to do laundry before I went home.

  “I wish we could spend all day in bed,” Laura said, hugging me from behind, kissing my cheek.

  “I mean, we could, but then people would have questions. We could both say we’re sick, but I have the feeling there would be too many people trying to nurse us and that would defeat the purpose.”

  Laura sighed and then kissed my other cheek before letting me go.

  “I mean, we don’t have to stop once we get back to Boston. We can just . . . keep going.”

  That wasn’t the deal.

  “We’ll figure that out when we get back. Can’t we just enjoy the time we have now and not worry about the future?” I was so sick of thinking about the future and watching it stretch bleakly out in front of me.

  True, I’d thought my lot in life was being alone and I’d mostly accepted that. My plan had been to get a bunch of dogs and do a lot of volunteering.

  “Yeah, we can. Sorry, I won’t bug you about it again.”

  I stripped off my pajamas and started to put my clothes on.

  “Mmmm, that’s what I’m talking about,” she said, and I turned around. I’d been pulling my undies on.

  “Are you ogling me?” I asked, pretending to be scandalized.

  “Yes, I am.”

  I laughed and wiggled my ass for her.

  “Yeah, back that thing up.”

  I danced back toward her and she grabbed my ass with both hands and pretended to spank it.

  “We’re such dorks,” I said, standing up.

  “At least we’re both dorks. It would be hard to be the only dork in the relationship.”

  True.

  I got dressed the rest of the way and we headed to breakfast.

  “Mistletoe!” someone called out the second we walked under the arch. It was like they’d planned it.

  Every face was waiting, expectantly.

  “Again?” I asked Laura.

  “Why not?”

  We kissed again and I got weak at the knees and had to gather myself before I could walk to our table.

  “We’re not doing a good job of hiding this thing, Laura. I mean, we might as well come out and say that we’re doing something together.” If only I knew what that something was.

  “We could. If you’re up for it. There will be questions, but I can beg them to knock it off. I don’t think it’ll be as bad as you’re assuming.”

  I mean, they were her family, so she probably knew better, but I still wasn’t sure.

  “We’ll see. Let me eat something first.”

  I didn’t have any more clarity after breakfast, but it was time for lots of Christmas festivities. Movies all day, tons of cookies, Laura played the piano until I begged her to rest her hands, we took the kids sledding again, and I ended up having to take a nap before dinner. Laura joined me and we had a cuddlefest that was just what I’d needed.

  When we woke up, I rolled over and gave her a kiss. It could be like this all the time, if I wanted. I could stay at her (probably lavish) apartment and she’d make charcuterie trays and we could make out all the time.

  But what would happen at work? It would be weird to shift that kind of relationship to the workday. It would be too weird, wouldn't it?

  How could we interact professionally if we were fucking at night? I mean, I knew it could be done, but did I really want to?

  Too many questions, not enough answers.

  “You’re thinking awfully hard over there, babe,” she said, pressing her finger between my eyebrows.

  “Sorry, can’t help it.” I kissed her so I’d forget, and it worked for a little while. Then it was back to hang out with the rest of the Sterlings and more food and more warm drinks and more movies and holiday cheer.

  I’d done more Christmas in the past two weeks than I’d ever done in my life, not even with my dad. Sure, he’d loved Christmas, but we hadn’t made a whole marathon out of it. Some cookies
, The Grinch, a list to Santa, and that had been it. I didn’t even remember having a wreath on the door, ever.

  I still had some of the family ornaments in my storage facility. I’d almost forgotten about them. I’d boxed so many things away that I had forgotten about.

  The kids were amped up and pretty much running wild when dinner came around, so Laina got them set up in the library with beanbags and another movie with lobster mac and cheese. The adults just had regular lobster.

  “I think I’ve only had lobster like twice in my life,” I said, looking at the red thing on my plate. It definitely looked like a bug, but from what I remembered, it was delicious.

  “Here we go,” Laura said, tying a plastic bib around my neck and then handing me a metal object.

  “This is a lobster cracker.”

  Laura demonstrated how to use the cracker on the shell and extract the meat inside, dip it in clarified butter, and then enjoy.

  “Oh, that is good,” I said after my first bite.

  I stuffed myself with lobster and clams and corn and salad and wine and then the gingerbread cake for dessert.

  “I couldn’t eat another thing,” I said, sitting back and putting my hands on my stomach. It was a good thing these jeans were a little loose.

  “That was so good,” I said, and turned to thank Antonio.

  “You’re very welcome, Colden. It’s nice to have someone who appreciates my food.”

  Laura rolled her eyes.

  Raucous children’s laugher kept booming from the library. I had no idea what they were watching, but it sounded like they were having fun.

  “It’s almost time for White Christmas,” Laura said. “How about if you and I skip it and you can help me do some things back at the house?”

  I caught her meaning immediately and we escaped to back to the house. I realized that my present for Laura had been delivered, so I grabbed it.

  “What’s that?”

  “Just ordered something for myself. Figured it was easier to get it shipped here.”

  She still seemed suspicious, so I hurried her next door and shoved her up the stairs so I could distract her from thinking about what was in the box with sex. At least I tried to.

  After kissing for a few moments, she pulled back.