Christmas Candy: A Holiday Second Chance Box Set

by Angela Blake

“Isn’t the movie supposed to start soon?” Cara asked as she looked at Jack who was pacing back and forth and checking his watch. He’d pause every so often to peer at the door hopefully, but then his face would fall, and he’d resume his pacing.

  “No, we’ve still got time. She’ll be here. She’s probably just stuck in traffic.”

  Cara knew that Jack wouldn’t admit it, but he actually really liked Laura, and she could tell because of how nervous he was. Jack only got that anxious when he was crushing, and he was obviously crushing big time. He had met Laura about a month and a half ago while he was out auditioning for a play, and she was trying out too.

  Neither of them got the parts, but they met each other, so some good came out of it at least. Laura was a Russian who had been living in America for a while. She was tall, leggy, and had classic supermodel Russian good looks. With her long wavy blonde hair, and her piercing green eyes, she caught the attention of most guys who passed her on the street.

  Somehow though, she had zoomed in on Jack, who was handsome in his own way, but he continued to think that she was out of his league.

  “Relax, Jack. We can miss the previews.” Cara whipped out her phone and began to check her Facebook.

  “Miss the previews? That’s crazy talk! How else are we going to know what to catch next?”

  Cara responded without looking up from her phone. “By checking the paper? Or checking their website?”

  Jack paused and turned to look at her. “They have a paper? They have a website?”

  Cara chuckled. “No, silly. I mean the paper. Newspapers!”

  Jack’s face lit up in understanding. “Oh, that paper. I didn’t even know people still read that. It seems like everything is on a smart phone these days.”

  “Most things are, but nothing beats an actual paper. And as for the website thing, yeah, they’ve had one for years. Haven’t you ever checked it?”

  Jack thought for a moment. “No, I don’t think I have.”

  Cara gave him a disbelieving look. “How do you think I always know what time the movie will start?”

  “I thought you just came here often enough to know, or that you asked the usher, or the security guards or something.”

  Cara didn’t have a response except leaning against the wall. “That’s actually a valid explanation, but no, that’s not what I do. It’s so much easier to just check online, and that way you can also know what’s out, and what isn’t.”

  “You mean you check their website for that too?”

  “Jeez, Jack. What are you, living under a rock? I see you using your laptop all time. How can you not know this?”

  Jack looked a little embarrassed. “Well, I don’t exactly use my laptop for things like that. Mostly video games and porn.”

  Cara raised an eyebrow. “Way too much info, dude.”

  Jack shoved his hands into his pockets as he resumed his pacing. He stopped all of a sudden, and his face lit up with a smile before he schooled into an expression of nonchalance.

  “Why do guys do that?” Cara pushed herself off the wall and went to stand next to him, assuming that Laura and her friend had arrived.

  “Do what?” Jack asked without taking his eyes off of the door.

  “Try to act all cool, macho, and indifferent. As if that’s somehow going to impress a woman.”

  “I don’t know about the why exactly, Car, but I haven’t had any complaints, so far.”

  Cara thought about it. “Interesting. I’ll have to ask someone else then.”

  The door opened a second later to reveal Laura entering the movie theater dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and V-neck top that clung to her figure revealing a sJackl waist. She had a cute little cardigan on and a pair of heels.

  Cara didn’t understand why anyone would wear heels at all, much less to the movie theater, but it’s not like there was a science to it.

  Next to Laura stood a tall, muscular, and fit man with a mop of straight, dirty blonde hair, and a pair of glacier blue eyes. Cara suddenly straightened her back as she wondered if that was Laura’s friend.

  When Laura began walking towards them, the blonde man began walking alongside her. Laura stopped in front of Jack and gave him a quick hug.

  “Cara, it’s good to see you again.” She gave her a brief hug. Cara gave her a sJackl smile when she pulled away. “This is my friend, Kristoff.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Kristoff.” Cara held out her hand. Kristoff stared it for a moment as if unsure of what to do, but then a quick glance at Laura who nodded made him take her hand in his.

  He shook it quickly and dropped it again, as if she had some sort of disease.

  “Hey, man, I’m Jack. It’s good to meet you.” Jack held out his hand, and Kristoff shook it firmly. Cara noticed the difference and frowned, but didn’t say anything. It was probably all just in her head anyway.

  They made some sJackl talk as they got in line for the snack bar. They got four popcorns, four drinks, and a couple of different types of candy. Cara tried to converse with Kristoff the entire time, but he kept grunting or giving her monosyllabic responses.

  Undeterred, she kept trying until she finally grew fed up, and dragged Jack to the side after giving Laura a quick apology.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were setting me up on a date?” she hissed quietly as they both checked to make sure that Laura and Kristoff couldn’t hear them.

  “Didn’t I mention that?”

  Cara give him a look, and Jack held up his hands defensively. “Okay, okay. I know I should’ve told you, but you wouldn’t have agreed to come, and Laura felt bad that Kristoff had no one to hang out with, so she asked me if I knew someone who could keep him company.”

  “So, I’m being pimped out now?” Cara sounded half amused, half annoyed.

  Jack shook his head empathetically. “No, come on, Car. You know it isn’t like that. I wouldn’t do that to you. I just thought it might do you some good to get out of the house, meet new people and stop dwelling on Jack.”

  Cara felt the familiar twinge of pain at the sound of his name, and she grit her teeth to keep the memories at bay. “I thought we agreed we weren’t going to mention his name.”

  “Car, I’m trying to be supportive, and I’m trying to give you your space, but it’s been months, and you still can’t talk about him. Whenever I bring him up, you clam up, or you start crying. Either way, you’re holding it all in, and that much hurt, that much pain, it can’t be good for you, bottling it all up like that.”

  “I’m not bottling it up,” Cara replied.

  Jack gave her a sad smile. “I know you think you aren’t. I know you think talking about it will only make it worse, and that maybe pretending it never existed will help you get better, but it’s just hardening your heart.”

  Cara stared at him before she bit her lip and looked down. “I want to talk about it, Jack. I want to so much, but I’m just not ready yet.”

  Jack wrapped his arms around her and gave her a quick hug. “I know that. Someday, when you’re ready to talk, I’ll be here. In the meantime, I know Kristoff isn’t what you were expecting, but give him a chance. You’re the one who’s always saying we should be more like Belle from Beauty and the Beast and judge people less, and try to see what’s on the inside.”

  “So, you do listen to me.” She smacked his arm playfully.

  “Only half the time. Besides, I heard Emma Watson is playing Belle in the new live action remake, and she’s freaking hot.”

  “Of course, you’d focus on that. You’re such a guy.” Cara rolled her eyes.

  “Well, what else am I supposed to focus on? Come on, let’s go, Laura and Kristoff are waiting. Just try to enjoy it, okay?”

  Cara nodded and followed reluctantly behind.

  ***

  Halfway through the movie, Cara accidentally spilled orange soda on her blouse, and the result was that her blouse was now stuck to her skin and made it see through.

  Ordinarily, she wouldn�
��t have minded, but with Kristoff on her left, she was much too aware of the fact that Kristoff’s eyes kept traveling to her chest. He wasn’t being subtle about it, not even when Cara crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance, so he would get the hint.

  As the end credits rolled out, Kristoff leaned in and spoke to her for the first time all night. “You, me, hotel room, yes?”

  Cara wheeled around to look at him. “Excuse me?”

  Kristoff shrugged. “You don’t have to play games. I see you looking at me, wanting this body.”

  Cara’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You were checking me out, not the other way around.”

  Kristoff nodded in acknowledgement. “It’s true, but when I first saw you, I think, not my type of woman, but then I saw your chest, and I think, yes, she is my type of woman.”

  Cara stood up abruptly and glared at him. “How dare you? You presumptuous douche bag! You were practically ogling my chest all night, and you think that because you’re Russian, I would feel flattered and throw myself at you?”

  Kristoff calmly stood up. “Well, why not? You are an attractive woman, but you are big, so I don’t think a lot of men would offer this.”

  Cara’s mouth moved, but no sound came out. Finally, Cara clamped her mouth shut, narrowed her eyes in vehemence, and punched him.

  Kristoff’s hand snapped back, and he looked surprised as blood trickled down his nose. Cara clutched her hand in grim satisfaction as she stared at him with barely concealed rage. Jack came running towards her, and held her hand. “What happened?”

  “The jackass tried to proposition me, and when I refused, he said that I’m lucky I even got an offer like that, considering the way I look.”

  Jack clenched his jaw as he clenched and unclenched his fists. “He said that?”

  Cara placed her hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Jack. Jack!” she shouted until Jack looked at her. “Look at me. He isn’t worth it. Besides, I already punched him.”

  A muscle ticked in Jack’s jaw. “He can’t get away with what he said.”

  Cara’s mind raced as she thought of what could happen if Jack lost his cool. He didn’t have an anger problem usually, but when it came to the people he loved, he was fiercely protective. He thought of Cara as his little sister, so he was doubly over protective.

  All of a sudden, an idea raced into Cara’s mind. She clutched her hand and moaned. Jack’s eyes immediately snapped to hers. The look of fury in his eyes receded and was replaced with one of concern. “Are you okay, Car?”

  “I think my hand is broken,” Cara said as she clutched her hand and pretended to wince. It wasn’t actually that hard. Her hand really did hurt, she was just exaggerating the pain to get him to focus on something other than his fury, and it was working.

  His posture relaxed as he moved towards her and tried to reach for her hand. Cara snatched it away. “No, please. I just want to go to the hospital and get it checked out, please?”

  Jack hesitated as he glanced back and forth between Kristoff, who by now was wiping the blood off his shirt and grimacing as he stuffed a tissue up his nose and Laura, who was glaring at him with barely concealed fury. Cara on the other hand was trying her best to pretend she was in more pain than she actually was.

  Jack straightened himself up and nodded. “Okay, Car. Come on. Let me just say goodbye to Laura.”

  He walked over to Laura who was looking at him with apprehension as she gestured between Kristoff and Cara. Kristoff and Laura were in the middle of some kind of standoff, and Jack obviously didn’t want to get in between.

  He gave Laura a tight smile as he shot Kristoff a glare. Kristoff flipped him the bird as Laura placed both arms on his shoulders to stop him from doing anything stupid.

  After a few whispered words from Laura, Jack visibly relaxed and gave her a soft smile. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and walked back towards Cara.

  “What was that about?” Cara asked.

  “Laura was explaining that she knew that Kristoff was in the wrong, and she even wanted to punch him on your behalf, but their families go way back, and she doesn’t want to start a fight. She is super pissed at him though, and he just shrugged and didn’t even seem apologetic.”

  “Well, at least Laura turned out to be bad ass. I like her way more already.”

  Jack gave her a distracted smile as they made their way out of the movie theater and towards the parking lot. They weaved in and out of crowds as Jack hovered close, trying to shield her from anyone who might be coming.

  “I’m sorry, Car,” he said quietly as they walked towards his car in a semi-crowded parking lot with pulsing neon lights shining down on them. Jack took the keys out of his pocket and jingled them nervously. “I shouldn’t have tried to push you into going on a date again, especially with such a creep.”

  Cara gave him a puzzled look. “What are you talking about, Jack? It’s not your fault. It’s not like you knew and set me up with him anyway.”

  Jack began to scratch the back of his neck. “I know, but still. I should’ve known something was off when he wouldn’t shake your hand.”

  Cara shrugged as she watched Jack insert the key into the lock. “You couldn’t have known, trust me. I didn’t even know. I thought he just had a thing about shaking a woman’s hand, which is strange, but not all that unusual. During the movie, when he kept glancing at my cleavage, it bothered me to no end, and I wanted to wipe that smug, sleazy grin right off of his face, but I didn’t want to overreact considering he hadn’t actually done anything, but the second he said those words, I snapped.”

  They both got into the car, and Jack revved the engine. “You had every right to. I can’t believe he said those things to you.”

  “I’m sorry I ruined your date, Jack. I know you were really looking forward to it.” Cara gave him an apologetic smile.

  “Car, seriously, you shouldn’t say that. You were in trouble, you didn’t ruin anything.”

  They drove in silence to the hospital. Jack fumbled with the radio for a bit before setting it to an oldies station that was playing backstreet boys.

  Cara hummed along as she rolled down the car window and felt the cool breeze tickle her face.

  “So how badly does it hurt?” Jack asked after a while as he switched on his turning signal and made a left turn.

  “Not that much, actually,” Cara mumbled guiltily. “I might’ve exaggerated the pain just a bit to get you to snap out of it.”

  Jack chuckled. “Yeah, I kind of figured you did. The only thing stronger than my desire to kick the living daylights out of him was my desire to make sure you’re okay, so yeah, you pretty much did the right thing.”

  “I’m glad you think so.” Cara gave him a sJackl smile as the car slowed to a halt in front of a red traffic light.

  “Anyway, it’s good to get it checked out anyway. I did hear a crunch at some point, so while I dearly hope it was his nose that paid the price, let’s not wait to find out if it’s your hand.”

  “Good point,” Cara laughed as the light turned green, and they made a right down the interstate and out onto the street that would lead them to the hospital.

  Jack found an empty spot and backed into it. They both walked out of the car and quietly walked towards the door. Jack held the door open for her, and the second they walked in, they were hit with the smell of disinfectant and detergent. Cara wrinkled her nose at the smell and went to the sign-in desk.

  She asked for an appointment to get her hand checked and was asked to fill out a form. She quickly scribbled down her information, and was told to wait, and that the doctor would be with her as soon as he possibly could.

  She and Jack took a seat, and Jack picked up a magazine and began to flip through the pages randomly. He dropped the magazine after a few minutes and began to jiggle his leg up and down.

  “Would you stop that?” She placed her hand on his knee, and gave him an exasperated smile. “It’s really annoying.”
r />   “Nervous habit. You know that, Car.”

  “I know, but there’s nothing to be nervous about,” Cara pointed out as she settled back in her chair and stretched her legs. “It’s probably just a bruise or something.”

  “Speaking of punches,” Jack turned around to face her. “Hasn’t anyone ever taught you how to punch?”

  “Are you serious? Or are you kidding?” Cara’s eyebrow went up. “You know that I have two sisters, right? And they were all girly girls.”

  “I know that,” Jack snorted. “I’ve met your sisters, but I thought maybe one of you learned how to take a hit and keep it coming.”

  “Yeah, no, not really.” Cara shook her head, wondering what his line of thinking was.

  “All these years, and I never knew, but then again, all these years, and I never saw you clock someone like that. That was pretty impressive.”

  Cara grinned. “Thanks.”

  Jack shot her an amused look. “But your punches could use some work. You have to tuck your thumb in to minimize the damage to your hand and maximize the amount of damage you could do.”

  “Gee, thanks, Rocky. It’s not like I’m going to be getting into a fight anytime soon,” Cara said, very dryly.

  “Well, I should certainly hope not, slugger, but still. You should probably learn these things just in case something like this ever happens again. After all, you want to make sure you’re disabling your attacker.”

  One eyebrow went up. “Okay, so what do you propose?”

  “I’ll teach you.” Jack looked pleased with the prospect. “I mean, I kick your ass on a daily basis anyway, but this should be fun.”

  Cara shook her head. “You so do not kick my ass on a daily basis. I just let you think you do to spare your fragile Jacke ego, but now that I can see it’s going to your head, I’m going to stop.”

  “Bring it on, Tyler.”

  Cara was about to respond when the receptionist called her name out and said that the doctor was waiting for her. Cara and Jack walked towards the doctor’s office, and the door swung open to reveal a young brunette nurse.

  She gave them a friendly smile as she began to ask questions and jot things down. Cara had her back turned when the doctor came in, so the only thing she heard was the sound of Jack hissing.