We both smiled at each other and then I shook myself.
“Okay, back to work. Work. Working. Working now.”
“Work now, fun later.”
That caught my attention.
“What kind of fun?”
She wrote something on a sticky note and then held it up.
“Ohhhhhhh, that kind of fun.”
She wiggled her eyebrows before tossing the sticky note in the trash.
“Just you wait, Colden. I’ve got plans.”
“You always have plans.” I tried to focus on the text on my screen, but it blurred and danced around. This was hopeless.
“Mmm, you love my plans,” she said.
“A little bit, yeah.”
I heard her fingers on the keys of her keyboard and I looked up to find her focused on her screen.
“What?” she said.
“Nothing.”
“You’re being really distracting, Colden. Remember? Work.”
Right. Work. Being professional. Money. Career. I couldn’t blow up my work life because of my love life.
She sighed heavily and I looked over at her.
“Sorry.”
“No, it’s okay.”
Then she did it again.
“What?” I said.
“It’s so long until we get to leave and normally I love being at work. This is a strange feeling. You’re so close to me, but so far away. I’m not a fan.” I wasn’t either, but we were going to have to learn how to deal with it.
“How about I make out with you at lunch, will that help?”
She smiled brightly.
“Yup, that will totally work.”
I didn’t know how the next few days were going to go, or the next year, but all I knew was if she was at my side, we could do anything together. As long as she didn’t try and steal my promotion. Then things were going to be a little awkward at home.
Somehow we made it through the day, and as soon as we left the building, our hands linked together as if they’d been pulled there by magnets.
“One day down, an eternity to go,” she said as we swung our hands together.
“Eternity?” I asked. “Isn’t it a little soon for that?”
“Some people take a lifetime to fall in love with someone else. We’re just efficient in our time management. It didn’t take us that long.”
“Fair enough.”
She stopped me on the sidewalk and kissed me.
“What was that for?” I asked when I caught my breath. Her kisses still made me weak in the knees.
“Couldn’t help myself. Plus, it’s a preview of what’s happening later.”
I looked around and very discreetly squeezed one of her boobs.
“What was that for?” she asked.
“Preview of what’s happening later.”
She burst out laughing and we kept walking toward her apartment.
Acknowledgements: Writing this book has been a roller coaster. I’ve had to squeeze it in moments between work, in between other projects, and in between yoga teacher training. It hasn’t been easy, BUT, writing this book was pure joy. All I wanted was to write a book the way certain movies like The Holiday and Last Holiday made me feel. I wanted to see how many clichés I could fit in one book. Spot them all!
This is my first book with a nonbinary character. Colden is a demigirl, like me. If you’ve never heard of a demigirl, you’re not alone! I hadn’t heard of it a few years ago and now it’s the word that best describes my gender. If you have any questions or are interested in learning more about being nonbinary, there are great resources online, and lots of people on twitter especially who share their experiences.
To be completely honest, I have been scared of writing this book all year, but in the end, it was much easier than I thought it would be. Colden’s experience with her gender is not EXACTLY like mine because two people can never have the exact same experiences. Hers are drawn heavily from my own, though.
Thanks to everyone who told me how much they wanted this book, or were excited to read about a nonbinary character. I would not have had the courage to write this without you.
As always, thanks to my INCREDIBLE editor, Laura, who kills it every time and keeps me from making too big of an ass of myself.
Lastly, to all my nonbinary babes out there: I see you. I love you. I support you.
Author bio:
Chelsea M. Cameron is a New York Times/USA Today Best Selling author from Maine who now lives and works in Boston. She's a red velvet cake enthusiast, obsessive tea drinker, vegetarian, former cheerleader and world's worst video gamer. When not writing, she enjoys watching infomercials, singing in the car, tweeting (this one time, she was tweeted by Neil Gaiman) and playing fetch with her cat, Sassenach. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Maine, Orono that she promptly abandoned to write about the people in her own head. More often than not, these people turn out to be just as weird as she is.
Other books by Chelsea M. Cameron:
Nocturnal (The Noctalis Chronicles, Book One)
Nightmare (The Noctalis Chronicles, Book Two)
Neither (The Noctalis Chronicles, Book Three)
Neverend (The Noctalis Chronicles, Book Four)
Whisper (The Whisper Trilogy, Book One)
Deeper We Fall (Fall and Rise, Book One)
Faster We Burn (Fall and Rise, Book Two)
Together We Heal
My Favorite Mistake (My Favorite Mistake, Book One)
My Sweetest Escape (My Favorite Mistake, Book Two)
Our Favorite Days (My Favorite Mistake, Book Three)
Sweet Surrendering
Surrendering to Us
Dark Surrendering
Surrendering to Always
For Real (Rules of Love, Book One)
For Now (Rules of Love, Book Two)
Deep Surrendering
UnWritten
Behind Your Back
Back to Back
Bend Me, Break Me
Style (OTP Series, Book One)
Chord (OTP Series, Book Two)
Brooks (The Benson Brothers)
Second Kiss (The Violet Hill Series, Book One)
Double Exposure (The Violet Hill Series, Book Two)
Second Chance (The Violet Hill Series, Book Three)
Dirty Girl (The Hot Mess Series, Volume One)
Dirtier Girl (The Hot Mess Series, Volume Two)
Marriage of Unconvenience
Unveiled Attraction
Anyone but You
Didn’t Stay in Vegas
Find Chelsea online:
chelseamcameron.com
Twitter: @chel_c_cam
Facebook: Chelsea M. Cameron (Official Author Page)
Instagram: chelccam
Sign up for her Patreon!
Send her snail mail!
P.O. Box 300492
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
Christmas Inn Maine is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are use fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, business establishments or locales is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2019 Chelsea M. Cameron
Editing by Laura Helseth
Cover by Chelsea M. Cameron
Christmas Inn Maine Page 17