Christmas Candy: A Holiday Second Chance Box Set

by Angela Blake

  “Franny! Can you help me choose my dress?” Jordyn’s voice was loud and clear. It broke through Franny’s mini-daydream.

  “Well, all in good time. Before the adventure, comes the obstacle.” she muttered under her breath.

  Chapter Eleven

  Using the warm shower had been one of the better things that happened today on her plate. It had been one hectic day for Jordyn and she knew that she needed all the help she could get just so she could win back Thomas.

  With the pink towels still wrapped around her body and hair, she posed to think. She had been an avid collector of clothes that she thought was amazing – what with her job being one of the flashiest in the town. She had always went to some event and made some of the men swoon and gather around her. It was evident that her feminine touch did not wane over time, and her age seemed to appeal much more to the male demographic as long as she was below the late 30s. Of course, she did not know that Thomas would return to her. But still, she did not entertain any of the suitors that came and tried to woo her. Jordyn shook her head, it wasn’t the time to reminisce such things.

  Jordyn had laid several dresses in her bed. She wanted to put out the entirety of her wardrobe but her bed was smaller in contrast to the amount of clothes she had. Which was why she chose those that she think can bring a big oomph to the table. Her primary choices were the three formal dresses that she had worn only once. Each was black and had a very revealing back. Two can be called “chic” as they were a bit tight-fitting and had a very, very short skirt, the other one can be called “goth” as it had this very constrictive feeling. According to her peers, the three dresses “brought out her eyes and accentuated her figure”. It was one of the reasons why these were her primary choices. She wanted to dazzle Thomas once again.

  Her secondary choices were the conservative ones. Although these dresses had floral patterns and give off a summery feel, it kind of failed to deliver the same oomph as the first three. If they were meeting on a beach somewhere, it could be fine she thought. But, since they were in the city, it wouldn’t do. However, because they were also dresses, she cannot completely dismiss the idea of wearing something summer-y.

  The last choice was everything casual. Jeans of all designs and color were everywhere – from the basic jeans to the tight-fitted, for-women-only, limited-edition, sold-only-here jeans. Along with a variety of colors present in the spectrum, it was a color fest for jeans. Atop the jeans lay her top. Every top that she liked and every top that Thomas liked was there. The heap was a jumble of anything and everything casual. It can be mixed and matched and it can still be just casual.

  But although the choices were many and the clothes more, Jordyn had no idea. Her thought process only focused on one thing: produce a big impact. Unlike the impact of being the center of attention on a gala or event, she only wanted to catch the attention of one man. One man that, throughout her life, loved her for being her and had a huge heart to give all that love away.

  As Jordyn was consumed in her thoughts, Franny knocked lightly and entered the room. The door was not even fully opened but she could hear a sharp intake of air.

  “Oh my God, sweetheart. You planning a garage sale?” she asked jokingly.

  “Please help. I’ve no idea what to wear.” She didn’t sound desperate but rather, clueless.

  “Okay, hon. What’s your criteria for your dress today?” Her eyes kept scanning the heap of dresses and jeans.

  “Give me something with a big boom and a bit of sparkles.” Jordyn knew that Franny knew what she was talking about.

  Franny nodded without a word and started rummaging through the dresses in the bed, she kept comparing one against the other, this dress vs that dress, this jeans vs that jeans, etc. The comparison competition lasted a full twenty minutes. Jordyn knew that they both had enough time and that doing her makeup can just take around 10 minutes. She looked at the time, 12:41. Still plenty of time. At least for her. She had always been in a rush whenever she was late. Which was why she was good in managing her hours when she’s given it for a preparations.

  “AHA!” Franny seemed to be ecstatic as she found the dress that would make or break Jordyn’s date later.

  Jordyn glanced and saw the dress Franny was holding in her right hand, and the jeans on the right.

  “So, okay. You wanted something that can catch his attention but at the same, something low-key so that others won’t gawk at you.” Franny’s voice seemed to be teetering between high and excitement.

  “Yes. And what have you got for me?” She asked bluntly.

  “I got you a white blouse. The blouse, though seemingly plain, reveals key skin areas of a woman that can catch the attention of anyone being exposed to it. The clavicle and chest area are modified to be the focus point of the discussion, meanwhile, the back area is open so as to prevent excessive sweating while wearing the said dress.” Franny’s analysis always sounded professional to her, but she knew it always just meant that “this dress is fancy, and I like it, but please wear it so you can be more beautiful than you already are”.

  Jordyn nodded, “And the bottoms?” She gestured to the jeans Franny was holding.

  “Honey, this is so that you could run to him or away from him. Either way, functionality aside, this jeans had been tailor-made to suit your legs and accentuate the top-quality leg meat that you have. Although, seemingly plain and simplistic, this is to introduce the something plain as your bottoms so that the attention can be focused back into your top. This, if you may, is the sparkles.” Franny smiled, and Jordyn was delighted.

  She knew Franny’s fashion sense was on point and that she always coordinated her clothes, casual or otherwise.

  “And my undies?” Jordyn jokingly asked Franny.

  “Well, if I were you, honey. I would wear my best.” Franny stood up and laid down the dress in the bed and walked over to her.

  Since Franny was still wearing her formal attire, she looked dominating in the room. Jordyn felt conscious that she was just wearing a fabric to cover herself, while Franny herself looked authoritative

  Franny cupped her face with her both hands and stared directly at Jordyn.

  “I would go with black lingerie but if you can’t do that, just color coordinate your bra and panties. Even I would hate it if they’re of different colors.” Franny smiled.

  “Yesh, ma’am.” Her voice sounded ridiculous but she found it funny.

  Franny removed her hands and hugged Jordyn. She knew Jordyn was still wet but that didn’t stop her from hugging her best friend.

  Jordyn was surprised at the hug, but she hugged Franny back. She must’ve wanted me to go and live my life and love Thomas again. She tightened her hug and went close to Franny’s ear.

  “Thank you.” She said in a low voice, near Franny’s ear.

  “No problem, sweetheart. Just say the word and I’ll help with all I can.” She broke the embrace and looked at Jordyn’s eyes.

  “Go get ‘em, tiger.”

  “I will make sure I won’t lose him again.” Jordyn smiled, passion in her eyes.

  “Good luck, sweetheart.” Franny then headed for the door, leaving Jordyn alone and having her prepare herself for what is to come.

  ***

  1:53pm: Jordyn had finished dressing up. Her light makeup was on-point and, although quite formal, she did not feel hot or sticky. Riding the cab again, she was nearing her office. Although the two of them had a misunderstood morning, she was determined to clear everything during their date. Franny also said that she needed to wrap up everything by 3pm or their meeting with Montgomery might be wasted. She looked at her left and saw Franny texting someone with her phone. She assured Jordyn that she won’t be anywhere them on their date as she will meet up with a Lucinda. Jordyn was happy that Franny didn’t feel like a third-wheel in her relationship with Thomas. But it was probably just because Franny had experienced it so many times that she did not mention it. Just as the cab rounded up the corner, her heart skipped
a beat. In front of their advertising firm, dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved polo was Thomas and he looked stunning, with his physique visible through the thin polo fabric.

  13:55: Thomas had hurried after he received the call from Franny. He could vaguely remember everything he did after that. He was just leaving the small apartment that he was currently staying at. He had to tell the cab driver to turn around and return him to his apartment. Unpacking his entire briefcase on the bed, he had very limited options in what to wear. Everything seemed to be either a military uniform or having an affiliation with his military division. Rummaging around he found his jeans and a long-sleeved polo. He had packed the long-sleeved polo in case they were needed in an event that enforced casual clothing. Although he knew that it was probably plain, it was better than nothing. Thomas then started stripping and headed over to his bathroom. He did not open the shower heater but let it flow with cold water. Cold water had always calmed him down. And it made thinking easy. After drowning himself in his own thoughts, he wiped himself off with the towel and proceeded to the bathroom sink and mirror.

  He opened the small cabinet and withdrew a small bottle of shaving cream and his razor. After he washed his chin and the area around his mouth, he put a moderate amount of cream on his left hand and lathered it around the wet area. He then methodologically shaved from left to right, on a downward pattern. He kept doing it until the shaving cream was almost gone. He washed his chin and mouth area again applied another coat of cream. Rinsing the razor, he prepared himself to shave once again, this time upward pattern. This is to ensure that none of his beard nor moustache was going to be in the way of him trying to look cool and amazing in front of Jordyn.

  After he finished shaving, he dressed up and went straight to the small flower shop just near his apartment. He bought a bouquet of roses. He then hailed a cab and waited in front of Jordyn’s office for quite a while – which led to now.

  He was nervous but excited nonetheless. Another chance was coming for him and Jordyn. She might be mad at him, but he can change her mind. That was when he saw the cab pull over near him.

  2:00pm: Jordyn stepped out of the cab and looked at Thomas. He looked visibly shocked and awed at what she was wearing. Hell yeah, I did it, she thought.

  Jordyn walked over to Thomas just as Franny was just getting out of the cab. In only a few steps, she had closed the gap between them. She just stopped in front of Tom

  “Jordyn.” Thomas said, in a low voice, “This is for you.”

  He gave her a bouquet of roses he hid from behind him. His stature and physique was big enough to hide the roses which she didn’t see from the cab. She accepted the roses and smelled them – it was still fresh, the fragrance slowly enveloped her nostrils.

  “Call me Jor while we’re at it. And thank you.” Although Jordyn thought she had the initiative, it seemed that Tom also prepared for this spontaneous date.

  “Then call me Tom, Jor.” He flashed a confident smile, the smell of toothpaste and aftershave leaked from him and into Jordyn’s direction. For her, the smell was familiar and inviting. It was as if they never left each other rather, it was as if they were just meeting again after the military decided to send Thomas on an extended work abroad.

  “Well, good that you are reintroduced to each other.” Franny looked over the both of them tenderly. “I would like to escort you two to wherever you’re going but unfortunately I have a prior appointment.” She gestured to Jordyn’s office.

  Both Thomas and Jordyn glanced at her and nodded quietly. That was the only confirmation Franny needed and she made her way to Jordyn’s office.

  “Follow me then, Tom. I know a good place to have lunch.” Jordyn returned her gaze to him and started to walk, but she hid the fact that she was secretly turned on by his attire and how he smelled. Her lower body still ached from their session last night. But it seemed to react to how close she was to Thomas’ body.

  “You’re the boss.” Thomas answered. He knew that she was taking lead because she wanted to finish early. It did not matter, he thought. He just wanted to tell what was on his mind so that they could both go in peace if it didn’t work out.

  It was only a few buildings from Jordyn’s office. The small restaurant was named Ristorante de Paris, with aesthetics of an 80s restaurant. Wooden tables and chairs littered the entrance of the restaurant, plants were also numerous as it was their primary décor. Thomas did not know the place but he knew it could’ve been famous in the place – what with the nostalgic aesthetic and the calm and chill atmosphere that was in the restaurant.

  Entering the restaurant, Thomas was slightly shocked that it was empty. The ceiling fans were on but there were no customers or anyone else for that matter. However, some shuffling can be heard from the far room with the plate Staff Only. The door opened and out came a young man in his early 20s.

  He was dressed in a casual waiter or butler uniform. With long strides, he managed to reach them in a matter of seconds.

  “Good afternoon, monsieur and madame.” He bowed casually and led them to a table with soft cushions in the seats. The table itself was small but it had the necessary effect of establishing a calming atmosphere.

  “This is the menu.” The boy handed out the menus to the both of them, “Just call out and I’ll be coming over.” He then left, but instead of returning to the staff room, he sat by the bar in the right side of the Staff Only room.

  Jordyn did a once-over of the menu before putting it down. She then looked at Thomas. He seemed to be intent on reading the names of the food and what they were. She smiled. She always remembered him saying that he doesn’t want to eat something that he doesn’t know the ingredients or what it’s made of. Although it had something to do with his military days, she remembered that fondly and still found it cute.

  Making up his mind, he put down the menu. He was about to call the waiter when he noticed that Jordyn was looking intently at him.

  “Anything wrong, Jor?” He purposefully used her nickname to let her know that he wasn’t going to get caught up in the formality.

  “Nothing, Tom. It’s just that I remembered a memory of us.” She straightened her back, “You can call the waiter now. You must be hungry.” She smiled sweetly.

  He almost laughed at the hungry part. The last time he ate was when they were at the rooftop, hungry may not be the word. It might just be starving. “Okay, sure.”

  Instead of calling the waiter, Thomas whistled once. The waiter looked over and made his way towards them.

  “Good afternoon, may I take your order?” The boy had his notepad and pen ready.

  “I’ll take the Blanquette with coffee and…” Thomas looked over Jordyn.

  Picking up the cue, Jordyn continued, “I’ll have the Boeuf carrotes. And I’ll have an iced tea.” She then handed her menu to the waiter. Thomas did the same.

  “I’ll just repeat your order, monsieur and madame. An order of Blanquette or braised pork with coffee and one order of Boeuf carrotes or Beef stew with an ice tea. Would that be all?” Seeing as the two of his customers nodded, he got the menus and left them.

  “So…” Jordyn started.

  “I’m sorry.” Thomas suddenly said.

  Jordyn sighed. It was impossible for her to hate him. She knew that he was annoying at times but he always apologized outright. He knew his shortcomings so him making mistakes was quite endearing and she always knew that he would always try to make it up to her.

  “What happened? Why didn’t you wake me? Why did you leave me alone, naked?” She kept her voice controlled but was betrayed by the crack in her voice.

  “General Jones called me up to look at my retirement contract. Although I scheduled to check it later, 3pm today in fact, I don’t know what happened but it got moved up.” He looked sad and regretful.

  “Why didn’t you wake me?” She understood the reason for the most part. But she wanted the details.

  “I thought it was going to be a 15 minute meeting or so
. I did not expect it to take well over an hour. I excused myself for five minutes and got Franny’s number from your office. I called her and told her to pick you up in case I took longer.” He had closed his eyes and seemed to be reciting from memory.

  “Why did you leave me alone?” She asked.

  “I told you. I thought it was going to be a 15 minute thing. I was wrong, the mistake was on my end so I’m sorry.” His eyes looked like they were pleading and filled with so much sadness.

  “I understand but is that all you want to say? We’ve got well over 40 minutes still.” She had to rewound her watch before she and Franny left the house. It was so that she wouldn’t miss their appointment with Montgomery.

  “I wanted to say, I love you still. And I know I am an asshole sometimes, but I love you.” His voice seemed to crack. Jordyn’s stomach clenched, she was prepared for this but it was so sudden. The emptiness of the restaurant seemed to be closing in on her. She forced herself to calm down.

  “I love you, too. And I want you back in my life. Losing Gracie was hard enough but I want stay with you.” She said, her voice cracking.

  “Thank you. I wanted to make amends but I don’t know how. It’s been so long that I don’t know how to approach loving you again.” He sounded sincere.

  “It’s fine. We could take it slow. Although baby-making would be a huge goal.” She winked at him.

  “So let’s–”

  The ring of Jordyn’s phone suddenly through the empty restaurant. Blushing, she immediately tried to open her phone and turn the call off but she noticed it was Franny. With her recent help with everything that’s happening to her, she thought it would be rude to ignore the call.

  “Excuse me, it’s Franny.” She answered the call without waiting for Tom’s reply.

  The background noise was loud but it seemed that Franny’s voice was louder.

  “YOU HAVE GOT TO COME HERE THIS INSTANT!” Her shrill voice was sounding hoarse but she was still trying to let Jordyn know.